Synthetic oil issue:
02-02-04, 09:21 PM
#1
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Synthetic oil issue:
Hi everyone,
I just wanted to toss this out to everyone as I think this should generate some intresting feedback...
I went to my Lexus dealer today to pick up some maintenance items & some Lexus gear. I got into a conversation with one of the "salesmen" there about maintaining the ES. He asked me how many kilometers I had on my car.......73,000kms (43,000 miles) and he said that because of the milage on the car he would NOT recommend that I start using synthetic oil (Mobil 1 5W 30) and that I stick with using conventional oil simply because if I go to synthetic, there is a big risk that I will start having serious oil leaks as the more refined "thinner" oil will seep through the seals & gaskets creating big problems for me. Now I have all service records with this car & nothing but 5W 30 has been used for oil changes (conventional) & I have used synthetic oil in many cars with a lot higher milage than what is on my ES...without any sort of oil leakes whatsoever.
Personally I think he has no clue as to what he is talking about...
....also the car has a Lexus extended warranty so if anything should happen & I have all service up to date, they will have to fix any problems I may have. Any thoughts & opinions on this fellow members? Again, this guy was a salesmen, not an S.A.E. expert.
I just wanted to toss this out to everyone as I think this should generate some intresting feedback...
I went to my Lexus dealer today to pick up some maintenance items & some Lexus gear. I got into a conversation with one of the "salesmen" there about maintaining the ES. He asked me how many kilometers I had on my car.......73,000kms (43,000 miles) and he said that because of the milage on the car he would NOT recommend that I start using synthetic oil (Mobil 1 5W 30) and that I stick with using conventional oil simply because if I go to synthetic, there is a big risk that I will start having serious oil leaks as the more refined "thinner" oil will seep through the seals & gaskets creating big problems for me. Now I have all service records with this car & nothing but 5W 30 has been used for oil changes (conventional) & I have used synthetic oil in many cars with a lot higher milage than what is on my ES...without any sort of oil leakes whatsoever.
Personally I think he has no clue as to what he is talking about...
....also the car has a Lexus extended warranty so if anything should happen & I have all service up to date, they will have to fix any problems I may have. Any thoughts & opinions on this fellow members? Again, this guy was a salesmen, not an S.A.E. expert.
02-02-04, 10:03 PM
#2
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I say go for it. Many tests have shown synthetic oil to be great stuff. In my experience sales people aren't good for much of anything. Personally I say Mobil1 synthetic blend is a great value from the people who invented the stuff - and should be used by anyone who cares about their car period.
02-02-04, 11:36 PM
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Re: Synthetic oil issue:
Originally posted by Lexusfreak
Personally I think he has no clue as to what he is talking about
Personally I think he has no clue as to what he is talking about
Synthetic is for longer intervals, but some perfer to use it and still change every 3k, I still use dino and change according to Toy/Lex at 5k.
Here's a good read Motor Oil Bible and a forum to discuss your every oil needs Bob the Oil Guy
When it comes to the topic of Oil for your car and when to change it and which ones to use the topic is a debatable as religion, war, etc...
02-03-04, 10:01 PM
#6
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I appreciate your comments everyone but I'm not 100% sure I'm understanding everything. First off, what is "dino" oil? do we mean conventional? And half are telling me to stay with conventional & the other half are suggesting that I can use synthetic with no problems If i use Mobil 1 synthetic 5W 30 (the same oil grade that Lexus recommends) what is the major problem(s) in doing so? It's the same viscosity as the regular stuff but protects much much better in the long run right?
Now, by switching to synthetics........do I stand a better chance of eliminating any "engine gel" that may have formed with the previous owner? An engine flush was performed by the dealer before I took delivery last week.......thanks again for your insight everyone, I look forward to your responses.
If i use Mobil 1 synthetic 5W 30 (the same oil grade that Lexus recommends) what is the major problem(s) in doing so? It's the same viscosity as the regular stuff but protects much much better in the long run right? Now, by switching to synthetics........do I stand a better chance of eliminating any "engine gel" that may have formed with the previous owner? An engine flush was performed by the dealer before I took delivery last week.......thanks again for your insight everyone, I look forward to your responses.
