crazy charlie
Active Member
- Joined
- Nov 18, 2018
- Threads
- 13
- Messages
- 71
Be very careful about switching from conventional to synthetic on any "not new" engine. Synthetic oils do not have the qualities and additives that keep the gaskets plump and sealed like conventional oils do.I am living proof that trying to take better care of my engines by switching to synthetic did nothing more than start a dripping leak where there was previously no leak.This 1st happened on a 100k mile Jeep which had a privileged babied life .Thought it would be a good idea to switch to synthetic at that time and I immediately discovered that where I may have had some slight seepage ,which is common an gaskets, turned into an immediate leak.I changed the synthetic out immediately within a a few days.The new leak improved with the use of conventional oil however I had slightly leaking gaskets for the next 100k miles.My next Jeep owned from new I used conventional oil except in the cold winter months where my remote start would not crank enough times to start the Jeep with conventional oil so I would schedule a synthetic change just before the cold weather hit so the engine would crank easier with the synthetic and remote start would function.The motor is currently at 150k and I just did the synthetic change ,as I always have ,and noticed that my valve covers started leaking for the 1st time so the synthetic has gotten me again. I think I will add some "stop leak" to the synthetic before changing it to see if any improvement.Stop leak contains concentrated additives that are found in conventional oils so I will give it a try .That being said,I would recommend a synthetic blend over a full synthetic for any engine that is not new.My TORO zero turn mower has Kawasaki 23 hp engine. 270 hours on it. 10 Years old. Been using CASTROL 10w30 or 20w50 in it, conventional oil. I've been thinking about maybe running synthetic in it this spring. Heck, everything else seems to be running ir. Got any thoughts on that anyone? I don't think I'd want to go down to 5w30 and don't know if synthetic comes in 10w30 or some such.
Now as far as new engines that call for synthetic, they are manufactured with different type of seals and gaskets that are more compatible with synthetic oil use.Charlie