Why Mineral Engine Oil for Older Cars?

[Vit4wd]

http://www.shell.com/home/PlainPageServlet...se_ga_1509.html

 

 

Try this "Choosing the right oil" from the above Shell website.

 

Why is mineral engine recommended for

1) Cars above 10 yrs

2) Car above 5 yrs (with regular driving style)

 

I thought synthetic oil is still best overall for cars (if they have been using synthetic from the start).

 

Shell seems to give the impression that synthetic oil is good for cars up to 5 yrs of age only. After the 5th year, they seem to recommend mineral oil.

 

Can anyone explain?

[Cordia_gsr]

I remember there are some topics on this or rather on the internet mentioning that old cars with old gasket seals, running mineral oil will "seal" those harden gaskets around the block. Changing back to synthetic, due to the cleaning properties of synthetic old, all those sluges will be removed and revealed the leaking seals.

 

What i did for my 360,000km engine, was to replace these gaskets one-time round before popping in fully syn.

[Kwh1]

for old cars, if you have been using mineral, its not so good to change to syn. can change to semi-syn before changing to syn, otherwise will leak.

 

basically old cars need thicker oil, so 50W is best.

[Octopus]

My experience suggested that even mineral engine oil will cause leak if the seals and gaskets is aged or worn out, and for my case the leak started after having a (routine) oil change using Havoline 20w50.

 

Currently my mileage is 395,000km and seals was replaced last year. Recently switched to Mobil 1 10w30. No leakage but monitoring the consumption (if any).

[Spikedoll]

was told no need to use fully-syn oil for old cars..

 

last time i used semi-syn for my old civic..

[Megalord]

How would you consider a old car? Old as in age or mileage?

If by age, above 5 years?

Or in mileage, some indication in mileage?

 

Can't be that if the vehicle run little throughout the 5 years that it would require the transistion equilivent that of another fully utalised vehicle?

[Mobilio]

Because it leaks, this is another reason to use mineral oil as topping up is cheaper.

[Kazuo]

no problem with synthetic with 15yrs old car...

[Highwaycode]

Wau-lah eh! Mileage=395,000 km! ...that is 31x round n round n round....the earth!! (Earth diameter=12,760km). ANYONE can beats that! (exclude taxis and commercial vehicles hor!)

[Megalord]

Well, i am used to seeing corollas with mileage above 200k km by its third year. Many are scrapped by then, as they ain't given proper care. They will probably accumulate above 0.5 Mm by 10 years should they decide to keep it.

[Axela72]

Whenever, I change to a new mineral oil, the quality of driving my car feel so good (smooth and good pickup and low noise when accel). However, this kind of condition only last for a week. After a week of driving of my car with the new engine oil, the driving become rough, slow and noisy when accel.

 

Then I switch to syn oil, hoping that the good condition of driving my car can last longer because of better quality engine oil. It turn out that it do last longer but only for another week. After 2 weeks of using a new syn oil, the quality of driving my car is back to square....rough, slow and noisy when accel.

 

Can any one advise why is this so and whether is their any remedy for that?

 

Kindly advise..thx

[Megalord]

Well, i don't know? Genie would be able to tell you that.

For any of my rides, the "feel good" factor was for at least 8k km, most of them felt good throughout the 10k km change interval.

What oil did you use? Mine are always on redline.

[Octopus]

Recently I'm trying out Schaeffer EP Moly and find that somehow the engine feels smoother when I pour it in.

Actually I was trying it out hoping to fix oil consumption issue, therefore I pour it in with the old oil (around 8k km usage) and can noticed the "feel good feeling". But then again, this additive do thicken up the oil a bit, so not sure if that's the side effect....

[Caravan]

see here : http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/MotorO...tics/Myths.aspx

right at the bottom

Myth: Mobil 1 will leak out of the seals of older cars.

Reality:

Mobil 1 does not cause leaks. In fact, new Mobil 1 was tested in dozens of industry standard and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) tests to prove its seal performance. It is fully compatible with the elastomeric materials from which all automotive seals and gaskets are made. If an older engine is in good condition and does not have oil leaks, Mobil 1 provides the same advantages as when used in a new engine. ExxonMobil recommends taking measures to repair the leaks, then using Mobil 1. ExxonMobil also recommends following the automobile manufacturer's manual for the proper oil to use.

[Octopus]

My experience shows that my manual transmission oil leaked after switching to Mobil synthetic gear oil.... Before that using mineral gear oil no leak at all.

But after changing the oil seals, now no more leak, currently using Redline MT-90.

[Axela72]

I am using Shell engine oil. I am not sure whether the "feel good" factor is due to the engine oil we use or is because there is sometime wrong with my car.

 

Do every car own encounter similar problem when using a no good brand engine oil before?

 

Thx

[Albeniz]

Wau-lah eh! Mileage=395,000 km! ...that is 31x round n round n round....the earth!! (Earth diameter=12,760km). ANYONE can beats that! (exclude taxis and commercial vehicles hor!)

 

My 15 year old Nissan presea has just clocked 272,000km. Still going strong.

[Xefera]

I suppose it depends on the condition of your engine e.g. seals, o-rings, etc

Some may cause the seals to deteriorate and thus result in leaking or insufficient lubrication to protect the internal parts.