synthetic at 117xxx

[Qking95]

Got a 95 Eclipse GS and have used regular conventional penzoil oil in it since I got it in 96 with 20xxx miles. It now has 117xxx and was wondering if any bad could happen if I just started using schafers synthetic oil? All i'm pretty much asking is would synthetic oil be bad if I have used conventional oil for so long? I have always kept up on my oil changed aswell. Thanks. I appreciate it guys.

 

[Fotowntalon]

I don't see how it could hurt, I would be more worried about going from a single weight to a double weight or downgrading oils

 

[Qking95]

Sorry i kind of noob but what does single and double weight mean?

 

[2GbTalonGuy]

No it will not be bad to swithc to synthetec. Just make sure to warm the car up and letas much of the old non-synthetic oil drain out as possible.

 

[90moneypit]

In my opinion, anything would be better than the Penwax. They're substantially better now vs old formulation but that's not what you want to know. Potential problems when changing over to synthetic are 'suddenly' leaking seals or other oil leaks. Synthetic oil doesn't CAUSE the leaks, it just shows where a seal was weak and about to go out anyway. Just about every conventional oil has additives that build up in an engine and bind with dirt, when the synthetic gets in there and starts clearing out all the gunk, it also removes all the unintentional patches (think scabs) that might have been in place before. If you have problems with that and don't have the funds to replace an entire engine gasket set, switch to something like Valvoline Max-Life. It makes all the gaskets and seals slightly swell and seal better while giving you some of the benefits of synthetic oil. I personally used it in an old Saturn to great effect. The downside is that once you start using a 'Max-Life' style oil, you'll probably have to stick with it or risk worse leaks down the road when the seals shrink 'back' plus a little more. It's good stuff and it works, but your car will get addicted to it.

 

[Absit]

No, I bought my 95 with 137k, it's run dino oil since birth, I swapped GC 0W30 in it and it loved it.

 

[Qking95]

Thanks for the help guys. Im gonna try the synthetic. my oil pan seals are gettin replaced cause it already leaks so hopefully once the syn. goes in it wont leak. should I change my oil sooner than normal since the synthetic is cleanin out all that gunk from the conventional?

 

[Absit]

I wouldn't worry about it. If you want to though, you can run some ATF and cheap full syn through it to "clean out the gunk" and then change the oil to a better full synthetic.

 

[Fotowntalon]

Sorry i kind of noob but what does single and double weight mean?

Double weight is like 10w30, two numbers, where as a single weight only has one(from my understanding).

 

[DSM1G90]

Used to be in the olden days that you do a 30w during the summer and a 20w during the winter. Oil viscosity didn't change when it was hot or cold.

But, technology caught up where only one weight was needed - why they combined formulas to make the oil thinner when cold (the "W" stands for winter) and get thicker when it gets hot.

Thus, for the 420A, it would run fine with a 5w to 10w/30 oil. I wouldn't go down to 0w, for that stuff is pretty thin and can cause excessive startup wear, esp in the crank and rod bearings unless the motor is built (or rebuilt) with super tight tolerances..

Nice thing about synth oils that it doesn't break down as quickly as dino oils (why the mandantory 3k/3 month oil changes, yet if one does this oil change frequency with dino oils, motors do last well into the millions of miles) - why of the extended oil changes, yet still change the filter at the recommended times..

I've known people running AMOIL in their vehicles with over 300k on them and still the motor, after a teardown to check on wear, was allowed to be put back together with just honing the bores to seat the rings again.
-DSM

 

[Qking95]

Thanks for the help everyone. I gonna throw a KaN filter on since I havent tried one yet and throw some synthetic 10-30w in. Hope my engine loves it. .