jermstyle

I recently bought a 2002 SS. The guy I bought it from ordered it in nov-2001 and then received it about 3 months later? So first part of 2002. When I bought the car about two weeks ago it only had 1450 miles on it. The guy said that he took it in every three months to have the oil changed even though the miles weren’t there yet, and I have the receipts for the oil changes. The car now has 2010 miles on it and I would really like to run Mobile1 Synthetic or Royal Purple. Will I have any problems if I change to synthetic now? Because it's been quite a while?

Main reason I ask is because I bought a 99 Ford Ranger XLT V6 in 2001 with 24k miles on it. I changed the oil about a week after I got it with mobile1 synthetic, and the stupid thing has leaked oil from that day on. I know it's a ford and all, but this is ridicules.

thanks for any info.

-Jeremy

Steve Burger

iTrader: (33)

I changed to Mobile 1 on my GTP that I bought used with 22K on it. I have had no issues at all and have 91K on it now. No leaks or oil burning issues.

ALPINE

It's going back from a synthetic that usually causes seals to leak. So if you go Mobil, I have, then stay synthetic.

crewdawg16

Just don't change your mind on synthetic or normail oil, they don't mix well and can cause problems if you routinely switch types.

robertbartsch

Very few oils are trully synthetic; Moble One, Amsoil and Royal Purple, I believe...

Ask Patman#1 (here) to be sure...

Most others that are labled as synthetic oil (Penzoil, Syntec, Quaker State, ValvoLean, etc) are dino based and NOT really synthetic at all....(Boo - false advertising; right!)

...the oil companies went to court against Moble Oil Co. a few years ago ...Mobil wanted to prevent them from calling their chepo dinosoar-based oil synthetic and, unfortunately, Moble lost!

Therefor, buyer beware!

Dope

iTrader: (2)

Uhhh, no problems. It's got like no miles on it! I've converted cars with 70k+ miles on them to synthetic.

Dope

bill99hawk

From what I have read I believe that the new Mobil One is dino based hydrocracked oil and not true sythetic oil like Royal Purple and Amsoil. I remember reading this from Patman last year. I've been an Amsoil consumer thanks to Patman.

jaberwaki

ok now i need to hear a bunch of opinions...
is mobil one the real thing???

Patman

Mobil 1 is definitely still a true synthetic, made with a base of PAO and esters. Royal Purple is strongly rumored to be a blend now, at least their 5w30 and 10w30 street oils. Amsoil is a true synthetic (except for their XL7500 series), so is Redline and German Castrol Syntec 0w30. Schaeffer Oil also sells a full synthetic 5w30. There are also many European full synthetics, like Motul for instance.

Valvoline Synpower is not a true synthetic, same with Quaker State and Pennzoil's synthetic. All the other Castrol Syntec viscosities other than German 0w30 are also using a group 3 hydrocracked base oil.

jermstyle

thanks for all of the info everyone.. One more question though, I have looked at the polls and done a few searches, even though the mobile1 gets the high % on the polls, it sounds like redline or amsol woild be a better oil? What would you recomend? And do you think I should wait for more miles to change to syn? I have 2250 now.

thanks!

Camaro_Zach

iTrader: (19)

i bought a junk yard motor with ~40k miles on it, i put synthetic in it the minute i got the motor, zero probs over here. car runs like a champ.

robertbartsch

I always thought the problems that people report about switching to or from synthetic oil was pure RUMOR...

Patman#1 would know if this is fact or fiction.

robertbartsch

...before I knew that some of the cheaper brands of oil that are labeled "synthetic" are really dino-based hydro-cracked oil, I used them exclusively (Syntec, Quaker State, all that mis-labeled garbage).

...as soon as I relized this fact, I immediately switched to Mobile One oil. ...I'll never go back again!

My motor seems to perform well now and apparently it did not suffer any ill effects....time will tell, however...

BLK02WS6

iTrader: (2)

It is best to break the motor in on dino-oil anyway (several thousand miles), so you are right on time!

I run Royal Purple at the moment, just thought I would try it. Used to run only Amsoil.

Cheatin' Chad

iTrader: (3)

From everything credible that I have read,seen, and heard it is not true that synthetics will cause "Seals" to leak. If anything they will cause them to swell somewhat. The problem some people have with synthetics "causing" leaks is that some synthetics have higher detergent levels and clean out gunk and build up that was blocking up areas that would normally leak.

You can switch back and forth between synth and standard oil and they mix just fine although I do not know why you would.

I personally believe that engines should be broken in with standard oil and so do the people at Redline.I figure why risk it when you have nothing to gain? GM believes engines can be broken in with synthetics. With the current honing techniques (plateau hone) and break in additives this is not as big a deal as it used to be.Whatever trips your trigger I guess.
I use Kendall to break in motors I build.I have had dealings with Falicon crankshafts (motorcycles,ATV,etc) and they will not warranty their cranks if they are not broken in with Kendall oil.They are smart guys that make great products and I'll happily use the information they have gained through years of testing.

I personally use Redline oil in the vehicles I own now.

Patman

The rumors of synthetic causing leaks are holdouts from the early days of Mobil 1, when their base oil was all PAO with no esters. This combined with different gasket materials in older engines, caused severe leaking in many cars. But now they blend in some esters with the PAO in order to keep the seals from shrinking. But people still fear that synthetics will cause them to leak.

StevieZ

iTrader: (3)

That's actually not true. You can even mix both of them in the same oil change if you have to. As a matter of fact, some manufacturers use dino oil to deliver the additive package in a synthetic base oil. I've personally gone from Castrol GTX to RP 41 , back to Castrol GTX and then again back to RP 41 with absolutely no issues and good results with both in analysis.

jfm

iTrader: (4)

Great info here.I just switched my 93 Chevy Silverado from dino to Mobile 1,this truck has 73,000 easy miles on it.

How long should I wait to make the first change being that it went from dino to Mobil 1 ?After the first change how many miles before change,I use to change oil and filter on it every 3,000 miles.

I use Mobil 1 in the SS and change it after 2 track sessions or 3 months.Car has only 13,000 but I bet at least 10 oil and filter changes.I am a firm believer in oil is cheap,motors are expensive.

Patman

On your first oil change with synthetic, if the engine is pretty clean inside, you are safe, and could go to 10k if you wish. I switched my sister's 99 Civic from dino oil to Mobil 1 last year and ran the first interval for 8000 miles! The oil analysis came back showing low wear numbers and the oil was still i n great shape, it could've gone longer.

But generally speaking, it's safer if you run the first interval with synthetic to no more than 5000 miles, then on your second interval you could push it further if you wish. Sometimes if the engine is dirty, some brands of synthetic oil do such a good job cleaning that they could degrade themselves a bit quicker as a result of that cleaning action (they oxidize quicker and their TBN drops faster for instance)

jfm

iTrader: (4)

Thanks Patman,I will let it go 4500/5000 and change it,this will take getting used to because of the 3000 mile dino changes I was used to.