Engine oil

[oak]

I've recently had the 302 in my '87 F150 4x4 rebuilt. Just did the 500 mile oil change. I asked the rebuilder about using synthetic oil and he said to wait one oil change and to be sure the engine had stopped burning oil first. The book calls for 10W30 or 10W40 above zero F. Not very often we see zero here. The book also says six quart capacity and it takes seven and a half quarts to put it on full with a filter change.

My question here is what do you guys think about full synthetics? If you like them how many miles of regular driving would you run between changes?

[moneybags]

i use royal purple you can get like 10,000 km with it and still good but the cost is up there and i find it runs better i have evo lancer

[JCO]

I've recently had the 302 in my '87 F150 4x4 rebuilt. Just did the 500 mile oil change. I asked the rebuilder about using synthetic oil and he said to wait one oil change and to be sure the engine had stopped burning oil first. The book calls for 10W30 or 10W40 above zero F. Not very often we see zero here. The book also says six quart capacity and it takes seven and a half quarts to put it on full with a filter change.

My question here is what do you guys think about full synthetics? If you like them how many miles of regular driving would you run between changes?

The intervals on full synthetic depend on the type of driving, loads and the type of oil filter..
Lots of stop and go and load pulling put more stress on the engine and require more frequent changes..
Also the oil filter has a big impact on the frequency of the oil change.. If you look at an identical european car, north american specs are oil changes at 8000KM i europe they are at 20 or 25,000 KM the european oil filter is different and bigger.. One of the reasons I heard about the difference in intervals in america was that we dont check our oil levels often, and at 25,000 Km the pan would be dry ...
I still change mine at 10,000 Km and use a eurospec filter..:thumbsup:
Another tip is to change the filter and oil after 500 to 1000 Km after a rebuild , you want to get any junk that was left behind out of there before it creates wear..

[PTown]

You want to make sure the rings, seals, etc have all had time to seat before you go to synthetic. Synthetic is able to seep where dino oils can't, potentially causing problems.

[satchick]

I haven't made the switch to full synthetic engine oil in my cars yet, but I do run Royal Purple gear oil in my Town Car's rear differential, and I use Royal Purple in my jetski. That or Mobil 1 are two of the best synthetics out there, and Mobil 1 is approved by a number of manufacturers, and some new cars are shipped from the factory with it.

The filter does make a big difference as JCO said, get a good one. WIX filters from Napa, or Ford Motorcraft are all I use. The no-name ones aren't so great.

Another thing to look into is a quick change valve... I have one on my car that you can attach a hose to, avoiding a mess. Fumoto and I think Fram make these.

[Night Prowler]

I get away with changing the oil once a year(about 7-8k miles/year) with full synthetic......filter changes are 3 times a year........:thumbsup:

I would wait until your break in period is over and then go full synthetic.......then monitor the oil for any type of breakdown and go from there......;)

[JCO]

I get away with changing the oil once a year(about 7-8k miles/year) with full synthetic......filter changes are 3 times a year........:thumbsup:

I would wait until your break in period is over and then go full synthetic.......then monitor the oil for any type of breakdown and go from there......;)

Or get a job at a car dealer, they ussualy sell the loaner car before you have to do the oil change.. My brother used to work for Audi and they replaced his car every 6000Km, he hasnt done an oil change on a car in over 10 years..LOL

[Terryl]

I bought my "85" Chevy full sized 4X4 new, drove it 500 miles on the factory oil, changed it to Mobil 1 synthetic right at the 500 mile mark, and change oil and filter evey 10,000 miles, (weather it needs ot or not) it now has over 270, 000+ miles on it and it has never burned oil (ever) nor needed any major repairs to the engine.

I’ve been very happy with synthetic, I will never go back to regular oil.

[sunny1000]

I bought my "85" Chevy full sized 4X4 new, drove it 500 miles on the factory oil, changed it to Mobil 1 synthetic right at the 500 mile mark, and change oil and filter evey 10,000 miles, (weather it needs ot or not) it now has over 270, 000+ miles on it and it has never burned oil (ever) nor needed any major repairs to the engine.

I’ve been very happy with synthetic, I will never go back to regular oil.
270,000 miles Terry that is very impressive, you must be taken care of your vehicle, nice job.

[Terryl]

It's gone threw 2 tranny's, 3 water pumps, 1 fuel pump, a new carb, some shocks, tires and a bunch of oil changes, but the motor purrs like a milk fed kitten.

I popped the lifter covers off once to look to see if there was any sludge build up, they were clean as a whistle.


P. S. It needs a paint job, but that’s like a lot of cars and trucks from that era, when the Environmental Piracy Agency (EPA) started telling the manufactures what they can and can’t put in their paint, the paint jobs never lasted more then 10 years

[sunny1000]

It's gone threw 2 tranny's, 3 water pumps, 1 fuel pump, a new carb, some shocks, tires and a bunch of oil changes, but the motor purrs like a milk fed kitten.

I popped the lifter covers off once to look to see if there was any sludge build up, they were clean as a whistle.


P. S. It needs a paint job, but that’s like a lot of cars and trucks from that era, when the Environmental Piracy Agency (EPA) started telling the manufactures what they can and can’t put in their paint, the paint jobs never lasted more then 10 years
Well it sounds to me like you are doing fabulous job, although I don't know how it looks on the outside I mean if it's rusty but again it sounds like you are maintaining this car in good condition.