quote:
Originally posted by 3 Mad Ponchos:
Hm, well, OK. I'm not sure I'd want to take regular oil to 7500 miles but I don't have any UOAs handy to show that it's a bad idea. If that's worked for you to 215k miles, then more power to you. I've taken several cars to almost 200k miles on regular oil, but it was with 3k oil changes (and no UOAs).
Cheers, 3MP
Actually, the 215k mile 'control vehicle' reached that on syn oil (I think once in there I put in pennz 10-40 due to a scheduled maint and inability to get syn oil (amsoil) in time, this accured around 100K miles I think). I would have expected a board like this to be VERY interested in how the journals and bores mic out when I swap motors. Instead its was insinuated once that the same vehicle without the oil changed, but UOAs done would have less wear!!!
I have the perfect vehicle that a bunch of oil guys presumably would want to crawl over - one that has run on syn oil. GOOD syn oil for a hideously long distance, while working hard, and changes probly on a 5K mile average. But as I mentioned in another thread...I have 2 180+K mile specimens in the wings that run only on dino oil AND I got both of them used so the pedigree of 'early life' is suspect - needless to say, regardless of whatever abuse they might have occured, both seem willing to put up similar numbers mileage wise.
for the record, that station wagon I have had so much ash in the heads I had to use a screwdriver and shopvac to remove it. Its a common problem with chevy V-motors - not enuf oil reaches the valve spring area - which is used for cooling - so what does get there burns to ash. I dropped the pan one day, tossed in new std size bearings, never did a single plastigage check, tossed in a hi-vol (note I didnt say hi pressure) pump, and now I have more oil pressure than any chevy ever did new and I go 3000ish miles on walmart oil - mostly because the detergency is slowly but surely cleaning the rest of the heads out. Oh the valve seals are shot - probly from the heat so it gives a small puff on startup, but it uses a quart every 2000 miles or more so whatever abuse this car went thru, its minimal and like I said, Im around 185K on it and all im using it for now is to tow a 5000lb boat.
all this shows is that dino oil, cheap QS dino oil from walmart even, with questionable changing intervals is not as bad as people make it out to be. at 185K that wagon is fer sure one the mileage leaders on this board. sentenced to being a tow vehicle, it is one of the hardest working. if I crack that motor open some day and find its only SLIGHTLY more worn than the truck, with a known maint history....well that sorta shoots the syn vs dino theories down in flames no?
(of note: the 185Kish mile s blazer IS getting a new motor as soon as I install the cam in the new one. It uses NO oil and is 100% original and was used for years as a rural mail carrier truck. It also runs on dino oil (walmart brand of course) and who knows in the past. the stickers on the door seem to indicate it might have seen a lot of pennzoil. last summer it was horribly overheated such that the pickup coil was fried. since then it has injested a little coolant (but not into the oil) and its steadily gotten worse. My decision not to toss in new head gaskets was driven by finding a 0 mile reman motor on ebay for 700 bux. with warranty. that truck would also be a mileage leader on this board, and with its stop and go past - certainly semi-abusive (the 700r4 tranny already grenaded in spectacular fashion a couple of years back due to the excessive stop and go nature)
again, the point is, a comparo of a known factor - a syn oil truck with known intervals vs two similar mileaged motors on whatever oil and whatever intervals would be very interesting indeed. at least one would think.
