Regular Oil to synthetic
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Launching!
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 203
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From: Eastern, CT
Regular Oil to synthetic SO i hear all these horror stories about people switching from regular oil to synthetic oil having leak problems with LT1s...is this true? Do you have to Flush your engine before switching from regular to synthetic??? Sorry if this is a repost.
TECH Addict
Joined: Jun 2009
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From: Tulsa, OK
A really good synthetic MAY show that you had dirt waiting to become a leak, as they usually have higher detergency and will remove said dirt. It will not "create" a leak in an otherwise well sealed engine.
Flushing is always a good idea, though seldom done. Not from the standpoint of the oils being incompatible, but from a dirt removal perspective.
Flushing is always a good idea, though seldom done. Not from the standpoint of the oils being incompatible, but from a dirt removal perspective.
conventional oil builds up sludge behind the seals, witch actually keep the seals from leaking. You change from conventional to synthetic and the synthetic cleans the sludge and causes leaks. It's actually pretty common. I did this in my jeep and got some bad leaks lol. I had to go back to conventional oil and some motor honey to get it to stop leaking.
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TECH Addict
Joined: Jun 2009
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From: Tulsa, OK
If your seal starts leaking from a switch to synthetic, then the seal was bad to begin with and needs to be replaced. They don't seal because there is sludge behind them, the sludge is masking a bad seal.
OP you will be fine. That problem with leaks surfaces in very high mileage vehicles of all kinds. We deal with it all the time. Generally cars with over 80K that suddenly upgrade to synthetic will leak/seep because the added detergents remove the sludge and if the pan seal is bad, you get a leak. Just stick with a good 30 weight synthetic, 0, 5 or 10W will work and change it regularly.
I switched to rp 10W30 after I got my car, and the only leaks I had was around the drain plug and the oil level sensor (which was bad and broken up), got a new seal for the drain plug and a new sensor, and no more leaks. Also motor has 171k on it.
On The Tree
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 162
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From: Houston, TX
On The Tree
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 162
Likes: 0
From: Houston, TX
