oil level

[Ridleyj329]

well right now im only driving a 94 which is dire need of tune up and work. would it be reccemended to switch to synthetic or wait to a later date after all needed work is done to do so?

[drew300]

I've read of some synthetics not keeping old seals in shape. The seals aged with mineral oil, and some synthetics won't keep the old seal in good shape.
If you use the oil recommended by the manufacturer, the engine will last a long time. What use is a great engine when the rest of the car is dead?
I got 284,000 km on a '78 Toyota, with only 2 oil changes a year for 13 years. The car was pretty rough at 13, but the engine was still good, it was down a liter at change-time.
My Lada got 246,000 km in 10 years, and there wasn't much car left, but it started and ran fine.
These were on mineral oil. Synthetics will improve life, but to what end? (at least with normal driving, not racing)
Quaker State Oil, in 1990, I believe was advertising that if you used their oil, they would guarantee an engine for 100,000 miles. I didn't find that too hard to believe. Oils are better these years, as well as manufacturing.

[saturnspeed_12]

no synthetic isnt the issue of not keeping seals in shape. its just the seals are old, and if you use synthetic it can seap through old seals that are in need of replacing. synthetic is a bit thinner.

ive been running synthetic in my since ive got it. ive put 30,000 miles on it and inside of motor is as clean as it ever could be. the synthetic also lead me to a bad rear main seal and valve cover gasket, both are fixed and no problems. been running synthetic in our taurus for years. been on synthetic for 140,000 miles and keeps going. synthetics are used in racing because they hold up better and protect better. its only if a seal or gasket is going bad you probably will notice right away when using a synthetic.

synthetic is the only way to go in my eyes, and has been proven to me enough.