Synthetic with high milage?

[BrooklynBay]

Watch the Quick Lube or Jiffy Lube places to make sure that they replace the filter. They might just replace the oil.

 

[Glen4X4]

I do the same...it maybe less expensive by not changing the oil but then I know that there is fresh oil in it.

 

[Paraphoe]

Watch the Quick Lube or Jiffy Lube places to make sure that they replace the filter. They might just replace the oil.

They might replace nothing at all, too. Damn thieves.

 

[Nocturnall]

Changing oil and filter together makes it much less worth running synth. If you want to change your oil and filter together then your just wasting good oil. If your changing every 3k miles. Aldive has shown, at least with amsoil, that it's still good to use long after 3k miles.

One of my friends who works for Ford as a senior master tech was telling me that the filters actually only work for 1500 miles then they're just bypassed because they are so plugged. Don't know if there is much truth to this or not though.

 

[Glen4X4]

not really because the synthetic still has those additives. I rather be safe than sorry even if it is a "waste of money and oil".

 

[Donner]

Understood...

The 3k rule must have been from back in the day... I wouldn't think about changing my oil until 5k (to 6k).

 

[Nocturnall]

The 3k rule is still in effect even if you don't follow it.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=199764&highlight=service+schedule

Maintenance schedule posted by Sleb. Yea it says you can change it at 5k miles but that is the MAXIMUM you want to wait. So your changing your oil every 5k miles even though you run synth to be safe and yet you wait till you've hit the maximum suggest interval to change it.

Running synthetics longer then 3,000 miles is a safe option, there isn't any risk in running it longer. While yes it is still better to run synth then dino oil because it does lube better, doesn't gel up in cold and all the other reasons your also ignoring one of the biggest advantages of it which is running it longer then 3 - 5k miles which it is designed to do. Changing it all every 3 - 5k miles is your own choice but it is safe to run synth for much longer then 5k miles.

 

[FexplorerV8]

My Lincoln Ls calls for Motorcraft 5w20 synthetic blend and it self sets to 5000 miles after an oil change, and whatever the tech said about oil filters being plugged after 1500 is not true, I have opened filters at 5k and they look dirty but nowhere near plugged.

Oil filters come with a by-pass that will allow flow of oil to the engine if the filter becomes clogged why? Because dirty oil is better than no oil,

Quality oil filters come with a one way check valve that won’t allow the dirt to go back into the crank case and help prevent dry start ups.

Keep in mind that there are plenty of things to look for when buying and oil filter:

Thread size and pitch
Gasket location
*Presence of anti-drain back valve*
Micron rating
Beta ratio to efficiency rating

Most of the time people just buy whatever is available or cheaper, but what people don’t realize is when you buy an cheap oil filter the only thing you are matching is the thread and the seal, when replacing an oil filter, use the one called for by the manufacturer,

And most important of all change your oil and filter at whatever intervals have been set by the manufacturer.

 

[Nocturnall]

Blend isn't the same as full synth and 5,000k is the max interval according to the thread posted by sleb.

 

[Donner]

Both of ours...

The Ex and the speed demon say 5k... In fact, with the Mrs., her engine light flashes until she gets the interval service done... they change both oil and filter for the demon, and for the Ex. I don't disagree with the charts, but I gotta go by the book.

 

[SAN2CCI]

I'll tell ya guys.........I've done the bout of how often to change syn oil on the Vett forum. I am a firm believer in frequent oil changes, syn or not. The oil in my Vett starts to darken at about 2000 miles. I go to 2500-3000 & out it comes. Here is my theory, nothing good can come from leaving your oil in longer but bad may come. Nothing bad will come from changing your oil very often, only good. There are guys on the Vett forum going 8,000 to 10,000 between changes...........insane I say! Oil is the life blood of your vehicle, why leave it in for as long as humanly possible?

Just my opinion!!

 

[shortstack]

why take good oil out when u know it still has 10k more miles to go. all you need to do is change the filter every 3K. your just throwing your money away

on my old 85 buick i used to go ever 5k with regular cheapy oil and regular purolator filter. and it the oil didn't even have a slight gritty feelling.

 

[aldive]

To all of you short mileage OCI guys ....

Have you ever performed a UOA on the your oil? Or do you just assume that since it is darker, it is bad?

