synthetic oils

Mobil has been known to be the best synthetic.

I don't know where you live but in PA Valvoline offers Maxlife full synthetic oil for around $4.75 a quart. Since I have been using a combo of lucas engine oil treatment and maxlife full synthetic 10w30 in my 91 camry 2.0, it went from using a qt every 1k miles to using NO OIL whatsoever.

Goto valvoline.com for more information.

Given the fact that your oil leaks a bit and the car is 10 years old (already a fair amount of engine wear) I would use a synthetic blend. There are a lot of manufacturers who makes synthetic blends, but I don't know if they come in 5 quart jugs.

I don't know what you mean by "moral issues aside"? Do you have something against a well-run and efficient company that has low prices? It is not moral to be so much more efficient than your competitors that they cannot compete (they actually can compete, but they are too lazy and/or too greedy).

Yeah, I just realized the 5-qt jugs are cheaper than buying them in

I do not have a problem with shopping at WMT, but at least two of my co-workers do (and are quite vocal about it), and I'm sure a few on this group feel the same way. Some are bothered by their successful attempts at preventing unionization... I'm actually not sure how I feel about that.

I believe, if you're in the USA and don't bother to learn English, and/or didn't do so great in school, WMT is just the right place to work. Then, once one acquires the skills necessary to function in 21st Century America, one can move on to higher-paying positions with other companies. Then again, perhaps others feel differently... :)

Thanks,

Mike

Just came from there, and noticed that many recommend using a bottle or two of Auto-Rx before using synthetic.

Is auto-rx sold only from

Thanks

Mike

Why are you thinking about switching to a synthetic? You can get the jug of Castrol or Pennzoil conventional oil for a very good price and not worry about seals.

As for your other question, no other product I am aware of is equal to Auto-rx. It actually stopped a main seal leak on my friend's Ford Explorer, but YMMV.

Hoping to clean engine crud out a little bit, and improve engine performance somewhat.

It's only available from their website, then?

I was putting synthetic in my 1991 Camry until last summer. Thats when the oil started leaking all over and the engine was losing power so I switched back to regular and put in an oil additive. Runs a lot better now.

The reason I was using synthetic was that it ran better in the winter and I thought it was good for the car and improved fuel economy. My mechanic kept telling me that I was wasting my money.

How old is he? And who influenced his beliefs? Most of the newer generation mechanics do understand the qualities of synthetic oils.

My suggestion would to:

1. After putting synthetic oil and a new filter for the first time, change again at a shorter interval to get rid of the crud that the synthetic oil dislodge. Consult a mechanic who has experience with synthetic oil on this.
2. If the oil leak persists, a heavier oil might help, ex. 10W30 instead of

snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com wrote: "I *am* using 10W30 dino right now. =A0Would 5W30 make the engine run more efficiently?" =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D answer: yes. Efficiency is a good way of putting it. Increased efficiency means improved fuel economy or more power - actually both, depending upon how you drive. I have a 1994 Camry, 4 cylinder, with 141,000 miles and have always been fastidious about changing the oil and keeping it clean. If you're switching from conventional to synthetic for the first time, I think it is a good idea to run some auto-rx through first. (auto-rx.com). One of the reasons I changed to synthetic at 80,000 miles, was reading about a mechanic who said given two buckets of used main bearings, he could easily tell which had run synthetic oil and that the inside of the engine stays remarkably clean. This tends to be less true of conventional oil. I had been running Mobil 1 10W30 with Lucas oil stabilizer. The recommendation from Toyota is for 10W30. However, at the time they wrote that, the API grade was SG. Today it is SM. The quality of these oils has improved, especially when you are considering full synthetic. Was just checking the flash point of the Mobil 1 5W30 this morning, it is 230 deg. C, which converts to 446 deg. F. My understanding is that for new cars, the 5W30 viscosity grade is recommended for all conditions, and I like the improved power to the extent I don't think I'll be going back to 10W30. Had been watching for increased oil consumption but have found none -- less if anything. I changed all the oil seals at 120,000 miles, and had changed the oil very frequently, so the inside of the engine was as clean as I could get it before switching to synthetic. That included the valve cover, and distributor O ring, oil and transmission pan gaskets in addition to crankshaft, oil pump and camshaft seals. The engine is completely clean not one drop of oil anywhere. I really like the Mobil 1 5W30, but if your car has been running conventional 10W30 and really received no special treatment - normal neglect of oil, transmission fluid and coolant, with typically grungy exterior, I would probably just stick with what you're doing. The recommendation used to be it was OK to switch to synthetic oil below a certain mileage. With the close tolerances in Toyotas, I think that can be ignored if the oil has been changed often, but if it has not, I wouldn't change things now.

Is there a FAQ which explains API SG vs. SM, and which goes over the viscosities in more detail?

There is a small chart in my Haynes, which seems to show how 5W30 /

Let your co-worker shop at stores that have union workers. Honda and Toyota discourage unions and would probably close down their plants and move somewhere else if the workers unionized.

Working at Wal-Mart is not just for people who don't speak English. Maybe the people who clean the stores don't speak English, but the people who clean the very expensive office building where I work don't speak English either.

Wal-Mart employs a lot of elderly and disabled people who can't easily find jobs elsewhere. Every time I go to Wal-Mart there is a disabled person in a wheel chair that is by the entrance and does nothing by tag returned merchandise so they know it was brought in from the outside. I have never seen disabled people employed at any other similar stores.

If you use synthetic oil from 5000 miles onward, then it is not a waste of money. That is especially true if you "double" your change interval to about

For a car as old as yours, 5W-30 is probably not a good choice (conventional or synthetic). You have too much engine wear by now for 5W-30 (unless you have been using 5W-30 since about 5000 miles onward).

You could run conventional oil and run a 3 oz dose of Auto-RX with each oil change. That will keep the car with a good cleaning solution.

That is the only way I know you can get it.

Well I have the same question that you posed. Did you get an answer !!

Oh I guess so. Gist of it seems to be, use AutoRx before using synthetic. About using Wal-Mart cheapie oil, still no info.

Hey, I was at Wal-Mart yesterday, was about to get some Valvoline

Another question - Valvoline and other brands have this "high mileage" oil, for cars with more than 75,000 miles. They say they have additives that will prolong the life of my engine seals. Would using this over time be equivalent to using that AutoRx?

No. Those high mileage oils are designed for engines with a lot of wear and will help with leaky valves and seals, and also for engines that are just starting to burn oil.