cveklund

I just switched to synthetic RP 10w30 about 1500 miles ago and this morning the low oil light came on and I was about 1.5-2 qts low. Would this happen from switching to syn from dino? Right after the oil change i hollowed out my cats and had the car tuned, would this have affected this? It has 61500 on the clock.

Thanks,
Chris

ArcticZ28

iTrader: (14)

Switching from dino to completely syn will cause oil leaks b/c the syn is a lot thinner and the gaskets cannot change quickly enough to conform to the immediate change in viscosity. Most people phase in syn over time so it doesn't cause (as bad of) leaks, if any.

cveklund

So what are my options and what should i do?

Patman

Switch to a different synthetic.

BigDaddyZ28

Was your car 'leaking' or 'burning' the oil? I have never had a car 'leak' after switching to synthetic, but my Camaro does seem to drink a little oil when driving around a high rpm's for a while. It does not drink any oil when driving it normally. Were you beating on your car after you did these mod's to it?

DannoWS6

iTrader: (5)

I use RP 10/30, my car drinks about 1.5-2 quarts every 3k. I'm switching to modile 1 0/40.

cveklund

Would a different synthetic solve it, like GC if I could find it? Should I switch to a thicker oil? I live in Houston so it gets pretty hot here. I did have it tuned on the street the week after I switched it. I did not notice it before losing oil. It is not leaking anywhere I can see.

Thanks again,
Chris

~JOSHUA

iTrader: (92)

I'm using Mobil, and I hate how thin it is... like water. Now my engine has a light tap to it, although it's barely noticable over the heavy cam. I plan to change to a thicker oil. GC is out of the question- I can't find any of the good stuff around here. What WEIGHT oil is best? Something that has ***** to it.

RevGTO

iTrader: (12)

My car had 10-40 dino in it when I bought it and used no oil before the 3000k change. Switched to a 0-30 syn and it used quart every 2000k. Switched to GC and it cut that usage in half. If you cant find GC, Mobil 1 0-40 or Castrol Belgium 5-40 have the specs that should help cut down that usage.

~JOSHUA

iTrader: (92)

Thanks. I can find the Belgium. I'll try that and just put my used Mobil stuff in my LT1 car.

BJM

iTrader: (1)

Every one of these threads has people struggling to live with synthetic oil for different reasons. I switched briefly in my LS-1, the cold start noises were much worse. I went back to regular oil.

On my previous car, A Buick GN, every says run synthetic to save the turbo. Those cars leak from everywhere. I switched to regular oil and the leaking went WAY down. Its not a myth, synthetic really does affect leaks.

If it causes you problems, just buy a good regular oil. As long as it meets SAE specs you should be fine.

BigDaddyZ28

Were you by any chance running your car at high rpm's for a while?
LS1's will use some oil if you beat on them a bunch...
Try an experiment out, Drive you car for one week without revving it up a bunch and then see how much oil you used that week.

Hint: When my wife drives my car, it uses NO oil. When I drive it, I can lose a 1/2 quart in an hour or two (with me beating on it the whole time). I have run the Castrol Syntec from the first day it came off the car lot.

Post back what happens if you try this idea out...

Switching to synthetic will not make your car leak, BUT, I have heard that the Mobil One was a thin oil... Maybe switching brands might help some.
Do a search on some of Patman's posts and you will gain a bunch of info about LS1's and oil issues.

LS1powerhouse02

iTrader: (9)

I dont know for sure but i have heard that once you switch to synthetic you most definately should not switch back to regular oil. Apparently it screws up your gaskets........just somethin i have heard

BJM

iTrader: (1)

Not sure what mechanism could cause such a problem. In my case on my Buick, the car had been using synthetic for years before I bought it and I continued that way myself for 2 years. I switched to regular oil and nothing bad happened (the leaks got way better though). That was on an old school engine with cork, fabric, and rope gaskets and seals. The LS1 gaskets are nothing like those.

cveklund

I will let the wife brive it for a while and see what happens. LOL. I think it might have lost most of it when tuning.

Chris

1QuickT-A

iTrader: (12)

I hate synthetic oil and I will not put it in any of my vehicles. I use Castrol 10w40 in my 99 LS1 car and it doesnt use any oil with 112,000 miles on the clock. And I get on it hard quite a few times inbetween oil changes. The most it ever used was about a half quart and that was when I was going to the track 2 times a week and sprayin the dog **** out of it..