Hello all. Recently, I pulled the engine from my 1991 Ford Explorer (4.0L OHV, 227,400 miles) and replaced a bunch of seals due to severe leaking. I had originally posted here about that and while the leak was manageable, it quickly gave way and started going at a rate of 1.5 quarts in 400 miles. The front & rear crankshaft seals got done, oil pan, timing cover and more. I tossed in some 5W-30 SuperTech conventional and at 100 miles in, I don't see any issues.
Long story short, I'll probably dump out the SuperTech in the near future and go full synthetic 5W-30. I'm just not sure which one. My issue lies in the difference between the 'high mileage' variety and the regular 'full synthetic' variety. Typically, my go-to is Valvoline MaxLife but that's a synthetic blend and with the seals replaced, I don't really need the conditioners. Or do I? Maybe there's other benefits of a high mileage oil that I'm overlooking?
As far as brands, I'm mostly looking at what my local Walmart offers. Mobil 1, Valvoline, Castrol. I was also looking at the Pennzoil Platinum but haven't seen much said about it. For those that don't know, in the 4.0L OHV, the upper valve train is usually starved for oil and while I have excessive tapping noise when cold, it's almost disappeared since switching to 5W-30 (I was using 10W-30 to help with the leaks and already bought some parts to overhaul the top). While I don't need some fancy racing oil, I'm not above stepping up and spending a little extra for some quality oil that will make my engine last. With the miles I put on it, the oil will probably get changed once a year, twice at most, with less than 5,000 miles between changes.
Any ideas what direction I should go? Thanks.
Long story short, I'll probably dump out the SuperTech in the near future and go full synthetic 5W-30. I'm just not sure which one. My issue lies in the difference between the 'high mileage' variety and the regular 'full synthetic' variety. Typically, my go-to is Valvoline MaxLife but that's a synthetic blend and with the seals replaced, I don't really need the conditioners. Or do I? Maybe there's other benefits of a high mileage oil that I'm overlooking?
As far as brands, I'm mostly looking at what my local Walmart offers. Mobil 1, Valvoline, Castrol. I was also looking at the Pennzoil Platinum but haven't seen much said about it. For those that don't know, in the 4.0L OHV, the upper valve train is usually starved for oil and while I have excessive tapping noise when cold, it's almost disappeared since switching to 5W-30 (I was using 10W-30 to help with the leaks and already bought some parts to overhaul the top). While I don't need some fancy racing oil, I'm not above stepping up and spending a little extra for some quality oil that will make my engine last. With the miles I put on it, the oil will probably get changed once a year, twice at most, with less than 5,000 miles between changes.
Any ideas what direction I should go? Thanks.