Switching to synthetic oil problem

[curtqn]

My yaris has 8,500 miles. I change oil every 3,000 miles. the first 2 oil changes I used conventional oil. I'd like to switch to synthetic oil.
I called a repair shop and they told me I can't switch to synthetic oil. This will damage the engine because I already had 2 oil changes with conventional oil. Is this right?

Thanks.

[WolfWings]

It's bullshit. Especially on such a low-mileage engine, it's always safe to switch _to_ synthetic oil.

[Doc Zaius]

I remember a bunch of old-timers saying that you shouldn't switch to synthetic right away... it's best to wait 10k-15k miles. Do some searching and you should find some of these threads.

[yaris-me]

It's OK to switch to synthetic at anytime. In your case, go for it.:thumbsup:

[jonismyname]

there's a mountain of info lurking in these waters, you just gotta stick your head in to see it.

ill throw a few things out there that aren't my opinion (my opinion, go at least 3k on factory oil then do what you like):
-factory oil is break in oil and needs to be run 5k
-factory breaks in motor before they ship it, you can do whatever you want as soon as you get it
-you should change your oil as soon as you get it home, then again at 500 miles, then again at 3k. (just because its 1500cc doesn't mean its a motorcycle motor...)

[Lazerdot]

I switched to Amsoil at 2000 miles.

[UTVitz]

I switched at 20k, best thing I ever did for my car. You can switch at anytime. The only reason old timers didn't like it is synthetic is not compatible with leather engine seals-which have not been used since the 1950's I think I heard. Synthetic flows better than conventional-so if you had an engine with a minor leak, synthetic would make it leak faster-that's the only down side I've heard about synthetic. Even the prices of shelf brand synthetics have come down with sales making them closer in price to conventional.

[curtqn]

Thanks for all the replies. I think I will switch to syn oil. While most people use Mobil-1 or Amsoil syn oils.
How do you think about the SuperTech syn oil sold at Wallmart. Very good price. Is it a good?

[toad]

i waited until 10k, but that's only because i was given a 'free' oil change coupon from the dealership when i bought the car and after that i had roughly that many(i use 'free' because the way i look at it i paid 12k for an oil change :lol: ).

[Hershey]

started usung synthetic little over 1,200 miles .

[YarisSedan]

Id wait till about 10k to switch over. That way your engine has time to fully break in using conventional oil. Using synthetic right off the bat may make your engine take a little longer to break in. If you must use synthetic before they royal purple makes a break in oil. Never tried it though.

[tomato]

What synthetic oil brands do you guys like to use?

[RedRide]

there's a mountain of info lurking in these waters, you just gotta stick your head in to see it.

ill throw a few things out there that aren't my opinion (my opinion, go at least 3k on factory oil then do what you like):
-factory oil is break in oil and needs to be run 5k
-factory breaks in motor before they ship it, you can do whatever you want as soon as you get it
-you should change your oil as soon as you get it home, then again at 500 miles, then again at 3k. (just because its 1500cc doesn't mean its a motorcycle motor...)

*Factory "break in oil" is rarely used anymore in any car these days .
* Engines are not broken in at the factory. Engines are first run only after final car assemby when all engine support parts are installed.

Having said that .... With modern machine tools, critical engine parts are now made more precise and the break in procedures of old are no loger nessary for the most part. Just take it easy for the first 2k or so.

However, personally, I like to change oil initially at about 2k miles as during this period, you have the most (nessary) break in wear and there are microscopic metalic particles suspended in the oil that should be removed.

Finally, synthetic is not some mysterious miracle oil that needs special conditions etc and can be used at most any time after break in. It can also be mixed with "dyno" oil in any proportions. :smile:

[POORSHA]

amsoil

[severous01]

i switched on my jeep at 175k miles. i had a valve cover gasket leak but that's only cuz dirt was actually clogging the leak and the synthetic cleaned it out. it was time to change that coark gasket to rubber any way.

[06silveryaris]

Thanks for all the replies. I think I will switch to syn oil. While most people use Mobil-1 or Amsoil syn oils.
How do you think about the SuperTech syn oil sold at Wallmart. Very good price. Is it a good?


