Hello guys and gals. I just recently Purchased a 2008 Dodge Charger R/T with 95000 km on her. I was thinking of switching to synthetic but I wonder if ill have any ill effect on the motor ? Should I flush the motor or will the synthetic clean everything up the first change, I am hopping it is ok to run for a year I am lucky to reach 5000 km a year. and I have to use 5w20 for MDS to be in effect or sould I just stick with the good conventional oil and change it twice a year worried about sludge issues with all the short trips and moisture not being burnt off.. hope to hear every ones feed back thanks in advance.
Synthetic or Dino
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For that mileage , Pennzoil yellow bottle would work fine. It would be good to drive it far enough to get the oil hot each month.
For that mileage , Pennzoil yellow bottle would work fine. It would be good to drive it far enough to get the oil hot each month.
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Unless the motor was poorly maintained and/or is sludged up internally, you should have no issue switching to synthetic. No, you don't need to do anything to prep it first. As suggested, do take it out on the highway once in a while to get the oil temp up.
Just simply change the oil with synthetic, you don't need to do anything out of the ordinary. I would change yearly with the synthetic. It would be a good idea to go for a little longer drive to burn off moisture occasionally so that you don't get excessive water in the oil, especially for a 1 year run.
No flush. No additives. Either is fine. Go with synthetic if its affordable to your budget otherwise dino is fine.
The only sure way to tell about sludge is to pull a valve cover.
Constant short trips will cause fuel dillution, water in oil, and exhaust rusting. I would try and get engine and exhaust hot once every 2 weeks.
The only sure way to tell about sludge is to pull a valve cover.
Constant short trips will cause fuel dillution, water in oil, and exhaust rusting. I would try and get engine and exhaust hot once every 2 weeks.
With a used car I always make sure I check and change all the fluids unless you have something that shows these things have been done. Transmission fluid, brake fluid, power steering, Radiator Coolant, oil, and I also change the belt, lower radiator and upper radiator hose that way I know at least these things have been done. You should have no problem switching to synthetic and for peace of mind to help clean the engin you can purchase an Auto Parts store brand synthetic oil that should be lowered price and do a couple of short oil and filter changes before you settle into your chosen OCI routin. Some will probably say this is a waste, but it was just something I was taught by a few different people that was probably taught to them. Most did at least two OCI at 250 miles or maximum of 500 miles then they would do a quick oil change and do the same thing again. Just another suggestion to consider.
Originally Posted By: Mattz
Hello guys and gals. I just recently Purchased a 2008 Dodge Charger R/T with 95000 km on her. I was thinking of switching to synthetic but I wonder if ill have any ill effect on the motor ? Should I flush the motor or will the synthetic clean everything up the first change, I am hopping it is ok to run for a year I am lucky to reach 5000 km a year. and I have to use 5w20 for MDS to be in effect or sould I just stick with the good conventional oil and change it twice a year worried about sludge issues with all the short trips and moisture not being burnt off.. hope to hear every ones feed back thanks in advance.
One year with synthetic oil and a 5000km OCI and you will be fine, there should be absolutely no issues with cleaning, assuming the previous owner kept things nicely.
Leaking was mentioned earlier, but at only 95k km (59k miles) I don't expect you will see any leaks. However if you do, they should clear up within 4-5k km.
edit: +1 on NO additives.
Hello guys and gals. I just recently Purchased a 2008 Dodge Charger R/T with 95000 km on her. I was thinking of switching to synthetic but I wonder if ill have any ill effect on the motor ? Should I flush the motor or will the synthetic clean everything up the first change, I am hopping it is ok to run for a year I am lucky to reach 5000 km a year. and I have to use 5w20 for MDS to be in effect or sould I just stick with the good conventional oil and change it twice a year worried about sludge issues with all the short trips and moisture not being burnt off.. hope to hear every ones feed back thanks in advance.
One year with synthetic oil and a 5000km OCI and you will be fine, there should be absolutely no issues with cleaning, assuming the previous owner kept things nicely.
Leaking was mentioned earlier, but at only 95k km (59k miles) I don't expect you will see any leaks. However if you do, they should clear up within 4-5k km.
edit: +1 on NO additives.
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Never ever use an engine flush product, they are damaging to your engine. The only thing that goes in the fill hole is motor oil.
There is two additives I trust and it's liqui moly motor oil saver or ATP 205 both of which are for leaking issues, anything else you see at the parts store should be avoided like the plague.
