Im new hear

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Hi every one.

I own a 1994 Jimmy, 4.3,AND A 2002 3.8 Ford Windstar.
Both have been on 5w30 mobile since new. Both no have severe rear main leaks. The Jimmy has 140.000 kl. The Windstar has 90.000 kl. I live in Norwood On. Can. What should I do? Would like to continue using Syn.

gouda

http://www.goodshepherdkennels.com
 
I would check out auto-rx.com for your rear main seal leak. Check out the website and look under seal leaks, then you can make a decision if this product is what you want.
 
I would continue using syn, especially in the winters up here... You could however switch to a great Dino oil like Pennzoil Yellow Bottle (PYB) for the summer to save some money.

Both those engines you have are relatively easy on oil and will last a very long time if looked after. Especially the 4.3! Can't kill 'em easy!

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The only thing to kill the 3.8L is head gasket leaks, and those are obviously not attributed to lubricants.

Welcome, and stay the course if you're comfortable with your current opperating pattern.
 
Do you have the High Mileage version of these Mobil 1 oils there in Ontario? If so, run the new 5W-30 version of this oil in the winter and 10W-30 version in the summer. If that does not work to slow or stop your rear main leaks, then find some Maxlife, either full syn or blend. I KNOW the Maxlife will help.

Going back to a previous post that mentioned Auto-Rx, this would be a very good treatment to look into, even before using the HM oil. The main thing that it will do is clean your rings/pistons to bring back original power to the engine, but as a side benefit, it can reduce or stop leaks by cleaning and reconditioning the seals along the way. Then when or if you DO use a high mileage oil such as one of the ones above-after the treatment, it will be MORE effective in my experience to reduce or eliminate the leaks.

BTW, while doing an Auto-RX treatment, HM oils are not recommended. But afterwards, they are fine to use and work well in my experience.
 
Originally Posted By: gouda
Hi every one.

I own a 1994 Jimmy, 4.3,AND A 2002 3.8 Ford Windstar.
Both have been on 5w30 mobile since new. Both no have severe rear main leaks. The Jimmy has 140.000 kl. The Windstar has 90.000 kl. I live in Norwood On. Can. What should I do? Would like to continue using Syn.

gouda



First of all welcome!
welcome2.gif


Fix the leaks. Then continue with what you want to do. But really nothing is going to fix the leaks but replacing the seals/gaskets.

Take care, bill

PS: You may want to take down your website in your sig unless you are a site sponsor.
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Just remember it is "Mobil" and "here".

Welcome.


Ha o boy
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We dont miss a trick gouda.
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Last edited:
Try a HM oil, or a stop-leak product first. If the cheapest solution works, why jump into a more expensive one?

Got a buddy who lives just outside of Norwood - nice area!
 
Hi addyguy

Where abouts does your buddy live,I might know him.
How do I remove my web site from my first post?

For all hear,Im 66 years old and retired from G.M. IN 1999.
Worked in the Oshawa truck plant since 1961. Started in the old plant,then move to the new plant in 1965. My name is John Tendam, but everyone at work called me Tandem. They called me this because my first job was installing tandem axels on the school buses,and transport tracters. The name stayed with me till I retired in 1999.

gouda
Please excuse my spelling guys.
Never was good at it.
 
Welcome.
I have one of the older windstars, a '96 3.8L with just over 211K miles on it.....still doing very well.
The head gasket issue is mainly with the 1995 model year.
Later years can develop lower intake manifold gasket leaks....which are easy to mis-diagnose as head gasket......but since the head gasket job includes new lower intake manifold gaskets......a person may not realize that the head gaskets were still good (my head gaskets are original.....but the lower intake manifold gaskets have been replaced.)

That front cover , aka timing cover gasket is another matter......hopefully they had improved the original by 2002.
I was super lucky and caught mine when it was barely a slight seapage....and used Bar's Stop Leak.....has held for many years/miles.

You can use 5W-20 in our windstars.
My owner's manual calls for 5W-30, but FORD issued a TSB saying that 5W-20 is "recommended".....so either one is fine if it says 5W-30 in your manual.
Although going to a 5W-20 is not something that will solve the leak.....just passing the TSB information along.

I have used AutoRX in my windstar...and it did clean things up.
I have some slight leakage....but super slight.
Of course....if the seal is torn....or worn.....then AutoRX will not help that....but it can clean....and help it to seal better if that is all it needs.
Certainly worth a try as getting to that rear seal is not cheap and easy.

I would check the color of the leak.....if red, then it is transmission fluid.