I'm sure its decent but I would stick to proven syns like mobil 1 amsoil penzoil plat ect. If you are running syn you can run longer oci, might as well have the good stuff in there

[SilverGlow]

I swithed to synthetic at 1,500 miles for my 2007 HB Yaris...at 75,000 miles now, the pistons are slapping, burns 3 quarts of oil per mile, and the tranny shoots red gew all over the cars behind me....If only I had listened to this men at the repair shop...dang!!! :thumbsup:

[SilverGlow]

I'm sure its decent but I would stick to proven syns like mobil 1 amsoil penzoil plat ect. If you are running syn you can run longer oci, might as well have the good stuff in there

Supertech at Walmart is excellent and will protect your engine at 99.999999999% as good as AmsOil.

If you use AmsOil, the engine will last 300,000 miles. If you use SuperTech, your engine will last 299,999.98 miles....save your money and go for price because spending bigger $$ on boutique oils is often a huge waste of money and their "extra" protection is so small you'd need an ant's a-hole to see the difference

[SilverGlow]

Id wait till about 10k to switch over. That way your engine has time to fully break in using conventional oil. Using synthetic right off the bat may make your engine take a little longer to break in. If you must use synthetic before they royal purple makes a break in oil. Never tried it though.

That is an old wive's tell....he can use synthetic anytime...lots of brand new cars come from the factory with synthetic in the engine.

[kac]

What synthetic oil brands do you guys like to use?

Castrol EDGE

[bearda]

I'm a big fan of Pennzoil Platinum. Returns great UOAs, is available almost everywhere, and is frequently on BOGO sales. What interval are you planning on using?

[elmo]

i switch my wifes Echo to syn. with 70,000 mile on her NO PROBLEMS why do people Bull Shit so much?

[YarisSedan]

.

[toyo]

now what you have to do is call that shop and tell them they should do some reading ;P

guys, what about changing from synthetic to mineral?

[chai]

http://www.carbibles.com/engineoil_bible.html

There is no scientific data to support the idea that mixing mineral and synthetic oils will damage your engine. When switching from a mineral oil to a synthetic, or vice versa, you will potentially leave a small amount of residual oil in the engine. That's perfectly okay because synthetic oil and mineral-based motor oil are, for the most part, compatible with each other. (The exception is pure synthetics. Polyglycols don't mix with normal mineral oils.)
There is also no problem with switching back and forth between synthetic and mineral based oils. In fact, people who are "in the know" and who operate engines in areas where temperature fluctuations can be especially extreme, switch from mineral oil to synthetic oil for the colder months. They then switch back to mineral oil during the warmer months.
There was a time, years ago, when switching between synthetic oils and mineral oils was not recommended if you had used one product or the other for a long period of time. People experienced problems with seals leaking and high oil consumption but changes in additive chemistry and seal material have taken care of those issues. And that's an important caveat. New seal technology is great, but if you're still driving around in a car from the 80's with its original seals, then this argument becomes a bit of a moot point - your seals are still going to be subject to the old leakage problems no matter what newfangled additives the oil companies are putting in their products.

I just switched out from factory oil to Pennzoil Platinum and a TRD filter @ 5000mi. It is my understanding that "synthetics" like PP are compatible with mineral oil, and vice versa.

I strongly recommend a filter wrench cap... let's just say I had to punch a hole through the factory oil filter and shove metal through it to get enough leverage to remove it.

[Inspector14]

i got my car in December of 2008, i switched to Pennzoil Platinum synthetic at 500 miles. i ran that for 1000 miles and switched to Castrol Edge. i ran that for 3000 miles, and when i changed out for Lubro Moly, i did an oil analysis.

Blackstone labs said that the engine example i provided showed etremely low wear even for a new engine with so few miles. there was high silicon, but that was from a volcanic eruption.

you can switch to synthetic at any time.

[bronsin]

Yeah no problem. Just make sure you change it every 6k miles/6 months like using conventional oil or youll void your warranty. (potentially)

[TheSilkySmooth]

I run HDEO Rotella T 10w-30. The engine runs much smoother with it than any syn I had in there(synpower, syntec). The GF4 energy conserving oils are very thin at high temp - high shear rate and can cause piston slap. Also, they are missing the generous % of antiwear agents that the earlier spec oil had. They removed these agents to protect the catalyst through the warranty period, since the agents can plate over the catalyst metals and render them inneffective. The Rotella has the EP antiwear anti-galling agents in good percentage to prtoect the engine. This engine will not use oil through a 5K mile Oci, so, catalyst poisoning is a moot point.

