Maxlife vs Defy

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cheesepuffs

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Whats goin' on guys. So I'm currently running PYB and have five quarts of QSGB ready to go that I had planned on using for my next OCI, except my truck has recently begun to leak... I'm not exactly sure where its coming from yet, I need to clean the engine bay and check it out but its been too cold for that lately. Showing spots on the driveway though so I'm gonna use the QSGB in a different vehicle and switch this truck (in my Sig) to HM oil.

I've never used a high mileage oil before. I know what they do but I wanna know which is best at potentially slowing or stopping leaks. I know they aren't magic. I know its best to have the leaking seal or gasket replaced. I know it might not even work and if it does it won't happen overnight. But I'm gonna give it a shot so I need your opinion.

I'm a SOPUS fan so Defy seems like a good pick especially with the zinc content considering my truck is flat tappet and also because of its high syn content and a dose of boron which I personally like. But I'm really doing this to try to slow the leak and I've read here that Maxlife (I'd use the blend) is tops at stopping leaks.

Does Maxlife really contain that much better of a seal sweller? Which oil seems to have better cleaning ability? Tell me your thoughts, opinions, and personal experiences and point me in the right direction. Any help is appreciated.
 
Maxlife used to have 160ppm moly and load of detergent (TBN 8.9). Defy has much more Zinc which is bad for your exhaust. Now Maxlife removed most of the moly. If price be equal, I will choose Maxlife.
 
Good information, thanks. For the record my truck is old enough to not require emissions testing ever again. Not that I wanna purposely destroy the cat, but its not a big concern of mine either. My truck is originally spec'd for SJ oil which probably contained about as much zinc as Defy does anyway. Just keep that in mind. That being said, the SL rating of Defy doesn't bother me either.
 
Find the leak first! Then, if it's an easy fix such as valve cover gasket, fix it/them!

I fixed all of the leaks that I could(w/o pulling the engine)in my old Firebird FORMULA before considering the HM Oils. Now that I am comfortalbe with the job that I've done and it still leaked, I then went to the HM oils.
 
Its definitely not a valve cover gasket. I'm suspecting rear main seal because it looks like there's fluid dripping from around the bellhousing but its absolutely not synchromesh. Theres also clearly motor oil puddling on top of the skidplate so its probably leaking from multiple places... It didn't leak at all until I switched from VWB to PYB. Maybe I got some of the GTL base PYB and its cleaning TOO much, haha.

I'm just looking for something to get by with for now. I don't have a garage so I'm not trying to tear into this thing outside in single degree weather. Gonna wait til spring for that.
 
Looking through the favorite oils of 2012 thread (how come there's no favorite oils of 2013 sticky?) I see that Maxlife was literally over three times as popular as Defy. Maybe that's because of lower availability due to it being a newer, lesser known product at that time - or maybe it isn't. Why does BITOG have seemingly so much more confidence in Maxlife? I'll gladly run it if it's that good, but is it really superior to other HM oils? What makes it so?
 
Originally Posted By: Ramblejam
Are you limited to solely Maxlife and Defy, or have you considered other options?



Reason why I only specified those two is because Maxlife seems to be the go-to around here and Defy also seems to be gaining more notoriety than the others. I don't hear much about the options from Pennzoil, Mobil, Castrol or the private labels. But I'm certainly open to any brand. What do you have in mind?
 
Nexgen Maxlife stopped a rear main leak on my wife's 01 Suburban. Before the Maxlife, it would leave a 1-2 inch puddle of oil on days she drove it. The leak stopped after about 2-3 weeks of use. It has 262K miles and has never had a drop of Synthetic oil in it.
We have similar trucks. Mine's a 91 K2500 with the 5.0.
 
I have an 06' Honda Odyssey that had an oil leak. The mechanic told me it was the rear main seal and it would be very expensive to fix. I tried various aftermarket seal reconditioners with no luck. I then used Nextgen Maxlife (Walmart was clearing them out and I had coupons). Didn't notice a difference after the first oil change, but after the second, it stopped leaking. I've had two more oil changes(all Nextgen Maxlife) since and there is still no sign of a leak.
IMO, Defy would probably work too, but I went with Maxlife because I was getting the 5 qt. jugs for around $8.
 
Originally Posted By: bama7x57
Nexgen Maxlife stopped a rear main leak on my wife's 01 Suburban. Before the Maxlife, it would leave a 1-2 inch puddle of oil on days she drove it. The leak stopped after about 2-3 weeks of use. It has 262K miles and has never had a drop of Synthetic oil in it.
We have similar trucks. Mine's a 91 K2500 with the 5.0.


This is the exact kind of feedback I was looking for, thank you. Sounds like we might have a winner here.
 
From my reading of the Posts....IMO.....the reason most people recommend Max Life, (Red or Green), is because it has been on clearance, and in some cases, FAR from AAP over the summer. So naturally the stashes of NexGen MaxLife, in some peoples hoard, has loads to be used.

QS Defy or Pennzoil HM would most likely do the job required. Apparently, there just have not been any FAR deals on SOPUS HM oils.

IMO...If SOPUS has the same FAR deals as Valvoline has had.....lots of people would be using their products.
 
Originally Posted By: termigator
I have an 06' Honda Odyssey that had an oil leak. The mechanic told me it was the rear main seal and it would be very expensive to fix. I tried various aftermarket seal reconditioners with no luck. I then used Nextgen Maxlife (Walmart was clearing them out and I had coupons). Didn't notice a difference after the first oil change, but after the second, it stopped leaking. I've had two more oil changes(all Nextgen Maxlife) since and there is still no sign of a leak.
IMO, Defy would probably work too, but I went with Maxlife because I was getting the 5 qt. jugs for around $8.


More excellent experience. Love hearing from people that have actually used these oils, keep em coming!
 
Originally Posted By: mongo161
From my reading of the Posts....IMO.....the reason most people recommend Max Life, (Red or Green), is because it has been on clearance, and in some cases, FAR from AAP over the summer. So naturally the stashes of NexGen MaxLife, in some peoples hoard, has loads to be used.

QS Defy or Pennzoil HM would most likely do the job required. Apparently, there just have not been any FAR deals on SOPUS HM oils.

IMO...If SOPUS has the same FAR deals as Valvoline has had.....lots of people would be using their products.


This is true in my case and VERY likely in the others. I only run free or clearance priced oils and get great service from my vehicles and tractors.
SOPUS has had some FAR deals on HM oils, but I avoid them after getting denied on rebates from them. Valvoline has always came through on rebates.
 
Originally Posted By: mongo161
From my reading of the Posts....IMO.....the reason most people recommend Max Life, (Red or Green), is because it has been on clearance, and in some cases, FAR from AAP over the summer. So naturally the stashes of NexGen MaxLife, in some peoples hoard, has loads to be used.

QS Defy or Pennzoil HM would most likely do the job required. Apparently, there just have not been any FAR deals on SOPUS HM oils.

IMO...If SOPUS has the same FAR deals as Valvoline has had.....lots of people would be using their products.


Thats a very good point and something I hadn't thought of. Hmmmm...
 
I'll be using a HM oil for the first time this next OCI as well. I have a leak that is either the oil pan or timing cover. Both expensive on the taurus. I picked Defy because I wanted a HM that does not use sodium in the additive package because I had some gaskets done a while back and want to make sure I'm not leaking any more coolant. Oils with sodium in the additive package make that much harder. Maxlife is a great oil that meets DEXOS1 though.
 
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