Finally hit the 3k oil change mark......it's got 113 on it and the original owner did a good job of changing it every 3k with dino oil.
I want to switch it to Mobil 1....do any of you think it will be a problem? Or should I go to one of those "high mileage" types instead?
Thanks
Todd

 

ive been doing the valvoline high mileage in 10w40....and pure 1 pureoilator oil filter

juuuust shy of 260,000 miles here.


I like synthetic's benefits, but at this point I'm too scared to switch over...lol

 

i switched to mobil 1 at 107k and it started leaking shortly thereafter...it was likely because the smaller particle size of the syn oil. also, mobil 1 is reputed to run thin. also, syn oils tend to soften seals a bit and expose openings mineral oils have caked up on...

i would clean it first... try auto-rx; it's worth it, in my opinion... http://www.auto-rx.com/

good luck!

 

Agreed on the synthetic oil being thinner - at 180K mi. I just did a change and put Mobil 1 synthetic 10-40W in ... my rear main seal leak (I think) which was only a few drips per day is MUCH more noticeable now

 

gman; sorry to hear that, but i've been there.

i would switch back to dino oil and do the auto rx treatment for seal leaks. compared to the puddle i used to see under the beast, mine is now looking pretty good!

 

Ditto.

I switched to synthetic at about 87k and she leaked like a civ. Switched back to dino and all is well.

 

at my next oil change i'm considering switching to a different oil; hi-mileage or otherwise...curious if anyone has any experiences to share...

and, no, i'm not going back to synthetic again :^)

 

Bumpin' Yota: has your HG ever been replaced ?

 

I think I'll drain out this Mobil 1 stuff I put in last week ... and put in some high mileage stuff. The leak is really buggin' me now that the new oil seems to be makin' it worse and worse Heard pretty good things about the Castrol High Mileage oil. Not sure on the Valvoline Max Life or whatever it's called...will research a bit more before deciding ... but now we're back to the synthetic vs. regular question I guess? There are quite a few other posts on this subject, gonna look around some.

I just want to get my lovely leak back down to a less noticeable dribble --- really don't even want to think about how much I'm gonna have to drop to have that rear main seal replaced!

I've always run 10W-30 ... wonder if 10W-40 would help out with that leak too?

 

I have been running Castrol or Pennzoil 30HD for a long time. At 180K, my rear main leak is kept to a minimum and I have good oil pressure. Before that, I used 20W50.

 

stay away from the high mileage junk. it's a gimmick. besides, who considers 75k to be high mileage anyway?

i never had a problem with any dino oil as long as it's a proper weight. a well worn toy engine tends to like 10w40 or 15w40 from my experience.

i ran my new engine on dino for 2,000 miles, now i'm on amsoil synthetic with no problems.

 

I add 1 quart of Lucas's Heavy Duty oil stabilizer on every change. Stops dry starts and has removed the "tapping" noise from one of my lifters.

 

sorry, but thats the worst opinion ive ever read.


Anyway heres what i posted in another topic:
About 2 years ago i heard many good things about Valvoline Max Life and started using it in a '95 Ford Aerostar. It had about 73,000 miles at the time and i swear it ran better after switching. It even drove from NY to CO towing a loaded 5'x10' trailer like it wasnt even there. I have changed the oil about every 3,000 miles and its still running strong till this day. Even so, i wasnt convinced about this oil untill now....
About 2 months ago i bought my 1992 4Runner. It had 169,000 miles but i didnt know any history on it besides what i could see (the owner received it from a dead family in law or something). Well I bought it knowing it had an oil leak that came from the engine oil cooler. It was decent size leak (oil was all over the place in that location) and it always left a few drops after each time i drove it. Within the first week i owned it, i changed the oil with Max Life and less than 2,000 miles later the leak has literally disappeared! As well as the Ford, my 4Runner also ran smoother and started easier right after replacing the oil with Max Life. Im now a believer.

 

I have 170k, and I run only Castrol 10W-30 Dino oil. No problems whatsoever. I also add a can of Engine Restore at every oil change. That stuff is awesome.

 

i use mobil 1 high mileage synthetic blend...switched to it at 90,000.

i like it a lot...you get the benefits of synthetic, but it's not pure synthetic, so it is less prone to causing leaks. it caused no leaks for me.

it's cheaper than full synthetic, too.

 

if you're leaking, you need to replace the seals. not fill the engine with snake oil that probably just gums stuff up.

oh, i ran cheap chevron 10w40 in my 20R with 300,000 miles on it until the day i pulled the engine. it always burned oil(rings were probably toast) but not that much until the front main blew.

and ever see what happens to lucas oil stabilizer under turbulence? it's scary

 

BINGO! I never thought about that before but a tech at my shop disassembled an engine that locked up. Come to find out there were "gum-like-stuff" in the oil pickup screen. The customer admitted to having added Lucas additives to his oil for 2 years. Also there is a link somewhere on this site about the negative effects of oil additives. Think of it this way, if the oil companies pay millions of dollars just to have the API stamp on the containers then why add anything to disrupt the chemical balances to it?

 

"and ever see what happens to lucas oil stabilizer under turbulence? it's scary "

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/images/lucas/lucas.htm

 

That was the link I was talking about. Thanks sandcrawler.

 

personally, i think there's a big difference between short-term -- or one-time -- cleaning products that are designed to do their job and be subsequently removed; leaving the user to happily go back to their regular engine oil of choice.

it's the "add-it-to-your-oil-every-time-you-change-it" stuff that i think has, rightfully, earned the snake-oil moniker.

if your fuel injectors were clogged, would you just say "screw it" and run it 'til they needed to be drilled out??