Synthetic oils

[richfaa]

Great post by Trukdoc, research pays off. We follow the maint schedule dictated By Ford on our 05 F-350 V-10 and use the oil they tell us to use under threat of voiding the Warranty if we do not..They hold all the cards. If towing a camper the maint classification is severe and calls for oil change every 3,000 miles....so that is what we do and we would do that anyway.

[Mudchief]

Synthetic oil is like Bio-Diesel. The oil companys want you to think they are in question because they want you to use their product. I have a GMC diesel truck that has been hooked to a cattle trailer all of it's life. It has been worked hard all of those years. I have used Amsoil in the motor and drive train. I change it once a year or 25K miles. Never a problem. It has 275,000 miles and still going strong. I run it in all of my farm equipment and other vehicles as well as Bio-Diesel. I do change the filters every 8K miles.

[dsprik]

You may have a good point, Dennis. You don't think those poor oil companies have enough money and power in Congress to actually manipulate marketing strategies, do you??? Wow! Next thing you're going to tell me is that Martha Stewart gets inside info on her stock trades!

*On Edit~ ... or used to...

[dannyl]

Everyone has their opinion on Natural Oil verus synthetic. I'm sure the ads could say their lubricant would maintain it's state for XXX number of miles or months.

Several have talked about filters. Remember the oils will only hold so many solids and impurities. After that they are just dirty lubricants. Changing the filters may be the most important thing in this discussion instead of the kind of lubricant used.

I'll stay with my 5000 mile, $49.00 change by my dealer and Dodge can't say a thing.

[RADHAZJOE]

sriegle, I use synthetic and GMC dealer assured me that 300 hours is right.

[trukdoc]

I got a reply from this man from Amsoil. He pointed me to his web page and the link to download his literature.http://www.motor-oil-engineers.com/thankyou1.htm
It is quite informative but offers very little hard data. Mostly pushing Amsoil and synthetic oil in general.
I am not saying Amsoil is a bad product, I question their claims. And I really question not making regular oil changes.
Their claims that their oil is superior to petro oil does not contain relevant information in the form of data. For instance at what temperatures are the tests done at?
After reading all their information I still maintain a quality oil and filter is what you need. Synthetic if you want to.

[DCP]

Try using a bypass filter to extend oil and regular filter life. They use a much finer filter.

[Montana_5383]

It was many years ago but none the less we had a problem with the Amsoil products and they would NOT stand behind their claims. We sent the oil to three independant labs for testing (at our expense) and all three sent reports that the oil was bad and had done significant damage to the engine. The oil had been in the vehicle for 20,000 miles (their claim was it was 25,000 mi. oil). The filter was changed at 10,000 mi. and a Quart of oil added. The engine lost oil pressure and was leaking at every seal. When I drained the oil out with a warm engine it came out very thick. I called them several times demanding a new engine and they would just hang up on me. So I hope all who are using their product have good luck with it but I will never use their product again. Sorry for the lengthy post but I had to add my .02. The engine was a Cast iron 4 cyl. (GM) with about 50,000 mi. on it and ran pefect before Amsoil.

[BigAl52]

I am on vacation right now and have had limited access to the internet but I did read your article Rick and I have a few comments to make in regards to your information. I have nothing to sell either. I only use this syn oil for myself and family. I will sell it if someone wants it but I make no living on the oil. As far as Universals claim about the additive package for Amsoil there is not one. There may be for others as you said buyer beware of oils that claim they are syn oils and are not. One that comes to mind is Harley Davidson Screamin Eagle Syn oil. Temperatures have a big effect on oil and it doesn't need to be 50 below for you oil to be affected. Put a can of 15w40 dino out on porch at even 0 and see what happens. Worse time for engine wear is on start-up. Filtration is still the key here and the microns that were mentioned will stay in suspension longer in the synthetic than the dino. I have a 2003 Dodge and there is no EGR on my truck that came on the 2004 models. Like I said before the company that I work for changes there dino oil every 35000 miles on there road trucks with the new 565hp cummins engines as reccomended by Cummins which by the way is partially owned by Ford. Tell the service man at the ford garage to put in writing that they will void the warranty if you used extended drain Amsoil. I will send you to a Ford Garage in Nashville that put in a new motor for a friend of mine who used it and never batted an eye. Al

[BigAl52]

After re reading some of the post here it all comes down as to what you want to believe. You want to believe that changing your oil every 5000 or 3000 miles is for you then do it. If you want to beleve that there is another way such as extending drains to 1 year then you should go that route. If you believe that these oil companys need the money then change the oil every 3000 to 5000 miles. It seems funny that you would not question the frequency of changing your oil and believing people that have not been associated with extended drains and syn oil but that you would believe there counter parts as to there claims. Think about this if you drive 15000 miles a year and change the oil 5 times you have spent 250.00 per year. I can do it for less than half of that. I don't need to give my hard earned money to Shell. If the oil companys have no power then why are there no answers for the price gouging on DIESEL FUEL. The price were I am currently is 2.60 a gallon. 36 billion dollar profit says something to me Al

[rickety]

I'm taking my Duramax (2004 2500hd) into my mechanic on Monday. We're going to put an exhaust brake on it and change all fluids to amsoil. I already have the bypass filtration system on it.

