I'll be buying a high-mileage car from someone who doesn't know if the oil is synthetic or fossil - does it matter on drain and refill if one or the other is used? Also, is there a benefit to converting to synthetic on high-mileage cars (200k)? Any special procedures or just refill? What is different about "high-mileage" oils/ATFs? Thanks.
At that milage alot of things go wrong that will need money to fix such as neglected maintenance, I dought you will see any benefit unless its below zero
Just switched to hi-Mile oil for my wife's car (corolla with 260K or so) last summer. Due for first oil change since the switch, next week.
Why did I switch from regular "dino" to high-mileage? Simple, just about all the high-mile oils at my local store were CHEAPER than the regular dinos...don't know why....maybe they weren't selling? Maybe they had been on the shelf so long that the prices hadn't been updated to reflect the recent soar in oil prices.
Anyway, that was the ONLY reason I went with it (it's one of the big brands Quaker, Valvoline, Pennzoil, or something, don't feel like slogging out to the barn to see).
But, you know something, the car used to eat about a quart or so of oil between each oil change, and this time it appears to have only consumed about a quarter of a quart (8oz or so).....Maybe just a quirk....maybe the stuff really did help. Not sure, but if the prices are comparable again when I go to buy next week, think I will use the high-mileage again.
And, a bit off-topic, but if the hi-miles are significantly cheaper, does anyone know if it will do any harm to use in my "less high-mile engines? It wasn't a major difference in price, 50 cents a quart or so if I recall, but by the time I buy some 16 quarts of oil or so, it adds up to $8 bucks or so,,,,which pays for a six-pack or two...
It's a bad idea. Toyotas seem a bit less prone to developing leaks after this switchover than some other makes, but you are still gambling with engine seals that may start to leak and be expensive to replace. Use either regular oil, changed regularly, or high-mileage oil, preferably after you are sure the oil in the car is clean (you didn't say how well the car has been maintained.)
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