As far as changing your original post, at the bottom of your message, there will be some buttons......the left most one being the "edit" button.
If the "edit" button is not there.....you can no longer edit the post. You can only edit your post for a certain amount of time.
So....if you cannot edit the post....don't worry about it.
 
Originally Posted By: gouda
Hi every one.

I own a 1994 Jimmy, 4.3,AND A 2002 3.8 Ford Windstar.
Both have been on 5w30 mobile since new. Both no have severe rear main leaks.


I'm going to assume you mean Mobil 1 synthetic 5W-30, and that both have rear main seal leaks.

I would first stop using Mobil 1 synthetic. The PAO synthetics in that oil can still cause problems with seals on some motors.

I'm not sure what length oil changes you do, but if they are less than 5000 miles, then you really have no need for synthetic. And with the highly improved quality of conventionals over the past 15 years, you will see no benefit from using synthetic in terms of wear and engine cleanliness at only 5k miles oil changes.

You could try a HM (high-mileage) oil like Valvoline Maxlife (synthetic blend). Many here have had good experiences with HM oils like these. The Valvoline Maxlife will run 5000 - 6000 miles easy and deliver synthetic like performance.
 
I used Mobil 1 in my windstar from just under 38K miles through 180K miles. Gave me good service and it will serve you very well.
 
Originally Posted By: Johnny
What was wrong with his website? Had nothing to do with oil, just some good looking German Shepherds.



Those are some nice looking dogs. We have some German Shepherds at the car lot I work part time at; other than looking like mean junk yard dogs they are very nice and playful. Just don't shake the fence after they are let off their leads.
 
Originally Posted By: gouda
Hi addyguy

Where abouts does your buddy live,I might know him.
How do I remove my web site from my first post?

For all hear,Im 66 years old and retired from G.M. IN 1999.
Worked in the Oshawa truck plant since 1961. Started in the old plant,then move to the new plant in 1965. My name is John Tendam, but everyone at work called me Tandem. They called me this because my first job was installing tandem axels on the school buses,and transport tracters. The name stayed with me till I retired in 1999.

gouda
Please excuse my spelling guys.
Never was good at it.


Well, I was going to pounce on you too, but being a new guy, we'll cut you some slack. But yes, the oil is made by "Mobil" (with no e on the end -- Mobile is a city on the Alabama gulf coast...
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). But don't feel bad, this mistake has been made by literally hundreds of good members before you.

Welcome to the site. Stay a while; I'm sure you'll enjoy.

From the looks of it, you have a good stable pattern in place, with two engines that, treated the way you've been treating them, should not throw you any curves. You can certainly experiment with changes, but I'd do so slowly and watch carefully for "output" changes as you change the "input".
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Originally Posted By: Johnny
What was wrong with his website? Had nothing to do with oil, just some good looking German Shepherds.


I would think that Helen would love for him to pay for some ad space.

The site could use more $$$. I'm sure Mobil is not covering all of it...

Take care, Bill
 
Originally Posted By: gouda
Hi every one.

I own a 1994 Jimmy, 4.3,AND A 2002 3.8 Ford Windstar.
Both have been on 5w30 mobile since new. Both no have severe rear main leaks. The Jimmy has 140.000 kl. The Windstar has 90.000 kl. I live in Norwood On. Can. What should I do? Would like to continue using Syn.

gouda



Would you quantify "severe" rear main leak? Are we talking a quart every 1,000 miles or are we talking a quart every 5,000 miles?

If it is a quart every 1000 miles then in my opinion, there isn't much that can be done other than replacing the seal. On the other hand, Auto Rx and a HM oil may improve the situation if you are only losing a quart every 5,000 miles. I have a F150 with 162,000 that leaked/used a quart about every 3,000 miles. HM oil has helped to slow this to about 1/2 quart.

The leak hasn't bothered me too much. I just keep a piece of cardboard on the garage floor and spray some engine cleaner under the engine every so often when I am washing it. Cardboard, oil and cleaner are cheap. And I'm too cheap to spend the money to fix the leak.
 
I can say firsthand experience that there was a large reduction in oil leaking from both rear/front main seals on our 91 Chevy 305. We were adding a quart every 200-300 miles after trying stopleak products. It was bad and the rear bumper had some oil spots on it after a long highway trip. We were about to re-seal the engine but then tried some 10W-40 Maxlife and within a couple thousand miles, the leak had slowed to a quart of makeup oil after 1800-2000 miles. It has stayed at this rate for the last few oil changes since, and now we can live with the comparatively small amount now leaking. The engine turned 268k miles today. So, yes, a HM oil can make a huge difference.
 
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