Going to change oil want to go with SYN

[Crankme69]

My truck is nearing the 200K mark on the clock. I purchased the truck with 193K on it. It's winter here in ILL & I would like to dump the DYNO 15/40 out & go with SYN 15/40 to help ease the load on the starter during the winter.

I have no history on the motor other then what I have gathered in the last 4K miles. It has used 1 qt of oil at 3K on the dyno change currently. I checked the motor for blow bye it almost does not exist at idle or 2k rpms, the truck is in excellent shape for the miles, it was owned by a Firechief or at least that is what I was informed and appears mechanically & cosmetically to have been very well cared for.

I'm just a little old school here, this motor is a S vin with an EGR valve & as far as I know is virgin stock other then a 3" exhaust & cat delete.

My real concern is how much grab that friggin EGR valve has recycled & piled up in the motor & what the effect of the high detergent SYN is going to have, leaks or oil consumption possibly???

What would you do & why? Am I just an old fool & worried for nothing?

Should I drop the filter & top it off with syn for the first go around to maybe ease it on to syn? I really don't like mixing & matching oil brands or types due to the additive packages may not play well together...

Your thoughts or experiences would be appreciated.

TIA,
69

 

[BigBlueChevy]

Some say that there are "steps" to take before switching to synthetic. Others, like myself just decided to go with Synthetic. My truck had 53K on the clock when I bought it so obviously we are in different age terms reguarding the motors. I dumped synthetic in the first time I changed the oil at 55K and here I am, at 74K(a little over a year later) and never saw any change in operation going from dyno to synthetic. If anything, she runs better.

I don't really think you have anything to worry about. Drain the oil, change the filter and fill her up with your favorite blend of synthetic. Oh, and get a blocker plate for that EGR :thumbsup:

 

[WarWagon]

Synthetic oil will give you better cold starts and better, higher, oil pressure when hot.

In my experience: On a 200K engine it will also leak out of every gasket including 'from the headlight'. Your engine oil cooler hoses will be the #1 PIA with synthetic leaking. The oil filter adapter has an o-ring that tends to leak more with Syn.

1 quart every 1000 miles - who cares!? Even the manufacturer will not warranty anything (new) at that rate and you are at 1 qt every 3K.

Other than cold starts is there any reason you need synthetic? Longer drain intervals, working it hard towing? Otherwise you should stick to the cheaper high quality dyno oil and spare yourself the whack a leak game.

Engines that lack an oil cooler and need the high temp tolerance of synthetic oil or longer drain intervals make the most sense for cost effective SYN applications.

The 2008 in my sig had oil samples and around 10K oil changes working hard daily towing at 245 ECT. All on the modern Shell Rotella T dino oil. Samples showed the oil was good but done at that mileage. This would have been a good SYN application, but, the modern oil did the job and saved me some cash off the bottom line.

So compared to the high quality dino oil we have now I just don't see any cost benefit reason to use SYN. At 200K what would it possibly save on engine rebuild costs? Likely cost you money to repair leaks though.

 

[Crankme69]

Ah Ha so my concerns are valid...

The only reasons that I considered syn were:
1st) taking some load off the starter during extreme cold weather starts

2nd) this is my daily driver & I rack some miles on avg about 450 miles a week

3rd) I agree with ya on dyno is good OIL but that M1 SYN stuff that I use with my GM 3.1 V6 that is setting right at 176K on the clock, has been a a steady diet of M1 since I bought at it 33K, uses NO oil & leaks NO oil between 10K mile changes, I'm impressed...that SYN stuff made me BELIEVE!!! LOL

No really I do appreciate your replies & I am really concerned that why I have not just dumped it in there & hoping some replies here will convince me to do it or drop it...TIA

 

[Dieseldad97]

I've been synthetic for years on all my diesels. 0-40 year round and I have no intention to ever change. :thumbsup:

 

[iamdave0887]

My 6.5 has been on Amsoil 15w-40 for over 20K miles now. I use maybe a quart maybe two(if doing lots of long highway drives) every oil change, that's with 10K oil change intervals. Never leaked a drop with Amsoil and the Lube specialists oil cooler line kit. It used to leak with the 15w-40 Rotella.

The blazer has Rotella T syn 5w-40 in it. I did notice slightly lower oil pressures when hot. Maybe 25-ish psi at idle as compared to the 15w-40 Rotella's 30 psi hot idle. IMO not a big deal really. Maybe it's because the oil cooler in the radiator(2 heat sources coolant & oil) can't shed as much heat as an oil cooler in front of the radiator(only heat source is the oil)? I do see higher oil pressures running down the road. It's almost always 45-50+ where as the 15w-40 would sit right at 40-45.

Overall i can say that cold starts are easier with the Synthetic oil. right now it's 168F here with a windchill of -9*F. Both trucks fired right up and the oil pressure came up almost immediately.

