Should I worry about synthetic causing leaks?

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Originally Posted By: car51
Cwilliamsws6: your welcome. I take it you have a Trans Am or Firebird
smile.gif


We used to have a 2002 WS6 in the family but it was sold a long time ago
frown.gif
I grew up around that car so I have a lot of nostalgia tied to them. My neighbor has a 1998 base Trans-Am he does tuning on and sometimes I'll come over and help him with it.
 
The CRV's seem to run forever on any oil. What you could do to prevent future leaks is try a good high mileage oil such as Valvoline MaxLife or Mobil 1 HM. Those contain additional seal conditioners that can re-condition the seals, some of which may be drying and starting to crack.
 
I keep reading all over this place gr3 oil is terrible on seals.

Mobil 1 tdt caused the rope seal on my Pontiac to leak like crazy. Like a quart just driving around town for 30 minutes. Went back to conventional and it stopped leaking.


It ain't no myth.
 
The old school cork seals were pretty picky about oil. And some of the early PAOs were known to cause leaks, but neither of those are an issue any more. In the case you engine has that much sludge it's holding in your oil, it's better for it to get the stuff out and deal with said leaks
 
Originally Posted By: turtlevette
I keep reading all over this place gr3 oil is terrible on seals.

Mobil 1 tdt caused the rope seal on my Pontiac to leak like crazy. Like a quart just driving around town for 30 minutes. Went back to conventional and it stopped leaking.


It ain't no myth.


You can always fix the seal so it won't leak. Switching oils won't cure the problem indefinitely, me personally, I hate leaking cars so anytime one springs a leak it gets fixed immediately, I can't stand oil spots on my driveway! I've yet to read a thread on Group III causing leaks of any kind, care to share some of these posts? It's a dino base oil so that doesn't make sense to me at all.
 
Nah dont worry about it. My Accord had dealership bulk oil changes per the OLM for the first 570k of its life. Ive used synthetic in it and it hasnt leaked a drop.
 
Well LOL what is life without something to worry about. Do it and don't look back. I did it a 66K miles on my Toyota and it has never been an issue. My money says if some one had issues doing this if the didn't do it the bug they think bit them would have gotten them any way.
 
As others have said, you will be fine using a full synthetic. I would not pay a premium for RP but would use a high mileage version of Mobil 1, Pennzoil, ect.(which ever synthetic is the best deal) in 5w-30 weight every 5k. Given the cars mileage also consider a coolant flush, transmission fluid, brake fluid, power steering fluid and such if these services have not been done recently. Enjoy your new freedom and drive safely.
 
Originally Posted By: two4spooky
As others have said, you will be fine using a full synthetic. I would not pay a premium for RP but would use a high mileage version of Mobil 1, Pennzoil, ect.(which ever synthetic is the best deal) in 5w-30 weight every 5k. Given the cars mileage also consider a coolant flush, transmission fluid, brake fluid, power steering fluid and such if these services have not been done recently. Enjoy your new freedom and drive safely.


I’m probably in a tiny group behind Tig in years of synthetic use … and for me, none of this leak stuff happened …
(Estimated time in brands 50% GM / 30% Ford / 20 % Mopar)
More time on M1 than others … but have used many and still do …
 
It's not really a myth, back in the 70s and 80s in the early days of full synthetic oils they did cause some problems in some engines with leakage and oil burning, but they have largely been adressed.
 
Go to the sales and promotions forum at this website and you’ll see you can buy Pennzoil or mobile 1 with a healthy rebate. That way you can run the high-end oil and still buy it for cheap. If it were my vehicle I’d run 5w-30 HM in it seeing as how it’s north of 200K but the 5w-20 should be fine as well.
 
There is no "e" in Mobil-1.
High-end oils not needed with today's modern, digital fleet of engine-technology. Not needed due to oil technology increases also. Nowadays you can get all the latest required specs in an oil, buying the house brand (Supertech) at Walmart.
 
Originally Posted By: car51
Originally Posted By: Denkun
Maybe even bumping it up to a 5w30 full synthetic or high mileage synthetic. The royal purple is a waste in my opinion, ive tried their oils and I didn't gain 100hp or anything


Amen to that. Not worth the $30~ price at Wal Mart either


LOL Adam I guess that why the only time I've ever bought this stuff at the price it was worth $20 for a five quart jug (got 2) at Wally world. I don't often pay more that regardless of the hype and Bovine Scat!

Probably never buy it again they don't have rebates at least not that I'm aware of. But I'll run a UOA when I use it just to compare it against the competition. Other UOA so far have told me its no better.
 
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In my case, somewhat, sort of, maybe. I'm just not sure. All I know is higher forms of synthetic have less traction. With that I worry the increased vacuum on aggressive downshifts there might be a greater chance of oil slipping past the valve seals. Given that I don't require synthetic for my vehicle, I eliminate that concern by sticking with conventional.
 
before you throw any oil/money at it, make sure there's no sludge.
in fact try several oil changes (if it's not black) til it's clear.
If it is black use oil/gas cleaners - not just one, but several
and until it's no longer black.

then use a higher grade oil. but spend the money on what two4spooky
says.

I've run synthetic in cars with over 100K (one had 204K) miles.

no leaks, no burning, no blue/white/black smoke and passes CA
emissions, no sludge, but all at 3-6K changes. just make sure
it's tight - no leaks anywhere, etc

don't run that famous oil for 25K or more - just to cost justify the purchase.
 
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I didn't read through all of the post before posting this, but to answer your question if an oil analysis will give you any more information than you already know from the records, the answer is a resounding YES.

Here's a link to the blackstones laboratory page.
After you do your Royal Purple thing, and settle on the oil you think you'll be using from now on, I would send up sample of the ladder oil for analysis.

Their site will answer a lot of questions you may have, but it's like getting blood work from a routine physical. It can tell you a lot of things about what's happening with your engine that just the physical exam by the doctor/mechanic can't. And may help you avoid a problem or catch a hidden one before it gets too bad.

https://m.blackstone-labs.com/
 
Originally Posted by 53' Stude
Originally Posted by Denkun
Maybe even bumping it up to a 5w30 full synthetic or high mileage synthetic. The royal purple is a waste in my opinion, ive tried their oils and I didn't gain 100hp or anything


Amen to that. Not worth the $30~ price at Wal Mart either

But the website had testimonials stating the users boat gained fuel efficiency using Royal Purple. The user did not record the water conditions when using the competition and RP.
 
Originally Posted by dave1251
Originally Posted by 53' Stude
Originally Posted by Denkun
Maybe even bumping it up to a 5w30 full synthetic or high mileage synthetic. The royal purple is a waste in my opinion, ive tried their oils and I didn't gain 100hp or anything


Amen to that. Not worth the $30~ price at Wal Mart either

But the website had testimonials stating the users boat gained fuel efficiency using Royal Purple. The user did not record the water conditions when using the competition and RP.


But the website said LOL. When pigs can fly he just got $$$ from RP to hype their product when he could have likely did the same thing with NAPA full synthetic.
 
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