High Mileage oil a good choice?

[wn1998]

Just wondering if a high mileage oil is a good choice for a higher mileage auto? I have a 97 cavalier that has just completed 2 arx cycles. I was thinking of running motorcraft 5w30 blend but am not sure if I should run a "high mileage oil"

what are the benefits of a high mileage oil? My cavalier did not use much oil if any during either of my cleans and arx rinse cycles.

 

[Alan]

I'd go for regular type PCMO's if your not leaking oil.

 

[MONKEYMAN]

I was using high mileage oil before starting Auto-RX in my 93 Sentra, which is prone to seal leaks. Frank told me better to use regular dino afterwords to keep the seal from leaking. I would just use regular dino or the motorcraft oil. I don't think you need the seal conditioners, especially after cleaning things with the Auto-RX. I think high mileage oil is more about selling oil that is a little more expensive, then something that is really needed in many cases. It does help reduce oil consumption in some vehicles. It is a little thicker, and does have the seal conditions. But, if you don't need those things, it is not worth the money, IMHO.

 

[Cutehumor]

I used valvoline maxlife 5w30 for 60k miles on my mits mirage. at 122k I started having a severe rear main seal. but when I dropped the transmission, the rear main seal was "popped" out. the seal still looked new after 13 years.

 

[Jelly]

HM for me...Castrol HM that is!

 

[JHZR2]

my problem with HM oils arent so much their lube formulation, but the fact that they contain seal swellers.

We have seen some pretty good VOA and UOAs of HM oils. But, if my engine wasnt leaking before hand, why would I want to be swelling seals? Id rather not have to swell my seals unless there was a leak that I wanted to buy some more time on before replacing said seal. And in that case Id buy some seperate seal swelling additive.

Id use HM oils, even in new cars, if they didnt have this additive.

JMH

 

[G-MAN]

I think HM oils offer the best bang for the buck of any oil out there. The UOAs and VOAs we've seen show significantly higher levels of moly, boron, and calcium—levels that are on par with the best synthetics.

 

[jthorner]

My local Autozone clearanced out their Exxon High Mileage oil at $1.00 per quart which is an excellent deal and would likely work fine for you.

John

 

[KC_admin]

I like HM oil. It is the cheapest and easiest solution to rear main seal leaks. Better to use HM oil then to try to make the repair yourself or spend thousands of $$$ in labor to replace a 0.75 cent part.

 

[Patman]

quote:

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Originally posted by JHZR2:
my problem with HM oils arent so much their lube formulation, but the fact that they contain seal swellers.

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They simply contain a bit more esters, which perform the duty of a slight bit of seal swelling, but honestly it's probably not very much. And the esters contained in the high mileage oils are probably still not as much as in some synthetics.

So if you're avoiding a high mileage oil because of this reason, then perhaps you should give them another look.

 

[TallPaul]

quote:

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Originally posted by Patman:

quote:

---

Originally posted by JHZR2:
my problem with HM oils arent so much their lube formulation, but the fact that they contain seal swellers.

---

They simply contain a bit more esters, which perform the duty of a slight bit of seal swelling, but honestly it's probably not very much. And the esters contained in the high mileage oils are probably still not as much as in some synthetics.

So if you're avoiding a high mileage oil because of this reason, then perhaps you should give them another look.

---

I don't think it is an issue either. If you look at Maxlife it says "seal conditioner," not "sweller." Sure a component may have that effect, but surely it is balanced to avoid problems. This is a major oil company and I doubt they will put out an oil that will mess up your seals.