First ever synthetic oilchange 2001 Pathfinder

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I am completely bewildered at the amount of information in this site and am seeking some advice. I own a 2001 Nissan Pathfinder with 90,000 highway kms on it. I want to make the jump to synthetic. I live in Winnipeg so -35'C to +35'C is the range of temperature I drive in. I have access to AMSOIL 5W-30. Here are my questions:
1. is this brand/grade suitable for the above conditions.
2. do I have to do anything before switching to the synthetic (engine rinse/flush?)
3. is there anything that I can do to avoid leaking or complications.
Thanks to those who respond.
 
Well for -35C you should have 0W-30. If the vehicle is well maintained you really don't need to flush rinse nor will you likely have a problem with leaks.

If there is any doubt you could do an Auto-Rx treatment first.
 
quote:

Originally posted by Guido:
1. is this brand/grade suitable for the above conditions.
2. do I have to do anything before switching to the synthetic (engine rinse/flush?)
3. is there anything that I can do to avoid leaking or complications.


At the risk of sounding pedantic, your owner's manual should give a listing of the recommended oil viscosities for various environmental conditions...having said that:

^^^what Al said^^^
 
quote:

Originally posted by Guido:

3. is there anything that I can do to avoid leaking or complications.


If you have a small leak now, then the leak will get worse with synthetic. If the engine is well maintained then I would not worry. I changed over in my '99 Maxima with 98,xxx kms with no problems(cross my fingers) to date. I only have 101,xxx at this moment but still ok. I'm running Amsoil ASL 5W30 at the moment and will continue to use Amsoil. Smoothed out the engine slightly(how can the VQ get any smoother). I wanted to AutoRx but didn't order it on time. Best of luck with the switch to synthetic.
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If you have been maintaining your Pathfinder properly than you should have no problem changing over to a synthetic oil. I would suggest you do an engine flush using Amsoil Engine Flush or Gunk Engine Flush. Be careful to follow the directions when using any solvent flush. For everyone in the USA 90,000 KM is only about 60,000 miles so I don't see any problem at all in using synthetic oil in that engine and also he stated that the vechilce is a 2001 model so his Pathfinder is fairly new.

Amsoil 5W-30 ASL is an excellent product and should work very well in your application. Amsoil also makes an excellent 0W-30 motor oil but I think you will be fine using Amsoil 5W-30 ASL all year.

[ March 04, 2004, 02:31 AM: Message edited by: Sin City ]
 
I almost forgot
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Now that I think about it Winterpeg is rather cold in the winter so you should have slightly less engine wear using a 0W-30 synthetic oil in the winter and a synthetic 5W-30 for the rest of the year. However a fully synthetic 5W-30 motor oil will still work in your climate during the winter. Also you will get slightly better fuel economy in very cold weather when using a 0W-30 as compared to a 5W-30 synthetic motor oil.

[ March 04, 2004, 02:50 AM: Message edited by: Sin City ]
 
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