Conventional vs Sync | Ford Explorer Forums

  • Register Today It's free!

Conventional vs Sync

Netgamer416

New Member
Joined
July 9, 2009
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
City, State
Elizabethtown, KY
Year, Model & Trim Level
'99 Sport 4.0L V6
I got a '99 Explorer Sport 2dr 4x4 ohv, ( i believe) 4.0L v6 bla bla

a buddy of mine told me that i should not be using Synthetic motor oil, Is this true or not?

I've been using Valvoline High Mileage Full Sync motor oil. is it bad?
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year or try it out for $5 a month.

Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.











I got a '99 Explorer Sport 2dr 4x4 ohv, ( i believe) 4.0L v6 bla bla

a buddy of mine told me that i should not be using Synthetic motor oil, Is this true or not?

I've been using Valvoline High Mileage Full Sync motor oil. is it bad?

Hmm did he say why you shouldn't use it?
 






Oil companies make big claims, don't they? Our Ford engines have a long history lasting a long time and putting up with some abuse(300k miles). As long as you change your oil every 3k miles your good.

Synthetic oils have some special properties that people can debate about.

Less oxidation; Well, the blow by gas usually gets to my oil before it breaks down that way. I can smell fuel smell in the oil. And I have good compression.

I put Mobile 1 synthetic in bouth of mine, only because its $10 more per 5gal at walmart. and for some reason that makes me feel better.

The jury is out on that one. Your opinion is like everyone elses.
 






Sigh..this debate never ends. Just do what you want to do.You'll be happy with whatever you decide because many with agree with your decision!
Posted via Mobile Device
 






Agreed. The other side of the coin- look at the overseas market. Same cars, same engines, same oil- 7500 mile interval... ;)
 






Ive also heard people say DONT switch to synth if you use regular oil, you have todo it "gradually" is this true too?

I just dont see what the hell difference it would make.
 






I don't know I ran valvoline high mileage for along time which is a synthetic blend of oil but the recently switched to mobile 1 high mileage full synthetic. Didn't notice a difference in performance or anything.
 






You have to put oil in these trucks? I thought only gas?

Ya learn something new every day.
 






The "thinking" is that synthetic runs much thinner, and goes around the old worn seals in older vehicles, and starts creating leaks. I don't buy it, I've gone syn on a few vehicles, and they don't leak anymore than a normal oil'd car.
 






The "thinking" is that synthetic runs much thinner, and goes around the old worn seals in older vehicles, and starts creating leaks. I don't buy it, I've gone syn on a few vehicles, and they don't leak anymore than a normal oil'd car.


That there is some funny thinkin! Synthetics hold up better under higher temps and shear forces (think transmission gears) but that's about it. Personally I'd rather change a conventional oil every 3k than a synthetic every 4k, despite what manufacturers claim about 10k oil change intervals and other hoopla, oil gets dirty and once it's saturated with carbon, metal, and all that other tasty stuff your engine produces, it can't protect like fresh oil. Never mind the fact at such long oil change intervals issues like viscosity break down come up which can cause serious problems. If you really want to get into specifics for your vehicle, have an oil analysis done. It costs around 20 bucks and they'll tell you everything you ever wanted to know and more.
 






MAN! When i changed from convention to synthetic blend on my Taurus V6 OHV or whatever.... I not only felt a difference but my temp gauge is now lower. When I say I feel it... it just goes faster.. and I change my oil every 3k give or take a 1k SO! it not like I had nasty oil in there and the changed i felt was the new oil going in. There is definitely a difference as far as performance! Now I just got a X and I have Valvoline High mileage on both that and the Taurus. I haven't driven it much to telll if there is a difference.... and since I done some other work on it I guess I can't be a judge. but once I am done with the transmission troubles imma floor it and see how it does :)
 






Interesting information...

When I bought this 99 Sport, after I got the engine to run I installed Mobil 1 and did it to remove sludge and because I knew I hadn't had any issues in the past..

I pulled one of the valve covers and found lots of sludge in the top end and in the oil pan and decided to let the oil clean the inside of the engine...

So far it has done just that and I still have 60 psi on an engine that has 155 k on it that has little or no maintenance in the years before I bought it..

Run synthetic if you want...It shouldn't hurt your engine...It might even clean it and cool it a little...
 






I've actually tested viscosity, flashpoint, sludging, etc. When it comes down to brass tacks, run what makes you feel good and keep it clean. Use a good filter and keep on your change interval. Changing from conventional to synthetic won't hurt anything. Where do you think synthetic comes from? Magic? No. Different distilling processes cracks the molecules into forms not found in nature. It's all ultimately made from dead dinosaurs. The horror stories you hear about engines sludging or failing prematurely are almost always caused by poor maintenance schedules.
 






There Are Two Sides to Every Issue, and I Agree With Both

I used to use conventional oil but I've since switched to Motorcraft. The MC oil is a conventional/synthetic blend, so it's the best of both worlds. Plus it's designed by Ford and blah blah so it's got to be the right stuff... right?

Either way, it's an easy answer to this issue without actually choosing a side.
 






switched from dino oil to mobil 1 0w-30 and have no problems so far after almost 5k miles.. the oil got really dark fast though (probably the full syn cleaning out some grime) so i'm changing it out in a few days..

stick to motorcraft filters too with your oil changes..
 






I run virgin olive oil in mine. Lots of people say its the best they've ever used, and lots of other people say it'll cause leaks, it costs more for no reason, etc etc. Those are the guys using vegetable oil. I say run whatever makes you happy.

I run Mobil 1 synthetic virgin olive oil in the engine, and Mobil 1 synthetic virgin olive transmission fluid in my trans. 155k, about 2k miles since the change, and i'm not burning or leaking anymore than I was with the cheap oil...
 






dejaveu: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=246312

I would comment but my comments are "simply not true"...no argument required...:(

but now that I know the "real" truth from the expert, I feel much more empowered to make my own decisions...(insert smilie that had a frontal labotamy)

Still running dirty old dino in my 4.0 OHC Explorer and complex driven, superior synth in my 4.6 puffed Mustang. 4 bells and all's well...
 






Back
Top