Sythetic switch at 55k?

97stscaddy

97stscaddy

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If I can get the dealer to come down another $500 on the price of this 02 LS im gonna take it.

The engine bay is clean... except for the leaky valve cover gaskets which killed the coils on 1,2 and 7 so far. 4, 5, and 8 (I think) will probably soon follow. 3 and 6 were the only plugs that didn't look like part of a root beer float when I took the coil packs off during my inspection of the car. All the rest were full to the brim and one had even overflowed with oil and was dripping on the exhaust manifold.
NO other leaks whatsoever. That being said, would it be safe for me to start running synthetic oil in this thing if I decide to buy it? Its due for an oil change, and what better time to make the switch than right after I fix the only leaks on the whole car right?
I need some advice or some kind of input here. I keep hearing that high mileage motors should only be run on synthetic if they have been completely rebuilt first. But what constitutes "high mileage"? I dont have any experience in any of my previous cars with synthetic lube as they've all leaked, and I didnt want to leak out expensive oil onto my driveway. :p But I dont want to risk ruining this engine (which btw runs beautifully... when it isnt misfiring).

So what do you think? Full Synthetic, Synthetic Blend, or stay with the old stuff?

Also, any suggestions as far as brands go? Thanks
 
I've been running Mobil1 in my V6 LS for about 100K miles. I now have over 139k miles. I change the oil every 10K miles and the filter every 5K miles. And other than the cam covers, no leaks. At my next plug change (about 10K miles) I plan on changing the gaskets.
 
Your getting into an area where everyone has their own personal opinions and preferences. The regular recommended oem oil is a 5w-20 premium synthetic blend. Its in a red motorcraft bottle and can be bought almost anywhere including Walmart for a low price. Its whats supposed to be used, its fairly cheap, seems to do its job.
 
Assuming you arent racing, and that your car warms to full operating temps daily, Im certain that you could use regular motor oil in there, with oil and filter changes every 10k..and that engine would last at LEAST to 200k.

That being said, I run Walmart's house brand Synthetic oil and a motorcraft filter. I change them both every 10k. 80k miles so far, and all is well.
 
Assuming you arent racing
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That depends on your definition of racing... :shifty:

I was asking because I would like to switch to synthetic, (better protection, longer drain intervals, etc.) but I wasnt sure if there would be any adverse effects from doing so on an engine with this many miles. But considering that its been run on blend thus far, I now think it will be safe to make the switch. Thanks for the replies.
Now to decide on which kind... I can get a discount on Mobil 1, we sell it at work. Might give that a try first, with K&N filters all the way! :D
 
97stscaddy said:
That depends on your definition of racing... :shifty:

I was asking because I would like to switch to synthetic, (better protection, longer drain intervals, etc.) but I wasnt sure if there would be any adverse effects from doing so on an engine with this many miles. But considering that its been run on blend thus far, I now think it will be safe to make the switch. Thanks for the replies.
Now to decide on which kind... I can get a discount on Mobil 1, we sell it at work. Might give that a try first, with K&N filters all the way! :D
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After much investigation I have discovered that Mobil1, Royal Purple and AmsOil are the only truly pure synthetic oils (I'm not sure about Valvoline). The others are reformulated crude oil. Castrol raised a big stink so the gummint redefined the meaning of synthetic. Now reformulated crude can be called synthetic.

Like I typed, I've used Mobil1 (oil and filter) on my V6 for over 100K miles. Now that I think about it, it's actually closer to 120K miles.
 
I did a little research...

The American Institute of Petroleum certifies engine oil producers. I cant tell any difference on their website about a dino based synthetic vs a "true" synthetic. They actually list all of thier licensees. Valvoline Synpower is on the certified list, as well as Amsoil, Mobile (who is also listed as the maker of Motorcraft, Mopar, Nissan, Yahama, Esso, Superflo and others), Castrol, Royal Purple, Shell, Havoline, Lucas synthetics among many, many others.

