Switching back to non-syn oil?

[KC_admin]

I read somewhere that you can switch back to conventional oil after using synthetic for a long time without fear of leaks. Any truth to this? I am sure this has been answered before but I can seem to find a thread to answer this. The car I would like to switch back to regular oil is a 2002 Nissan Altima V6 with 150K miles on it all put on by me. I have had M1 Syn in it the whole time but I am starting to get leaks all over. (Rear main, rocker arm covers and a rubber oil line). I would like to just switch to M1 Reg but will this cause the engine to leak from everywhere?

The thing that caught my eye was the oil line where the leak was. The rubber was very gummy and soft on the outside. The rubber rocker arm gaskets however were brittle and harden. Is it common for gaskets to be effected this way by oil?

The rocker arms gaskets I replaced and I replaced the spring clamp on the oil line with a hose clamp so that solved those two leaks. I am not about to let a mechanic drop the transmission to replace the rear main if the seal is salvageable. Right now I am running M1 Syn HM to see if it will condition the seal and slow down the leak but will switching back to regular M1 slow the leak further?

 

[BeanCounter]

Yes, you can switch back. If a good synthetic won't leak after even moderate use, conventional shouldn't at all.

 

[Bill in Utah]

You can switch back and forth with no problems. I've done it many times here and there with never a issue.

Mobil 1 is a "syn" oil. Mobil 5000 is their conventional oil (and one of their best valued oils period) there is not a Mobil 1 conventional oil.

Most of the time I've heard that leaks are not fixed by an HM oil as you are finding out. The thing that normally fixes leaks are replacing the gaskets. You may reduce the leak with some oil or another brand, but stopping it all the way...

 

[ARCOgraphite]

update: Bill beat me to it .. I gotta get ready for a Job interview anyhow ... bye!

You are not switching to "regular M1" M1 is "synthetic". You would be switching to MC5000 or EXxon Superflow. I would switch to someting else like PYB or Shell Formula. MC5K is still a near synthetic basestock and the M1 you were running is only a semi-syn by chemist definition. You have an old car and you may just have to realise that its gasket and hose time!

 

[addyguy]

Good luck, Arco!

 

[KC_admin]

So even Mobil Clean Drive 5000 is somewhat synthetic? Thanks for telling me that. I am breaking in a new 2010 Nissan Xterra and was thinking about getting off the synthetic bandwagon and just going conventional on all three cars.

 

[BeanCounter]

Originally Posted By: KC_admin
So even Mobil Clean Drive 5000 is somewhat synthetic? Thanks for telling me that. I am breaking in a new 2010 Nissan Xterra and was thinking about getting off the synthetic bandwagon and just going conventional on all three cars.


Trying to save money?
Hopefully that's the only reason, unless you drive conservatively and put few miles on the vehicles. Otherwise I don't see the advantages of switching to dino.

 

[Bill in Utah]

Originally Posted By: BeanCounter
Originally Posted By: KC_admin
So even Mobil Clean Drive 5000 is somewhat synthetic? Thanks for telling me that. I am breaking in a new 2010 Nissan Xterra and was thinking about getting off the synthetic bandwagon and just going conventional on all three cars.


Trying to save money?
Hopefully that's the only reason, unless you drive conservatively and put few miles on the vehicles. Otherwise I don't see the advantages of switching to dino.


Funny.

The majority of vehicles out there PROVE that conventional oils do just fine if you follow the mfg recommended OCI which HE HAS to do.

I see NO advantages to him running syn oil unless he HAS to because the MFG says to.

Terrible thing to Save money. Better to waste it!

Bill

 

[BeanCounter]

Originally Posted By: Bill in Utah


Funny.

The majority of vehicles out there PROVE that conventional oils do just fine if you follow the mfg recommended OCI which HE HAS to do.

I see NO advantages to him running syn oil unless he HAS to because the MFG says to.

Terrible thing to Save money. Better to waste it!

Bill


You summed up my point wonderfully.
Dino oils can get by plenty fine in some cases.
The benefit would be saving money, as you agreed.

I, personally, would rather have a safety "buffer" with my oil than a few bucks in my wallet, though. Some people, as hard as you may find it to believe, may in fact value the ability and quality of their oil more than saving a (comparatively) small amount of money (purchase price only often - not pro rata) for an oil that is "enough to get by".

Crazy, huh?

 

[KC_admin]

Actually no its not about the money but more just the uniformity of using the same oil (and filter as well it seems) across the three vehicles and the perception from my viewpoint that conventional oil does just as well without causing leaks. I own three cars as follows:

2010 Nissan Xterra - 500 miles still has factory fill in it.
2002 NIssan Altima - Running M1 Syn 10W-30 since 1000 miles (150K now)
2000 Nissan Altima - Bought used at 130K and has 196K now running Mobil non syn oil 10W-30 the whole time.

As the Xterra is recommended to used 5W-30 and so are the other two cars I would like to stop bouncing between 10W-30 and 5W-30 and between Syn and non synthetic oil. I would just like to find a decent conventional oil in a 5W-30 to use in all three.

 

[Bill in Utah]

Your safety buffer is a guess. You are paying for the hope of one.

As far as the "small" amount of $$ spent doing what you do vs what is NEEDED is not so small.

I've done the math and posted here too many times. Its more than a "few" dollars when figured out.

Conventional oils do more than "get by". But your mind is made up.

 

[Bill in Utah]

Originally Posted By: KC_admin
I would just like to find a decent conventional oil in a 5W-30 to use in all three.


