question on going from conventional oil to synthetic on smaller engines

[tstex]

Hello to All,

In my F-150, I use a full synthetic 5W30 by Quaker State...it's the second best synthetic w the second lowest NOACK rating just behind Pennzoil's top of line.

In my push lawnmower [2011), riding lawnmower [2005] both B&S, and my JD Gator [Kawasaki] I use Pennzoil conventional based on the spec's of the engine. Although Ford says change every 10,000 miles, I always do btw 4-5K. What do you guys think about me switching all of my smaller engines to the QS 5W40 synthetic? I am a weekend farmer/rancher at best, sometimes on making it 2-3 times a month to the ranch. so there's only moderate usage and only spurts of heavy usage. The Kubota M5400S w shredder tackles the big cutting jobs and the Gator is a 1998 that still looks pretty good except when the girls cut a turn too short by a tree..tree wins every time.

Summer temps get hot mid high 90's; winters are never consistently cold, so temps do not fluctuate too much. I have just read so many times that synthetic is just so much better and lasts a lot longer than conventional...the goal is to give the engines a boost in their quest for longevity.

Thank you,
tstex

 

[9035768HM]

It wont hurt to do that but its been taught forever not to go from synthetic to conventional oil

 

[TimberFarm]

Isn't 5W40 kind of thin for mower engines?

 

[tstex]

Isn't 5W40 kind of thin for mower engine

Great catch...I do not know why I typed 5W40, but it's a 5W30 Synthetic by QS...thanks !

 

[TimberFarm]

The "5" is the thin. The "40" is the thick.
10w30 or maybe 20w40.

 

[JJT]

Hello to All,

In my F-150, I use a full synthetic 5W30 by Quaker State...it's the second best synthetic w the second lowest NOACK rating just behind Pennzoil's top of line.

In my push lawnmower [2011), riding lawnmower [2005] both B&S, and my JD Gator [Kawasaki] I use Pennzoil conventional based on the spec's of the engine. Although Ford says change every 10,000 miles, I always do btw 4-5K. What do you guys think about me switching all of my smaller engines to the QS 5W40 synthetic? I am a weekend farmer/rancher at best, sometimes on making it 2-3 times a month to the ranch. so there's only moderate usage and only spurts of heavy usage. The Kubota M5400S w shredder tackles the big cutting jobs and the Gator is a 1998 that still looks pretty good except when the girls cut a turn too short by a tree..tree wins every time.

Summer temps get hot mid high 90's; winters are never consistently cold, so temps do not fluctuate too much. I have just read so many times that synthetic is just so much better and lasts a lot longer than conventional...the goal is to give the engines a boost in their quest for longevity.

Thank you,
tstex

I switched everything I own to full synthetic years ago. Just do it.

As for Ford saying change the oil every 10K miles and you changing it every 4K miles, you are wasting your money. Pay for a used oil analysis, you'll find you are changing your oil way too soon. I was a doubter too, I bought a 6 pack of used oil analysis kits and sent samples in at 5K, 8K and 10K, all came back with no issues and plenty of life left in the additive package. 10K is a nice round number, easy to remember. Blackstone and Cat offer this service. I've never had an oil related failure and routinely run my cars/trucks past 300K miles. Up here in the salt belt the frames go before there is a mechanical issue.

 

[DMW]

Isn't 5W40 kind of thin for mower engines?

25+ years ago, might have been true with some oils. Not enough film strength to protect metal parts on startup. Oil/additive chemistry has come a long way. I wouldn't even be worried using a 0W oil today.

 

[DMW]

The NOACK rating is a recent thing in the last 10 years. Not really that important in general applications. The Viscosity Index is probably the easiest way to measure an oil using only a single rating on a spec sheet. The higher the number the better.

 

[ericm979]

It wont hurt to do that but its been taught forever not to go from synthetic to conventional oil

That was true a number of decades ago, at least for mobil 1. It's not an issue now.

I ran 10w-30 in my wood splitter's engine. It made a lot more valve noise. Switching back to 30w quieted it. I run synthetic in most engines including chainsaws but I have been sticking with conventional 30w for the small industrial engines.

 

[tstex]

I switched everything I own to full synthetic years ago. Just do it.

