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BTW, I seem to recall you had a '91? Corsica which you got rid of. That may have been a good move. I have spent a chunk of change on a 92 that I reposessed from my daughter (actually traded her my '94 for her '92.) One thing after another keeps failing. I am just stuborn enough though to ride it out. I'm sort of disappointed because I felt that GM turned the corner in the late 80's after putting out pieces of junk from about 1975 on. One thing though that appears to be solid(relatively) is the auto transmission.
Al
Quaker State's syn is a true PAO (polyalphaolefin) and ester base. This is similar to Mobil 1. Personally I prefer Mobil because they more or less pioneered syn in aircraft engines shortly after WW2 and I've read docomentation and tests on their products. Personally I have a problem with Quaker State because of their deep involvement in the Jiffy Lube type industry and their stressing that their oil is good beyond 3000 Miles. I don't know any vecicle which calls for a change less than 3500 miles under severe conditions. Also don't like Castrol because their product is not true syn.
Personally, I would take the Mobil 1 to the dealer and have him put it in. I've already done that with syn transmission oil- several dealers-no problem. I would recommend that the dealer use the Delco "Ultraguard" instead of their standard filter. I prefer Mobil 1 filters and if the filter has a horizontal configuration the Purelator PureOne. PureOne has a better anti-drainback valve. I think you have a vertical configuration though.
Al
Thanks,
Mark
The reason I'm suspicious is that many moons ago I owned a ford 2.3 L it had just been out a year and after a couple of years Ford came out with a bulletin that you needed to use their "special" oil. After 40,000 I was changine out main and big end rod bearings. Get my drift??
Mark
MB AMG's, Porsche & Corvettes have Mobil 1 from the factory, break-in with conventional oil is not needed.
Effective immediately, MB will be using only synthetic oil in all of their vehicles with the FSS, which usually signals for an oil change at 10k-12k miles. These are MB's recommended synthetics :
Mobil 1 15/50 & 0/40
Valvoline synpower full synthetic 5/40
Castrol Syntec 5/50 & 10/40
Castrol TXT softec plus 5/30
Shell Helix ultra 5/30 & 5/40
hope that helps
Europeans may get funky recommendations because of political considerations. They want the thin base oils for fuel economy standards and the government wants to import as little petroleum as possible so they want long drain intervals. The end result is these extreme-spread synthetics get recommended by most.
It doesn't sound ideal but it'll probably work well enough for them. If their recommendations goo-up engines in the long run, (over 80k miles) what do they care??
Here in the good ole' US of A, we have more (and better) alternatives. I suggest people who care about their car use them.
--- Bror Jace
Although the oil will have only 3000 miles on it I am going to change this weekend and remove the slime that hopefully the synthetic has cleaned up. After analysis I will see whether to go up to 5000 or 7500 on the next one. Gradually getting up to arouond 12,000 miles between changes and a filter at 6 months. The saga continues.
Thanks.
Rob
Personally I changed every year and a filter every 6 months on my 94 Corsica. My Toyota gets changed every 10 months and a filter in between. I personally use the visual test as an added barrier. That is, if it looks dark and dirty I change.
If you want to be conservative you could change at the maximum recommended interval in your manual. That's still overkill but a good compromise. Then you don't have the warranty issue. Theoretically the car manufacturer must prove that you neglected your engine even if you go beyond the recommended change interval.
For my new Sentra the thought of fudging the dates and have enough receipts to avoid issues is appealing. But you will never prove that I did it.
There is a lot of information in previous posts if you are interested.
Al
If you folks will permit me, I'd like to hear any or all opinions, good or bad experiences, with Amsoil or Mobil 1. I have read all 1267 posts in this topic and personally prefer the synthetic advantages so I'm not interested in continuing the "Dino vs. Synthetic" argument. I have been using Amsoil 10w/30 for a number of years with good results. My longer mileage experiences include an '88 Chev Nova that I sold at 198,000 miles and my current '92 Bonnevile at 145,000. Both engines perform nearly as new and burn no oil. Can't say I wouldn't have had the same results on "dino" but obviously the Amsoil didn't hurt. I know Mobil 1 is easier to find and a little cheaper, so that's why I'm asking for the comparison. Thanks for your responses!
I use Mobil 1:
They are the first to really pioneer syns on a large scale for jet engines, space missions etc. Army uses the stuff in their tanks.
They, I feel have the technical know how and money to keep ahead of the crowd (IMO)
I have an SAE technical report which took place in early/mid 90's. The laid out the program and test results of their oils. They did comparisons against other oils. I can not find this information for any other oils including Amsoil. (the SAE report is Technical Paper #951026 you can order it at 412-776-4841 -$25)Also see post 1266 above.
Having said all that Amsoil works for you. I'm not resistant to change though- I'm trying Red Line next change.
Al
As to technology Amsoil is fairly innovative in their product line with newer weights of oil, also catering to the motocycle market and more into racing then in the past. So is it better to be a huge multinational world comglomerate with hundreds of products to develop etc. or a small company focused on a few lines.??? Tough question. I am slightly peeved at Mobil for backing off of their original claim of 25,000 between changes (with no explanation) which I feel was due to pressure from several areas and they caved in.
Now if the oil turns equally dark with the same driving conditions for both syn and conventional oil then the culprit is "dirt" (through the rings. This is true because the syn oil oxidizes very little after 3000 miles. It sounds that this is what is occuring with you. In any event. You could do an oil analysis, but thats really a waste of time because what are you really going to do about it. U use oil analysis to determine the wear products in the oil and its condition which would allow you to extend intervals.
