another oil change opinion

After reading all the info I can find on the recommended oil and filters on several sites, I have decided to try the following:
I'm going to change the filter and add a quart of new synthetic oil every 2000 miles. After 15 or 20 thousand miles, I'll do a complete change. Opinions?

Do you mean changing your oil every 2k and each time increasing the synthetic/dino ratio or just adding a quart to the engine every 2k?

Unless you have pretty big leak, adding a quart would over fill you. I'm not sure what the benefit would be to slowly changing the synthetic/dino ratio. Synthetic tends to leak a bit more but that's not due to degrading the seals, it's because the molecules are smaller. I think you'd just be prolonging the leaks that are going to happen because of the change.

tugalo said:

Opinions?

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Dump the dino oil, fill with synthetic, change the filter, done. If you are trying to "wean" your engine (I don't see the logic there) then use synthetic blend on your first oil change, then go full synthetic. I switched over to full synthetic 50K miles ago not a single ill effect. 220K now.

That's my opinion.

synthetic oil does not cause leaks, bad seals/gaskets/o-rings do. if you want to use syn oil, fix the leaks.

should have clarified.....when i change the filter, i'm going to add enough oil to bring it back to the full mark. Logic is; the more frequent filter changes will keep the oil cleaner and the fresh oil will renew the additives....

Kinda like the idea, as oil gets dirty much faster than it's viscosity breaks down. This may be a good way to preserve the motor and reduce the amount of oil you consume. Keep us updated on how it goes.

im no expert...by any means, but what is the point of changing to synthetic after running conventional? i mean...if you are going to run an engine from the start with synthetic then go for it by all means...but randomly switch in the middle of the life of the engine doesnt sound too effective to me. am i wrong?

i have had synthetic oil in all my jeeps since i've owned them.

He's trying to go to a long change interval of 20K miles, just by changing the filter and adding what was in the filter. I might suggest you go to the bigger mustang filter, thats a true quart filter. I do this over the winter when it's just toodamcold to do a full oil change, so I go about 7-8000mi that way.

ParadiseXJ said:

Dump the dino oil, fill with synthetic, change the filter, done. If you are trying to "wean" your engine (I don't see the logic there) then use synthetic blend on your first oil change, then go full synthetic. I switched over to full synthetic 50K miles ago not a single ill effect. 220K now.

That's my opinion.

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If you're going to do it this way, keep a close eye on the condition of the oil through out the first 2K or 3K (however often you go between changes). If you're engine has a lot of crud built up inside, the oil will get dark very quickly, as the snythetic is cleaning things out. If this happens, change the filter, top off the oil, and keep on going till you hit 3K. After re-reading your posts, it looks like that's what you have in mind.

When I switched mine over using the method above, and the oil got dark a lot sooner than normal due to it cleaning everything out. I ended up just flat out changing the oil and filter early for the first couple of runs, but after that went back to the normal 3K intervals.

About 3 years and 40K since the switch, and aside from a couple of the normal oil leaks (oil filter adaptor and valve cover gasket), no ill side effects.

I change the synthetic oil every 5K. I use a good Purolator filter.

The logic of changing to synthetic at 170K was "it's a high mileage motor and synthetic lubricates better and cleans crap out"

Like I said 50K ago I switched over at the behest of a trusted mechanic. Ain't done me wrong since.

I still don't understand the OP's idea. Just change it and be done with it.

...but then opinions are like a**holes, everyone's got one.

tugalo said:

After reading all the info I can find on the recommended oil and filters on several sites, I have decided to try the following:
I'm going to change the filter and add a quart of new synthetic oil every 2000 miles. After 15 or 20 thousand miles, I'll do a complete change. Opinions?

Click to expand...

thats almost exactly what royal purple recommends, but only up to a 12k oil change interval

Royal Purple recommends following the manufacturer’s maintenance intervals while the vehicle is under factory warranty. In clean engines that are no longer under warranty, oil change intervals may be extended up to every 12,000 miles or annually, whichever comes first. Oil filter changes should be done as recommended by the filter's manufacturer and oil should be topped off as needed.

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definitely use the ford 1qt filter if you do this, IMO a great way to save a few bucks if you do mostly highway driving, but not so hot if you do a lot of stop and go/dusty conditions/towing/etc