Switching to Amsoil @ 110k w/out flush?

[TW1STed]

I am planning on changing the oil in my '01 Nissan Xterra with the Amsoil 5w30 and I am wondering about the effects of just switching without flushing the engine first. I have a bottle of the amsoil engine flush but just haven't sold myself on the idea yet. I have done a lot of reading about this on BITOG (probably too much, with all the opinions one can end up more confused than before).
One of my concerns is if I just switch the filter and flush the engine and then switch to the amsoil + amsoil filter will I end up clogging up the new $16 filter with loosened debris prematurely? Is it really that important to flush the engine or can I just drain the dino out and fill it up with the synth and go an extended OCI 8k to 10k? The local Amsoil rep swears you can go 25k on this oil/filter combo, but that kinda makes me think of him as a loco Amsoil rep

I have owned this vehicle since new and have run Havoline 5w30 for first 50k and Castrol GTX 5w30 for the remainder. It has always had OCI's of 3500 to 4500 miles. I don't really feel that the engine should be too sludged up but who knows...

 

[CBDFrontier06]

If the oil has been changed faithfully and it's always been Castrol, you likely have no sludge at all. See if you can spy anything nasty down inside the valve cover.

I think you'll be fine switching to Amsoil...if I were you, I'd do an early OCI after the first round of Amsoil to get rid of anything it may have loosened up, if there is any sludge. If you have a chance, crawl underneath and assess your seals. Any seepage from rear main or pan? Switching to synthetics at such an advanced age / mileage can sometimes worsen an existing leak, or bring one to your attention that you didn't even know you had. Other than that, I'd say go for it.

 

[Pablo]

Flush or not is your choice. The flush shouldn't hurt a thing, but it really doesn't clean either - it just helps drain the old oil.

Either way your first OCI should max out at about 8-10K as you mention. You can possibly expect a bit of consumption at first. I wouldn't worry about clogging the filter unless you are really desludging a poorly maintained machine - which doesn't seem to be the case here.

 

[harry j]

When I changed my 93 Civic to Amsoil 0w30 at 118,000 miles, I did a short OCI (1,000 miles) using a Pureone filter. The drain oil was dirtier than normal. Thereafter, normal (for me) oil change periods went back to 3,000 miles. Now 80,000 miles later, the oil is reasonably clean at change time, with very little accumulated debris on the magnetic drain plug.

 

[TW1STed]

so you are running an OCI of 300 miles with synthetic?

 

[TW1STed]

oops, 3000 miles...

 

[TW1STed]

Quote:

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The flush shouldn't hurt a thing, but it really doesn't clean either - it just helps drain the old oil.

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So the way you have it figured it just clears out the old oil better, and won't loosen ________ up that will end up in the new fill?

 

[harry j]

TW1STed,
Yes, usually, although I have gone as long as 5,000 miles. I am sure I could go longer, but where's the fun in that?

 

[mburnickas]

I switch a car to ASL at 130K miles (no flush)...to this day still going strong..


Thanks
Mike

 

[Ron AKA]

Quote:

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I have owned this vehicle since new and have run Havoline 5w30 for first 50k and Castrol GTX 5w30 for the remainder. It has always had OCI's of 3500 to 4500 miles. I don't really feel that the engine should be too sludged up but who knows...

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The engine is probably just fine now and may get worse with the Amsoil. So why are you switching?

 

[JohnBrowning]

If you do not flush it the first oil change or too your synthetic oil will need to be changed out early. You already have the flush and it only takes about 15 minutes at 1500-2000 RPMS. Just rember that those are no load RPM's and are kept steady not rev'ed. This will allow you to go much longer on your first oil change. Sludge is not the only deposit to worry about. If you do not think your engine is dirty do this and you will see. Put clean el-cheapo oil like Walmart brand in the crank case and add the flush. Run it for 15 minutes and you will not belive how black this oil will come out!!!

 

[JohnBrowning]

Oh and do not belive everything the local Amsoil rep tells you! I would do the flush and then aim for 9000 mile OCI. Do a UOA and see what you get you always shorten or lengthen based on your individual results! 25,000 miles is insane with out UOA showing that it is working fine for your application!

 

[TooSlick]

I"ve used the Amsoil flush in countless vehicles over the past 26 years, since they came out with it. This is the slightly procedure I follow:

1) change just the oil filter and install an inexpensive FRAM or equivalent
2) add 16 ounces of flush for each 4-6 qts of sump capacity
3) Fast idle the engine IN NEUTRAL @ 2x the normal idle speed for a full 30 minutes.
4) Change the oil and filter(again) and install the Amsoil and EAO filter.

 

[ARB1977]

Why bother going to synthetic now just stick to what your doing and be happy. If it were me and i ran a good dyno for that long i would use some auto rx and keep truckin.

 

[fred]

Just put the amsoil in,and change oil every year.

 

[TW1STed]

Quote:

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The engine is probably just fine now and may get worse with the Amsoil. So why are you switching?

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I just figured the payments are done and I thought I would put a little extra into maintenance to keep this truck rolling for as long as possible. i figured a good synthetic oil would be a good choice for that path. I also figured with winter coming my wife will be driving it to work more and the syth should help it out with the cold starts.
I wish I would have switched over years ago but nothing I can do about that now.

BTW, I just switched the Harley (owned since new) to amsoil this past summer @ ~18k miles. The BMW has ~260k on it and I really don't want to mess what that car is used to, sticking with the Castrol GTX in that one...

 

[TooSlick]

Twisted,

I also wanted to mention I've had outstanding results changing over older Beemers like your 535i to Amsoil. In this case I'd run their Series 2000 racing oil "TRO" for temps > 32F and their 0w-40 or 5w-40 for temps < 32F. I've tested all these formulations in my Audi's and they all hold up very well. On an older vehicle like that one, I'd use a more conservative 10k/6 month service interval. The S2000 will also provide stellar performance in the Harley - I've had customer reports of 15F-20F drops in cylinder head temps in the 1340 cc motors, for example.

If you have more detailed questions, feel free to PM me offline. It sounds like you already have a local source for oil, which is the preferred way to go.

 

[BrianWC]

If synth is so good at dumping all these deposits into the oil in short intervals, why isn't my car's engine clean? Few thousand miles? Who needs arx?

Pssshaw. Flush or not, you'll be fine.... (in my humble opinion).

 

[JHZR2]

Ive changed a number of our cars to syn at mileages much higher than yours... without flush. IMO, the best thing you can do is shorten the first OCI, so that you maximize the removal of old oil and anything that potentially has begun to be 'cleaned'.

JMH

 

[Ron AKA]

Amsoil oil is ok, but nothing special. I would not pay more for it than Mobil 1 or Valvoline Synpower.