another oil thread!

[rangers92]

i have a 98 ranger 2.5 and currently run motor craft 5w30 i have two questions. with 196k i burn a little oil and get a slight lifter tick at start up would i benefit from a switch to synthetic 5w30? im not too worried about leaks or should i be ? and i live in ct and i wanted to know if 5w30 is the factory recommended weight? i keep getting a toss up of 5w20 and 5w30 depending on were you live.

 

[RonD]

Motor oil made from "natural oil" has a base structure that can not be changed, well not inexpensively at any rate, but it is good for lubrication and cooling an engine.

Synthetic oil is tailor made for a specific use, like for use in automotive engines, so you would expect it to be better overall.

So no argument there, off the shelf suit or tailor made suit, which will fit better?

Engine life with newer bearing and other material and engineering has been extended greatly.
I remember when 100k was good engine life and rebuild time, now 300k or more is not at all unusual, with "regular" oil.
Will synthetic extend that, maybe, but...........usually there are other problems that cause a vehicle to succumb to age/mileage related issues.

I don't see any down side to using synthetic, except cost of course.

Will it solve all lubrication problems, like noisy lifters, no, of course not, it would depend on root of the problem.

Lucas oil treatment can keep coating on lifters to quiet them on startup but if the problem is that the oil system on valve train is draining out while it sits then it will still tap until pressure comes to top end.
Synthetic could do that as well.

 

[rangers92]

wow i appreciate the response lots of great info ! i guess im still at a toss up. i work at napa so i get napa synthetic oil for 3.50 a quart ! this is why i was wondering about a change over but im still Leary. any one else have input.

 

[Mickey Bitsko]

Not sure your going to get a better explanation than RonD... like he said the only thing your getting better with synthetic is you get to spend more money, but it is your money, and to claim you use synthetic in a high mileage vehicle cause you can.

 

[RonD]

Well if you don't have any oil leaks, that gets expensive with synthetic , you should try it at the next oil change.
Engine will not blow up or be damaged in any way, it's just oil.

Synthetic has a longer change time so keep that in mind, many run 7k-8k and do full change, some longer.

 

[tomw]

FWIW, synthetic has, generally, a lower viscosity than natural based oils. 0W20 is pretty thin, hot or cold. Given that, I would think the long chain polymers that uncoil like a spring when heated, and increase effective viscosity, are used more heavily in synthetic.
Start-up tapping of the lifters is generally due to leak-down of the lifter in question. It does not make much difference in engine life. There is a leaky check valve or some 'dirt' making the valve leak. The valve spring pressure is constant, and trying to 'leak down' the lifter overnight, or any time the engine is still. If you have decent oil pressure, the tapping should go away within a few seconds, and cause no harm.
I think the lower viscosity of the synthetic will often lead to seepage past seals that formerly were seeping so little it was 'invisible'. You just didn't see the seepage, it was so small.
If your engine does not run excessively hot, then you are paying for synthetic protection from heat breakdown that will not be used. Synthetic was developed to be used in gas turbine engines immediately after WWII. The heat in a turbine broke down natural oils, and they turned to brown/black gunk. They were burning instead of lubricating and carrying off bearing heat. Not good. So syns were developed to solve that problem. You don't have that problem in a Lima, even at the worst case.
If you do the math, using synthetic oils won't pay for itself in increased oil change intervals nor in extended engine life. Most Limas can go 300k without whining, using natural based oils. Synthetic may extend that, due to slightly quicker flow when cold, but the extra cost per quart will likely not pay off for the average user.
So, to sum, you get extended intervals before a change is required, but how long? I dunno. You also get the likelihood of seepage increased, not all, but some. So you will likely leak some synthetic. You may get a bit better flow when cold, but if you used a 5W20 synthetic blend, as spec'd for some Ford engines, you'd get the quick flow of a 5W and the protection from heat of a synthetic.
You pays your money, and you takes your chance. Winna winna chicken dinna ... or not. Your dollars, your engine.
My lima was not spec'd for 5Wanything, but 10W30 as its 'natural' oil diet. I may put some synthetic in to perhaps keep the can lobes from grinding away, but I don't know if it will really help. No more ZDDP may eat the cam. We'll see.
tom

 

[blueovals]

Imho you would be better off using a high mileage 5w20. In the year I worked at jiffy lube we were trained on the pros and cons of all the oils. We were supposed to explain to customers that we could gladly switch them to full synthetic but switching back is not recommended. A good alternative is the blended or partial synthetic oils. I'm sitting at just under 206k with no ticks or clatter at cold start up. I may add Lucas oil treatment next change just for added protection but synthetic isn't worth the money.

 

[rangers92]

i currently run motor craft 5w30 and a ford fl400s filter so i think ill stick with my 21$ oil changes and save The synthetic for my future ls1 plans