What does all this mean? I think for you it means that you change your oil when it gets beyond a dark honey color close to black (dirt or oxidation? who cares it's dirty). If you are using a good oil filter like Pure One, Mobil 1, Amsoil, or ultraguard you should be able to go longer. I supose that if its black and you do an oil analysis that says you can go longer that's an option. Personally I have only done one oil analysis on my vehicle. I use Mobil 1 and if the oil analysis shows something is bad with say 4000 miles on the oil and it is clean-what to do??? Probably change oil and repeat results after the same amount of miles. Then what?? Ignorance is bliss.
My bottom line is if the vehicle runs fine, uses little oil all is probably well. I change when oil gets black which depending on which vehicle I'm dealind with its 10-12 month with filter in between. Sorry for the rambling.
Al
I am thinking I will change this initial batch of synthetic at 3000 miles, simply because of how dirty my old oil was today. I have heard that synthetic will "clean" everything up, so perhaps I should slowly increase the time between changes and get rid of as much of the "old" as soon as possible, then start leaving the synthetic in longer. Of course, perhaps just changing the filter frequently will do the same thing.
If my engine is anything like the end of my dipstick, my engine is dirty. I used my fingernail to scrape off a thin layer of "baked on black" from the end of the dipstick....lets hope the synthetic will help remove all this old dino residue from the engine.
Wish I had used synthetic on my Volvo from day one, like I am on my new Ford Van.
newcay31: It depends on your vehicle. I am also uncomfortable with dirty oil. Its just a "feel good feeling". When oil turns beyond dark honey, its out of there. My 2001 sentra with 2900 miles was changed at 30 miles and If you looked at the dipstick and decided you needed to change-you are a canditate for therapy-big time. It's as clear as must dino oils out of the can- no BS. At 8000miles my '94 Corsica was a honey color. My toyota is at a dark honey going to allmost at 8-9K. Its out of there. A quality filter helps.
Bluedevils - why don't you use the Pure One filter then you know what you got. They are a pretty blue color to. Check the box before you buy to make sure someone hasn't switched it from a standard one-favorite trick.
medecamps: anyone in their right mind will use syn if he is truly interested in his vehicle enough to do an oil analysis. Just my opinion.
Again,my $.02.
Al
So, I'd guess that Chevron's "synthetic" is actually highly refined dead-dino juice. Still very good oil, but not worth the $4+ per quart that synthetics often command. I recently saw some Delo 400 15W40 and it said right on the container that it was formulated with "Iso Syn."
Now, THAT stuff, at $1.50 per quart, I would buy!
And, as usual, I would avoid the formulas with the extreme spreads in them like 0W30 or 5W40. If you DO use these weights, avoid extended drain intervals to minimize sludge build up. They have too much viscosity improver polymeric goo in them for me to trust them for too long.
--- Bror Jace
Better to go by miles, or if you are fanatical, an oil analysis of some kind.
Life would be simpler if I could just stock the 10w30, but as long as my van is under warranty, I guess I had better use what the manual says, even if I don't understand just what the difference is between the two (10w-30 vs 5w-30).
Mobile1 costs the same either way.
Does anyone else experience this with mobie-1 or any other synthetic? Any potential dangers to my motor due to this symptom?
I use 10-30W for all seasons and use motorcraft filters.
I have noticed that the Valvoline stays much cleaner looking than mobile-1 or castrol syntech. I dont notice any sound or preformence differences from any of the synthetics.
Any input would be great.
vguard.. as I said I'm using 10W30 for all my vehicles all year around-period. The manufacturer is worrried about pumpin below zero. Probably above 0 F. they say 10W-30 is OK. I'm just going to tell them I don't drive below 0F. But no one'll ask.
Do you think 10 W 30 is more appropriate than 5 W 30? It would seem to me it would be.
This is going to be used in the 4.7L V8. I will also use it in my 97 5.2L V8.
I have used mobile-1 on 3 different occasions (not consecutive) and every time it does the same thing.
I have never overfilled an engine. I know better than that. I always fill according to the manufactures reccomendation (5 quarts for my ford 5.0 V8) and check it when refueling, including after every oil change.
I have a good understanding of cars and their mechanics (have history of mechanics in the family). I have tried to think of anything that would be different that I might have done but cant come up with anything other than Mobile-1 has a different characteristic than the other oil I use. So I pry the net for others that may be experiencing the same as I.
Thanks for the feedback so far.
mamfflow- Yes I think the 10W30 is more appropriate. It gives a little more protection as the vehicle warms up to temp-in my opinion. And flowing at low temps isn't a consideration.
Al
Still, my car has over 100,000 miles on it (as of 2 weeks ago) and so I use this weight more than any other. In the Upstate NY area in the wintertime, I move down to 5W30.
Both Mobil 1 and Valvoline Synpower are PAO based although Valvoline is 100% PAO and Mobil 1 has other things in it when they went to their "tri-synthetic" formula. So, you'd think that both would perform similarly. But you never know for sure ...
--- Bror Jace
The cold pumping data list 9300@@ -30 for 10W also the viscosity index is 620 for 5W and 147 for 10W This tells me the 10 W flows and pumps better than the 5W. According to mobil's oen data.
http://dallnd6.dal.mobil.com/GIS/MobilPDS.nsf/Automotive?ReadForm&Start=1&Count=30&Expand=4.19