start using synthetics?

Is 50K too late to change over to say amsoil or mobil 1? any suggestions?
I used Mobil 1 in my 93 since 23K and it runs as strong as ever with over 200K at present.
Thanks

sbxj said:

Is 50K too late to change over to say amsoil or mobil 1?

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i dont think so... but my personal experience with changing to synthetics on a well used engine have givven me mixed feelings on doing it again... i changed a ford 2.5L with over 100K on it over to mobil 1 and it ran AWESOME.. increase in mileage, ran smoother and quieter.. sounds like a commercial but it was that noticable.. but conversely i had a new 99 TJ with a 2.5L and at 7500 miles i went with Castrol synthetic and the rear main started pissing within only a few days. back to petroleum and it stopped.. went to Mobil1 and it started again...
i like synthetics and run them in everything but tranys and engines right now... my next new engine will be broken in with royal purple....

50k shouldn't be a problem. I switched over to Mobil1 at about 60k when I got the Jeep. The only 'problem' that I had was that the oil got dirty real fast for the first few changes due to the synthetic degunkifying the inside of the engine. I changed it at 2500 - 3k intervals until it started staying cleaner-looking longer. I'm now at 102k, changing at 5-6k intervals and the engine couldn't be happier.

If you can afford it, then go for it!

My $.02

Chad

What engine oil and filter do you recommend? I was thinking of Mobil 1, and Mobil 1 filters. Just curious. I normally run Havoline 10W-30, with a fram filter. Any Advice, thanks.

Silent

I started using Mobil 1 at 77k in my 98 sport. With a mobil 1 filter.
Great oil pressure and solid protection. No leaks at all.
I go 5000 miles and just change the filter, then do a complete oil and filter change at 10,000 miles. Synthetic oils pretty much do not break down the way conventional ones do, therefore you can go much longer between changes.

I run Amsoil 5w40 with Amsoil filter. I switched over at 65k with no problems.

I wouldn't run fram filters. I have personally seen them fail.

My father used to work for a Mercedes Benz dealership and the garage guys convinced him to switch to Mobile 1. He has a Toyota Avalon which had 90,000 miles on it at the time. I bought my '95 with 120,000, and I use Mobile 1 with no problems. The new Mobile 1 has been reformulated so that it can be used on older cars that have only had conventional oil in them before. You are perfectly safe to use Mobile 1. I and highly recommend it. My whole Jeep is full synthetic now. Manual tranny, transfer case, differentials, and motor. It does make a difference. But I only use mine as a daily driver, and the occational Nor' easter. ; )

I bought my 95 XJ country with 109,000 miles on it and I needed to change my valve cover gasket. I changed it and it was pretty gunked up in there. I changed to MOBIL 1. I just recently changed my head gasket and my engine was sparkling clean on the inside. This was about 20,000 miles later.

98JeepXJ said:

50k shouldn't be a problem. I switched over to Mobil1 at about 60k when I got the Jeep. The only 'problem' that I had was that the oil got dirty real fast for the first few changes due to the synthetic degunkifying the inside of the engine. I changed it at 2500 - 3k intervals until it started staying cleaner-looking longer. I'm now at 102k, changing at 5-6k intervals and the engine couldn't be happier.

If you can afford it, then go for it!

My $.02

Chad

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I just switched my 99 with 118k over to Valvoline MaxLife Synthetic. I was wondering if i should up the change interval for the first few changes as well. Id love to change it every 2500 miles for the first few changes, but that oil i bought is like $5 a quart.

Im using a Purolator PureOne filter btw

99 with 85k on it, switched to mobil 1 and an F-150 pureone filter. No problems whatsoever. Changed it over the end of last summer.

92 with 180,000 just switched to 5w-30 Red Line Oil (got it realllllly cheap)

and no problems yet.
also switched the trans and t-case...

no problems there either...

drove it from CA to Nebraska about a month ago - checking level along the way, and maintained constant level.
also no leakage

call up the guys at redline oil - they will give you accureate info.

good luck

I've switched over a number of cars to Mobil1...at least 3 were over the 100K mark....never had an issue with leakage or oil usage. I used to use the Mobil1 filter...presently use the Purolator PureOne filters.

Silent said:

What engine oil and filter do you recommend? I was thinking of Mobil 1, and Mobil 1 filters. Just curious. I normally run Havoline 10W-30, with a fram filter. Any Advice, thanks.

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Advice? Dump the Fram filters. They are the worst filter available. Go with Purolator, Wix, or Mobil-1.

Mobil-1 is good oil if they have the weight you want to run. I use Castrol full synthetic because they have a 5W50 and I can run that all year without being concerned that my oil is too thick for quick oiling on very cold mornings.

Ditto on the Fram filters, even the Double guard and Tough guard ones are poorly put together. From what I've been reading as of lately, the best bang-for-the-buck oil filter is the Purolator PureOne, it's said to filter better than the Mobil1 filter at half the cost. The only thing is, it doesn't have the synthetic media that the Mobil1 does.

Mobil1 is considered to be about the best (widely available) synthetic oil on the market. Amsoil is supposed to be better but can only be had at special retailers.

