Synthetic

[Davies0202]

Any things I should worry about before switching to synthetic with 158,000 on a 4.6? I would just keep it running on motor oil till it dies but it’s gotten ridiculous to find I went to 2 Walmart’s and 3 auto part stores and none had it and said they don’t plan on having it in the future so I just ended up with Ford motor craft synthetic 5w-20 and I’ll be switching over. I don’t really have an experience with synthetic at all so anything to worry about? I wasn’t gonna make a new thread as there’s a few old ones but I didn’t want to go off information from 2009 lol

 

[mountaineer2004]

I have a V8 2004 mountaineer with 247k miles. Engine still does not use oil between changes.
First half of its life I used dino oil and changed every 6 months or 5000 miles, whichever came first.
Then I changed to Mobil 1 (full synthetic) and doubled above. So far, so good.

There's doom and gloom all over the internets about replacing dino oil with synthetic,
but I didn't notice any bad effects at all.

 

[1991 sploder]

I use full synthetic in a 2002 4.6 ... 5w20 also... Runs great it's going to clean any sludge in the proscess I doubt you will have any problems.

 

[Davies0202]

I use full synthetic in a 2002 4.6 ... 5w20 also... Runs great it's going to clean any sludge in the proscess I doubt you will have any problems.

Thank you sounds good!

 

[Davies0202]

I have a V8 2004 mountaineer with 247k miles. Engine still does not use oil between changes.
First half of its life I used dino oil and changed every 6 months or 5000 miles, whichever came first.
Then I changed to Mobil 1 (full synthetic) and doubled above. So far, so good.

There's doom and gloom all over the internets about replacing dino oil with synthetic,
but I didn't notice any bad effects at all.

Thank you!

 

[spinnn]

Any things I should worry about before switching to synthetic with 158,000 on a 4.6? I would just keep it running on motor oil till it dies but it’s gotten ridiculous to find I went to 2 Walmart’s and 3 auto part stores and none had it and said they don’t plan on having it in the future so I just ended up with Ford motor craft synthetic 5w-20 and I’ll be switching over. I don’t really have an experience with synthetic at all so anything to worry about? I wasn’t gonna make a new thread as there’s a few old ones but I didn’t want to go off information from 2009 lol

I agree with these cats. Case studies, all put on syn when I bought them:
1. 97 explorer, bought in 08 @ 150k miles. Now has 380k, runs great. Little noisy, but I will let the occasional knock or rattle slide. Also, my DD.
2. 95 ex. Bought in 2015 with 155k. Also runs great at 190k
3. 1990 Isuzu Trooper. Ran out of coolant 45 miles from home on a 80 degree day. Like an ass, I kept driving it, and it got me home. The engine was wasted, but the point is that I actually made it home lol. This was Mobil 15w-50, which I now use religiously.
TL;DR: Go with synthetic.
If you really want to go the extra mile, so to speak, change to synthetic, and then monitor it. Once the oil gets skunky (aka you can't see thru it on the dipstick), change it again, and then you should be good to go for 8000 mile changes. This seems to have worked for me.

 

[1991 sploder]

Yea dirty oil isn't a problem for me if it's synthetic... Kinda scary when u twist of the filter pour out all the oil and it still weighs 10lbs though... Just keep an eye on the oil pressure. I knew a girl that claimed her oil had not been changed in 75000 miles she only checked the level... Driving around on 4 spare tires!

 

[Davies0202]

I agree with these cats. Case studies, all put on syn when I bought them:
1. 97 explorer, bought in 08 @ 150k miles. Now has 380k, runs great. Little noisy, but I will let the occasional knock or rattle slide. Also, my DD.
2. 95 ex. Bought in 2015 with 155k. Also runs great at 190k
3. 1990 Isuzu Trooper. Ran out of coolant 45 miles from home on a 80 degree day. Like an ass, I kept driving it, and it got me home. The engine was wasted, but the point is that I actually made it home lol. This was Mobil 15w-50, which I now use religiously.
TL;DR: Go with synthetic.
If you really want to go the extra mile, so to speak, change to synthetic, and then monitor it. Once the oil gets skunky (aka you can't see thru it on the dipstick), change it again, and then you should be good to go for 8000 mile changes. This seems to have worked for me.

Sounds good I planned on changing it relatively early to flush out all the old but it’s ridiculous how cheap synthetic is compared to motor oil! $17 for 5 quarts vs $55-60 if you can find it for the dino

 

[1991 sploder]

Yea synthetic has really came down. Nobody can find motorcraft conventional, I tried a few days ago thinking I wonder how much cheaper conventional motorcraft was... I couldn't find it.

