"High" mileage Intrepid - Switch to syn?

[Dick in Falls Church]

Seth-
Most of the cars that have come into our family in the past 25 years were Saabs and Volvos that had about 100,000 miles on them. Flushed them with AMSOIL engine flush (after that came on market), changed oil and filter and drove. Haven't had a problem yet, at least not oil-related.
Assuming things are sound now, go for it.

 

[SethH]

Hi again,

I just realized that Mobil's high mileage formula is not Full Synthetic, it's a blend. So tell me which is better: a Full Synthetic (i.e. Mobil 1 10w30) or a blend that contains seal conditioners.

I do not know of any leaks at all, but will regret not have the seal conditioners in the future? Please tell me your opinion.

Also, is there a good Full Synthetic out there with conditioners?

 

[bob555]

I cannot imagine that you would regret having seal conditioners in the future. In anycase, Blend is not as robust of an oil, not as good of a value, and certainly not up to extended drains like Mobil 1.

Since you have no leaks, I'd definitely run M1...$19/5qts at Wal-Mart is hard to beat.

 

[ToyotaNSaturn]

Seth, Another vote for Auto-RX PRIOR to going synthetic. Follow Frank's advice at his website, you'll be very happy with the results.

I switched to synthetic on my Saturn SL2 with 98K and I did worry about leaks, but Auto-Rx worked as advertised. As a result, no leaks after switching to Mobil 1 5w30. MPG is up, too! I'm not an advertisement for this product, but just one happy customer!

 

[cousincletus]

The 2.7 engine in the Intrepid is not one to do extended drains with. The pickup screen clogs up with sludge.

 

[ToyotaNSaturn]

quote:

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Originally posted by cousincletus:
The 2.7 engine in the Intrepid is not one to do extended drains with. The pickup screen clogs up with sludge.

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If the engine has been cleaned, say with Auto-RX, why would a good synthetic (M1, Amsoil, etc) cause sludge to form in an extended drain situation? ...especially when using the Auto-Rx maintenance dose? Running 6K with dino, yeah, that could definitely cause some sludge to build up...

 

[RTexasF]

quote:

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Originally posted by ToyotaNSaturn:
Seth, Another vote for Auto-RX PRIOR to going synthetic. Follow Frank's advice at his website, you'll be very happy with the results.

I switched to synthetic on my Saturn SL2 with 98K and I did worry about leaks, but Auto-Rx worked as advertised. As a result, no leaks after switching to Mobil 1 5w30. MPG is up, too! I'm not an advertisement for this product, but just one happy customer!

---

I must admit that I have not had reason to use Auto RX (yet) but the glorious reviews on this site have made it a must as my cars acquire more mileage. If I had your car and needed it to last I would follow this regimen to the letter then use Mobil 1 due to its universal avalability.

 

[cousincletus]

I was reading about the 2.7 sludge problem on www.allpar.com forums. If the car was mine, I would use synthetic and change at 5,000 miles or six months, whichever comes first. Supposedly the pickup screen is too small and gets clogged easily. BTW, my brother had installed a junkyard engine in his car (Plymouth Sundance 2.2) and the oil light came on. He pulled the oil pan and the only part that had sludge was the pickup screen and the area around it. It was kinda hard and crunchy. These engines are not as bad as Toyotas for sludge but you must do regular oil changes. Just not worth taking a chance. By the looks of your previous maintenance, it looks like you shouldn't have any issues.

 

[TC]

SETH: If you're primarily concerned about potential sludge/varnish build-up, "diesel" lubes offer an excellent, lower-cost option to synthetics, especially if you won't take advantage of syn's primary advantages (very cold temps, frequent dry starts, hot-running engines, extended drain intervals). Personally I wouldn't opt for synthetic for your car, assuming you don't experience Severe Service or any of the above four items, based strictly on costs/benefits. Diesel lubes (which are also "SL" rated for cars) offer tremendous detergent/dispersant packages for the money.

TYPICAL, RANDOM TBNs
Kendall GT-1: 6.2
Valvoline All Climate: 7
Chevron/Havoline: 7.6
Kendall Synthetic 10w30: 7.9
Valvoline MaxLife: 8
Kendall Synthetic 5w-40: 10.1
Shell Rotella: 11.5

[ April 01, 2004, 05:14 PM: Message edited by: TC ]