I have an 01 with a SOHC 4.0, and am thinking about switching to a synthetic oil. The motor has 61,xxx miles, and no leaks. I have faithfully changed the oil (Castrol GTX 5w-30) every 3,000 miles. Any problems with switching this late in the game? I was thinking of Mobile 1 5w-30, with a Mobile 1 filter, and 5,000 mile changes.

 

I cant imagine any problems. Dont use castrol syntec though its
basically overpriced semi-syn due to laxness in defining "synthetic" oil


Edit after reading all your post.
Yes M1 5w-30 or 5w-30EP would be fine.

I myself have used the M1 Truck and suv for 30,000+miles now with
3000-6500mile oil changes. I'm sure I could go alot longer but its hard to
change your ways.

You might consider a purolator Pure 1 filter. They are very similar to M1
filters for about 5-6$ vs 11$


Rand

 

well not sure about the mileage but i changed mine over early in the game. but it should be fine

 

No problem. It'd be good for the truck. Using Mobile 1 you could easily go 7,500 miles between oil changes. One of the reasons for using a fully synthetic oil is to be able to go longer between oil changes. My 03 Ranger manual recommends 5,000 mi. oil changes, so when I switched to Mobil 1 at 9,000 miles I started going 10,000 miles between oil changes. I'm on my second round of 10,000 miles with Mobil 1 and the Purolator Pure One oil filter, and when the current oil has 10,000 mi. on it I'm going to change it and have a used oil analysis done on it. Then I'm going to switch to Mobile 1 EP and run it 10,000 mi. If you are only going to go 5,000 mi. between oil changes you don't need a synthetic oil. I'd use the Mobil 5,000. And I second the suggestion of using the Purolator Pure One instead of the Mobil 1 oil filter. The two are about equal in quality and the Pure One's a lot cheaper. The WIX (the Napa Gold oil filter is the same as the WIX) is just as good as and is about the same price as a Pure One. Check out this website; its got a wealth of info in its forums on oil, oil filters, oil change intervals, used oil analysis, etc.. The guys on the site really know their stuff.

http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi

 

I go a year on Amsoil Series 2000, about 19,000 miles, between changes. I get the oil tested every year and it's only just getting marginal when I change it. All the "better" synthetics like Mobil 1, Amsoil, etc. are very good and you will have no problems.

As Rand hinted, there is a type of oil that has now been classified as "synthetic", but it is not as durable as the PAO based oils like Mobil 1 and Amsoil.

 

after 95,000 miles on my moms chrysler sebring running Valvoline 5w-30 regular oil, my dad and i switched the car to the 15k mile Extended performance Mobil 1 5w-30 and have had no problems yet, its been almost a half of a year, no leaks and all the oil is still there.

ive been running mobil 1 since i got my truck, no issues here, and i change it every 10-15k

 

my 99 has 94k miles on it and about 30 miles to go befor next oil change, i wana swutch to full synthetic is it still ok the engine is perfect no leaks no burps and runs very strong, will the synthetic make the engine last longer and does it inprove anything else besides oil changes and what is a good brand that i can get at a local auto shop??

Thanx i need to get one tomorrow

Nick

 

Mobil 1 (the fully synthetic version, not the blended one) is always a good choice you can get easily. Very similar to Amsoil (my choice) though with a different package of additives.

Advantages, besides lower wear, can be improved mileage and reduced emissions. Mileage improves due to friction reduction -- though it's not always dramatic -- and lower emissions is because the oil burns less easily on the cylinder walls and doesn't add as many hydrocarbons to the exhaust.

 

I also use the amsoil 0W30 and there new ea filters. I have used amsoil for 4 years now along with oil analysis from blackstone labs. I have had nothing but excellent results. I run the oil for 36,000 miles changing the new ea filter at 18,000 miles. All of my analysis results have been great. I change at these intervals just for piece of mind, not because anaylsis recommends it.