I was all fired up to put on the big exhaust, the K&N air filter, The guages, etc. to the tune of about 6000 bucks.

Here is what my mechanic told me regarding the synthetics. Yes they DO lubricate some better, They DO cool down better in the transmission and engine. They make the rear end a little smoother. The by pass filtration system works very well as long as you change the white filter every 6 months, and add a quart of oil, and the black filter every year and add a quart of oil. The tranny spin on filter should be changed every 15-20K miles, and the fuel filter every 15K miles no more than every 18K miles. It (Amsoil) will not void the warranty on the engine, the rear end comes with synthetic from the factory that should have been changed out a 5k miles after delivery, which in my case did not happen, (I checked my service records and it wasn't done).

He also talked me out of the monster exhaust, the reason being that the stock muffler provides good flow, and the 3.5 inch pipe is plenty large enough to flow the air out of the engine. same with air filter. The stock air filter actally flows more air than the K&N and keeps it cleaner, according to him. He recommended against chipping the engine, as it develops enough torque (power) to haul anything out there. This is the same engine that is in the medium duty General Motors rigs 4500-55-- etc. No guages because with the stock set-up you don't create the high heat situations that chipping the engine will incur. He said the exhaust brake was the way to go. It will save the TV and Trailer brakes from premature failure. It also helps the engine on steep downgrades and prevents "pushing" the revs up.
I'm convinced, this guy has been doing diesels exclusiveley for 35 years. His rig is an old Dodge with a cummings in it that looks like it is going to fall apart. He got in it started it up and laid rubber for about 150 feet. You look under the hood and it's a monster, 2 turbos, gigantic forced air intercooler, Exhaust pipe looks like it's about 6-7 inches across. WOW!!!

[dsprik]

Rick, I thought that the recent Duramax negated the need for an exhaust brake? Or was the the 2006 Dura only?

[Illini Trekker]

Synthetic oils are a superior oils no doubt. But, the extended oil changes, no way I will not let that darker oil to flow through the engine that long. The average filter will take out down to 15 micron particles, that leaves to many containments in the oil IMOP. So I’ll change my oil and filter at 5000 mile intervals.

[rickety]

dave, the new 2006 Dura has the variable vane technology in the turbocharger, thereby negating the need for the exhaust brake. As far as letting the old synth oil stay in the engine, I tend to agree with Dennis. I will probably change both filter twice a year. The new filter elements removedown to 5 microns i think. I know the fiber is called nanfiber. That's what my mech said. He is apparently impressed with them. By the bye, he doesn't sell any synthetic oils except for mobil one, but prefers to use amsoil. Go figure!

[Dave e Victoria]

Dave,
The 2006 Duramax LLY and LBZ engines incorporate a variable vane Turbocharger that has the ability to act like an exhaust brake. But, the engine electronics are not so configured in the trucks below the 4500. The 4500 and 5500 can use this feature and a factory option is offered. Several companies, including Banks, are getting ready with a kit to provide exhaust braking for teh 2006 GM products. This kit will be ALL electronic. There will be no need to add an additional utterfly valve in the exhaust. These kits should start showing up in the next couple of months. Due to the weight of the Cambridge we tow, I am watching these developments closely.

Until then, the engine braking available in tow/haul mode should be adequate. This braking depends on the inherent back pressure already in the exhaust system.

[Illini Trekker]

Did a quick look at a couple filters Baldwin 5 micro, Wix 8 micro, Fram 15 micro. Don't want to take this post off Synthetic oils but a filter can only hold so much soot and sludge then it must open up the by-pass then NO flotation. See-Ya

[rickety]

My mechanic told me the backpressure in the lly 2004 is not all that much, backpressure being a function of exhaust restriction. The Duramax exhaust system is really quite efficient according to him. The built in Trans braking in the Allison is still not enough to prevent an overspeed condition going down grades. Frequent application of brakes is required. That is the only reason for installing the exhaust brake. 4th of july pass, the Syskious, Indian John Hill, Mt Rose Hwy into Reno are all reason enough for me to install the brake. I am absolutely sold on the new geration of diesels,whether from ford, chevy or dodge.

[Montana Sky]

Rick,
I agree with you on the LLY not having enough back pressure in the exhaust, and the Allison can hold the speed on most grades, there are still some that will take you beyond the speed I would like to hold. The only thing I have found that helps me in the 4th of July pass in Idaho along with Lookout Pass is to start the top top of the grades approx. 10mph slower and drop 1 gear. This has helped me hold the speed while going down the backside. I am looking forward to your report on how your new exhaust brake works for you. I have thought about adding one, but then decided to bank the money and will wait to see how the all new 07 Silverado looks.