I have 2001 Sport Trac. I have over 70,000 miles on the engine. I have used only synthetics since I bought it new. The most recent oil I used was Kendall which I developed a leak. I used the Kendall for a couple of OCI. The leak continued. A couple of days ago I changed to Valvoline Max Life High Mileage Oil and the leak stopped in 40 or so miles. I'll never use Kendall synthetic again. I'm not sure if I should continue with a high mileage oil. Please help.

 

High mileage oil is just a marketing gimmick. They just modify the additives a little. Theres really no real world advantage to running high mileage vs any other oil. Also, you may have heard the "once you go to [INSERT OIL TYPE HERE; ie SYNTHETIC/HIGH MILEAGE] you cant go back. This is also wrong.

A good synthetic oil is the best for you. If I were you, I would find what was leaking and fix it. Oil doesnt cause the leak, it just finds a way out. The Kendall oil was just able to get somewhere the Valvoline cannot.

 

Agreed.

Synthetic oils have an inherent desludging/cleaning characteristic that can clean out the crud that was plugging the leak in the first place. Going through and sealing the engine up with new gaskets will correct this.

I've also had good success with synthetic blends - and they cost less than a straight synthetic.

I also agree about the high-mileage oils being a gimmick - I've tried them before and have found they don't work any better than a good quality oil does.

 

Thank You. I'll find out where the leak is coming from, make the necessary repairs and find myself a good synthetic blend oil. Thanks again.