 

That is the exact oil and filter combination I have been running for 40,000 miles.

 

anyone know the part number on the purolator filter? I got one from advanced, looked it up in the book and all, and it looked alot smaller than the one i took off...im running mobile 1 truck and suv also....

Rocky

 

ok so if i cange over to synthetic should i use this lucas synthetic oil stabiliser i always use the reg oil one with all my changes but will i need it if i get the mobil 1 synthetic oil or will it not hurt??

 

eh how bout kendall 5w30? and the trusty ol fram filter? I run about 3-6K miles on that.....

 

If you want a cheap oil thats a real bargain.. Try the motorcraft 5w-30.
1.94 a quart at walmart and its basically the same base stock as castrol syntec.
Group III+ add on a trusty motorcraft 3.08$ filter and voila. That would be fine for 5k miles IMO.

My dads mitsubishi started leaking like crazy from the front seal after M1.. but it was
a repo vehicle.. cant vouch for its maintence until about 90000 miles.

Fram filters suck badly.. can you say "cardboard end caps"

The fram that are ok.. are a bad value.
Id rather have the 2$ value filter than a fram.

 

you do not need the lucas oil stabilizer with any good synthetic in a engine that is in good shape. if your rings or seals are worn maybe, but otherwise, save your money. just a little extra info. synthetic oils do not cause leaks, however they are thinner than comparable conventional oils even though the weight is the same and sometimes they will get through where conventional oils cannot...yet!

 

I use Quaker State Advanced Q it works great, but it's like 5 bucks a bottle...

 

im using amsoil in my truck and mercedes and mobil 1 in the blazer... so far no problems

 

ok thanx but once u go synthetic u cant go back correct

 

sry for another post but i swaped all my trucks to synthetic and stayed with it so i never changed back but i heard u cant change back

 

You can go back to dino-oil whenever you want...the question is...WHY would you want to go from synthetic to dino oil?

I run Amsoil 5w30 in the Ranger year round with their Super Duty filters..this oil change coming up I'm going to be trying their new EA oil filter which should make for 1 year or 25,000 mile oil change intervals.

In the Grand Marquis I used to run 5w30 motorcraft w/ a motorcraft filter and change it every 3 months/3,000 miles. At around 50k miles or so, I switched to Mobil 1 5w30 with a Mobil 1 oil filter. I change the oil in the Grand Marquis every 8-10 months. No leaks, no anything. If you get leaks when you switch to a synthetic oil, it's not because the synthetic oil caused the leak...it's because whatever oil you were using before built up so many deposits that it plugged the leak...when you start to run synthetic oil, because of it's higher detergency and additives, it cleans that crap away...and all of a sudden...you have a leak.

 

so if i get a leak just switch back or park on a big piece of cardboard when i come home

 

ok i have now officialy switched to synthetic, i put in mobil 1 and lucas synthetic just to try it cant hurt and i put a Bosch filter in, right away i noticed my engine was a lot more quiet driving down the road and i could hear my flowmaster better because no engine noise so i spent 54$ and did it myself and i like so far hopefully it pays off

 

i did see the motocraft synthetic blend there for like 28$ for 6 quarts and i almost got it, has anyone tryed the synthetic blend of the motocraft and how does it compair to mobil 1

 

just for further inquiry, here it is, May 2022. Many years after this original question was posed. My 1998 Ranger XLT 4.0 (133,000 miles) rumbles at the initial start-up. This lasts for two or three seconds, then smooths out.
I have been using 5W-30 high mileage, synthetic blend changed every June (only drive 2500 miles per year).

**Question: would changing to the same weight FULL synthetic help alleviate the start-up rumble?

There are no code warnings and the spark plugs have been replaced within the last 10K using the OEM plugs

Bill in Roanoke

 

Changing oil types won't really show a difference. Changing to a heavier weight might help alleviate cold-start oil pressure issues, but it would merely be a band-aid vs a fix.