[SilverGlow]

I run HDEO Rotella T 10w-30. The engine runs much smoother with it than any syn I had in there(synpower, syntec). The GF4 energy conserving oils are very thin at high temp - high shear rate and can cause piston slap. Also, they are missing the generous % of antiwear agents that the earlier spec oil had. They removed these agents to protect the catalyst through the warranty period, since the agents can plate over the catalyst metals and render them inneffective. The Rotella has the EP antiwear anti-galling agents in good percentage to prtoect the engine. This engine will not use oil through a 5K mile Oci, so, catalyst poisoning is a moot point.

More BS from you, as usual.

The actual scientific data shows that 0w oils are not necessarily thinner at full operational temperatures.

For example 0w-30 and 10w-30 are both the same thickness at 212F.

Same for 0w-20, and 5w-20.

These 0w oils in fact have a lower shear rate then mineral...Grumpy, ArcoGraphite, and all the other many names you have, why do you keep posting BS here and other forums?

[ROCKLAND TOYOTA]

More BS from you, as usual.

The actual scientific data shows that 0w oils are not necessarily thinner at full operational temperatures.

For example 0w-30 and 10w-30 are both the same thickness at 212F.

Same for 0w-20, and 5w-20.

These 0w oils in fact have a lower shear rate then mineral...Grumpy, ArcoGraphite, and all the other many names you have, why do you keep posting BS here and other forums?

:eyebulge: OUCH.....

[chai]

I run HDEO Rotella T 10w-30. The engine runs much smoother with it than any syn I had in there(synpower, syntec). The GF4 energy conserving oils are very thin at high temp - high shear rate and can cause piston slap. Also, they are missing the generous % of antiwear agents that the earlier spec oil had. They removed these agents to protect the catalyst through the warranty period, since the agents can plate over the catalyst metals and render them inneffective. The Rotella has the EP antiwear anti-galling agents in good percentage to prtoect the engine. This engine will not use oil through a 5K mile Oci, so, catalyst poisoning is a moot point.

I think even Pennzoil Platinum is overkill for a Yaris. Time will tell, but I anticipate no problems related to engine oil... particularly because I will do all oil changes myself with OEM/TRD filters.

[TheSilkySmooth]

More BS from you, as usual.


These 0w oils in fact have a lower shear rate then mineral...Grumpy, ArcoGraphite, and all the other many names you have, why do you keep posting BS here and other forums? Nice personal attack, silverworm -You know what they say about people who talk the loudest :tongue: As usual you disregard my fine points about antiwear agents (SAPS) in SM/GF4 EC oils being reduced. Your absolute BS is about GF4 oils and "shear". Know that GF4 is under 3.0 HTHS on 0w/5w-30 weight; most all 10w-30 CJ-4 HDEO are over 3.5 high temp high shear rate viscosity. Read the FACTS on the product DATA sheets! In your world I should IGNORE the horrendous racket my car makes on syntec and just let it beat itself to death. Great advice!

[TheSilkySmooth]

Silver:
I know about low shear rate viscosity at 212degF - All classified SAE 30 weight must demonstrate a kinematic viscosity in a range between 9.3 and the 12.5 cSt - this is what DEFINES a 30wt motor oil. Duh.

[TheSilkySmooth]

:eyebulge: OUCH..... Ouch what? Lubricants 101. I said HTHS. Web Idiocracy:iono:

[Red Horse]

I have a salvage Saturn 1996 sedan sl2 and has a 172,849 mile on it, is it ok to switch to syntetic oil?

[YarisSedan]

I have a salvage Saturn 1996 sedan sl2 and has a 172,849 mile on it, is it ok to switch to syntetic oil?

I switched to synthetic oil on my 89 acura legend. Had 200k miles on it at the time. First the oil pan gasket started to leak. I fixed that. 2 weeks later the distributer o ring seal started to leak. Fixed that. 2 weeks later the upper valve cover gaskets started to leak. Fixed that. 2 weeks later the side valve covers started to leak so fixed that. Then about a month went by and then the oil cooler seal started to leak. So fixed that. About few months went by then the rear main seal started to leak. Finally just sold the car. All i know is i was driving about a year with no oil leaks till i switched to synthetic and then the nightmares began.