02-03-04, 10:30 PM
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Lexusfreak
yes dino is conventional oil, dinosaur juice
5w30 synthetic is much thinner then 5-30 dino oil and it is slicker, some guys use 10w30 over the 5 cause of the synthetic being so thin.
synthetic has the abiltity to clean and hold more dirt then say dino oil, if you do switch to synthetic take notice of the brownish color oil on your oil cap that will eventually get cleaned up by using synthetic, synthetic can also with stand more heat and will not sludge or gel up like dino, I heard the sludge problem with the 3.0 was the extreme amount of heat in the head.
The engine flush is more likely to cause leaks in your engine, pumping the engine full of soap to loosen dirt can send an engine into shock and once it starts leaking it won't stop without $$$$
The engine will be cleaner using synthetic, but then you are also safe running 7500 mile changes.
After everything I just said, I still run dino
yes dino is conventional oil, dinosaur juice
5w30 synthetic is much thinner then 5-30 dino oil and it is slicker, some guys use 10w30 over the 5 cause of the synthetic being so thin.
synthetic has the abiltity to clean and hold more dirt then say dino oil, if you do switch to synthetic take notice of the brownish color oil on your oil cap that will eventually get cleaned up by using synthetic, synthetic can also with stand more heat and will not sludge or gel up like dino, I heard the sludge problem with the 3.0 was the extreme amount of heat in the head.
The engine flush is more likely to cause leaks in your engine, pumping the engine full of soap to loosen dirt can send an engine into shock and once it starts leaking it won't stop without $$$$
The engine will be cleaner using synthetic, but then you are also safe running 7500 mile changes.
After everything I just said, I still run dino
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02-04-04, 12:47 AM
#9
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IMHO It doesn't matter one bit...
The simple fact is there will always be some oil left over in the engine mixing around & there has never been any proof either way that mixing the oil will kill a broken in engine.
Swap to synthetic b/c it lasts longer & is better on the engine.
The simple fact is there will always be some oil left over in the engine mixing around & there has never been any proof either way that mixing the oil will kill a broken in engine.
Swap to synthetic b/c it lasts longer & is better on the engine.
Last edited by Toysrme; 02-04-04 at 12:48 AM.
02-04-04, 01:36 PM
#10
Lexusfreak,
you will get 50% saying use dino and 50% saying use synth. It is a split decision.
people have good reasons for using both, these reasons range from length of change interval to simple $$$ and cents. It all comes down to what you and only you are comfortable using in your car.
Personally, the only reason I use synthetic is cause of the cold temperatures I see in New England in the winter. Synthetic oil flows better in the extreme cold than dino oil. If I were in Florida and didn't see these temps i would be on dino.
It really doesn't matter. What matters is that you change you oil and filter on a regular basis.
A good suggestion to follow is change every 3k with dino or 5k with synthetic. This is not a steadfast suggestion as this is also area for discussion. Again, you will find your comfortable interval. Whatever it may be, just don't wait too long between oil changes.
steviej
you will get 50% saying use dino and 50% saying use synth. It is a split decision.
people have good reasons for using both, these reasons range from length of change interval to simple $$$ and cents. It all comes down to what you and only you are comfortable using in your car.
Personally, the only reason I use synthetic is cause of the cold temperatures I see in New England in the winter. Synthetic oil flows better in the extreme cold than dino oil. If I were in Florida and didn't see these temps i would be on dino.
It really doesn't matter. What matters is that you change you oil and filter on a regular basis.
A good suggestion to follow is change every 3k with dino or 5k with synthetic. This is not a steadfast suggestion as this is also area for discussion. Again, you will find your comfortable interval. Whatever it may be, just don't wait too long between oil changes.
steviej
02-04-04, 09:10 PM
#11
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Thread Starter
Well said steviej, I too am in a very cold climate in winter so I agree with you 100% with the use of synthetic for that very reason. Thanks for simplifying it for me.
Brenden
Brenden
02-05-04, 03:49 PM
#12
Pole Position
hmmm
As I will get ***** for this, as usual, but here is what I have learned.
