New motor - when to switch to Synthetic oil?

[No disintegrations]

The theories are the why or how; the fact is, it happens. I'm not going by what I read on the interwebs by some faceless know-it-all, or what the friend of a cousin of a brother-in-law once said, I go with what *my* eyes and *my* garage floor tell me. The most common *theory* is that, when using conventional oils, seals "swell" into place and when a change is made to synthetic, they shrink or crack or something, and leaks begin. Sounded kinda hooey to me and that's why I didn't give much thought about using synthetic on my Escape. Well, lesson learned, and, from a sealing point of view, the engine is ruined. No way is it worth rebuilding it to replace various seals and I'm not going further down the rabbit hole hoping some snake oil in a bottle will fix it. Just means checking the oil more frequently, and, afterall, the Buick has guaranteed there's kitty litter handy in the garage already

So I guess you think I use cooking oil in my vehicles? I've tried many different oils in many cars and the ones that didn't leak before synthetic didn't leak after either and could be switched back also. So ya I think you are telling tall tales.

 

[ravege]

I had no bone in the fight, I don't work for or sell any particular oil. If people have success switching to synthetic fine - I didn't. Don't believe me, let me go see if I give a flying fig, I'll get back to you on that.

 

[MCH86GN]

I'm just curious. How many miles have you put on the car after switching to synthetic and do you have any oil leaks?

My engine was finished just this past August and I have only put about 1000 miles so far. I probably won't hit the 2000 mile mark this year because of winter coming up. I'll come back and answer your question sometime next year though.

 

[Linewalker]

My engine was finished just this past August and I have only put about 1000 miles so far. I probably won't hit the 2000 mile mark this year because of winter coming up. I'll come back and answer your question sometime next year though.

Thank you. I look forward to it. I think synthetic oil is better, but I hate leaks!

 

[JustABuick]

Stock bottom end car here. Previous owner ran Mobil 1 synthetic, and I do too. I'm sure when it rolled off the factory line, it was conventional oil, so at some point it was switched over. I have not seen any abnormal leaking from Mobil 1 synthetic-heck it leaks less than many other Buicks I've seen. I just make sure to add Zinc to every oil change. Flat tappet cam, and it looked fine when I pulled the engine this summer.

 

[MCH86GN]

Thank you. I look forward to it. I think synthetic oil is better, but I hate leaks!

Need to remember your handle so I can search this thread next summer.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Warp6]

So if there's a bucket with a pinhole in it conventional won't leak out but synthetic will? That's basically what this type of theory goes by.
If the viscosity is the same how can one leak and not the other?

That's an orange, we're talking about apples. I never mentioned a bucket. In that scenario I would guess them both to leak out. You try it and report back. The theories are not the same. How hot is the bucket? How much boost does the bucket run? How many seams are in the bucket? How many parts are moving around inside the bucket? You see, the theory is not the same.

I have had several builds and I will say every single time I tried synthetic, it found a place to escape the engine. When I went back to VR1, no leaks. 10W 30 for both types of oil. Been doing this since 1992 so it's not like I just tried it.

 

[No disintegrations]

That's an orange, we're talking about apples. I never mentioned a bucket. In that scenario I would guess them both to leak out. You try it and report back. The theories are not the same. How hot is the bucket? How much boost does the bucket run? How many seams are in the bucket? How many parts are moving around inside the bucket? You see, the theory is not the same.

I have had several builds and I will say every single time I tried synthetic, it found a place to escape the engine. When I went back to VR1, no leaks. 10W 30 for both types of oil. Been doing this since 1992 so it's not like I just tried it.

You're defensive because a hole is still a hole and maybe only God knows why this happens to some engines and not others. I can agree to disagree.

 

[Chuck Leeper]

I have Pennzoil 10-30 in now for break in oil. This is a roller cam setup. I have about 15 miles on this new combo. When is a good time to switch over the full synthetic? I will run Mobil 1 or royal purple when I make the switch....Thanks

Never comes to mind.....