[Red Horse]

I switched to synthetic oil on my 89 acura legend. Had 200k miles on it at the time. First the oil pan gasket started to leak. I fixed that. 2 weeks later the distributer o ring seal started to leak. Fixed that. 2 weeks later the upper valve cover gaskets started to leak. Fixed that. 2 weeks later the side valve covers started to leak so fixed that. Then about a month went by and then the oil cooler seal started to leak. So fixed that. About few months went by then the rear main seal started to leak. Finally just sold the car. All i know is i was driving about a year with no oil leaks till i switched to synthetic and then the nightmares began.

Holy crap! Good thing I read this, I was planing to go to walmart to get some motorcraft syntetic for my saturn. Syntetic is probably liquid texture that can pass through gasket.

[Red Horse]

What about the high milage oil? Would be that good for old engine and what is the difference on the regular oil?

[RedRide]

What about the high milage oil? Would be that good for old engine and what is the difference on the regular oil?

High milage oil basically just has some additional detergents in it to help clean out sludge etc from an older, neglected engine.

It's really nothing special and it is just a marketing gimmick.

[Red Horse]

High milage oil basically just has some additional detergents in it to help clean out sludge etc from an older, neglected engine.

It's really nothing special and it is just a marketing gimmick.

Thank you, I will stick w/ my regular oil cause to what I read before the detergent makes the sludge.

[why?]

The problem with synthetic oils in older cars is they clean everything out too well. So then you get every single leak that normal dino oil filled in leaking all at the same time.

[Sidicas]

Holy crap! Good thing I read this, I was planing to go to walmart to get some motorcraft syntetic for my saturn. Syntetic is probably liquid texture that can pass through gasket.Haha, yea man.. We've got 3 Saturns here..

A pair of 2001 SL-1s (one auto and one manual) and my '93 Saturn SC2. All three of them burn a quart of non-synthetic 5W-30 a month, I'd think with synthetic clearing out all the sludge, it would be even worse..

If it wasn't for my tranny dieing on my '93 Saturn SC2 at 123,000 miles, I'd still be riding it around today.. Looks like the tranny is dieing on my dad's 2001 SL1 as well at around 145,000 miles... My dad is VERY rough on automatics, always forces a downshift when he comes up to a stop light and really doesn't use the brakes much.. I tell him not to do it and he yells at me that I don't know what I'm talking about and says it doesn't hurt anything..

Oh well, all of our Automatic saturns now have tranny issues. My Saturn SC2 started refusing to downshift manually and then it lost 5th gear altogether and would always go straight into neutral after about 45MPH until slowed down to about 20MPH..

Still, Saturns have great engines in them.. My mom's manual Saturn SL1 is coming up on 200,000 miles and aside from new rotors, break pads, and a starter, it has had almost no problems. Running regular non-synthetic 5W-30 all the way..


/rant

[schleppy]

Do not go back to the shop that told you that.

[drainplugkiller]

I swithed to synthetic at 1,500 miles for my 2007 HB Yaris...at 75,000 miles now, the pistons are slapping, burns 3 quarts of oil per mile, and the tranny shoots red gew all over the cars behind me....If only I had listened to this men at the repair shop...dang!!! :thumbsup:

Try putting your drain plug back in. :eyebulge:

[racerb]

The problem with synthetic oils in older cars is they clean everything out too well. So then you get every single leak that normal dino oil filled in leaking all at the same time.

Exactly right, Amsoil recommends using their engine flush first before even pouring in the first quart. Most cars never get the proper service, so all kinds of bad things show up. :clap:

[lenzomaru]

Hi i noticed your message signature.

I would like to use syntec oil, but as a way to save money as this will extend my oil change time, i currently change my oil at 5000km (dusty roads,day temp avg 31 deg c) with syntec i believe i can go for 10,000 saving me money for oil filters and also time (as i change oil myself) My yaris takes a little under 4 qts of oil

- 4 qt of castrol 10w 30 dino oil is $30 US
- 4 qt castrol 10w 30 full syntec $53 US

Since i'll be doing 2 dino oil changes in the same amount of time (10,000km) i'll have to buy 8 qts dino oil totaling $60 US as compared to $53 US for the full syntec during the same period (10,000) also i will have to purchase and extra oil filter ($20US) and my time to change it.

so the syntec works out for me