As for Ford saying change the oil every 10K miles and you changing it every 4K miles, you are wasting your money. Pay for a used oil analysis, you'll find you are changing your oil way too soon. I was a doubter too, I bought a 6 pack of used oil analysis kits and sent samples in at 5K, 8K and 10K, all came back with no issues and plenty of life left in the additive package. 10K is a nice round number, easy to remember. Blackstone and Cat offer this service. I've never had an oil related failure and routinely run my cars/trucks past 300K miles. Up here in the salt belt the frames go before there is a mechanical issue.

Thank you JJT and everyone else for your responses...

I have an EcoBoost with a direct inject and the oil does contaminate faster than a non-direct inject. I set my oil changes to 5K, I did 4K 1-2 times but changed my methodology for when to change and have it right now. I have 108,980 miles right now. The oil comes out pretty dark as opposed has how it goes into engine. I also have the BG direct inject cleaning done every 50-60K too.

What type of car/truck do you have and what type of synthetic do you use?

 

[tstex]

The NOACK rating is a recent thing in the last 10 years. Not really that important in general applications. The Viscosity Index is probably the easiest way to measure an oil using only a single rating on a spec sheet. The higher the number the better.

DMW, this quote below is from a retired FORD mechanic of 38 yrs after seeing 1000's & 1000's of EcoBoost [EB] Direct Inject [DI] engines and noting the types of synthetic oil that was used. I asked him what Synthetic oil I should be using:


"Let me put it this way, IF I had an EB engine, there's only one oil I would put in it= Pennzoil Ultra 5w-30. It has the lowest NOACK of all of the oils including the high dollar boutique oils. It's not a cheap date and finding it is another issue. If you cannot find it, Quaker State is right there. For any DI engine, it's imperative to use an oil that yields fewer particulates to the PCV system as it ends up in the intake with no means of removal. Ultra yields the lowest. Here's a list of how the oils stack up.


Pennzoil Ultra 6.6%
Mobil One 10.1%
PLatinum 9.3
SynPower 11.6
Super Tech 11.1
Royal Purple 10.9
Quaker State Ultimate 8.8
Lucas Synthetic 14.9 (almost out of spec at 15%)
Kendall GT W/Titanium 10.9
Formula Shell 9.7
Castrol Edge 11.1
Amsoil OE 10.9
MotorCraft Blend 14.3"

End of quote.

Maybe I do not go with QS for the farm stuff, but it's been great for my F-150 and is readily available.

 

[ray66v]

Air cooled engines run like 100 degrees warmer than water cooled car engines.

Lawn mower engines also need zinc, which I have been told, has been formulated out of automobile oil, for emissions purposes.

For those reasons, I use either the Briggs and Stratton, or Kawasaki oil, both of which are designed specifically for air cooled mower engines.

Both also come in 30w, which is often difficult to find in automobile oil anymore.

Because they ingest so much dust, I change my oil at 25 hours. So using synthetic oil, is not cost effective.

 

[LittleBill21]

I pretty much use 5w-30 in everything, and i switch between synth and regular whenever there is a sale. I simply see it burn more oil on Synth. motors are 25 years old at this point, all with supertech. Never seen a engine died that had oil changes, only those that don't, not sure why ray is ingesting dust, my intakes on my bs are cleaner then my car, and i just blow them out

 

[Monster diesel]

Hello to All,

In my F-150, I use a full synthetic 5W30 by Quaker State...it's the second best synthetic w the second lowest NOACK rating just behind Pennzoil's top of line.

In my push lawnmower [2011), riding lawnmower [2005] both B&S, and my JD Gator [Kawasaki] I use Pennzoil conventional based on the spec's of the engine. Although Ford says change every 10,000 miles, I always do btw 4-5K. What do you guys think about me switching all of my smaller engines to the QS 5W40 synthetic? I am a weekend farmer/rancher at best, sometimes on making it 2-3 times a month to the ranch. so there's only moderate usage and only spurts of heavy usage. The Kubota M5400S w shredder tackles the big cutting jobs and the Gator is a 1998 that still looks pretty good except when the girls cut a turn too short by a tree..tree wins every time.

Summer temps get hot mid high 90's; winters are never consistently cold, so temps do not fluctuate too much. I have just read so many times that synthetic is just so much better and lasts a lot longer than conventional...the goal is to give the engines a boost in their quest for longevity.

