Help! Problems After Switching to Synthetic

[Tony_Mack]

My wife drives a 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan with 135K+ miles on it. Yesterday, I changed the oil and decided to switch to Mobil 1 5w30 synthetic to help better protect the engine. (I've since learned that that's probably not the best idea for an older engine.)

I was also switching from 5W-20 to 5w30 based on the recommendations of a friend.

After the oil change, there were no leaks or any visible problems. However, I started to get a strange sound from under the hood whenever the engine hits 1500 RPMs. The engine has always had a bit of a moan to it but now there's a rhythmic noise at 1500 RPMs. It goes away once the gears shift...or at least I can't hear it any more.

My questions are...

1. What's causing this sound? Should I be alarmed?

2. Could this have been caused by the oil change? (It's possible it had been doing this before the oil change because I don't drive my wife's car much, but that's not very likely.)

3. What should I do now? I'm thinking about draining the synthetic oil and going back to some good 5W-20 dino oil to see if that makes the noise stop.

Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[rockydee]

How many miles have you driven since the change?

 

[badtlc]

as long as there is oil in it you are fine.

 

[Quattro Pete]

"M1 makes engines noisy" crowd will soon swarm this thread.

In reality, it's very unlikely that the oil caused it. Possibly the noise was there before and you just didn't notice.

What filter are you using? Same as before?

 

[rockydee]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
"M1 makes engines noisy" crowd will soon swarm this thread. :LOL



Yea I noticed that too, M1 haters, additive haters, etc, that won't ever end either.

 

[Eddie]

I doubt the oil has anything to do with an increased MOAN. Possibly a temperature controlled fan or the AC tripping fans on or something else. I see no reason the change oil. Ed

 

[Trav]

Mobil 1 is a good cleaner, its probably cleaning the lifters/adjusters. Make sure its full and keep going.
At some point it will probably stop and the engine may be quieter than ever.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Originally Posted By: Tony_Mack
... decided to switch to Mobil 1 5w30 synthetic to help better protect the engine. .

Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.


Why would M1 better "protect" the engine?

What filter? May want to try another filter. I get a filter now and then that cause mysterious engine noise once in a while and changing out the filter usually fixes the racket. IN fact its fiuxed it 100%.
BTW - Don't prefill the filter.

 

[MetalSlug]

I would go back to what ever oil you are using before and change it at every 5-6 month or 4-5k miles.

 

[Donald]

With that many miles on the engine, not sure I would have changed to a synthetic oil to better protect the engine. But I doubt its causing any issues except cleaning the engine.

Your engine will most likely outlive the transmission. Whether you use Walmart dino oil or Mobil 1.

 

[friendly_jacek]

Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite

BTW - Don't prefill the filter.


why not?

 

[yvon_la]

Its fine ,filter was probably not prefilled ,use it a full gas tank then critic .ads are you re. Using. Ethanol gas !use 0% ethanol gas.

 

[Bud_One]

What brand of Dino were you using before this oil change ?

 

[650NutKase]

what is the previous service history of the vehicle? Was it meticulously maintained? Was it run 10k + on cheap oil? We need to know these answers to try and give some sort of answer. At this point, it COULD be the oil, if the car has had a bad service history. The M1 could be loosening a lot of junk. It could also be the filter. Some filters can create a pronounced knock, especially during cold start ups. Also could be something completely unrelated to the oil. Did you do any other service to your car, recent collision, sudden climate or elevation change, try a new gas station or octane rating? Any of these can create 'noises' in a car

 

[901Memphis]

Synthetics sometimes are louder, but that doesn't mean they aren't protecting well.

 

[kschachn]

Please elaborate on what difference that could possibly make.

I mean, every time you start your car or truck, aren't you starting up with a prefilled filter?

Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
BTW - Don't prefill the filter.

 

[Kuato]

Most importantly, there are no leaks.

Next, yes it's true that some vehicles make more noise on M1 than on other oils. It's been reported by too many people to be a fake. (I've experienced myself)

M1 is a good oil, as mentioned it is probably doing a good job cleaning.


The noise might be coming from somewhere else...a bit more info would be helpful. But ... is the moan still there? Just a thought but perhaps this is the moaning sound on M1.

 

[capn233]

Is 5w30 a recommended or allowed weight for this motor? And which motor is it?

It might be that the engine is noisier on 5w30 than a 20 rather than it being noisier with synthetic over conventional.

 

[StevieBoy]

"It goes away once the gears shift..." Could it be the transaxle?

Welcome to BITOG!

 

[OneEyeJack]

Why did you switch to a thicker viscosity? Maybe you should have stayed with the same weight oil. Remember M1 is just another oil, nothing special but it can hardly be blamed for a new noise. It can't clean anything quick enough if at all that would change the noise the engine makes. Start over by going back to your original setup. If you're going to change to M1, use the same weight oil.