Conventional to Synthetic switch

[rusty ol ranger]

There's not nearly as much difference between synthetic oils, and the 'dinosaur' oils as you might think. Synthetic is still just oil - it's that all of the oil molecules are closer to the same size. That is accomplished by distilling the oil after going through the refinery process (cracking). Advances in refining brought conventional oils closer to synthetic in the late 90s and I think there were in fact some lawsuits flying around, as memory serves, between the "original" synthetic producer(s) and some of the newer stuff, but the courts upheld oil companies claiming "synthetic" no matter how they got it. Anyway......

Oil isn't just oil. There's "stuff" in it to keep the integrity of the seals good, among other things. Remember Valvoline coming out with the "Max-Life" oil? They just added a lot more of whatever is good for the seals to regular oil (at the time, they probably have a synthetic blend too). That stuff works. I made the mistake of putting Mobil 1 in my 68 Bronco back in the 90s, and it proceeded to leak like a screen door on a submarine..... oil EVERYWHERE! Changed out to Max-Life and the only things that leaked after that were the steering box and front pinion seal, neither of which of course had engine oil.

Anyway, when my 97 started leaking at the rear main seal (250,000+ miles) I started dumping 4 quarts of the usual Mobil 1, and a quart of Max life in it, at each change. That helped, a little. But of course the RMS needed replacing and that got done when the transmission was rebuilt.

You can mix different brands and even weights. Weights on oil are just an average of the viscosity of everything that's in the bottle. Big molecules, small molecules, etc. Mix 0-20 and 10-40 half and half, and you end up with 5-30 or thereabouts. Even with "full" synthetic, there is some "regular" oil mixed in, to help keep the additives in suspension. The reason your oil comes out thicker when you change it, than when you put it in, is that the lighter molecules in the mix tended to burn out before the heavier molecules. Unless you have a carb running way rich in which case the oil has a lot of gasoline in it......

Bottom line, oil is oil, and people who think that synthetic is some magic creation are flat out wrong. It's just a more consistent bottle of the same size oil molecules - plus whatever additives the manufacturer sees fit to put in.

Im not even a fan of the blended...but honestly its hard to find 10w30/40 dino unless you pay crazy prices at the parts store for it

 

[Ramcharger90]

Just use some snake oil marvel mystery.

 

[cbxer55]

Just use some snake oil marvel mystery.

I use that in my gas tank only. It's a whole lot too thin to use for actual motor oil.

I run four quarts Valvoline Max Life 20w-50 in mine, and one quart Lucas Engine Oil Stop Leak. That almost topped the small nuisance oil leak I've had for years. It used to leave a rather basketball sized spot on the ground, now it's down to about a silver dollar.

I've run the Max Life 20w-50 for many years, and 20w-50 in the engine ever since I bought it in January 2000.

 

[Dirtman]

For god sakes rusty must you argue about EVERYTHING.

Use synthetic, ignore rusty.

 

[DILLARD000]

My oil & filter is the only truely good oil & filter! My god is the only true god! My politician is the only good politician!
All never ending unverifiable debates.
Change your oil & filter often with whatever works for you; again do it often.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

For god sakes rusty must you argue about EVERYTHING.

Use synthetic, ignore rusty.

I wasnt argueing. I stated something then got contridicted so i showed why using synthetic in an older engine isnt a good idea.

 

[Hawkeye]

Hawkeye, about how long have you been using the semi synthetic oil? If it has been a few years, I would say that any leak that develops is probably just from age, not necessarily from synthetic oil.

Honestly, I would just continue to use what you are using. If you put a good deal of mileage on the truck, perhaps consider shortening your oil change interval.

I know myself that I usually change my oil every 6 months or 6000 miles, whatever comes first. Usually every April and October.

I have been using the Valvoline High Mileage Syn Blend for over 5 years with no signs of leaks. My truck wasn't an everyday driver for the past 10 years until the past month when I sold my everyday driver and bought a 72 Cutlass. Now my Ranger is my everyday driver. I've had good luck with the Valvoline and Mobil 1 both, I just wanted to check and see what consensus was on seal deterioration. I am lucky so far I would say.

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

4.0 ohv is a flat tappet cam.

You NEED ZDDP.

Valvoline VS1 or any oil with 1400+ ppm ZDDP.

Go look at the cam that came out of my 2.9 if you dont believe me lol. Mobil 1 wiped it out.

 

[MikeG]

Oil is oil, guys. If you need a certain additive (see above!) then by all means, buy the one with the right additive(s).

There's likely a handful of refiners that actually make the stuff, and then there's 47 brands in the store including white-labeled store brands for every auto parts and big-box store. They don't all own their own refineries, they buy it on a spec and label it as they please. You might be able to figure out who made the oil for (fill in the blank) by looking at the MSDS sheets for it, then compare to the MSDS for some of the major name brands that have been around a century or more. Or, you might not. And don't think that making motor oil is a big part of the refinery business. Most of it goes to fuel oil, then (probably) asphalt next, motor oil, then ATF and gear oil and chassis lube and whatnot. It's a niche market for them. Think about it, many hundreds or thousands of gallons of gasoline or diesel goes through the vehicle per oil change, then many oil changes per transmission or rear end change, etc.

But I guarantee there are WAY fewer actual manufacturers, than brands. Synthetic doesn't "eat" seals any more than any other conventional oil that has the same additives, and about the same viscosity. About the only "advantage" conventional oil would have as far as seals leaking, is that the lighter hydrocarbons in a conventional blend will burn off sooner, leaving the remaining oil thicker. That's assuming they have the same additives for seals.

 

[Curious Hound]

Make sure you use oil.

 

[sheep herder]

Lube is always a good thing.

 

[Dirtman]

Lube is always a good thing.

Prove it, using only the word cantaloupe.

 

[Curious Hound]

Prove it, using only the word cantaloupe.

Can't do it. I need to use blueberry with cantaloupe.

 

[MikeG]

Eat enough cantaloupe, and your insides will be 'lubed'.... does that help?

 

[adsm08]

4.0 ohv is a flat tappet cam.

You NEED ZDDP.

Valvoline VS1 or any oil with 1400+ ppm ZDDP.

Go look at the cam that came out of my 2.9 if you dont believe me lol. Mobil 1 wiped it out.

That's odd. When I rebuilt my 4.0 OHV it had rollers in it. And it was a 92 block, so its an early one.