High-Mileage oil to keep the seals conditioned?

[KrisZ]

Some time ago I read a thread here on BITOG about oil leaks. There was one poster that used synthetic oil (I think Mobil 1) for almost entire life of the car, but said the engine still developed a small leak at the rear main seal.
Some people suggested that in some areas the seals can still get brittle and suggested the HM oil, but this is after the fact and if the HM oil does not help, you have to change the seal.
Now, that got me thinking about using the HM oil as a seal conditioner on cars with relatively small mileage, say 40k, or from brand new. For example, every third or fourth OCI run an OCI with HM oil.

So what do you guys think? Would this have any benefits as far as keeping the seals conditioned and pliable? Or, would the effects of HM oil be cancelled out after you go back to normal oil?

Just curious, I tried searching, but I could not find any similar discussion.

 

[cornfused]

Good question, I don't know the answer but I'll be watching!

 

[StevieC]

The best way to keep the oil seals / gaskets soft and/or in new like condition is with regular oil changes and proper maintenance. HM oil will help somewhat, but only minor oil leaking and is more a marketing than anything else. Don't waste your money.

In all the cars I've had this oil never worked any better.

 

[LargeCarManX2]

If I wanted to keep my seals soft...I would put a quart of Redline in with each OCI.

If I wanted to keep my oil seals soft...and wanted to keep mineral oil only in....I would use HM oils. But, who knows maybe the conditioner is group VI?

 

[StevieC]

Yeah Redline would be good because of the PAO's in it generally make seals swell a tad.

Good Point LargeCarManX2

 

[Mach5]

MaxLife stopped most of the leaks in an '83 S-10 I had. Fixed the smoke on startup, too. That being said, I wouldn't use the product until it was needed. If the seals aren't leaking and the engine isn't using oil, it isn't worth the extra cost in my opinion.

 

[StevieC]

Good to know, I will keep that oil in mind when my Santa Fe gets to the brink of engine replacement... I had only tried QS-HM & Castrol-HM and it didn't fix anything. The oil leaking/burning I had in my old engine was very minor.

Thanks Mach5

 

[FrankN4]

My son in law was interested in running High Mileage oils in a brand new Jeep. I talked with both Mobil 1 and Valvoline about the seal conditioners in their High Mileage Oils. Both said that they are not swelling additives. The seal reconditioners were used in their formula to help to condition the seals back to their original elastic form and shape, to allow proper sealing, but not swelling. Mobil 1 said I could use High mileage oil in a new car but it did not meet GF-4 for catalyst protection and there could be warranty problems. Valvoline said I could use their 5W or 10W-30 oil in a new car and it did meet GF-4. Both meet ACEA A3 so they would not be energy conserving.

Both Mobil 1 and Valvoline said they put seal conditioners in all of their full synthetic oils, HM or not. Mobil 1 went so far to say that if you start with Mobil 1 from day one that you should have no seal problems for the life of the engine.

I have a Toyota pickup with 300,300 miles on it. It got Mobil 1 at 40,000 miles and does not leak or seep a drop. I have a Cavalier that got Mobil 1 the day it came from the dealer. It now has 206,000 miles and no seep, no lead.

If you don't have warranty issues, you can run HM oils, at least Mobil 1 and Valvoline any time you want. You will also get more antioxidants with both, More ZDDP with Mobil 1, More moly with both, a HTHS of at least 3.5 with both, probably more/better detergent package. You actually get a hevy duty oil.

Mobil 1 HM is the same price as their regular oils. I am not sure about the Valvoline synthetic MaxLife price.

 

[StevieC]

Thanks for the info, I was always under the impression that they swelled the seals a bit because of the Valvoline or Castrol commercial a while back that showed through an animation it swelling the seals.

 

[BrianWC]

Originally Posted By: StevieC
Yeah Redline would be good because of the PAO's in it generally make seals swell a tad.

Good Point LargeCarManX2


Redline is mostly ester, not PAO. PAO in general is reputed to shrink seals and esters swell (depending on the ester). But modern synths are formulated to avoid swell or shrinkage issues with seals.

Don't forget, if you want to save a dime or two, Supertech is sold in an HM formulation.

 

[SilverC6]

Pennzoil High Mileage is the same price as YBP at Walmart.

Both are $12/5 qt. bottle.

I was considering using it in a Mazda RX-8 where seal conditioning is everything.

 

[RoGuE]

Pennzoil YB and Pennzoil HM are also the same price at my Walmart. Both $12. I am still undecided on what oil to use on my next oil change at around 14,000 miles in my 2007 Malibu.

 

[ToyotaNSaturn]

Originally Posted By: Mach5
MaxLife stopped most of the leaks in an '83 S-10 I had. Fixed the smoke on startup, too. That being said, I wouldn't use the product until it was needed. If the seals aren't leaking and the engine isn't using oil, it isn't worth the extra cost in my opinion.


If it did fix your problems, then it wouldn't it be worth using to prevent such issue from occurring in the first place?

 

[vxcalais]

Thats amazing, thats 13 posts without a mention of Auto-RX.

 

[kingrob]

Why'd you have to go break the track record?

Originally Posted By: StevieC
Thanks for the info, I was always under the impression that they swelled the seals a bit because of the Valvoline or Castrol commercial a while back that showed through an animation it swelling the seals.


Semantics. If it swells your old seals, it is a seal sweller. If it walks like a duck...

 

[ARB1977]

Originally Posted By: vxcalais
Thats amazing, thats 13 posts without a mention of Auto-RX.

Auto Rx...there i said it. HM oil and Auto Rx equals twice the fun, thats what i use.

 

[vxcalais]

ARB, dont they counter one another ? Isnt it by nature that any oil apart from PAO will swell a seal ? Thats what Frank is on about when using a mineral oil to rejuvinate the cleaned out seal ? The seals would be designed for that purpose. I should have taked some photos....slightly irrelevant but i left my latex glove in a few ounces or old Dex 3 trans fluid i drained and when i went to use the pan for my oil change the latex glove had virtually dissolved into a rubbery muck.....i can see why latex isnt used in seals....

 

[KrisZ]

Price wise the HM oils are slightly more expensive than regular oil in Canada, but much less expensive than synthetics.
I guess judging the effectiveness of HM oil in a fairly new car would be difficult or impossible. And it seems that the formulas vary greatly between different brands, as some reported good results of some HM oils at stopping leaks, while other brands did virtually nothing.
That brings another question, if the a certain HM oil stopped a leak, would the leak reoccur if you switch back to regular oil? If the leak reoccurs, that would suggest that there are some seal swellers in HM oils.

 

[BrianWC]

Originally Posted By: vxcalais
ARB, dont they counter one another ? Isnt it by nature that any oil apart from PAO will swell a seal ? Thats what Frank is on about when using a mineral oil to rejuvinate the cleaned out seal ?


No, I believe in the case of seals his reasoning is rinsing with conventional stops the conditioning process...Sorta like pouring cold water on pasta....

 

[Mach5]

Originally Posted By: ToyotaNSaturn
If it did fix your problems, then it wouldn't it be worth using to prevent such issue from occurring in the first place?


In the case of my old truck, it was a freebie from a friend. I used it to haul landscaping materials for my house. It had seen far better days before I got a hold of it.

I wouldn't use a HM oil in a low mileage car. I don't know what the long term effects upon the seals are. I'm willing to use HM oil in an attempt to fix seals that already have issues because I have nothing to lose. I'm unwilling to use it to fix a problem I don't have.