Would you spend the money to run synthetic oil in equipment that rarely sees winter u

[RickB]

Lost one cylinder on Triumph motorcycle (650CC vertical twin) in St. Louis, MO in summer heat riding from AZ to Chicago. Top compression ring broke and damaged the piston due to a loss of lubrication from heat, breakdown of oil viscosity. Synthetic engine oil would likely have provided lubrication with no engine failure (conjecture on my part).

I have gotten in the habit of asking that question in every oil thread I choose to respond in. Your is the first response I have received.

 

[Texasmark]

Regardless of what you run, run periodically, like maybe every month or two, long enough to get the moisture burned out and this: To keep the solids in suspension that are collected by your detergents. Otherwise you oil stays clear.....because the crud the detergents accumulated settles to the bottom of your oil pan.

Had an oil collecting plastic container, with a lid that I had sitting in the corner for a long time....don't remember how long. Oil was near the color of new oil and the bottom of the container was think with black goo! Bought a 1988 tractor recently. Had 900 hrs and inspection verified the proofmeter. That's about 30 hrs per year running time, most of which was when it was new...one would assume since I bought it in an estate sale. Had about ¼" of sludge in the bottom.

 

[def38]

Regardless of what you run, run periodically, like maybe every month or two, long enough to get the moisture burned out and this: To keep the solids in suspension that are collected by your detergents. Otherwise you oil stays clear.....because the crud the detergents accumulated settles to the bottom of your oil pan.

Had an oil collecting plastic container, with a lid that I had sitting in the corner for a long time....don't remember how long. Oil was near the color of new oil and the bottom of the container was think with black goo! Bought a 1988 tractor recently. Had 900 hrs and inspection verified the proofmeter. That's about 30 hrs per year running time, most of which was when it was new...one would assume since I bought it in an estate sale. Had about ¼" of sludge in the bottom.

Most modern engine lubrication systems use a full flow oil filter design. This means all the oil from the oil pump goes through the filter before being distributed to the various bearings. If you have any debris in your used oil, you filter is not working properly. You should have a UOA performed with a particle count analysis.

 

[LouNY]

Most modern engine lubrication systems use a full flow oil filter design. This means all the oil from the oil pump goes through the filter before being distributed to the various bearings. If you have any debris in your used oil, you filter is not working properly. You should have a UOA performed with a particle count analysis.

Unless the pressure relief valve is open which means almost non of your oil is getting filtered.
And those valves are open frequently especially under cold starts and operation.

 

[Grumpycat]

There are no performance criteria or specifications which an oil must meet to be sold as "synthetic". There is no assurance one is purchasing a superior or premium oil other than the word of the manufacturer.

There are motor oil performance standards for which nothing but a synthetic motor oil will meet. But not all synthetic motor oils are capable of meeting those standards.

"I use synthetics! My equipment deserves only the best!" is a statement of ignorance. I use Mobil-1 in my automobiles and trucks because it has served well over the years. Minimal shavings on magnetic drain plug. Clean under the valve cover. Camshaft lobes look as if they have barely ever touched anything. Mobil-1 happens to have the word "synthetic" on the bottle, I don't really care.

GM and others have had problems with wear on timing chains. With coking on the backside of intake valves of direct injection engines. All with holy beloved infallible "synthetic" motor oil. The problem is that an oil rarely does things beyond what its designer knew to design for. Now there is a DEXOS-II spec directly addressing prior deficiencies.

Superior motor oils can be manufactured using synthetic processes, but use of a synthetic process is no assurance of anything other than the marketing department thinks they can command a higher price.

I think Rotella-T6 is good stuff too.

If you really want to know, send samples of your used oil to Blackstone or similar for analysis. One sample won't mean much, but a trend will. They can do a better job with UOA than you can reading the shavings on drain magnet.

 

[Grumpycat]

Exactly how is any oil supposed to clean the backside of an intake valve?

The coking comes from PCV oil in the intake.

The latest Ford Ecoboost engines have added throttle body fuel injection in addition to direct injection. Partly to provide fuel in the intake to wash over the backside of intake valves. Partly because they found more fuel economy and more performance with dual modes of injection.

 

[goeduck]

For those of you who do not want to put Rotella Synthetic T6 in your diesels:

A Rotella Synthetic oil for your GAS engines. :thumbsup: