Purchased a used 98 2wd 2dr 6 cyl SOHC Ford Explorer at 93K miles. It's at
96K now and am thinking about the oil change. Any comments from those with experience is appreciated. I purchased the vehicle from the dealer and quite sure it's been using regular oil. Unfortunately, I don't have any service records from the previous owner so don't know if they've done the major 90K service ($500 worth). It's driving just fine; about 17 mpg in mixed driving. No problems; really like the car (upgrades from an 88 Astro Van). Anyway, the question now is go the synthetic route or stay with regular oil. Thanks. Ken.
You can do either. If you go with Synthetic you can extend the oil change intervals. Mobile One now unequivocally says that in "typical use" you can go 15,000 miles on their newest Synthetic.
As another poster points out, you can extend the oil change intervals by switching to synthetic.
For the "is it worth changing?" discussion, my analysis suggests that you need to expect to drive the car less than about 125k on synthetic oil, and then avoid an oil-related failure during that time, a failure that would have happened if you had been using conventional oil. Since the car has probably not enjoyed a steady diet of synthetic during its first 100k, and has a statistical life expectancy of considerably less than 225k, the recommendation would have to be regular changes with conventional oil for its remaining life.
Synthetic may provide "extra" protection to oil-wetted parts, but that may not buy you anything at this point in the truck's life. Other non oil related things will fail due to age or neglect. At some point that list of things to repair will reach a level where a newer car will be a good decision. So there you will be, with the bottom of the engine looking brand new, while the rest of the car is deteriorating a lot faster.
M7 '92 has almost 200 k on it now, Mobil-1 since new. I had the rocker covers off at 125k to replace leaking gaskets, at which time the moving parts looked like new. Heads off for headgaskets soon after that at 140k, no ridge and I can still see tthe original hone marks. OK! By 200k, the engine probably needs a timing chain, and maybe a valve job soon, and the original (!) auto transmission is starting to show signs of wear. The headliner has fallen in the back and needs to be replaced, driver's seat is worn to the point of needing new leather, but everything else seems fine. Is the car worth saving? Probably, thanks to sythetic everything since day one. I drive the Porsche most of the time when I'm home, rental cars get the bulk of my miles overall. Will your car last long enough in your care to reach this state? Most will rust, break, or get wrecked or damaged beyond cost-effective repair long before they reach 200k. Want to spend two to three times as much on synthetic oil changes to reach this used-up car nirvanna?
MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.