I just bought my wife an 07 Expedition. Should I switch it over to Synthetic now or ever for that matter? Her old 00' Expedition was changed to Synthetic at 100K and I ended up with oil pressure problems at 140K due to the Synthetic breaking down all the old build up in the engine. Any advice on this one? I have heard so many cases for both sides of the fence.

 

The only thing that I don't like a about synthetic is if a leak is present or about to leak and you change to synthetic it will be enhanced. Every engine I have switched over has been quieter afterwards.

 

I've thought about switching over to synthetic several times with my 04' f150, but I've heard from several people that if you're running regular oil then to stick with it. I think it's just more of a personal preferance myself.

 

It's a waste of money, but you can do it if it makes you feel better. I've never seen an engine fail from running dyno oil. Nor have I ever seen an engine die from "not changing" the oil.

If you use an oil that meets specs, then you're fine. Going above the specs isn't better for anything, because the tolerances of the engine were designed for 5W30 oil. 5W30 oil has a high enough viscosity to prevent the parts of the engine from smacking and scraping eachother. So if you were to use 5W30 "space shuttle grade" oil, it would probably do fine too. It would probably prevent the parts of the engine from smacking and scraping too.

 

Thanks for the input. I like the reasoning in that. I don't run it in my F150 and I never had any problem so why spend the money. My wife let the oil change place talk her into it on the last one. I think I will leave it the way it was designed, standard oil.

Thanks,

 

Having said that, you can run it if you want to. I just don't see the point. They will last until you get sick of them anyway, and the other components of the truck (door latches, weatherstripping, axles, trans, fuel guage, a/c, radio, interior, paint) always fail first. Everybody trades their truck WAY before they quit anyway.

 

Break it in on the factory oil, then switch to synthetic. Unless the engine came factory filled with synthetic, it may not break in properly. I used to be an Amsoil dealer and we recommended 6000 miles on petroleum oil.

 

You've never seen an engine fail from "not changing" the oil? Wow, I sure have. Granted, it didn't fail at 3000 miles, or 6000 miles, or even 12000 miles. It actually failed at about 28000 miles... The piston rings and valves were shot so bad blow-by from the pistons was flying out of the crank case ventilation hole (valve frequently blew out) so much it looked like a steam locomotive! The engine (1991 Chevy 350 in case anyone cared) started burning oil heavily at about 18000 miles, with fresh oil being poured in during every fillup at the gas station from then on, so, no, the engine did not die from running out of oil. The owner actually kept an eye on the oil level itself...however for some reason he thought just keeping the oil level in the safe zone on the dipstick negated any need for an oil change...

Oil will eventually break down...more quickly so under hot temp, or oddly enough low temp, i.e. only driving a mile each day to and from work. Engine, and its oil, never reach operating temp.

Now, do I believe synthetic is the cure all for everything oil related? I don't personally think so, although I do use full synthetic myself. Can you never change the oil and be fine while using synthetic...nope, at least not forever.

Sorry, I'm not trying to start an debate. I just was surprised to read you had never seen old, worn out oil cause an engine problem before. After I wrote all this I realized you may have been refering to mechanics claiming engine failure was caused by going 3001 miles before an oil change, rather than changing at 3000 promptly or earlier. If that is the case, I apologize for the long winded rant.

Later,
Mike

 

I have too - A Windstar - 62,000 on a 3.8 without one oil change. That chick said she never changed the oil before , also said she never will even after that

What finally happened to the motor is the pickup screen totally plugged and THEN , well , uknow..

 

That's a piece of crap chevy you're talking about. My uncle has changed his oil probably 3 times since he bought his V10 in 2000. It has over 150,000 on the odometer. That engine would have died anyway. Heck, I've gone almost 10,000 miles before changing mine before, it didn't hurt it.

Yeah, that's because of the steady decrease in viscosity over time. The longer you wait to change your oil, the more your engine will burn it. I can go 3,000 miles without burning hardly any, but that last 2,000 I have to put 1/2 to 1 quart in. Just the nature of oil and one of the reasons mfgr's say to change it when they do. Don't worry bout it. If that old oil actually caused that chevy to break, that's a shame. Especially in just 28,000 miles. I hate that happened to your neighbor. Most engines won't do that though. MOST people DON'T change their oil at all. You can take that statement to the bank.