[1911copper]

I've heard for some time from "some" folks that you shouldn't run synthetics like Mobil One in an older engine, as the molecules are thinner than regular oil and it may cause an older motor to start leaking. Any truth to this, or is it just an old wive's tale?

The engine in my '95 is drier than a popcorn fart, and I don't want to do anything to louse that up.

I had been running Mobile One exclusively in my '89, but that was a fresh engine.


Also, what's your opinion on the engine treatments like Slick 50? A friend once tried to sell me on another treatment (can't remember which one) that he claimed had much smaller molecules. He claimed that Slick 50's active agents were all caught in the filter almost immediately as it cycled through, but I know a friend of mine through it in an old 390 truck engine and the dang thing started idling faster!

BTW: When I put my flowmasters on the '95, it started running cooler. That's some serious flow!

 

[Andy351]

BTW: When I put my flowmasters on the '95, it started running cooler. That's some serious flow!

that is part of the point to running a quality exhaust.

when i ran synthetic blend (full synthetic is too expensive) i noticed that my engine ate a lot more oil.

i have also heard that if you use slick 50, it hardens the cylinder walls or something and you can't rebuild the engine.:shrug

 

[Pony-boy]

Well fargin A,

I started using S blend 2 changes ago
and I found that I was loosing oil.

Now I know.
Time for an oil change

 

[Broncobob]

Any truth to going from synthetic back to regular oils as being bad? I heard that long time ago.

I am running valvoline durablend and want to go to maxlife.

 

[Blaze]

He claimed that Slick 50's active agents were all caught in the filter almost immediately as it cycled through

That would seem to me to be some mighty big molecules...:shrug

 

[ValkariaKid]

I don't see whatthe big deal about oil is here.
Everybody seems to wreck their broncos in a short time anyway so why not just put the cheapest shit you can find, and save all the $$ you would've spent on synthetic oil, and put it towards your next victim.

Synthetic oil usually has a lot of detergents that break down all the crap inside your engine that's helping it seal up in the first place. It also doesn't get absorbed into the gasket material itself that causes the gaskets to swell, making them seal better.

If you're really bent up on running synthetic oil then I'd only do it if the engine is somewhat new (under 30,000 miles).

Synthetic oil doesn't affect the way you maintain your truck. They say you can run synthetic oil for 5-10k miles without changing it to justify the higher cost, but the truth is that yeah the oil won't break down as fast as dino oil will, but the filter still needs to be changed at 3k intervals regardless of the oil.

A lot of synthetic oil manufacturers sell their own oil filters to be used with their oils, but what they don't tell you is that their filters pass larger particles through them to prevent them from clogging up after the extended time between changes.

I know.. your bronco is your "baby" , and you only want the "best" for it, but in reality the "best" thing for it is to just stop beating the living shit out of it, and change your damn oil!
(well... an occasional shit beating is good, and helps clean all the carbon out of the combustion chambers, and that's part of good maintenance)

***Flame suit ON! ***

-Paul

 

[1911copper]

I don't see whatthe big deal about oil is here.
Everybody seems to wreck their broncos in a short time anyway so why not just put the cheapest shit you can find, and save all the $$ you would've spent on synthetic oil, and put it towards your next victim.

Actually, though I might ocassionally go off road, steep climbing is really what I like to do, and the roughest treatment I put my truck through. Other than that I try to care for it well.

Synthetic oil doesn't affect the way you maintain your truck. They say you can run synthetic oil for 5-10k miles without changing it to justify the higher cost, but the truth is that yeah the oil won't break down as fast as dino oil will, but the filter still needs to be changed at 3k intervals regardless of the oil.

A lot of synthetic oil manufacturers sell their own oil filters to be used with their oils, but what they don't tell you is that their filters pass larger particles through them to prevent them from clogging up after the extended time between changes.

Actually, on my '89 with the fresh engine, I still changed the oil every 3,000 miles, even though I was using Mobile 1. I figured that though the oil would probably still lube, it would still get dirty. So, when I say I used synthetic, I was still changing often.

 

[81Bronk36]

BTW: When I put my flowmasters on the '95, it started running cooler. That's some serious flow!

thats in the design of the flowmaster, they scavenge heat excellently. Thats why on the instructions they warn you about idling in dry fields... (tall grass)

 

[Max]

Well what Valkaria Kid is partly true. What he doesn't mention is that some oils are designed to break down around 3,000 miles, if you're using a synthetic that still recommends oil changes for every 3k miles then chances are that synthetic is a fraud. About the filter issue...you also have to do your research on the filters because if you use a cheap filter with a long drain synthetic you're screwed. Fram filters are pretty crappy and Pennzoil puts their name on Fram filters and paints them yellow...so those two companies right there lose their reputation to me if their standards are that low. AMSOIL makes a By-Pass filter setup which uses two filters to filter out the junk. The kit for this setup is a bit pricey but it assures you that you have quality filtration for the 7500+ miles you're running on one oil change. If you're changing synthetic oil every 3K miles then you're only screwing yourself in the long run.

