Switching over to Mobil Synthetic 1

[strmagiceet]

Hi,
I've serached and couldn't come up with anything to this, but my cam (94 V6 3.0 XLE) has around 180,000 miles on it, and its been using some cheap oil. I was wondering if converting to synthetic would ruin the engine in anyway, because I've had a couple people tell me that the car has alot of miles on it and that its better to stick with the oil im using now.

Is that right?

Thanks in advance.

-j-

[CamNub]

Yeah, Its a little high. Its usually best to start off w/ it at low milage.

[felkajamine]

go with a mix of half synthetic and half conventional oil......or just go with an oil specifically made for higher mileage cars...like maxlife oil, which valvoline produces, which also is a mixture of synthetic oils!

[Beaver]

You won't ruin your engine but at that milage it is questionable if it will do much for you. If you have any leaks the synth oil will find them. It cleans the gunk and sludge that has built up over the years away allowing your engine to leak more freely. It may give you a slight power increase because itis sliperier therefore reducing internal friction. You will be able to go farther on an oil change after the first couple changes. I'm looking for a camry wagon and if I find one with 100k mi or so I'm converting it to synthetic oil.

[felkajamine]

yeah on these older engines build up and sludge can be what is ACTUALLY holding your engine together, and if you go with straight syn, then it WILL find that sludge and will break it up, and your sludge/engine-holder-togetherer will be no more, and over time it will cause big leaks and so forth....so in other words, it's not a good idea to go with full syn

[kenny1773]

The risk you run into starting mobil I use at 180,000 miles is the sludge that is already built up in your engine from the fossil oil 'could' be knocked loose and cause other problems.

It could cause smaller oil pathways to become plugged

It could possibly leak

I would say stick with a quality high mileage oil and don't worry about using M1 at 180,000

[cam2Xrunner]

^^ X2

It's not like there is going to be an improvement to your engine by going to synthetic. Just stick with reg. oil.

I run Mobil 1 synthetic only because my engine is new. But I will continue using it.

[virtualkuz]

This is a topic of continous debate on motorcycle forums, but with your Cam up there at 180k you may want to use Shell Rotella 15w40. It is a very high quality heavy duty truck oil that is fine to use in gas engines. It is about $6 a gallon at wal-mart. Being a little heavier than the 5w30 you probably use might help you gain some compression which would help you gain a little power. If you want to stay a little more conventional, I would use a regular high-milage car oil. Don't go full synthetic on an engine that old, like it has been said above, you are going to start leaking / burning oil if you go full syn.

[Toysrme]

blah blah blah blah blah


The sooner you switch to it, the better.
I say prove all of them wrong; dump a cup of Seafoam (or similar harsh petrolium based engine cleaner) in with your oil a week before you change it.

THEN swap to mobil 1.