My last OCI was 30,625, and UOA deemed the oil still good. http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=200647&highlight=30k

 

[SAN2CCI]

I've seen all the oil reports & analysis' on oil pulled out at longer intervals & it was deemed still good. I just feel better changing it sooner than later! Anyway, that's me! I worked with a guy who knew how often I changed my oil, he always wanted me to give him the used oil. He would use in his truck!!

 

[gijoecam]

Trying not to get too-far off-topic....

Here's the way I look at it: If I change my oil every 3000 miles, I'm changing it 33 times per 100,000 miles. If the average cost of oil and a filter is $15, I'm spending $500 on oil and filters per 100,000 miles. Now, if I extend that to 5000 mile intervals, I'm spending $300 per 100k. Is there a savings? Sure... about 40%. However, in real terms, it's $200 saved. If I get ZERO extra life out of the motor by changing the oil more frequently, and the vehicle runs 500,000 miles, I will have spent $1000 extra over the life of the vehicle. That's pennies a day... Cheap insurance in my book, and here's why:

Lets say that (hypothetically-speaking) there is a correlation between oil change frequency and engine life. Say (I'm making these numbers up) that with 5000 mile changes, the engine is good for 300,000 miles, but with 3000 mile intervals, it's good for 500,000 miles (extreme numbers). That means that in order to get the extended life, I spent an extra $1600 over the life of the vehicle. We've all seen that an engine replacement can total that much or more, so I consider the $1600 a cheap investment in my engine's future.

What's that all got to do with synthetic versus dino? You could make a similar argument there... I won't bother... you get the point.

So, getting back to the original question: Yes, you can safely switch back with no problem. As to whether or not it's a worthwhile investment, that's debatable to the end of time. Ask that question in a hundred different forums and you'll get 1000 different opinions. Engines don't particularly care what brand or type of oil you run through them. Pick a flavor of oil and filter you like, change them regularly, and the engine will easily out-last the rest of the vehicle.

(To illustrate that, look at police cars... they regularly go 300K+ before being sold in running condition. They do nothing more than change the oil and filters at regular maintenance intervals per Ford recommendations. That's good enough for me!)

 

[SAN2CCI]

I too have been debateing switching to M1. I use it in my other 2 vehicles. My truck does'nt see any hard work to speak of, I pull my 18' boat & trailer, about 3000 lbs, about 4 miles each way to & from the lake in 115 degree heat in summer. Still though, I would feel better protected!!

 

[Glen4X4]

I myself really like the Valvoline High Mileage Synthetic 5W-30 its about $4.50 a quart I think.

 

[Redtrac01]

I've always done 5k oil changes with dino, except for the one time I ran Amsoil to 13K. I just had a UOA on my truck with 120K miles, and about 3,000 miles on the dino oil. The report says it's just fine, and there isn't a lot of junk in it. I only put about 5K per year now that this isn't my DD. I'm going to put the Valvoline full synthetic high mileage in with some dino(because I have part of a case to use up) and a quality filter at the next oil change. The HM oils have a seal conditioner to help keep older seals from leaking. The color of the oil is irrelevant to it's performance. So long as it still has enough additives and not a lot of other junk (water, anti-freeze, fuel, soot), it's still going to work.

My DD will get the Mobil 1 EP, guaranteed for 15K (one year of driving), and a Mobil 1 EP filter.

 

[aldive]

I've always done 5k oil changes with dino, except for the one time I ran Amsoil to 13K. I just had a UOA on my truck with 120K miles, and about 3,000 miles on the dino oil. The report says it's just fine, and there isn't a lot of junk in it. I only put about 5K per year now that this isn't my DD. I'm going to put the Valvoline full synthetic high mileage in with some dino(because I have part of a case to use up) and a quality filter at the next oil change. The HM oils have a seal conditioner to help keep older seals from leaking. The color of the oil is irrelevant to it's performance. So long as it still has enough additives and not a lot of other junk (water, anti-freeze, fuel, soot), it's still going to work.

My DD will get the Mobil 1 EP, guaranteed for 15K (one year of driving), and a Mobil 1 EP filter.

Post that UOA report please.

 

[Glen4X4]

When you say "quality oil filter" what brand of oil filter do you use? still the stock FL1A Motorcraft or another brand?