Synth vs Dino Oil on an old B8

[js_og]

I am currently preparing my B8 for the upcoming swap. I was planning on changing all gaskets out of it to be able to put synth oil in there. So much good stuff was heard about it, I figured "I needed that", like unclejohn would say.

My friend told me he'd prefer not to lift the head out of it, for fear that it could warp. What if I get the head resurfaced?

What are the risks of putting synthetic oil in an old motor with new gaskets all around and a resurfaced head? What about if not resurfacing the head?

[PhoenixSHO]

MY advice is dont put synthetic oil UNLESS you have new rings and new gaskets all around. Or its gonna leak and puff, at least in the SHO world....

I think its way overrated , just use a good dino oil like castrol or valvoline. And stay away from pennsoil (motor failiure) and quaker state (sludge) , and this is from personal experience.

Probably someone else might contradict but this is my opinion on oils.

[Tom]

Synthetic 5-40 Shell Rotella T, the same oil they use in the big diesel trucks. You want the synthetic oil filter also. I got five Festiva's and a Jeep and GMC Truck and Ford Powerstroke Van. Bumper to bumper synthetic all the way. Everything I got had 150,000 miles and more on them when I got them. You got synthetic 5 in the winter and synthetic 40 in the summer. There is nothing better. It's also cheaper in the long run.

[navdoc101]

Check out www.bobistheoilguy.com

[js_og]

Thanks for the input Joe. I believe the new gaskets, resurfacing and rings is a must when it comes to adding synth oil to an old motor.

I'll dig out this site navdoc! Lotsa of material in there.

[1988festivazoom]

MY advice is dont put synthetic oil UNLESS you have new rings and new gaskets all around. Or its gonna leak and puff, at least in the SHO world....

I think its way overrated , just use a good dino oil like castrol or valvoline. And stay away from pennsoil (motor failiure) and quaker state (sludge) , and this is from personal experience.

Probably someone else might contradict but this is my opinion on oils.

synthetic will not cause leaks lol its a huge mis conception, i put full syn in my b6-me and it still dosent leak to this day. i run full syn in everything. my ranger with 176,000mi i switched to syn and it dosent leak.

[blkfordsedan]

With synthetic oil, the cold start lubrication is a huge bonus, but they also have superior cleaning capabilities. In an older engine that has sludge & gunk buildup around the gaskets, the synthetic will clean it all out. This can cause the gaskets to leak for a while, but eventually the oil will penetrate them and they should stop leaking. Motors with a fair amount of gunk can also experience detrimental issues with actually being "clean". All the gunk will be carried through the oil system, so I would make sure to use a quality filter and change the oil fairly often for the first few times. Sometimes its better off to just let them be if they run good and don't burn oil or have much blow-by. I tried to run Pennzoil Ultra in my 130K mile B3. It ran like a top and didn't use a drop of oil. After about 2000 miles, I ended up with a very clean engine that leaks oil from every gasket & seal and blows a quart of oil out the valve cover every 200 miles due to excessive blow-by. It may have been a coincidence, but it was enought to keep me from using a full synthetic oil in anything except a new or low mileage engine. It may also have been a result of the "hyper cleaning agents" used in the Pennzoil Ultra............who knows. It may be the Jeagermeister of synthetic oils.

The head gasket doesn't really have any thing to do with it, so unless it is leaking, I wouldn't pull the head. You should really resurface an aluminum head any time you remove it in order to get a good seal with the new gasket. If the motor runs good, I would just install all new seals and gaskets, except for the head, as a preventive maintenance issue. I would also install a new timing belt & water pump and run a good synthetic blend oil like Motorcraft 5W-30. It's cheap, available at Wal-Mart, and still offers most of the advantages of a full synthetic.

[1988festivazoom]

Use amsoil period. Never had a problem with it and I love it! I used royal purple, what a freaking joke! I saw no improvment what so ever. Amsoil gave me better cold starts and STOPPED the blow by that I had with royal purple.

[js_og]

Great info there Brian! You told me exactly what I was told to do by 2 mechanics. I believe I'll go ahead with synthetic blend. We already had planned on changing all gaskets except the head.

[200KGPGTP]

If you experience leaking when switching to synthetic, the gaskets were already bad and soon to leak anyways.........

[getnpsi]

Save your money and use a blend or dino. I liked motorcraft 5w-20 in the 1.3 actually. I was trying to get the HLA to shut up and it was cold weather time. I didn't know about the proper thermostat back then and the thing never heated up...The 1.8 I'd just run whatever is on sale. If you are taking it apart halfway you can see how dirty it is. If it's not dirty then use the cheap stuff and "keep on keeping on."

[iceracerdude]

Yeah, save your money and you could be just like those guy's in the commercials, you know the ones "What, me worry about sludge?"
Here's pictures from the exact same discussion that's going on right now at the aspire site, but also with the pro's and con's of needlessly changing oil too quickly:



One guess as to which engine's been using the synthetic...yum, yum, ha,ha,ha

[1988festivazoom]

for a dd run 0w-30 amsoil full syn. exceeds all specs. i run the domanator series amsoil 10w-30, it has a ton of zinc in it and can also be used for break in oil.

[200KGPGTP]

Yeah, save your money and you could be just like those guy's in the commercials, you know the ones "What, me worry about sludge?"
Here's pictures from the exact same discussion that's going on right now at the aspire site, but also with the pro's and con's of needlessly changing oil too quickly:



One guess as to which engine's been using the synthetic...yum, yum, ha,ha,ha

I hope the clean one!

[blkfordsedan]

Yeah, save your money and you could be just like those guy's in the commercials, you know the ones "What, me worry about sludge?"
Here's pictures from the exact same discussion that's going on right now at the aspire site, but also with the pro's and con's of needlessly changing oil too quickly:



One guess as to which engine's been using the synthetic...yum, yum, ha,ha,ha

That top engine is a prime example of one that I would NOT switch to full synthetic, or even try any kind of motor flush. Synthetic is superior, but there's no substitute for regular maintenance. I try to change the oil as soon as it starts to get to the point you can't read the dipstick marks through the oil.