Here is the list of licenced oil producers
http://eolcs.api.org/DisplayInfo.asp?Info=BrandNames
 
When I got my Lincoln, I switched over to Mobil 1 and I haven't had any problems...I switched at 42,000 miles and I now have 78,500 miles on it...Its all good!!
 
I think ill probably wind up going with Mobil 1. Seems to be the favorite, and if Mercedes Benz recomends the stuff for their cars, it must be good. Right?
Now I need to find a service manual somewhere...
 
I have used syn in almost everything I have owned since 1980. I have changed from whatever was in the crankcase either at the first new car oil change or whatever mileage a used car had. Highest I have changed at is something like 50,000 miles.

The key deciding factor in my mind on whether it is safe to switch to syn is whether your car leaks or burns oil. In my experiecne if the car is leaky or has an oil consumption problem, syn will just leak faster since it is so thin. Syn will not hurt modern engine seals etc, that was a problem 20 years ago. But if you burn oil, you will just pay more for it with syn.

The other keys are whether the oil meets both API and SAE spec for your car. The Ford 5W20 oil is a somewhat tighter spec than many standard oils so pay attention to meeting whatever spec number that is, I assume you have the manual or some one here will pipe it up. Also change regularly. Pay attention to whether your driving style falls under "normal" or "severe" duty. More of us fit under severe than we might think.

The Ford spec oil is a syn blend so a good syn meeting spec should be as good or better.

I use Mobil 1 in my 2004 LSV8 and it seems to work fine. In reality most of us will never know the difference between a good grade of dino and the best syn. It is more a religion than anything else now a days.

Good Luck,

Jim Henderson
 
Pay attention to whether your driving style falls under "normal" or "severe" duty. More of us fit under severe than we might think.
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I think mine would be borderline severe/extreme. :shifty: But its calming down back into the severe range as I get older.
My first car I got my junior year in HS. I would neutral drop it just about every single day when I left. Stupid? Yes... But fun :D The worst I do now is a park-brake 180 every now and then, and powerslide around corners in the middle of the night in the rain. Sometimes ill power-brake burnout from a light too. :P I hardly ever let it shift under 4 grand though. Im always heavy on the gas in my cars.
 
I switched to synthetic in my '86 Cutlass at about 60k in on the new motor. It ran fine, got slightly better gas mileage and better performance on cold starts. However, it did consume about ½ quart between changes. I am running the Motorcract 5w20 synthetic blend in my LS and it's doing just fine. I ran them same stuff in my wife's '98 Explorer and it did great. I thinks it's more than sufficient for the car. If it's good enough for the engineers, it's good enough for me.
 
97stscaddy said:
and if Mercedes Benz recomends the stuff for their cars, it must be good. Right?
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wrong. most americans praise foreign cars, but if you went overseas you would see that these mercedes benz are like fords or chevrolets. its not good just because its a german (or whatever country its made in) vehicle.
 
but if you went overseas you would see that these mercedes benz are like fords or chevrolets.
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You can say that until you drive them every day. And just because they are more common doesnt make them the Ford or Chevrolet of Europe. Ford and GM have their own divisions overseas, and Mercedes still beats both in quality and longevity. American cars arent as prominent there as they are here because they dont last as long, they arent as good quality and theyre expensive in the european market because of the taxes levied on their sale by our wonderful imperial federal government. They wind up costing just as much as a better German/European car, but they just don't compare in quality. So the people there do the smart thing and buy the better quality car for the same price.
 
Cant afford one. I wont buy another Cadillac anyway. Ive had enough of those damn things for a long while. Ill stick with my LS for the time being, but theres still a night and day difference between the 02 LS I just bought, and the 02 E-320 we just sold at work last week. If I could get an 02 E class for $13,500 Id take it over a Lincoln or Cadillac any day, but id hate to be the one payin to get it fixed when/if something on it breaks.
 
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