100% synthetic for all engines?

[roperteacher]

Hello, I have an 04. 5 CTD, but also a 96 toyota Rav 4. I have been hearing of the benefits of synthetic in the trucks, does anyone else use it in their commuter cars? The toyota has a little over 100,000 on it. Runs awesome, but was wondering if it would benefit by running synthetic to make it last even longer. What Weight would you recommend for the car? Thanks!

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

I use Mobil 1 in my wife's MAzda 323 - lotsa short-haul miles and such - figured the better oil was worth it since miles build up pretty slowly on it - not as good as I should be on monitoring and changing either - so any extra protection is a plus...

 

[mberry]

Used it in the G/F car and will put it in the new SUV as soon as I can.



As far as weight goes, use whatever is in the owners manual.

 

[RustyJC]

I use Delo 400 dino oil in the truck. Everything else uses synthetics - Royal Purple 5W-20 in my Acura 3. 2TL-S, and Mobil 1 10W-30 in my wife's 5. 9L Durango. I've used synthetics in every vehicle since my 1983 Volvo 245 Turbo wagon - except this truck.



The reason is that the truck is 35 months old and has 20,500 miles, or 585 miles/month. It may go out for a 1000 mile trip pulling our 5th wheel, then sit in the garage for 3-4 weeks. I change the oil and filter in the truck about every 6 months (which happens to equate to around 3000 miles) just to flush the condensation, soot (note that the truck is more heavily fueled than stock) and combustion acids out of the system.



Rusty

 

[roperteacher]

If I use synthetics, will it increase the miles I can go inbetween changes? How many miles are you guys getting between changes with the synthetics in the cars? Thanks!

 

[EMD-Run8]

Synthetic is the way to go definitely.

1) Better acid and soot control

2) It's more temperature stable (it GENERALLY doesn't burn off as much compared to a dino oil of the same weight )

3) Synthetics GENERALLY get better mileage (less friction) than similar dino oils

4) Synthetics GENERALLY can go longer between changes. Some oils like Amsoil are specifically made for this.

5) If you just HAVE to change your oil every 3,000 miles then there are some excellent dino oils like Rotella, Delo 400, etc. that will pretty much do the trick cheaper. I used Rotella in mine until about 7500 miles and switched to Amsoil. The plan is to get my bypass filter installed and go to oil analysis to determine when to change it. I'm just an oil geek I guess... ...

6) Please just don't use cheap stuff whatever you decide to go with. These engines are just too fine to use cheap oil (if you want it to last a good long time anyway). You wouldn't go wrong at all using something like Mobil 1-----Good price and Good oil



Oh yeah, looks like I'm picking up around a mile per gallon over Rotella (a very good oil by the way). I'm should be a little better than 20 per gallon----------and that ain't putt-puttin' either.

 

[XJSuperman]

IF you switch to synthetic on ANY vehicle that has more than a thousand miles on it... you will want to change the synthetic AT LEAST one time after you have put about 1,000 miles on it.

I have seen (and actually experienced) where someone would switch to synthetic after about 5,000 miles on their new vehicle and after 1,000-1,500 miles on the first run of synthetic it would cause them to lose pressure and one even burnt the motor.

Seems the synthetic "cleans" things up a bit too well after an engine has mileage on it and will gunk up the oil pan and then the pickup/pump.

On a truck we owned a few years ago ... truck had 23,000 miles on it. Went to full synthetic. At 1,700 miles on the synthetic the truck just lost pressure and died one day while running down the road. Towed it and once we dropped the pan it was MUD. The oil pump was burnt and I felt lucky I didn't lose the motor myself.

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

HEY EMD - what oils do ya use in those big diesel locomotives?



How many hours between changes - or do they have some sort of lube recycling?

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Originally posted by XJSuperman

IF you switch to synthetic on ANY vehicle that has more than a thousand miles on it... you will want to change the synthetic AT LEAST one time after you have put about 1,000 miles on it.

I just changed to synthetic on my '96 Ram for the first time at 352,000 miles. Did I wait too long? LOL

I plan to change it soon. I used the new Rotella synthetic. I expected it to turn black real fast but so far that hasn't happened. It's only been in there about 350 miles and it's starting to change color a little but I thought it would darken faster than that. Still going to change it soon though.



So far no leaks other than a bit of a leak at the rear main seal that was already there (hasn't made it any worse) and less vapor out the blowby.



Truck had been run on Delo 400 for the previous 352k



Vaughn

 

[DougJones]

I've run Mobil 1 in my other diesels, Chev 6. 2's and 6. 5's, which has worked very well. I ran about 10,000 miles between changes on the light use vehicle. When the valve cover was pulled to replace a valve spring, the inside of the cover was shiny clean. The diesel mechanic said he had never seen this in a diesel. He switched to Mobil 1 in his.

 

[Detroitiron]

FWIW
When I converted from Delo 400 to Amsoil, I used the Amsoil flush before I drained out the Delo. And it is all you need to do, according to Amsoil. The flush eliminates the need to drain out the expensive synthetic oil after only a few thousand miles, because it cleans out the gunk that the dino juice oils leave behind. And re: mileage, After I converted to Amsoil, and installed the Superchips tuner programming, on level 3, My highway mileage went from 18. 5 to 22. 7, verified by my Magellan GPS and hand held calculator, and checked against trip computer, which is amazingly accurate, BTW, at least in my '01 QC, w/3. 55:1 rear gear, 47 RE A/T,and 19. 5 Alcoa's on it. This is no towing, no tailgate, locked on 65 mph in cruise control mode, driving the spine of the Appalachains and the Alegheny mtn ranges, and some of the Pennsylvania Black Forest. In other words, not flat as a table, straight, level running. So, yeah, changing to Amsoil and the full flow/bypass system was the best thing I have done so far. I can't say exactly how much difference was the oil, and how much was the tuner, but I'm pleased with both mods. YMMV