Re: your vehicles "in the 70's and 80's that were sludged out......on "quality" dino changed at 2K-3K miles..." I think that was the time of the dreaded "Black Death." At least, the 1970's was. Involved a bunch of "name brand " oils that kind of got mousetrapped or left behind by the advances in engine technology. They could not take the greater heat and leaner jetting of the newer engines, and turned to black tar, thus wrecking the engines.quote:
Originally posted by jsharp:
Maybe some cars. In 1980 I bought a brand new Toyota. At 3000 miles I started using Mobil 1 ( remember the 20 weight variety? ) and running 8K-10K OCI's. When I sold it with 165K miles it was still running well and using very little oil between changes.quote:
Originally posted by Flimflam:
Bishop, you must be an old timer. I know some old timer mechanics who witnessed what happened to cars with the early versions of syn oil poured into them. A good number simply died within a week or two of the synthetic diet. This was way back in late 1970's, very early 1980's.
Either the early synthetics were not as well made as the ones we see today, or the cars in those days were not built for synthetic.
Anyway, the funny part of it is, those old timers who either witnessed or had happen to them the bad effects of early synthetic, they are still paranoid about the synthetic stuff today.
But as for your comment about syn-fed cars dying at 100,000 miles or less, it brings to mind an old beater ford Bronco 351 v-8 that I bought for $2,500. To use synthetic in that thing would be a waste of money, and it would not make a difference of 1 minute of engine lifespan, whether one used $50/quart Shell Ultra Helix or 30-cents per quart "closeout special" Engine Death. For most people(including myself!!!!), their ride is just not special or exclusive enough to justify spending extra money on fancy motor oil. And to me, anything more expensive than $1.89 a quart is a fancy motor oil.
I also owned a number of other vehicles in the 70's and 80's that were sludged and/or worn out at 100K miles or less after a steady diet of "quality" dino changed at 2K-3K miles.
My opinion is on the first day Mobil 1 was sold every dino lube of the day was inferior and obsolete...
As for your Toy running for 165 K miles and still looking good, that is not unusual for a Toy (short form). My Mexican gardener has a Starlet (I think 1980 model) with 330,000 miles on it. The guy only changes oil if and when he feels like doing it. Lincoln Town cars used by the New York City airport limo industry are expected to go 500,000 miles without any fuss or bother, using QS, Pennz, GTX regular dino.
In Fall 1998, I finally retired my old beater Ford Bronco. It had 150,000 miles on it, always had ordinary dino poured into it. I never had an engine problem the whole time. The electrical problems were killer, though. We could never figure out why the thing would lose spark all of a sudden in the middle of a freeway merge move.
In Fall 2000, I sold my girlfriend's Ford Thunderbird. This one had 175,000 mile son the clock. Like the Ford mentioned above, this one too did not have engine problems. Just the little electrical gremlins that finally made us go, "OK, that's enough. Adios, old Blue Oval." This hi-mileage thingie too did not have the benefit of Mobil 1.
So, in the final analysis, I think it is true what the more experienced forummer's say here. They say they've never seen an engine crap out because of the oil. It is far more likely your clutch or auto tranny, or drive train or body will go before your engine does.
If you have not been unlucky enough to get a lemon, $5/qt Mobil 1 or 86 cents/qt Chevron will not make the slightest difference to your engines' life. I like the fact that I can get much lower Fe UOA numbers with dino oil, though!!!!!!!