I put in synthetic, now I have a leak!

[mechtech2]

Originally Posted By: WhatMeOil
It looks like it's the front seal, or maybe the pan. There is some old built-up crud right in that area that I cleaned off. I'll be checking over the next couple of days. Wont' be fun pulling the balancer, but I can't park in the driveway until I can get it stopped!


Not quite 36...

 

[bubbatime]

As has been said in this post, 15w40 diesel oil or Maxlife 5w30, 10w30 would be great choices. I know from experience in an old car that 15w40 will probably still leak a little bit, but the maxlife should cut the leak down to nil. Try the maxlife first. You WILL be happy with it, I promise. Plus 5w30 Maxlife is plenty good for your winters in NV.

 

[virginoil]

AUTO-RX in an older car to slow the leak?

Or will this expose more false seals and make the leaks worse in vehicle of that age?

I would be inclined to drain immediately and go back to whatever was working before to reduce further cleaning and clogging of oil filters etc.

 

[Spyder7]

This particular problem doesn't seem like one where ARX would be indicated.

Simplest solution, and the one most likely to produce results, is to dump the syn and replace with an HM oil like MaxLife. Between it being a little thicker and having seal swellers and conditioners, it has about as a good a chance as anything in a bottle at stopping, or at least slowing, the leak.

I like synthetics and use them, but in a car of this vintage I would stick with an HM oil at reasonable OCIs and stay away from synthetics. This is not a good candidate for syn or extended OCIs.

It is an ideal candidate for an HM oil along with a little extra ZDDP, as the oils of today just don't have as much of the stuff as the oils used back when it left the assembly line. If I had this car, and wanted to get the maximum amount of life from it I could (the same as I try and achieve with any car I buy), this is the route I'd go. Synthetic is no magic elixir, and this is a perfect example of an instance where it can do more harm than good.

-Spyder