A good leak stopping HM oil

[logcar]

My aunt has a 97 buick lesabre 3.8 V6 with close to 150K miles on it.

Anyways, it leaks a bit of oil between changes (she's always had her oil changed at wal-mart, the cheapest change she could get, fram and all) and it was coming close to the end of her OIC, so I offered to change it for her.

My question is: what is a good high mileage conventional or synthetic blend that is good at controlling leaks? The car calls for 10w30, but I was also wondering if a thicker oil like 10w-40 might help better?

 

[Smokefan1977]

Realize these oils arnt cure alls. It may swell a seal and it may not. I'd givr the maxlife or Mobil HM a shot though

 

[chubbs1]

MaxLife is pretty dang good. I was a skeptic. Never tried Mobil 1 High Mileage.

 

[The_Intimidator]

Castrol GTX HM, Valvoline Maxlife nextgen or red bottle regular, Pennzoil High Mileage. These are all better to run for 3-7k to get a nice seal swell OCI going. Then maybe do another with another one of those oils, or the same. Once you get it nice and fat, go with the Mobil 1. It will leak like an animal if you already are leaky. Ive tried to stop leaks with Mobil 1 High Mileage and it was a losing battle, it just cleans way too fast!! Switched to any of the aforementioned oils, and the leak was done in one OCI. But hey, maybe the M1 did a good job and they picked up the slack. But I have the same engine, and the same leaks (all 3800 owners do). G/L. My recommendations? OCI #1 Pennzoil High Mileage for the super clean, then Valvoline for #2 for the super swell, then #3 Mobil 1 for MAX swell, cleaning and lubricity. So you'll be set for 9-21k with those three oils. Why not use M1 for all of them? You sure could, but wouldn't be half as fun. Maybe just pick one and try it for 3 OCI...W/E its your car! [But it usually WILL take ~3 short OCI (around 3k) to see a leak stop]

aaaah...this reminds me I have to go work on the car...Cheers

 

[Hermann]

Have had good luck with both Maxlife Blend and Maxlife Full Synthetic. It has stopped several leaks for me on exterior seals.

 

[John_K]

Originally Posted By: Hermann
Have had good luck with both Maxlife Blend and Maxlife Full Synthetic. It has stopped several leaks for me on exterior seals.


Ditto! Good stuff.

John

 

[mechtech2]

Note that it depends on what is leaking.
Valve cover gaskets, manifold gaskets, and cam or crank seals respond differently.

 

[SIXSPEED]

I've got Mobile Super HM in my 97 Honda Accord that has a rear main leak. After 4 months and 4000 miles the leak seems to have slowed down some.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

Valvoline Maxlife 5w30.

 

[Bamboooo]

Originally Posted By: Triple_Se7en
Valvoline Maxlife 5w30.


+1

I personally use Quaker State High Mileage. Works for me!

 

[logcar]

Ok, the Valvoline MaxLife it is then...but:

Is the reason you're recommending 5w30 is due to the upcoming winter months? Or because it will provide better results?

 

[Bamboooo]

Originally Posted By: logcar
Ok, the Valvoline MaxLife it is then...but:

Is the reason you're recommending 5w30 is due to the upcoming winter months? Or because it will provide better results?


Both. High Mileage oils tend to be a little 'thicker' anyways.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

Originally Posted By: Bamboooo
Originally Posted By: logcar
Ok, the Valvoline MaxLife it is then...but:

Is the reason you're recommending 5w30 is due to the upcoming winter months? Or because it will provide better results?


Both. High Mileage oils tend to be a little 'thicker' anyways.



Exactly

This 5w30 is on the thick-side.

It stopped small oil-spotting on my driveway. As a added bonus, my engine runs smoother with any of the various Valvoline oil products in the crankcase.

 

[logcar]

Ok sounds good.

Just one more question: in the summer should it switched back to 10w30? If next year(2012)is anything like this year, the temps got up to 96oF a few times here.

 

[Bamboooo]

Originally Posted By: logcar
Ok sounds good.

Just one more question: in the summer should it switched back to 10w30? If next year(2012)is anything like this year, the temps got up to 96oF a few times here.


It doesn't 'have' to. It's up to you. If you don't want to keep 2 different oils on the shelf, stick with the 5w30. If that doesn't matter, and for piece of mind, then keep both weights on hand. You probably wouldn't notice, neither would your car, by running either one in the summer.