 

[spinnn]

Sounds good I planned on changing it relatively early to flush out all the old but it’s ridiculous how cheap synthetic is compared to motor oil! $17 for 5 quarts vs $55-60 if you can find it for the dino

Shop around, and use the power of the Frequent Buyer program at an auto parts chain of your choice. I get away with $30-40 oil changes by buying on sale and using speedperks from advance auto.
I just bought a 6-pack of syn trans fluid on amazon, for instance...at advance they want like 12 dollars a quart...I got it for like 7.50/quart. Amazon isn't great for all things, some things are downright astronomical, but every now and again there is a deal to be had.

 

[Mbrooks420]

Walmart’s hard to beat, even with the auto store sales. Spent $31 today for 5 quarts and the filter.

 

[spinnn]

A fun game to play:
At Advance, you get these $5 or $10 off email coupons with a bar code. They can literally be used one at a time in any configuration. So I downloaded the bar codes they send you on to both my GF and my phones. Then go to Advance, each of us would buy a quart of oil, for instance, or a windshield wiper apiece. Use 2 coupons. Go put the stuff in the car, go back in, and buy whatever else, one item each, one coupon each. Keep going back in several times. I have gotten synthetic oil changes for less than $5 this way. It was a bit of a pain in the butt, but why the heck not...so much of my $$ goes to them, it's nice to get a little kickback here and there

 

[Davies0202]

Yea synthetic has really came down. Nobody can find motorcraft conventional, I tried a few days ago thinking I wonder how much cheaper conventional motorcraft was... I couldn't find it.

Yeah I would of settled for really any brand of conventional but they just don’t seem to carry it anymore

Shop around, and use the power of the Frequent Buyer program at an auto parts chain of your choice. I get away with $30-40 oil changes by buying on sale and using speedperks from advance auto.
I just bought a 6-pack of syn trans fluid on amazon, for instance...at advance they want like 12 dollars a quart...I got it for like 7.50/quart. Amazon isn't great for all things, some things are downright astronomical, but every now and again there is a deal to be had.

yup I always try to get the lowest Walmart seems to always be the cheapest for me as we have a super Walmart with everything in it I can get a filter and 6 quarts for about $25-30 most times

 

[kydirtscooter]

Color is not a definitive indicator of oil life remaining. Certain addtivies can darken with heat cycling but still as a package have a high enough TBN to have protective qualities. If you really want to know how much life is in the oil, put a Fumoto drain valve on, capture a sample, and send to Blackstone or Caterpillar. They will give you all kinds of great info, Blackstone tells you appx muleage you can run given the results of various indicators.

To answer original question, switch to synthetic whenever you want. Monitor engine health and oil health via semi annual sampling.

 

[Davies0202]

well I switched over and have absolutely no idea what happened but my car is absolutely shredding oil now dipstick was full drove it 3 times and the level dropped just above the min line and hasn’t rose back up so I have no idea where that quart went. Had 6 quarts so it’s perfectly full (or was) I’m not going to drive it and immediately switch back to conventional and act like it never happened I guess

 

[1991 sploder]

Did u wait a while after driving to check it? Like 10-20 minutes?

 

[Mbrooks420]

You won’t lose a quart of synthetic vs conventional over and appreciable amount of time. If your truck truly used a quart of oil it’s not the synthetic oils fault.

 

[Davies0202]

You won’t lose a quart of synthetic vs conventional over and appreciable amount of time. If your truck truly used a quart of oil it’s not the synthetic oils fault.

I don’t know it was fine before and I beat the crap out of it I should of just stuck with conventional lol. I’m not saying it’s the synthetics fault but sure feels like it lol no issues with oil loss ever until the day i switch over. It leaked oil before so I’m assuming the synthetic just blasted through the current leaks and made them way worse. I figured it would leak more but not this fast, I’m guessing it’s all just sludging up on the outside and that’s why it hasn’t dropped on the ground yet

 

[Davies0202]

Did u wait a while after driving to check it? Like 10-20 minutes?

Yea I did I’m assuming it’s just leaking badly I’m gonna check tomorrow for leaks my valve covers and oil pan gasket have been leaking so I’m assume the synthetic shocked it’s way right on through the present leaks on one of the 3

 

[1991 sploder]

That's a separate issue ur going to have it come back with conventional.... I'm sure.. Since ur ALREADY a quart low why not add a stop leak product.. Changing it noe could make the problem worse...lucas oil makes a solid product but leaking valve covers.... Try and tighten them a little same with the pan... If they were leaking before they will leak again and there's nothing. Worse than a grease fire under the hood. You gotta remove the sludge...