As far as age of a vehicle...My '94 351W had 83K previous miles on it before I switched to synthetic which was Valvoline Synpower then I moved to AMSOIL then to Motorcraft synthetic now I'm currently running Royal Purple with 136K on my truck. My truck's engine has never leaked a drop with the exception of the inconvenient situation I was in where conventional oil was put in instead of synthetic...for about 6K miles oil was leaking out of the oil filter recepticle. Then once synthetic was being run in the engine again, about 4K miles later the leaking stopped. I drive 30K miles a year and I'm not changing my oil 10 times a year...that's a joke.

 

[94_chickentaco]

AT 130k miles i switched from plain old valvoline to Mobil 1.

Truck runs strong, never has leaked, still dont leak.

Yes, once you go synthetic I would not recommend going back to oil.

 

[1911copper]

Okay, but no one's addressed the issue of engine "treatment" additives like Slick 50. What is your opinion of them?

 

[Foghorn]

I've always heard their junk.........But some folks like'em...I really think it's just personel opinion---Fog

 

[Davids78Bronco]

stay away from anything that contains PTFE in it's products. That crap will just clog your filters. I've enver put much faith in slick 50, prolong, or any of those other snake oils

 

[Max]

Okay, but no one's addressed the issue of engine "treatment" additives like Slick 50. What is your opinion of them?

Sorry I didn't address this earlier. Basically any decent motor oil will contain the necessary additives in it to do the lubrication job it needs to do. If you buy Mobil 1, then I highly doubt you need Slick 50 to back it up, in fact I'm almost sure of it. Slick 50 is a part of the Pennzoil-Quaker State family of products...a pretty crappy one at that. Jiffy Lube is owned by PQS and therefore will push 3K mile interval oil changes...so they can sell more Pennzoil. And if Pennzoil/Quaker State are crappy oils then they have an extra additive for you to buy and spend more money on, keeping them in business. All I'm trying to say is that if you're using a high quality oil, then there is no need for any other additives to pour in there, this story may be different though if you're running your vehicle on cheap Wal-Mart Supertec oil.

 

[Broncomx]

how about restore engine treatment??

 

[Max]

how about restore engine treatment??

I've heard from some that it worked for them and others that it didn't do anything. Results will vary when you're dealing with another additive poured into your crankcase. I would make sure that the oil you're currently running doesn't strongly advise against additional additives or not.

Concerning Synthetic blends for the folks that mentioned they're running it in the above posts, blends are a waste of money. Their performance does not justify the cost and they have basically the same performance properties of conventional oil of lesser cost. Either go back to conventional or take the plunge to full synthetics...if you know your engine can handle it.

 

[1911copper]

In light of this:

As far as age of a vehicle...My '94 351W had 83K previous miles on it before I switched to synthetic which was Valvoline Synpower then I moved to AMSOIL then to Motorcraft synthetic now I'm currently running Royal Purple with 136K on my truck. My truck's engine has never leaked a drop with the exception of the inconvenient situation I was in where conventional oil was put in instead of synthetic...for about 6K miles oil was leaking out of the oil filter recepticle. Then once synthetic was being run in the engine again, about 4K miles later the leaking stopped.

What do you mean by this:

Either go back to conventional or take the plunge to full synthetics...if you know your engine can handle it.

??

That's the main thrust of why I started this thread. Should I be okay with going to Mobile One in this high mileage engine?

 

[Max]

In light of this:






What do you mean by this:


??

That's the main thrust of why I started this thread. Should I be okay with going to Mobile One in this high mileage engine?

What I meant in the second quote you took from me was for the people that are currently buying synthetic blends, because they're nothing but a waste of money.

And with a high mileage engine that wasn't run on anything "good" previously you will have build up around seals and what not. The detergents in synthetics will usually eat away at the crustification found in your engine. When the synthetic takes away the crustification...sometimes leaks will develop because the build up was blocking a possible leak in the gasket...sometimes the synthetic will take to the gaskets and swell them up and keep them lubricated. That's a risk of running synthetic in a high mileage vehicle, if you do decide to go with synthetic don't skimp on the filter. Get a good quality oil filter to help filter out all the crap the synthetic is cleaning out.

 

[Broncobob]

So the Valvoline Synpower (Synthetic Blend) is a waste of my money. It is not better than regular oils?

Why?

 

[Max]

So the Valvoline Synpower (Synthetic Blend) is a waste of my money. It is not better than regular oils?

Why?

1.) Valvoline Synpower is Valvoline's full synthetic motor which is actually a darn good synthetic for being available off the shelf.

2.) Valvoline's Synthetic blend is called DuraBlend.

3.) I would like to know what makes you think your synthetic blend worth the extra money you pay? Basically I want to know why you're running it...surely there must be some reason to justify the money being spent?