Thank you,
tstex

Wow so many answers. Let me give you the bad news, your oil sucks. Now the good news, you switch from conventional to synthetic and back and forth and mix them it won’t hurt anything. Now for the sales pitch. Save your money changing oil so often and get the best oil you can buy, amsoil. Use it once a year or every 25k in your truck and once a season for off road equipment. Oh and use their two stroke in all your smokers at 100:1 and make all your stuff last longer.

 

[jjeff]

Mobil 1 in my Duramax with a 25k rated oil filter, change it once a year, Mystic synthetic blend in my old Kubota tractors. Synthetic or synthetic blends in everything else including mowers. Been told you want your oil to look somewhat dark cause it's doing its job of collecting impurities.

 

[TexasMax]

Old 2001 Ford Sport Trac 205,700 miles. Mobil 1 10w 30 since I bought it new and changed break-in oil. Never a problem and changed oil every 5,000 miles. Whit glove inside exhaust pipe still comes out clean. I use this oil in my Lincoln Blackwood 43,800 and 95 Chevy Corvette 93,900 and absolutely no problems. Last two were purchased used.

 

[CoyPatton]

Great catch...I do not know why I typed 5W40, but it's a 5W30 Synthetic by QS...thanks !

If you use your equipment in the winter go with a 5w30. This will provide cool/cold weather oil circulation as well as a bit better start up circulation in warmer weather. Once the engine reaches operating temp you have kicked over to the 30 weight. In my opinion going to a heavier weight on either of the dual viscosity gain little and may lose some oil circulation for the temps you indicate in your area.
As for longevity, I would change oil every season at a minimum, if mowing commercially (even if it is your own large property) more often depending on usage.

 

[boatmoter]

Hello to All,

In my F-150, I use a full synthetic 5W30 by Quaker State...it's the second best synthetic w the second lowest NOACK rating just behind Pennzoil's top of line.

In my push lawnmower [2011), riding lawnmower [2005] both B&S, and my JD Gator [Kawasaki] I use Pennzoil conventional based on the spec's of the engine. Although Ford says change every 10,000 miles, I always do btw 4-5K. What do you guys think about me switching all of my smaller engines to the QS 5W40 synthetic? I am a weekend farmer/rancher at best, sometimes on making it 2-3 times a month to the ranch. so there's only moderate usage and only spurts of heavy usage. The Kubota M5400S w shredder tackles the big cutting jobs and the Gator is a 1998 that still looks pretty good except when the girls cut a turn too short by a tree..tree wins every time.

Summer temps get hot mid high 90's; winters are never consistently cold, so temps do not fluctuate too much. I have just read so many times that synthetic is just so much better and lasts a lot longer than conventional...the goal is to give the engines a boost in their quest for longevity.

Thank you,
tstex

You could/can run synthetic oil in a lawn mower. The question would be is it really worth doing? You should do an oil change annually with lawn mowers and conventional oil will last an entire season. If the cost of synthetic oil was comparable to conventional oil it would be a great idea but since synthetic is quite a bit more expensive and you should still change it annually I don’t see where it really makes sense. I would recommend a synthetic Blend as it’s priced the same (or close) to conventional oil and would still give you the same benefit of full synthetic. If you have money to burn go full synthetic. I have a JD dealer 3 miles from me, I go to JD to get my oil & filters every season since the JD oil & hydraulic oil is only $5 bucks a qt. for my JD 320, otherwise I would go to a different place just to buy synthetic oil for it. I run full synthetic mobile one or Pennzoil depending on which is cheaper at the time,in my 06 HHR I run 5w30 ,2016 Malibu & 2012 Altima I run 5w20

 

[Deanes]

Some years ago I did a little experiment with an old truck. Changed it to synthetic and never changed the oil again. I did change the filter about every 3,000 miles. After a filter change, it was bright and clear. Catching any lost oil at filter change, I just poured it back in. I probably put 30,000 miles on it with that oil. Only oil I ever put in was just enough to compensate for the filter change.

 

[Stephen D]

JJT, thanks for the excellent information sharing. While opinions on oil change intervals are as plentiful as....well you know the old adage about everyone having one....
It's great to have actual, factual, empirical data on which to formulate my own.