Advice Maxlife?

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I was using Pennzoil HM in my odyssey and it slowed a lead from the RMS to almost nothing but last trip to WM they were out and only had Maxlife 5w20. Thought on switching as the store near me always has a full shelf of maxlife. I noticed they don't have any Moly but I just wanted to see if anyone here has had good results with the latest formulation. By the way when I called Valvoline and told them of my slight leak they said semi syn like Maxlife could increase a change of a leak and that they don't have seal swelling agents at all just conditioning and that maxlife will not swell any seals and not to expect it to stop a leak. I was surprised so when I said in the past I always thought of maxlife as helping to stop leaks the guy said it could if the seals are just hard but that there is absolutely no swelling agents in the oil and not to expect it to stop a leak. I asked about using a thicker grade and he said it could help but "as it is a recorded line valvoline says not to use anything but the recommended weight" Anyway just some thoughts would be nice.
 
Weird, I've always had good luck with regular (& even syn) ML stopping leaks. MaxLife 5W20 is on the thicker side for a 5W20, if anything it wouldn't make the leak any worse.
 
If the Pennzoil has been working,I wouldn't change. Find another store that has it. Walmart online can order it and have it shipped free to store.
 
I would do it just to see if it helps stop the leak all together. For the $15 cost a Valvoline rep isn't going to promise the world to anyone. In fact they've been trained to do the opposite, under promise then over deliver when using their product.
 
Maxlife stopped the leak in the wife's 2003 Corolla. I have since switched to Mobil HM and the leak has never returned.

I wouldn't hesitate using Maxlife. It is a good oil.
 
ya they say "Special seal conditioners rejuvenate engine seals to help prevent leaks - See more they don't say stop leaks they say just like the rep said that if used early they can help prevent them. Anyway just saying.
 
No oil will guarantee any leak to be fully stopped. If you are looking for that guarantee, replacing the seal is the only way.

But seeing that Pennzoil has worked well for you, maybe it is worth it to pay a few dollars more at an auto parts store if your nearby Walmart is out of stock.
 
Originally Posted By: sir1900
Maxlife stopped the leak in the wife's 2003 Corolla. I have since switched to Mobil HM and the leak has never returned.

I wouldn't hesitate using Maxlife. It is a good oil.


Where was the leak? Since I have an 05 Matrix with 97k miles.
 
Pennzoil would tell you the same thing! High Mileage oils are advertised as "preventing leaks", not "stopping leaks that are already there." High mileage oils will often stop leaks but the oil companies aren't going to tell you that. They don't want to tell you their oil will cure your oil leaks, then when it doesn't cure the leaks you will call them complaining. It's 100% fine to switch to MaxLife. I personally think MaxLife is the better value versus Pennzoil HM & I've had good results with everything I've used MaxLife in.

And the reason I think MaxLife is a better value is because of its 30-40% synthetic content versus Pennzoil's all conventional & they are priced very close.
 
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Originally Posted By: bullwinkle
Weird, I've always had good luck with regular (& even syn) ML stopping leaks. MaxLife 5W20 is on the thicker side for a 5W20, if anything it wouldn't make the leak any worse.


Me too!
I always thought that the main point of Maxlife was that it could stop or greatly reduce oil leaks.
It's done so for me in various engines.
Maybe the guy on the phone accidentally pulled up the script for Durablend?:)
 
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