i run dino on my truck. i have 100k miles w/no leaks. i'd like to switch over to a more durable oil and synthetic blends aren't much more than dino in terms of cost. anybody have any experience w/the blends??

 

I think it really depends on the brand. I have heard that 20% synthetic 80% mineral oil is just as good as a full synthetic. But most blends dont give you the percentage. Who knows you may be getting only a few percent of synthetic.

 

A more durable oil would be 15W-50 Delvac, which I ran in my 4.9 for years doing severe duty and extended 7500 to 10000 drain intervals with no problems. IMO synthetic at this point fuggedabout it!

 

You could make your own blend or juice up an existing blend by adding a quart or so of full synthetic each oil change.

The Material Safety Data sheet for Valvoline Maxlife says it has 12-22% synthetic. Valvoline Durablend I think it said 20-30%, but not sure.

 

i read a thing on that today and it say's sometimes the addatives dont mix right.

 

Good point. Probably safer to stay with one brand, like Valvoline, as it is less likely that there would be a clash. Also, you could call the company and ask if the two oils can be mixed.

 

With as many miles as you have syn is questionable since you already have the wear syn would have saved. Syn won't hurt, assuming your engine is in decent shape, but it might be overkill.

I would use one of the new dino based oils that are almost the same as syn. I think Chevron and Rotella are two of the dinos mentioned on this list that do quite well.

I thnk the Group III dinos are what you are looking for, some of the dinophiles on this webpage can tell you much more about G IIIs than I can since I only use syn and haven't concentrated on G IIIs. It is excellent stuff from what I have read.

I have a bias against blends since they usually charge more than the mixture of dino and syn wouild cost alone. Just a personal problem. If you want to mix your own I would probably at least mix same brands and viscosities in the hope that the additive pacakages are more compatible than unlike brands, just a fetish of mine. I like to use either straight syn or one of the new dinos.

I use syn in all my engines, including yard gear.

Good Luck,

Jim Henderson

 

synthetic blend at walmart is about 10 bucks for a 5 qt jug and maybe a buck and some change for another qt. thats for all the top brands. a 5 qt jug of dino and a qt of synthetic will come out to about the same price. the 5 qt jug of mobil 1 synthetic is about 20 bucks. i'd rather use synthetic blend and change it every 1500 miles than mibil one at 3k for the same price.

 

1500 miles? You are more obsessed than most of us on this board. I might use Durablend or similar in the winter if it gets real cold where you live, but otherwise a good Group II+ conventional like Chevron Delo or Pennzoil Long Life will give you the more robust oil you may be looking for at a bargain price. Any of the above should be good for 5-6000 miles, even in "severe" service.

Jim

 

i dont actually change in every 1500 miles. i was just saying that you could for the same price as synthetic. i change it about every 2500-3k miles. the reason i like to do it at 2500 is because sometimes i would hit 3000 and not have any time to change the oil and have to fun it a few hundred miles over. i figure parts are expensive to replace. oil is cheap. i'm also used to my 2.3 4 banger ranger and topaz that would wear the oil out real fast because of the high revs.

 

I have full synthetic fluids in my transmission, font & rear ends. But, those parts are not drained very oftern. But, I'm using the Motorcraft synthetic blend 5w20, from Wal-Mart at $1.77 a qt. If I change the oil twice at 3k - 5k intervals, it will cost less than full synthetics would cost at one 5k - 7.5k change interval. Is the cost worth it? w/a fluid you change so frequently, it probably doesn't matter much. Oil changes are the easiest preventive maintenance (next to refilling the windshield washer fluid) prodedure to do on a truck. The EXTENDED drain intervals just do not save all that much work.