 

[BudTX]

My 6.5 has been on Amsoil 15w-40 for over 20K miles now. I use maybe a quart maybe two(if doing lots of long highway drives) every oil change, that's with 10K oil change intervals. Never leaked a drop with Amsoil and the Lube specialists oil cooler line kit. It used to leak with the 15w-40 Rotella.

The blazer has Rotella T syn 5w-40 in it. I did notice slightly lower oil pressures when hot. Maybe 25-ish psi at idle as compared to the 15w-40 Rotella's 30 psi hot idle. IMO not a big deal really. Maybe it's because the oil cooler in the radiator(2 heat sources coolant & oil) can't shed as much heat as an oil cooler in front of the radiator(only heat source is the oil)? I do see higher oil pressures running down the road. It's almost always 45-50+ where as the 15w-40 would sit right at 40-45.

Overall i can say that cold starts are easier with the Synthetic oil. right now it's 168F here with a windchill of -9*F. Both trucks fired right up and the oil pressure came up almost immediately.

Wow. That is some wind to cool things off that much.

On topic, and referring to War Wagon's point, have all of you guys who went to synthetics after running dino for 80k plus miles noticed leaks?

 

[Mudbath]

Love the synthetic especially in the winter, makes a big difference. As for oil leaks, none that weren't leaking with dyno oil (245K kilometers). Just make sure it is for a diesel and proper weight for your temperature. I will never go back. :thumbsup:

 

[BigBlueChevy]

Wow. That is some wind to cool things off that much.

On topic, and referring to War Wagon's point, have all of you guys who went to synthetics after running dino for 80k plus miles noticed leaks?

I havent been running it for more than 80K but when I first got the truck it leaked a drop or two every night on the driveway from the oil pan. After going to synthetic the leak seemed to actually slow up a bit. I didn't notice as much oil I mean.

 

[iamdave0887]

Wow. That is some wind to cool things off that much.

On topic, and referring to War Wagon's point, have all of you guys who went to synthetics after running dino for 80k plus miles noticed leaks?

Bud,

From the looks of things my pickup had conventional oil in it for most likely it's entire life before i bought it, which was at 154K miles. There was a 1/2 empty gallon container of 15w-40 conventional behind the seat when i bought it. That'll give you an idea of the amount it probably leaked at some point. I switched to Amsoil synthetic 15w-40 after changing the oil cooler lines to the Lube specialists stainless oil line kit and it's never leaked a drop. The odometer is currently at 188,xxx miles. Had a slight rear main leak with the conventional oil as well. No apparent rear main leak with the Amsoil.

I do burn about 1 maybe 2(with lots of extended highway driving) quarts per every 10K oil change however.

 

[figment]

Change from dyno to RP the day after I bought mine @ 175K and it runs quieter and smoother.

 

[Crankme69]

I have a very slight leak on one of the hoses to the oil cooler, think I am gonna stick with the Dyno until I fix that, then I may give it a whirl...

Thanks for all the replies & sorry about posting this in the wrong place to start.

Happy News Years!

 

[Odlaw]

This is the second time I've run synthetic in my truck with 192k miles on her. No leaks. The first time I tried it was about 3-4 oil changes ago.
Oil pressure seems to hold about 5 psi higher when hot and towing heavy. Turbo spools much better. And obviously she cranks better when really cold....which for me is seldom below 30 degrees.

 

[Wrecker]

There is no special procedure required to use synthetic oil. Sometimes a flush is in order if you want to extend your oil change frequency to it's maximum immediately. This is on a case by case basis.

If your engine and support equipment are in good shape, you are good to go.

 

[Ed HD]

I recommend using Amsoil's Engine Flush if you want to switch to a high performance synthetic, like Amsoil. We currently have 15k on the oil in our Duramax, and will be switching to full Amsoil soon (every lube Amsoil). Our truck burns about a quart every 10,000 miles, which is typical of a diesel engine. I am a firm believer in high-quality synthetic oils, and that they are better for any engine, no matter the age, mileage, or usage.

 

[Heartbeat Hauler]

Lots of good replies to your question. If your goal is to go with syn oil to help with starting in cold weather, I believe I would just change the oil to 5w-40 syn, a new filter and call it good. Use which ever brand blows your skirt up, I suggest Rotella syn 5w-40 or Amsoil syn 5w-40.

I personally plug my truck in when temps get under 40*. It's on a timer and turns on about 3 hours (depending on how cold it is) before I'm headin' out. The "Wait to Start" light stays on for about 2 seconds and cranks like it's mid August.

But, I think going to a 5w-40 syn oil is really a good idea to help with cranking in cold temps and for added protection. I hope you get another 200K! :thumbsup:

 

[Crankme69]

I agree, many great replies, Thanks to All!

Yea very much the same I do with my block heater, timer when not so cold & if it's zero like we have had recently, I plug her in & just leave it on.

:iagree: it really does help using the block heater.

I'm prolly going to have my oil analyzed B4 I finalize my decision.

Happy New Year ALL :grouphug: