Valvoline Max Life Full Synthetic or Blend

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I have read a lot of great info on this forum, but this is my first post. I could not really find a specific answer to my question. I have a 2000 Infiniti i30 with a minor real seal leak, more of a “seep.” I don’t want to spend the money to have the seal repaired. From what I have read, a lot of people recommend using Max Life as the first thing to work on a leak. My car is supposed to use 5-30w. I noticed that there is full synthetic Max Life and synthetic blend Max Life. I would think that the seal conditions are the same in both? Would one version do a better job at controlling the seepage, or are they about the same. If they are about the same in that regard, would the full synthetic be “better” overall for the engine? Thanks in advance.
 
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Max Life is a good choice to see if it helps stop the rear seal "seep" and it doesn't matter if you use the syn blend or full syn as I think they contain the amount of seal swell additive.
If the full syn's higher price doesn't deter you then go for that as it uses less volatile syn' base stocks, an inherent advantage of syn oils.
 
Thanks. The Full Syn version is not available in any retail stores near me. I can get it on Amazon, and the price difference between that and the blend in the retail stores is very little. One other question. I live in Los Angeles where it does not get very cold. If the 5-30 does not help, should I try the 10-30? Or, it is better to stay at 5-30 as recommended and use Bar's or something else for the seep.
Thanks
 
Don't add any product claiming to stop leaks to the oil of any decent engine.
If the thing were terminal, yeah you could try an engine oil stop-leak product, but if you value your car, avoid such products.
A little seep from the rear main seal in an older engine is not that rare.
Try Maxlife.
If you can get the full syn for only a little more than the SB, use it.
If the price difference is significant, there's nothing wrong with Maxlife SB.
If the Maxlife does nothing, you can simply live with the leak, as long as it doesn't get much worse.
You could also bite the bullet, pull the tranny and replace the rear main.
I'd try to avoid doing that as well.
 
Originally Posted By: novice123
One other question. I live in Los Angeles where it does not get very cold. If the 5-30 does not help, should I try the 10-30? Or, it is better to stay at 5-30 as recommended and use Bar's or something else for the seep.
Thanks

Stick with the 5W-30. If it doesn't work after a normal OCI try another brand of HM oil like M1 5W-30 HM.
The thing is, if it is just seeping now the HM oil should help.
If it doesn't I'd just live with it particularly if there's no actual dripping on the garage floor when parked.
 
I'd definitely try MaxLife for at least 3 OCIs(get to 10,000 miles or so on one HM oil to monitor changes)...

M1 HM oils are a good 2nd 'attempt'.

By the way, if you ARE going for Max Life Full Synthetic it is cheapest in 5-quart jugs from Wal-Mart's website. I've got one in 5w-30 flavor to use next summer.
 
If you were going to bum up do a 10w40 instead of 30 because it will be thicker at starup and while driving the 10w30 is just thicker at startup. Maxlife is good stuff give it a chance to work and if it doesnt O well you still needed the oil anyways
 
Wow, thanks everyone for the fast and great advice. 5-30 full syn it is. Good tip in getting it from Walmart, but I cannot seem to open their site now.
 
Originally Posted By: 4x4chevydude
If you were going to bum up do a 10w40 instead of 30 because it will be thicker at starup and while driving the 10w30 is just thicker at startup. Maxlife is good stuff give it a chance to work and if it doesnt O well you still needed the oil anyways


Thats not correct. A 10w-30 and a 10w-40 are both the same thickness during start-up, when the engine reaches its operating temprature, the 10w-40 will be thicker than the 10w-30
 
Originally Posted By: volk06
Originally Posted By: 4x4chevydude
If you were going to bum up do a 10w40 instead of 30 because it will be thicker at starup and while driving the 10w30 is just thicker at startup. Maxlife is good stuff give it a chance to work and if it doesnt O well you still needed the oil anyways


Thats not correct. A 10w-30 and a 10w-40 are both the same thickness during start-up, when the engine reaches its operating temprature, the 10w-40 will be thicker than the 10w-30


Actually, that is not the case. The 10w requirements for a 40 weight are different than on a 30-weight. I got caught making this same assumption when comparing 0w30 and 0w40 oils.
 
Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL
Originally Posted By: volk06
Originally Posted By: 4x4chevydude
If you were going to bum up do a 10w40 instead of 30 because it will be thicker at starup and while driving the 10w30 is just thicker at startup. Maxlife is good stuff give it a chance to work and if it doesnt O well you still needed the oil anyways


Thats not correct. A 10w-30 and a 10w-40 are both the same thickness during start-up, when the engine reaches its operating temprature, the 10w-40 will be thicker than the 10w-30


Actually, that is not the case. The 10w requirements for a 40 weight are different than on a 30-weight. I got caught making this same assumption when comparing 0w30 and 0w40 oils.


My mistake.

What are the requirements and how do they differentiate?
 
Originally Posted By: volk06
Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL
Originally Posted By: volk06
Originally Posted By: 4x4chevydude
If you were going to bum up do a 10w40 instead of 30 because it will be thicker at starup and while driving the 10w30 is just thicker at startup. Maxlife is good stuff give it a chance to work and if it doesnt O well you still needed the oil anyways


Thats not correct. A 10w-30 and a 10w-40 are both the same thickness during start-up, when the engine reaches its operating temprature, the 10w-40 will be thicker than the 10w-30


Actually, that is not the case. The 10w requirements for a 40 weight are different than on a 30-weight. I got caught making this same assumption when comparing 0w30 and 0w40 oils.


My mistake.

What are the requirements and how do they differentiate?


I'd have to look them up. But for instance, a 0w40 is required to fall under a certain MRV at -40 to be called a 0w40, whilst a 0w30 requires a lower MRV at the same temperature to be called a 0w30.
 
Max Life full syn only comes in 5-30 and 10-30.
Blend comes in 5-30, 10-30 and 10-40 (not considering the "20s")

I found this on another site:
5W30 versus 10W30
Virtually all new passenger vehicles sold in the U.S. use either 5W30 or 10W30 oil. The difference between the two is that the 5W30 flows better when cold, so if you live in a cold climate or operate your vehicle in a cold climate during the winter months, you should use 5W30 if it is the preferred oil for your vehicle. If you live in a sub-tropical climate and don't operate your vehicle in cold climates, then 10W30 is acceptable as long as the manufacturer specifies that it is permissible to use it.

Is there a disadvantage to using an oil that flows better when cold, i.e. 5W30 versus 10W30?
Sometimes, but usually not. The crux of the issue is this: the bigger the difference between the cold oil viscosity and the hot oil viscosity, the more the volume of viscosity modifiers and the less the volume of base stock. If you are good about following the manufacturer's recommended oil change interval then stick with the 5W30 if that is the preferred oil for your vehicle, even if 10W30 is acceptable in warmer climates. Older cars may specify 10W30 only. This is because they need a little more viscosity when cold to keep a protective film on the cylinder walls. There have been instances where the larger amount of viscosity modifiers that are present in 5W30 have broken down due to excessive heat and have left carbon deposits on the valves, but this is extremely rare. The proper fix would be to reduce the excessive heat, but the workaround was to use an oil with less viscosity modifiers.
 
FYI:

Most synthetic 5w30's use little to no VII's. The base stocks have good enough cold flow properties that they aren't needed.

And newer oils are not your grandfather's multi-grades. The things mentioned above simply don't happen anymore, and the protective film thing is malarky. A certain amount of oil is going to remain whether it is 0w20 or 10w60.
 
Thanks. My commute to work is short (luckily), so I only put on about 10,000/miles per year. Does that mean it might take a year to see some results from a high mileage oil? My car has about 105,000 miles. I wish I had started with high mileage oil sooner.
 
There is very little difference between 10W30 and 5W30 for LA climate, just buy whichever is cheaper.

I would use Maxlife semi-syn for 1-2 5-6k miles OCI's, you should see good result on second use of Maxlife.
 
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
I would use Maxlife semi-syn for 1-2 5-6k miles OCI's, you should see good result on second use of Maxlife.


Sorry, but since I am new to this what does 1-2 5-6k miles mean? Why semi?
Thanks
 
I used both semi syn and full syn Maxlife in LS400, could not see any difference other than I double the OCI with full syn. If you're planning to do 5-6k miles OCI then semi syn is as good as full syn. The advantage of semi syn is you can buy 5-qt jug at Walmart for a lot less than full syn at auto parts store.
 
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