Hey guys,
Can someone please explain to me the damage you could do using synthetic oil in A 2004 6.0 powerstoke engine, prior to being fully broken in ? I have 2500 miles on my truck and will be changing my oil this weekend for the first time. I have the filter and the fumoto valve, but cant decide on the oil If I go synthetic it will be Rotella. I do not tow and probably won't for another 2yrs. I drive 45 miles round trip 6 days a week to work and I live in upstate Ny where it can get pretty cold. what do you guys think ? I know this stuff has been beaten to death . But I think ill hit it some more
Thanks Mike

 

You will greatly postpone the break in of your engine. your enging comes pretty "tight" from the factory, and needs to be broke in before it reaches it's maximum efficiency. Your engine might not realize it's best fuel economy. Most manufactures recommend 10-20k before synthetics are used.

 

Well actually from everything I read the whole break in and not using synthetic, is completely false. It is believed to be better for your engine to switch to synthetic as soon as your "break-in" oil is ready to be changed. I personally did this on the my 2002 7.3 and now my 6.0. I personally saw around a 1 to 1.5 mpg increase in both vehicles when I did this. I have personally never heard that using a synthetic oil can reduce your efficiency. I change my oil every 5000 miles and I use Mobil Delvac 1 5w-40 all year long.

Best of Luck,
Corey

 

No expert here but a peice of info that may shed a little light is that I'm told the Jaguires have syn oil right off the production line & I thought there was at least 1 more car too. If it's ok to do so the small numbers may be due to the cost.

 

Many autos come with syn in the pan.....IMO if you are planning on keeping the truck/auto for ten/twenty years ...run it

 

SVT Cobras have been factory filled with Mobil 1 since 1998.

Corey

 

I am also looking to run synthetic this winter. What is the average cost per quart? Where is the cheapest place to purchase?

Thanks.

 

Well the best way to by it is in gallons. The best deal around me (missouri), that I have found is $90 for 4 gallons of Mobil Delvac 1. That's tax and what not. It's at a local distibutor.

Corey

 

check here

http://store.avlube.com/index.html

 

My Vette came with Moble1 from the factory...states in the manual to only use synthetic...

 

Harleys are even using syns from the factory... and for years they were saying sythetic were no good.. untill they came out with their own label on syn3

 

With all these stock vehicles with syn oil I guess it pretty much seems like the engines don't have to have the break-in with dino oils like so many say. I don't know if that is the case with diesels cause I have not heard of any stock diesels with syn. oil.

 

I would imagen the reason for not having it in diesels from the factory is the cost to the company. Remember they hold about 3.5 gallons. That's a whole lot of oil.

Corey

 

Hope this helps, You all are comparing apples and oranges. The break-in of a diesel is way different then that of a gas engine. I will try and say this in as few words as possible. Gas engines are mainly broken in upon startup. The first time you start the engine you run it to between 2000-2300RPM, depending on engine, for about 2-3 minuets. This is enough to seat the rings due to the lower compression of the pistons. Now Diesels take much longer and need a load on the lower RPM's to seat the rings due to higher compression. The typical time period is 1000-10000 miles depending of engine and load. (for example I have broken in a Detroit 8-71 on a marine generator application in 3 hours, full load, full throttle 1250 RPM. which is one heck of a load on the engine.)
Synthetic oils do not inhibit break-ins, but they do lengthen the time it takes to have the rings seat. My advise is put synthetic in after the second oil change and do a Blackstone report. Pay alot of attention to the fuel in oil percentage. If it is above average, discontinue use of synthetic until it gets down to the 2% range. (that's hoping you don't have a bad injector, which is a different thread)
Now just like with everything else there will be a difference of opinon. My opinion comes from 15 years of gas and 10 years diesel hands on experience not classroom. (overlapping of coarse). If you want to know I can break down the physics and chemistry of the process, but that is alot of writing.

 

What about foaming? A ford field service rep I spoke with said that there are no synthetic oils that he knew of that don't have a foaming problem. I asked about running it in my '05 and he said that if I added a de-foaming agent that it may be ok. The only problem with the de-foamer is that it only lasts 3600 miles or so, so if you are looking to go more miles between changes with synthetic forget it. His problem was that he has seen way too many injectors damaged or loss of power/rough idle by oil foaming. He said it is like a vapor lock from the old days.... After reading a lot of posts on FTE about oil I am getting vapor lock of the brain!