synthetic oil Vs. Castrol GTX high milage

[4.0Rerolpxe]

any idea about that ticking

 

[JDraper]

Ticks could be the lifters bleeding down slightly, rockers being worn, or the pushrods being worn. I believe I've seen threads on here where people have had both of those issues. HOWEVER, I've also heard of trucks ticking and still working fine for many years...

 

[4.0Rerolpxe]

so i can expect something to go out soon? is there a quick fix? can i take preventative measures?

 

[JDraper]

so i can expect something to go out soon? is there a quick fix? can i take preventative measures?

Ummmm...you don't know what's wrong so how can you determine what to do or how long the motor will last? You've been given some suggestions of what *might* be wrong, but you will have to investigate and find out for yourself. We can make suggestions, but it's next to impossible to diagnose a "tick" without hearing it or being with the vehicle....

 

[Mbrooks420]

I wouldn't worry about the lifter tick, if it's not really clammering, and doesn't get worse. My brother had a Caravan that had a really mean lifter tick for the 80k he had the van. it had 180k on it when he got rid of it due to a slipping tranny.

 

[Payneful13]

I added synthetic oil this past change and it almost completely stopped my burn off.

 

[Nocturnall]

Something I did in a cavalier I had that had a lifter tick was put trans fluid in the oil, run it for a few days like that then change the fluid. A senior master tech for Ford told me to do that, trans fluid is made up of a lot of detergents and will help clean gunk out. You could also run seafoam in the oil for a hundred miles or so then do an oil change and see if that helps at all....Something might just be gummed up. If it still persists try isolating it to which side of the motor it's coming from, left/right, front/back.

 

[DeerSlayer]

Just wanted to add my 2c:

I switched to full synthetic 24,000 miles ago and I'm now at 170,000 miles. Before I would loose .5 to 1 quart every 3000 miles (at oil change). Now I'm running 6,000 mile intervals and I am loosing .75-1 quart. No extra leaks also mine did and still oozes around my oil pan, although I've never seen drips on the pavement.

 

[BExplorer]

Old dump

Changed to synthetic a couple of years ago, the truck is now 204,000KM. First it was Castrol 5w30 and it consumed a little more oil. Then a friend of mine told me that he had the same problem with conventional Castrol and none after he switched brand. So I switched to Quaker State synthetic and no more leaks (almost, I put about 1 liter a year since I change my oil only once a year. I do about 10,000KM a year). So from my experience, the better the quality, the better the results. When my Focus warranty expires I want to switch to Amsoil (that I used in the passed).

 

[Anime]

Castrol GTX is good stuff. If you want to continue to use it and do regular oil changes, you should have no problems. The "high mileage" oils just have additives that expand old gaskets and help seal leaks that old engines usually have. Personally I'd rather use the regular stuff and just change out the gasket if theres a leak. As for synthetic, it's good stuff, but whether it's worth it for a particular vehicle for a particular application is up to the owner.

 

[1Byounkin]

Mine uses oil. I think it's some of the value seals that the oil is leaking (burning). I have been using regular 10w-30. My truck has 258k on the engine. Will the high mileage oil help to keep the engine from burning the oil as much?

 

[tribestros]

Nearly EVERY master mechanic I've talked to has told me that changing to synthetic oil after 100K miles will cause oil leaks even if you take good care of it and get good maintenance. If it caused leaks, switch back to Castrol, and it will stop leaking.

 

[aldive]

Nearly EVERY master mechanic I've talked to has told me that changing to synthetic oil after 100K miles will cause oil leaks even if you take good care of it and get good maintenance. If it caused leaks, switch back to Castrol, and it will stop leaking.

Maybe you should change mechanics. That is just NOT true.

 

[wood1]

I switched to full synthetic at 300K, didn't leak before I switched, doesn't leak now. Even if switching caused your engine to leak, which I do not believe it will, you could always switch back to dino if it really bothered you.

 

[tribestros]

double post, sorry

 

[tribestros]

Maybe you should change mechanics. That is just NOT true.

Okay, so you know more than my ASE Master certified uncle, three different master ASE technicians at the auto shop I go to, and advice from the Ford dealership? Do you work for Royal Purple or something?

 

[Mbrooks420]

Do you work for inferior short lived oil?

 

[tribestros]

How does this not make basic sense? Throughout years and 10s of thousands of miles, you only use dino oil. All the grime, sludge, and just the side effects of using dino oil builds up along cracks, lips, etc. Rocks, gravel, etc. hit rear main seal, oil pan, and suddenly the seal is now loose. The dino oil residue blocks it from leaking, however. Switch to synthetic, all those lips and cracks suddenly are exposed as the synethetic circulates, cleaning your system. Essentially. It may be better for your engine, but not your driveway.

 

[Mbrooks420]

So how does long term synthetic use make sense? If you always used synthetic there should be no "sludge" and "grime" build up? By this theory your motor should leak synth from day one.

 

[kifferarri]

back when synthetic came out, yes there was an issue of it causing leaks by not being very kind to seals and gaskets if you changed from regular to syn. that is why you could not go back and forth, syn to reg, reg to syn. NOW that is untrue. the new sythetics of today are far superiour than the ones from back then. syn does NOT cause leaks. most of the time, the "gunk" and "sludge" can sit on the seals, harden, and cause a leak, because the seal cant flex. thats why sometimes an oil cleaner can help stop leaks, its breaks away the sludge from the seal. synthetic does clean better, last longer, and does not thicken in the cold as much. the new syn does not cause leaks period. leaks that "start" when switching to syn where already there. they were not as bad yet due to some of the sludge sitting there blocking the way, and had not gotten hard yet... key word YET. put it this way... you get what you pay for, IMO. would you use the cheapest .99 cent bottles of oil? or the 4.99 castol GTX bottles? (prices not actual, just there to show a point) now, there is nothing wrong with regular oil, and engines can and will live long happy lives. it all depends on what you prefer.

this is just my 2 cents, and just pointing out some things on syn that where not there before.