Synthetic Oil Harmful?

[MrAl]

Hello there,

Any chance that synthetic oil is harmful to a 1998 v70 ?

I ask because this morning i went to the station where i got my oil changed last and asked for the same oil, but he gave me a 'blended' synthetic oil of the same brand name.
Any chance this will harm the gaskets?

I have read that 'maybe' there are places where there is a buildup from the old oil that is preventing a leak, and after the synthetic oil gets in there it loosens it up and so a leak may occur. So in this case it's not the gasket itself, but maybe a leak can occur anyway. Any truth to this?

If there is even the slightest chance of anything going wrong i wont use it. I dont put that many miles on the car each year anyway so it wont matter that much for the wear of the engine parts if i dont use it. But it would be nice to have some definitive answer to this question.


Thanks.

[Rattnalle]

Not in it self no. It'll be better for the engine than a mineral oil but not as good as a proper synthetic. It wont be as likely to burn and cause build up for example.

The "but" is:
It could have stronger cleaning agents and break old dirt loose if your engine is dirty on the inside due to poor oil and/or long intervals previously. It'd have to be really bad for this to cause any leaks though. More likely to happen is that the oil filter will get sightly more clogged up than previously. If it's' really really bad the pickup filter might clog.

The amount of cleaning agents vary between brands for the same specification and kind of oil though. So this might just as well happen if you change brands for the kind of oil you're currently using.

I'd put my bet on that you'll notice no practical difference whatsoever.

[oragex]

As above, no need to worry after reading 'knowledgeable' sites saying the engine will start leaking everywhere. That is 'old saying' that is spread over the internet without practical knowledge. Maybe on some cheap american or old korean cars, but usually won't happen on a Volvo

What may however happen is the engine will start consuming oil for the next 2-3 oil changes. Read the dipstick every week, then every month so you don't have a surprise.

[erikv11]

Over the last few years I've switched all of my cars from to full synthetic (some were running dino). I wouldn't worry about it one bit.

[abscate]

I've changed all my cars to synthetic except my Krebs cycle, which is a sweet ride.

[erikv11]

ehhhh Krebs is like pulling over at the gas station. Glycolysis is where the sweet ride comes in! Just watch the lactate.

[bmdubya1198]

I strictly use synthetic in my V70. It won't harm the engine.
Synthetic oil causing leaks is another myth like the "changing your automatic transmission fluid will ruin it" story. I change my ATF and use synthetic oil and I have yet to experience a problem from either one.

[callahanoffroad]

In my 96 non turbo 850, I ran Mobil 1 for about 100,000 miles. I got the car with 150,000 on it. Only reason I switched back was bc it was eating so much oil that it was impractical to keep filling it with synthetic.

[jtp]

If the car is a turbo you really should be running Full Syn for the sake of the PCV system, especially in colder winter climates.

I wouldn’t stress about the change except it should be stated before the fact that they aren’t going to put the oil you requested in your car, not after it’s done. Not the end of the world but worth at least an apology

[MrAl]

Hi again,

Well thank you all for the replies. I feel a little more comfortable with this now.
Funny, my Hyundai leaked through several gaskets but i ran 1/2 synth for a long time in that thing.

This was only down a little too, so i only had to add about 1/3 quart, which isnt that much considering the rest is the old more natural oil.

I just wonder now that after this quart is gone should i keep using this one, or go back to the old non synth one?

Thanks again, very informative replies.