Really all the conventional 5w-30 oils in any brand will do you fine. I like (and have used) pretty well all of them and they all are good to go.

Bill

 

[KC_admin]

I concur however what I am getting that even what I thought was a conventional oil (Mobil 5000) is not a "true" conventional oil but more of semi-synthetic. Was thinking about going with Wal-Mart Super Tech and call it a day however last time I bought oil Mobil was sold cheaper than Super Tech.

 

[BeanCounter]

Originally Posted By: KC_admin
Actually no its not about the money but more just the uniformity of using the same oil (and filter as well it seems) across the three vehicles and the perception from my viewpoint that conventional oil does just as well without causing leaks. I own three cars as follows:


Understandable. There is such a thing as bulk packaging, by the way. And if you're worried about synthetics "causing leaks" with as new as your vehicles are, you're probably a little off base. No oils should cause leaks, properly maintained. Some are just more susceptible than others.

 

[BeanCounter]

Originally Posted By: Bill in Utah
Your safety buffer is a guess. You are paying for the hope of one.

As far as the "small" amount of $$ spent doing what you do vs what is NEEDED is not so small.

I've done the math and posted here too many times. Its more than a "few" dollars when figured out.

Conventional oils do more than "get by". But your mind is made up.

Opinions are always great support.
You're perception of how long and how well your dino will benefit you in comparison to a quality synthetic is a guess.

I've done the math as well and seen the scenarios that dino may have a less than significant cost advantage. I'm an accountant and will gladly trust my computation over yours.

But then again the majority of conversations involving calculating cost are so skewed towards the person and what they want the outcome to be.
Your definition of "more than a 'few' dollars" could be more than $25 a year for all I know. Maybe $50? Ahh noooo! Half the guys on here probably spend that on sodas in 6 months. Spare me.

And yes, conventional oils do more than get by. They're great for lawnmowers! Which reminds me...I need to fill the mower with the leftover M1 in the bottles hanging around my garage...

 

[KC_admin]

Quote:
Understandable. There is such a thing as bulk packaging, by the way. And if you're worried about synthetics "causing leaks" with as new as your vehicles are, you're probably a little off base. No oils should cause leaks, properly maintained. Some are just more susceptible than others.


Yes I am aware of bulk packaging and would like to avoid purchasing endless bottles of oil for this car and that car when I would rather just buy 5 quart bottles for all three.

As for synthetics "causing leaks" I did say from my perception. I did try synthetic in the 2000 Altima and it leaked from the front seal as well as a rear main. The rear main has always leaked and I switched back to conventional and the front seal discontinued leaking. As for being properly maintained I do believe my mileage on two of the vehicles speak for themselves.

It was my hope that by using only synthetic since day one on the 2002 that it would never leak however that experiment failed.

 

[BeanCounter]

Originally Posted By: KC_admin
Quote:
Understandable. There is such a thing as bulk packaging, by the way. And if you're worried about synthetics "causing leaks" with as new as your vehicles are, you're probably a little off base. No oils should cause leaks, properly maintained. Some are just more susceptible than others.


Yes I am aware of bulk packaging and would like to avoid purchasing endless bottles of oil for this car and that car when I would rather just buy 5 quart bottles for all three.

As for synthetics "causing leaks" I did say from my perception. I did try synthetic in the 2000 Altima and it leaked from the front seal as well as a rear main. The rear main has always leaked and I switched back to conventional and the front seal discontinued leaking. As for being properly maintained I do believe my mileage on two of the vehicles speak for themselves.

It was my hope that by using only synthetic since day one on the 2002 that it would never leak however that experiment failed.


The synthetic oil did not cause the leak, it simply found one that the conventional oil hides. This is a common misconception about synthetic oils, as they do nothing harmful to your motor -- cleaning and conditional seals can only do so much to areas that are beyond repair.

How much leaking are we talking about here, by the way?
A drop or two a day? More?

 

[KC_admin]

Okey, let be more clear. The 2002 Altima has ALWAYS had synthetic in it. Ergo, conventional oil did not "hide" the leak. I am not switching BACK to conventional oil on that car but switching TO conventional oil.

As for leaking a drop or two? Hard to say since the rear main is postioned nearly right over the exhaust and getting burnt before hitting the ground. I wipe the area clear and check it later and its again covered with oil.

What we are talking about is switching a motor to purely conventional oil after being run for 150,000 miles on M1 Synthetic. My impression after seeing what the oil did to a rubber oil tube on the car that it has made the rear main seal "gummy" and that conventional oil might restore it to a more usable shape and seal it more effectivly.

 

[BeanCounter]

Originally Posted By: KC_admin

As for leaking a drop or two? Hard to say since the rear main is postioned nearly right over the exhaust and getting burnt before hitting the ground. I wipe the area clear and check it later and its again covered with oil.


Then how much are you down after a week or two, etc., on the dipstick?

 

[KC_admin]

I would have to get back to you on that as I just recently repaired the leak on the oil tube which probably cost me more than a "few drops" a day. More like few ounces a day. By coincidence that leak was over the other exhaust tube so really I don't see oil hitting the garage floor.

I have seen so many leaks on this vehicle in the past few months that I am turned off by the whole idea of using it in my new vehicle. I have taken good care of my 2002 Altima as it was my first new car and it was garage kept for almost it whole life. My opinion is based on personal experience with two vehicles which I have taken very good care of. Yes they are old and yes maybe the synthetic didn't cause the leaks but really I am done with it.