no its not magic, and its not a myth either. its a proven fact that a synthetic will clean a motor due to the detergents in it, and thus will clean the sludge out of an old motor that has run regular oil in it for a long time. in the case of the OP, it cleaned it out good enough that it unplugged a leak that had been stopped by sludge and/or carbon build-up.

craigoutdoors, the best break-in oil is rotella diesel oil. im honestly not sure why, but everywhere ive asked before has said that that is the way to go, and some who hadnt heard of it said they would start.

 

Where did I say they didn't?

 

Sweet. Good to know. Thanks.

 

then what are you referring to with myths and magic?

yes, any kind of oil CAN be run in any kind of engine at any time. BUT with older engines that have sludge built up youre goin to knock all the crap loose. some engines just wont agree with havin its $#!+ knocked loose. the point is, if youve been runnin one type forever, keep usin that type. it was one of the first things my dad taught me when i started workin on my 76.

if you want to clean your engine of all the sludge, run a quart of ATF in your oil for 50 miles or so before you change the oil. THEN you can change your oil type.

 

no prob man.

 

Engines only get sludge if:

1) Oil changes have been neglected
2) Running cool for lengthy times
3) Urban driving

NO. You do NOT have to run one type forever. MYTH.You can change ANYTIME. It's just oil.

Why add a quart of ATF if the synthetic oil is going to clean the sludge out, anyway?

 

1.They're 30 years old.
2.They're in a Valvoline commercial.

 

sludge happens over time man. you run regular oil, and after a while youre GOIN to have some sludge.

back at home, we have a 93 explorer with 222,000 miles. i would be dead afraid to tear that motor down without a solvent tank nearby. it has had regular oil changes its whole life, and has been taken care of. it gets run on the highway regularly, at operatin temps. in short, it hasnt lasted this long by shear luck. we also run regualr, non-synthetic oil. i GUARANTEE that it has sludge in the motor.

and i say to use the ATF cause it has very strong detergents, and that way you can drain all the nastiness out when you change the oil INSTEAD of gettin in in your new oil and havin it cycled around for 3000 miles.

 

Rotella T was a good break in oil two years ago but now the EPA has pulled all the zinc out of it as well and its no different than any of the others. Now you are stuck buying expensive specialty break in oil or racing oil that is labeled not for highway use, if is doesn't say its illegal for highway use it doesn't have zinc. This kind of stuff is real big on the oil and lube forum if you really what the whole scoop.
-John

 

i dunno if this is helpful or not, but i had a similar problem when i used too lightweight an oil in an emergency situation, and was too strapped to do a full oil change... started getting drips, dumped in some of that STP high viscosity additive and engine started running great, leaks went away. stuff is freaky thick, like honey, had to take a lunch break while it was pouring. obviously not a permanent fix, but a nice option.

of course as mentioned if your pressure is already high probably not the best idea...

 

well I think Im just gonna bite the bullet and change the oil back! I was supprised how clean the dipstick came out when I checked the oil in the old motor but the spike in pressure is worrying me cuz the seals are old and don't need too much pressure to make them leak. Im buying a 78 this weekend for parts so I'll have a spare motor and tranny and all that good stuff. The kid I bought this truck from put on 40 tires and now the turning radius sucks particularly when turning right, would you suggest getting some of those fancy expensive wheel spacers or changing tire sizes? maybe something a little smaller and thinner this is the only fix I can think of off the top of my head.

 

come back down to about 35s and your turnin woes will disappear.

 

I'm currently running Castrol 10w40 with a quart of Lucas. My oil pressure is pretty high all the time. I'm thinking I need to go down to 10w30. I've always used castrol but they have Motorcraftv10w30 that is a synthetic blend for cheaper than the castrol. Engine oil is NO place to skimp imo, but I trust motorcraft. Do you guys think I would run into any problems like this just switching to a synthetic blend. My dent has been my daily driver for about 2 months now and the oil still looks really clean. Thoughts?

I was talking to a guy at auto zone yesterday about the modified motors and how they oil. He was telling me that the engine oils the front and top of the engine first and then the oil goes to the rear main and bearrings last. He was telling me theres a plug down by the fuel pump you can take out run a metal line from there to another plug by the oil pressure sending unit to keep the oiling even throughout the whole motor. Anyone ever heard of this? I was thinking that after the oil pump pumps oil throughout the engine at start up and is circulating this wouldn't be a problem. But I don't have any problems with oil pressure just a little parts house talk I guess.

 

If you do regular oil changes and use any decent engine oil there should be no sludge build up. I have tore down many engines with 200,000 miles that you can wipe all internal parts clean with a rag, big truck diesels are the same with a million miles on them.

 

diesels are different- a lot different. More oil, different oil, operate under different conditions. Every gas engine I've ever torn down has had some sludge in it.