FWIW, I use Mobil1 10W30(winter) and 15W50(summer) with a Purolator PureOne filter. I have my oil analyzed at each change and the wear numbers are always good.

The used oil analysis results on www.bobistheoilguy.com show pretty consistently that these 4.0 engines like at least a heavy 30, if not a 40. Last summer I ran a nearly 10k mile interval with Amsoil AFL 5w-40 and an Amsoil SDF-15 filter. Good stuff for sure.

http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=3&t=002157

I think intervals this long are risky if the engine isn't really clean first. I used Auto-Rx.

This winter I am running Castrol Syntec 0w-30, a very heavy 30 weight with great cold start. The UOA should be on BITOG sometime this spring.

For next summer I recently purchased 6 quarts of the Mobil 1 T&SUV 5w-40.

I have cut apart Napa Gold (Wix) , Amsoil (Hastings), and Motocraft (Champion Labs) oil filters and I really like them all. I will cut apart the current M1-301 once it's done, but I've heard they are really good. The Motorcraft FL-1A is a good inexpensive filter, made I think by the same folks that make the M1 (Champion Labs).

sbxj said:

Is 50K too late to change over to say amsoil or mobil 1?

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Good Lord, I hope not!

I changed my 2000 over to synthetics last fall, at 54k. I'm ashamed to say it, but aside from looking at the dipstick once, I haven't paid any attention to it since! I'm edging up on 57k now, and will change the filter over the weekend. Will likely change the oil at 60k, and hope to get a little longer intervals after that (if the oil still looks clean).

I bought my Mobil1 at Wal*Mart in the 5-quart jug for $20... I figure $4/qt for synthetic with 6k changes... versus $1.79/qt for regular with 3k changes is pretty close to even... with much better oil. Back when regular oil was 99-cents on most occasions, the mathematics were different!

Den

Some Vehicles come with synthetic from the first turn of the motor. Its not true that you cant break in an engine with synthetic. The thing is is that if you run with Conventional Oil for more than lets say 20 000 kms on any engine, then you will have Carbon and deposits built up in the motor that the synthetic will disturb. So if you make the switch to say Amsoil [the best] then you should do something like this.

1. Drain conventional oil then install Synthetic with new oil filter. Run engine for 2500 kms then drain.

2. Install new synthetic oil with new oil filter then run engine for 4000 kms then before draining run an engine cleaner [ Amsoil ] and then flush out with oil.

3. Install Synthetic oil with a very good oil filter [ now that engine is clean ] and with [ Amsoil ] you can run the oil up to 50 000 KMs if you change the filter every 15 000 kms. With other oil then I would only run the synthetic for 20 000 changing the oil filter at 10 000.

If you dont do it right and put it in the motor you could end up with an engine that burns oil, leaks, and is louder do to the stuff getting into the valves ETC

What is Auto-Rx? Never heard of it? Also, who and why would you want to analyze your oil after you change it??

Silent said:

What is Auto-Rx? Never heard of it? Also, who and why would you want to analyze your oil after you change it??

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An analysis of your used oil will tell you ALOT about what is happening in your engine, what's wearing, if theres any amount of contaminants in the oil (gas, antifreeze, etc), what general condition the oil is in, and if you could be running longer change intervals than what you are. It's also good for spotting little problems before they become big problems. It's well worth the $20 in my opinion, if you plan on keeping the engine/vehicle for a long time.

My $.02

Chad

Discussions about synthetic oil is always an interesting thread whether on a Toyota or John Deere garden tractor forum. They can get quite heated. I would suggest visiting the MobilOil site and reading the faq section.

http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/MotorOil/Synthetics/Synthetic_Oils_FAQs.aspx

Back up from there and get some soild information about the product. I have a friend at work who is a casual Amsoil dealer and after reading a few sites that tested Amsoil against Mobil1 is coming around to Mobil1. Mobil1 won in some areas while Amsoil outperformed in others but when comparing cost and availability he's thinking about running his fleet on Mobil1. He's also not a big fan of their marketing schemes and thinks they would benefit from mass marketing in local stores. He and I both agree that a lot of oil is wasted by 3000 mile intervals. Everyone's situation is different whether it be driving habits, type of commute, initial engine condition, etc.

Do a Google search on "Toyota engine sludging problem". We all know what a great engine they make but they made a design change causing a certain area of the oil passages to get too hot and it ends up coking the oil and sludging in a very short time.....they state that you need not worry if running synthetic.

Sometimes it's best to learn from your own experience. I've been using it since 1980 in my good cars using extended change intervals and have never had any type of engine failure. If I like a car I take them into the high 100K or 200K mileage range. I also commute 600 miles per week so my cars need to be reliable. I don't run it in my Triumph but tolerances were far greater in those days so it would probably be a waste of money in that vehicle.

Try it...you'll like it. I see no disadvantage to using it. Like dino oils...these oils have also improved since their inception.

One negative about extended oil changes is that you might not find yourself under the vehicle as much and could ignore lube jobs, steering, suspension, etc inspection unless disciplined.