Switch to DINO rather than Syn at High miles?

[SumpChump]

Here's a quote from over on another forum which I respect but I'm not so sure of the logic...

QUOTE

"If it is using oil, I'd go the Rotella route. A lot of people don't know this but the Rotella oil has the same additives as high mileage oil (and better additives at that) and costs about $16 for a 5qt jug. If all else fails, you could always add something like Lucas to the oil. I don't buy that "it helps lubricate your vehicle better" B.S. they say because I know that display they show you is NOT how gears in an engine work lol. But I do know for a fact it makes the oil more tacky and thus helps reduce consumption and leaking.

Oh and BTW, synthetic oil is never a good choice for a high mileage engine or one that is burning or leaking oil. Because of it's lower viscosity it's not a good choice for someone in your situation... At all. lol. I'm a firm believer that conventional oil is better overall than synthetic no matter how you look at it. "

 

[jacky]

i totally agree synthetic can cause leaks on high mileage cars (it happened to me)
i cant say anything about rotella
i am not a fan of synthetic on any car over 75k and i always change my oil at 3,000 miles no matter what

 

[wemay]

#1. Rotella comes in gallon jugs, not 5qt one's. At least from what i've seen around here.

#2. Doesn't a 5w30 conventional fall in the same viscosity range as a 5w30 syn etc.?

 

[fdcg27]

First off, I've never seen Rotella in a five quart jug.
HDEOs come in gallons as a general rule. I'd also doubt that any flavor of Rotella has all of the same additives as high mileage oil, although the writer the OP cites is technically correct in that these oils would share certain additives, as would most other oils.
Second, it would deprnd upon how much oil the engine is leaking or burning.
If consumption is at some reasonable level, like maybe a quart every 3K or so, I'd not hesitate to use a syn oil.
If the leaks are more cosmetic than really reducing the oil level, I wouldn't be too concerned about that either.
Finally, why is the engine leaking or burning oil?
Stuck rings might be freed with the right additive while certain leaks, like valve cover gaskets, are easily and cheaply fixed while others, like RMS leaks, aren't.
Finally, in my experience, you can't beat Maxlife in a true leaker/burner.
It simply works and is fairly cheap and readily available.

 

[jacky]

i would like to add that High Mileage oil prevents leaks, some people dont wanna use it until a leak starts ( i strongly disagree), i have used High Mileage since it was introduced on all cars over 75k
to me thats like saying a healthy person does not need to take a multivitamin

 

[wemay]

Originally Posted By: jacky
i would like to add that High Mileage oil prevents leaks, some people dont wanna use it until a leak starts ( i strongly disagree), i have used High Mileage since it was introduced on all cars over 75k
to me thats like saying a healthy person does not need to take a multivitamin


Valvoline advises this as well. No need to wait.

 

[fdcg27]

Well yeah, as the leading seller of High Mileage oil, Valvoline would so advise.
No reason to use it without any particular reason beyond the numbers on the odometer as far as I can see, although Maxlife is a good oil and using it certainly wouldn't do any harm.

 

[NMBurb02]

That last paragraph is laughable. Good luck finding a conventional oil that meets the more stringent German oil specs, particularly for long drain intervals (although the quoted poster probably believes in only 3 month/3,000 mile OCIs). The Burb has 148k miles on it and doesn't mind synthetic oil.

 

[MinamiKotaro]

No need to switch to anything at high miles. Just keep using whatever got you there in the first place.

 

[jdavis]

I've run synthetic in engines with 150K-200K miles and unknown history without any leaks developed.

 

[Olas]

Oil doesn't cause leaks, bad gaskets cause leaks.

 

[Nick1994]

Originally Posted By: jacky
i totally agree synthetic can cause leaks on high mileage cars (it happened to me)
i cant say anything about rotella
i am not a fan of synthetic on any car over 75k and i always change my oil at 3,000 miles no matter what
Synthetic did not cause any leaks on your car. You already had a leak that may have not been dripping yet and synthetic cleaned it up and leaked more.

After almost 11 years and 169k miles on nothing but synthetic, my car has never ever leaked a single drop of oil (or anything) on the floor of the garage. Ever.

In fact, I changed the oil in the 1970 Beetle over to full synthetic a few months ago and it is actually leaking LESS. The engine is 45+ years old.

 

[3800Series]

Originally Posted By: wemay
#1. Rotella comes in gallon jugs, not 5qt one's. At least from what i've seen around here.

#2. Doesn't a 5w30 conventional fall in the same viscosity range as a 5w30 syn etc.?


Was thinking the same exact thing.