High mileage oil - Synth vs Conv for leaks?

[Art_Vandelay]

What do you think would be more effective at stopping or slowing a leak?

I was thinking a Dino based High Mileage oil, like Castrol GTX High Mileage, might be more effective than a Full Synthetic, such as Mobil 1 High Mileage, in addressing a leak. The reason being that the superior flow of synthetic, over a dino base, might actually be a disadvantage in this case? There's no question that the Mobil 1 is a better oil but is it better for this scenario? The cost difference doesn't matter to me.

What do you guys think?

The car is my 95 Toyota Camry 4cyl with 120K on it. There's always a little oil under it. I've added about 2+ quarts over 5000 miles, but some of that is likely consumption, so I wouldn't say it's leaking too bad. It's not my main car and it's getting old, so it's perfect for Bitog experimentation.

 

[LeakySeals]

M1 HM. Best of both. I wrote about it earlier today.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubb...737#Post2816737

 

[KCJeep]

I'm a big fan of Castrol HM but in your case I'd suggest Maxlife. It is likely to do just as well as the Castrol regarding the leak, but in my experience Maxlife will likely do a better job of reducing consumption which you also apparently have.

 

[Art_Vandelay]

Originally Posted By: LeakySeals
M1 HM. Best of both. I wrote about it earlier today.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubb...737#Post2816737


I actually read a few of your posts regarding your experience with Mobil 1 High Mileage prior to this post. I am seriously considering giving it a try.

 

[Art_Vandelay]

Originally Posted By: KCJeep
I'm a big fan of Castrol HM but in your case I'd suggest Maxlife. It is likely to do just as well as the Castrol regarding the leak, but in my experience Maxlife will likely do a better job of reducing consumption which you also apparently have.



The only reason I was favoring the Castrol HM over Maxlife was due to it being a thicker oil. I don't consider my consumption that far out of spec for its age. So it's the leak I'm most concerned with. Overall the car is in very good mechanical condition. Having had 3000 mile OCI's since it was new.

 

[KCJeep]

Yes it's definitely thicker than Maxlife if you want thick go Castrol. Love it in my Jeep partly for that reason and partly because it is so much quieter than Maxlife in that vehicle. It's also a syn-blend like Maxlife.

 

[bigjl]

I vote for Maxlife.

Since putting the 10w40 synth blend in my TX4 Taxi with the 2.5 VM diesel it has not used any oil.

It didn't use much and was a little wet underneath but not enough to drip, just get a little messy if that make sense.

Engine certainly sounds better, even 2000 miles since the OCI.

I would be happy to use Mobil HM but would shy away from a dino/conventional, mainly because the price difference makes going for a product that is inferior makes no sense.


The VM engine has history of bottom end troubles at anywhere between 90k and 120k.

I put this down to using cheap mineral oil or running cheap semi for too long.

Mine is fast coming up to 175k. Vehicle was registered May 2007. So not an old vehicle, most mileage is stop start round London with the driver having a reasonable 30ish mile commute into London.

Engines sounds as good if not slightly better than when purchased last year with 128k on it. Though it has had a cambelt and all idlers and tensioner replaced along with the multi belt which also helped to quiet the engine down.

Sounds not dissimilar to mates 1yr old17k mile TX4!

 

[bourne]

You can use Maxlife full Syn if you can find it. Its available at Meijer if there is one near you. It is CONSIDERABLY thicker than its syn blend brother. Reduced consumption in one of my tech's car from 1qt/1000 miles to 1qt/3000 miles.

http://www.valvoline.com/pdf/maxlife_full_synthetic.pdf
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2773118&page=1

 

[Art_Vandelay]

Originally Posted By: bourne
You can use Maxlife full Syn if you can find it. Its available at Meijer if there is one near you. It is CONSIDERABLY thicker than its syn blend brother. Reduced consumption in one of my tech's car from 1qt/1000 miles to 1qt/3000 miles.

http://www.valvoline.com/pdf/maxlife_full_synthetic.pdf
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2773118&page=1 div>


That's a significant reduction in consumption. Wow.

 

[Danh]

The leak-stopping ability of HM oils is a bit overstated in my opinion. RTV sealants are used in many, many places in modern cars and are pretty much immune to seal swellers/conditioners. If you have a leak, odds are decent it's from an RTV seal, making HM oils a wasted effort.

Some HM oils, like MaxLife or Mobil Super are syn blends. Mobil1, of course is a full syn. As conventional oils are less-likely to seep past a compromised seal than syns or syn blends, a better course of action may be just to try a good conventional oil like PYB. Or find a HM oil that is not a blend, if such a thing exists.

 

[KD0AXS]

Originally Posted By: Danh


Some HM oils, like MaxLife or Mobil Super are syn blends. Mobil1, of course is a full syn. As conventional oils are less-likely to seep past a compromised seal than syns or syn blends, a better course of action may be just to try a good conventional oil like PYB. Or find a HM oil that is not a blend, if such a thing exists.


That's the strange thing with many of these HM oils is that they are synthetic blends but are not marketed as such. I think that makes them a better value than the additives that make them a "high mileage" oil since they are usually priced only minimally higher than regular dino oils. QS Defy says "synthetic blend motor oil" in small print on the front of the bottle way at the bottom, Mobil Super HM you have to look at the back of the bottle to see where it says it's a syn blend, and Maxlife doesn't say it anywhere on the bottle at all. I wonder if Walmart's Super Tech HM is also a synthetic blend?

 

[Art_Vandelay]

Originally Posted By: Danh
The leak-stopping ability of HM oils is a bit overstated in my opinion. RTV sealants are used in many, many places in modern cars and are pretty much immune to seal swellers/conditioners. If you have a leak, odds are decent it's from an RTV seal, making HM oils a wasted effort.

Some HM oils, like MaxLife or Mobil Super are syn blends. Mobil1, of course is a full syn. As conventional oils are less-likely to seep past a compromised seal than syns or syn blends, a better course of action may be just to try a good conventional oil like PYB. Or find a HM oil that is not a blend, if such a thing exists.


I was thinking a 40 weight conventional might do a good job. Just figured I'd give the High Mileage Oil a chance first.