When to switch out your synthetic oil.
Synthetic oil is a lubricant consisting of chemical compounds that are artificially made (synthesized). Synthetic lubricants can be manufactured using chemically modified petroleum components rather than whole crude oil, but can also be synthesized from other raw materials.
Synthetic oil is used as a substitute for petroleum-refined oils when operating in extreme temperature.[citation needed]. Aircraft jet engines, for example, require the use of synthetic oils, whereas aircraft piston engines do not.[citation needed] Synthetic oils are also used in metal stamping to provide environmental and other benefits[citation needed] when compared to conventional petroleum and animal-fat based products.
MVS Forum Member eroosa says:
A warning for owners with high mileage autos. I read the various Synthetic oil VS Regular oil posts and decided with the cold upstate NY weather it would be a good idea to use synthetic oil. My 1993 850 has 145K miles on it and has always had regular oil. I drove the Mobil one synthetic oil for exactly 1000 miles and now I have some issues. My car did not leak any oil or have an odor of oil burning on the manifold. After just 1000 miles or synthetic I now have oil dripping on my new driveway and if I drive it for any length of time I get the smell of burning oil which I assume is from the valve cover. I have used synthetic oil in my wifes’ Ford van for two years, but I started using it when the engine was fairly new (10K miles) with no problems. PLEASE take my advice, if you have a higher mileage car that has only had “Dino” oil in it stay with the Dino oil. I really regret using the synthetic and dumped it out at 1K miles. Hopefully this help others who are trying to decide about synthetic oil use.
MVS Forum Member dripcandles replied:
I wondered if your pcv is clean and is there no sign of positive pressure at your dipstick tube? Is it a turbo? If there is oil coming out onto the head could it be the oil cap seal? I hear synth oil can cause leaks because it cleans the engine, and if there is positive crankcase pressure I could see that cleaner seals could leak. I was a bit unsure about what to do with regards to my oil change but I put 2 quarts of Mobil 1 and 4.5 of Castrol GTX into my 98 XC70 with 196kmi about 700 miles ago and I haven’t had any issues. I intend on adding one more quart of synthetic each change until it is full synth, assuming I don’t encounter what you did.
Synth Oil Switch with High Miles?
Last Updated on August 19, 2020
