What type of oil for engine with slow leak

[btran005]

My 01 MDX (242,000 mile) has developed a slow leak - a few drops in between drives - that appears to be in the area of the rear main seal. The problem is not serious enough to me to warrant getting it fixed - both due to price and risk of additional issues by taking the transmission/engine apart to fix the seal.



I've been using Mobil 1 synthetic for the past 100K miles. My question for you guys is whether conventional oil would be better than synthetic oil (assume High Mileage oil is used for both types) in helping to slow down this leak. What are the properties of the two types of oil that might warrant one over the other in this situation. If no difference, I would just stick with M1 High Mileage.



I've looked at the forums postings here and cannot find a clear answer - maybe there isn't a clear answer

. Anyways, thanks for your help.

 

[Hollow]

Won't hurt anything trying a HM oil to see if it can help.

For syns your options are Mobil1 HM and Valvoline Maxlife silver bottle.

Several conventional and blends in HM as well. I don't think you can go wrong with any.

 

[CELICA_XX]

I've had good luck with 2 oils:

Pennzoil High Mileage 5W-30 (conventional) and M1 5W-30 HM. Both have stopped leaks for me in an old car.

 

[wemay]

Maxlife (blend or syn)
Defy (blend)
GTX HM (blend)
PNZL HM (conventional)
Havoline HM (conventional)
Mobil Super HM (blend)
Mobil 1 HM (syn)

All work great from what i've read here.

 

[mrsilv04]

Originally Posted By: wemay
All work great from what i've read here.


...just don't expect a miracle.

 

[yvon_la]

Keep the ethanolgas and/or biodiesel away from the the car ,and put synthetic oil one or two notch higher then recommended,(exemple,0w30 would be 5W40 when cold wait for revolution to drop to warm level probably around 700 rpm

 

[wemay]

Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
Originally Posted By: wemay
All work great from what i've read here.


...just don't expect a miracle.


+1

 

[Dallas69]

Maxlife

 

[HTSS_TR]

Try Mobil 1 High Mileage plus add a bottle Liqui Moly Motor Oil Saver LM2020, it is available at NAPA auto parts store for $5.xx.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: Dallas69
Maxlife

This, and as others indicated, a bit of patience with it.

 

[btran005]

Sounds like the general recommendation is to go synthetic. I'm a bit surprised since I've read that synthetic was better at "slipping" through the gaps so may leak more. I think I'll give Mobil 1 HM a try. I'm not expecting miracles but just hoping to slow it down a little.

Thanks everyone.

 

[btran005]

yvon-la:


The recommended oil for the MDX is 5W-30. So you would bump it up to a 10W-30? I live in Houston and we're coming up to summer so this may be a good choice.

 

[yvon_la]

Doesnt mobil make a euro spec 0w40 ?that would probably be the good compromise.mercedes are stickle for detail so if its good for mercedes ?
Ps:by the way ignore the brand ,as long as its certified by mercedes in eu you ll probably end up with what you ll need

 

[Nightmare]

This----ATP AT-205 Re-Seal Stops Leaks, 8 Ounce Bottle

http://www.amazon.com/ATP-AT-205-Re-Seal-Stops-Bottle/dp/B000NVW1LM

 

[sicko]

Originally Posted By: btran005
yvon-la:


The recommended oil for the MDX is 5W-30. So you would bump it up to a 10W-30? I live in Houston and we're coming up to summer so this may be a good choice.



I don't think going from a 5w to a 10w would help. If it's that small of a leak, it's probably not leaking when the oil is cold and thicker, it's probably slowly getting through when the oil is warm. If I was in your situation and was sticking with M1, I'd either go 5w-30 HM, or 0w-40. The 5w-30 HM will have seal conditioners to try and help slow/stop the leak over time, and the 0w-40 would just be a thicker oil at operating temperatures to hopefully slow the leak that way. But I wouldn't go 10w-30 since it's operating temperature is going to be the same as 5w-30, it's just going to be thicker during cold starts.

 

[901Memphis]

Move up to Mobil 1 High Mileage 10w40 for the summer. Any 10w40 high mileage for that matter in Texas summer due to leaks. Defy is another option for 10w40.

Motor oil saver by liqui moly is also good advice!

 

[artificialist]

Originally Posted By: btran005
Sounds like the general recommendation is to go synthetic. I'm a bit surprised since I've read that synthetic was better at "slipping" through the gaps so may leak more. I think I'll give Mobil 1 HM a try. I'm not expecting miracles but just hoping to slow it down a little.

Thanks everyone.

Another really old story about syn. The reason this would happen is that not all synthetics passed the API seal compatibility test, and other times, syn would clean any oil sludge behind the oil seals.

Anyway, M1 high mileage is a good choice.

 

[05LGTLtd]

Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
Move up to Mobil 1 High Mileage 10w40 for the summer. Any 10w40 high mileage for that matter in Texas summer due to leaks. Defy is another option for 10w40.

Motor oil saver by liqui moly is also good advice!


+1

 

[901Memphis]

If you're going to move up a grade one of the best times is to slow drops on the ground. If it's dripping it's time to take action as such I recommended the higher 10w40 high mileage grade.

Also you have a big advantage with your climate being warmer too. A synthetic 10w40 will perform well in texas winter also.

 

[fdcg27]

This is an old Honda V-6, built well before the VCM nonsense.
It didn't need a full syn when new and it doesn't need one now, unless you want to extend drains.
That said, I'd recommend Maxlife SB on maybe 5K drains, or maybe longer given your climate and depending upon how you use the car.
If any oil can help with a RMS leak, Maxlife will.
If you've put 242K on it in thirteen years or so, I'd think that it must get very regular use.
I've always had good experience with Maxlife SB in any application I've used it in.
Both the Lime and the Cherry flavors have worked well for me, although the Lime would be pretty hard to find these days.