There is two additives I trust and it's liqui moly motor oil saver or ATP 205 both of which are for leaking issues, anything else you see at the parts store should be avoided like the plague.
You're from Canada? Cold part of Canada or coastal warmer area? If temps dip below 0F often I'd run Syn or a Syn blend. Wait for something on sale. Syn blends in the states aren't much more expensive than Pennzoil conventional that someone recommended. QS synthetic is typically cheapest "full Syn". They make a Syn blend even cheaper, too.
Also, cold weather wreaks havoc on oil, especially if you take short trips. Is your 5,000km per year a million 2 km trips or 10 long highway drives? That would make a difference to me what I use, too. Fuel dilution can be a huge issue when driving 3 km to work when it's -20F out.
Originally Posted By: Yup
You're from Canada? Cold part of Canada or coastal warmer area? If temps dip below 0F often I'd run Syn or a Syn blend. Wait for something on sale. Syn blends in the states aren't much more expensive than Pennzoil conventional that someone recommended. QS synthetic is typically cheapest "full Syn". They make a Syn blend even cheaper, too.
Unless he's in Vancouver he's going to see many cold starts. I would suggest Pennzoil Platinum with Pure Plus. It's easily available at Canadian Tire. When it's on sale you can get at 4.73 liter jug of 5W-20 or 5W-30 for around $27. They don't carry other weights of PPPP at CT.
You're from Canada? Cold part of Canada or coastal warmer area? If temps dip below 0F often I'd run Syn or a Syn blend. Wait for something on sale. Syn blends in the states aren't much more expensive than Pennzoil conventional that someone recommended. QS synthetic is typically cheapest "full Syn". They make a Syn blend even cheaper, too.
Unless he's in Vancouver he's going to see many cold starts. I would suggest Pennzoil Platinum with Pure Plus. It's easily available at Canadian Tire. When it's on sale you can get at 4.73 liter jug of 5W-20 or 5W-30 for around $27. They don't carry other weights of PPPP at CT.
5W-30 should cover all temps within a years range. It'll do in summer when out cruising and by the time next winter rolls in it will have sheared down some to 20'ish so good to go for annual change
Originally Posted By: Mattz
hey guys sorry I forgot to mention. I am from Ontario Canada.. also is there any other way to check for sludge other than pulling the valve cover off?
Yes, removing the oil pan can be helpful too. But usually people remove the valve covers.
hey guys sorry I forgot to mention. I am from Ontario Canada.. also is there any other way to check for sludge other than pulling the valve cover off?
Yes, removing the oil pan can be helpful too. But usually people remove the valve covers.
You should be able to see something through the oil fill hole
The only way a synthetic is really going to help in the winter is, assuming the weather justifies it and you're choosing a grade that isn't really available in conventional. For example, a 0w-30 will have better cold cranking numbers than any 5w-30. A synthetic 5w-30, however, does not guarantee better cold weather performance than a 5w-30 conventional.
Originally Posted By: Garak
The only way a synthetic is really going to help in the winter is, assuming the weather justifies it and you're choosing a grade that isn't really available in conventional. For example, a 0w-30 will have better cold cranking numbers than any 5w-30. A synthetic 5w-30, however, does not guarantee better cold weather performance than a 5w-30 conventional.
Some of the 5w30 synthetics can actually be thinner than a 0w30 around 0C until it starts to go negative so much.
The only way a synthetic is really going to help in the winter is, assuming the weather justifies it and you're choosing a grade that isn't really available in conventional. For example, a 0w-30 will have better cold cranking numbers than any 5w-30. A synthetic 5w-30, however, does not guarantee better cold weather performance than a 5w-30 conventional.
Some of the 5w30 synthetics can actually be thinner than a 0w30 around 0C until it starts to go negative so much.
I used conventional up to 160k-170k miles and it did the job I guess. Once I switched to syn I had oil basically pouring out of the seals and gaskets. I replaced the seals/gaskets and the leaking stopped of course, but I'll never go back to conventional.
To be fair, I may have extended my OCI's a tad too long a few times and used whatever oil that Sears or other places put in. Once I started changing my own oil and doing all other maintanence myself, the car has never performed better.
I'm not saying syn will protect seals better(because I don't know that), but for not much more money I can wait longer to change it and not worry about the oil.
To be fair, I may have extended my OCI's a tad too long a few times and used whatever oil that Sears or other places put in. Once I started changing my own oil and doing all other maintanence myself, the car has never performed better.
I'm not saying syn will protect seals better(because I don't know that), but for not much more money I can wait longer to change it and not worry about the oil.
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