They ONCE was an issue with using synthetic oil in non usuage synthetic engines, ie. Engine that did not use synthetic oil. The problem was that when you switched over the synthetic oil, it would clean all the junk out of the passages, lines, surfaces etc (that cover leaks already there) and that would case the seals to leak. So the leaks were there but the junk covered them up to prevent them. Also about 8 to 10 years ago the synthetic did not have a seal swealer in them. The synthetic oils all have them now and there are zero problems.
So to close the guy is full if it! Do I used extended drains in my ES yup ( 1 drain per 17,000 miles) and the dealer can say nothing about it. I will be doing #2 oil test in July so I can see how it proves to last years results. Oil tests are like $10 so it is some nice FYI data. Also you can add the oil from mile 0000 since the only thing that will happen is that the rings will take longer to seat (who cares) since you will have less cylinder wear and your oil consumption will be a littler higher for a few months. So what. It is not thinner but it is hydro-cracked, hell it does not make a difference here.
It will not cause problems.
They ONCE was an issue with using synthetic oil in non usuage synthetic engines, ie. Engine that did not use synthetic oil. The problem was that when you switched over the synthetic oil, it would clean all the junk out of the passages, lines, surfaces etc (that cover leaks already there) and that would case the seals to leak. So the leaks were there but the junk covered them up to prevent them. Also about 8 to 10 years ago the synthetic did not have a seal swealer in them. The synthetic oils all have them now and there are zero problems.
So to close the guy is full if it! Do I used extended drains in my ES yup ( 1 drain per 17,000 miles) and the dealer can say nothing about it. I will be doing #2 oil test in July so I can see how it proves to last years results. Oil tests are like $10 so it is some nice FYI data. Also you can add the oil from mile 0000 since the only thing that will happen is that the rings will take longer to seat (who cares) since you will have less cylinder wear and your oil consumption will be a littler higher for a few months. So what. It is not thinner but it is hydro-cracked, hell it does not make a difference here.
It will not cause problems.
02-06-04, 04:42 AM
#14
Pole Position
Do not have them right now (at work). Also it is hard to tell anything without a second result since this #1 is my basline.
Last edited by mburnickas; 02-06-04 at 07:29 AM.
02-10-04, 09:30 AM
#15
Lexus Fanatic
Re: hmmm
Originally posted by mburnickas
As I will get ***** for this, as usual, but here is what I have learned.
They ONCE was an issue with using synthetic oil in non usuage synthetic engines, ie. Engine that did not use synthetic oil. The problem was that when you switched over the synthetic oil, it would clean all the junk out of the passages, lines, surfaces etc (that cover leaks already there) and that would case the seals to leak. So the leaks were there but the junk covered them up to prevent them. Also about 8 to 10 years ago the synthetic did not have a seal swealer in them. The synthetic oils all have them now and there are zero problems.
So to close the guy is full if it! Do I used extended drains in my ES yup ( 1 drain per 17,000 miles) and the dealer can say nothing about it. I will be doing #2 oil test in July so I can see how it proves to last years results. Oil tests are like $10 so it is some nice FYI data. Also you can add the oil from mile 0000 since the only thing that will happen is that the rings will take longer to seat (who cares) since you will have less cylinder wear and your oil consumption will be a littler higher for a few months. So what. It is not thinner but it is hydro-cracked, hell it does not make a difference here.
It will not cause problems.
As I will get ***** for this, as usual, but here is what I have learned.
They ONCE was an issue with using synthetic oil in non usuage synthetic engines, ie. Engine that did not use synthetic oil. The problem was that when you switched over the synthetic oil, it would clean all the junk out of the passages, lines, surfaces etc (that cover leaks already there) and that would case the seals to leak. So the leaks were there but the junk covered them up to prevent them. Also about 8 to 10 years ago the synthetic did not have a seal swealer in them. The synthetic oils all have them now and there are zero problems.
So to close the guy is full if it! Do I used extended drains in my ES yup ( 1 drain per 17,000 miles) and the dealer can say nothing about it. I will be doing #2 oil test in July so I can see how it proves to last years results. Oil tests are like $10 so it is some nice FYI data. Also you can add the oil from mile 0000 since the only thing that will happen is that the rings will take longer to seat (who cares) since you will have less cylinder wear and your oil consumption will be a littler higher for a few months. So what. It is not thinner but it is hydro-cracked, hell it does not make a difference here.
It will not cause problems.