hmm... maybe ill be going to quakerstate dino? 10W40?

thanks cmckenna for that input, i never knew that synthetics didnt have deteregents in them, looks like im going back to the dino era...

 

Yes,

That's exactly what I am talking about regarding that baked on crust. So, that right there is more evidence to support that argument. This was exactly the case with those engines that I had seen myself at Cali Horsepower.

It was this baked on crust that you will not find on an engine that has been running dino oil. When pulling apart a engine that uses dino oil, it's parts are all shiny metal and, those parts clean up perfectly. Inside the valve covers, to the valve train etc- it all looks new.

I am glad that there's pics to back this up so that others can see what this looks like. I wasn't sure what the hell it was when I took mine apart but, I damn well knew something was up with that baked on s-h-i-t inside there- that's not supposed to be there for sure and, oh, before I forget again, here's another one to further add to the damage:

Listen to this one: (I almost forgot about this completely) When that baked on crust starts to "flake off" it ends up floating around in the engine thus blocking or restricting the oil passages / ports to some degree. This is the worst thing to have happen because, what you end up with is either a starved journal or bearing coupled with erratic oil pressure due to building and release of pressure. I've had this happen on a few occasions and couldn't for the life of me figure out what was going on.

Again, it wasn't until very recently that this was brought to my attention thus, the reason I felt the need to post.

The thought of using dino oil may seem like a step backwards in technology. At least, in my mind it is however, the proof is in the pudding so-to-speak and, after getting the facts, seeing more and more evidence along with performing real world tests on my own vehicle and noting the results, I now am almost 100% convinced that dino oil is the way to go.

I noted that even after days of the truck sitting, when it starts up, it does not clack, tick or make a racket as it had when using synthetic motor oil. Oil pressure is retained at the lifters and the roller rockers as well thus meaning less noise, less friction and possibly, less wear on the engine at startup as well.

The problem with those non-real world tests is that they are really testing how well the motor oil protects against wear / friction but, this is a continuous test that factors out everything in attempt to isolate the variables and minimize variation in the test which, is exactly the right thing to do when simply testing JUST the motor oils being compared. The test results and graphs are extremely accurate and in no way are manipulated or deviated from the original results. In good test practice, the labs used are industry standard labs, run by private parties who are not biased. They simply run / conduct the tests and post the results to which, all those tests are stored for a period of seven years at the labs for future examination or in some cases, legal cases.

However, those tests do not factor in cold starts, hot starts, loss of hydraulic pressure in the lifters during cold starts, and most importantly, the environmental affects over time. Those are not factored in at all.

When we look at the affects of what it has on the engine in other ways other than just lubrication properties, one has to look at the overall affect and weigh that out.

There's a reason why dino oil turns black. It's cleaning the engine. It's not breaking down, but rather doing what it was designed to do which is keep the engine parts clean. When using Amsoil, the first thing I noted was it almost remained new looking after 1k miles. I thought this was great. I didn't know- I simply thought it was holding up better. It was after the fact that someone older with way more experience explained why it still looked new- it was because it was NOT cleaning anything. And, it's not designed to clean anything either. When I spoke to a tech support and a chemist, they informed me that when putting a detergent into a synthetic oil, it causes other issues thus the reason that there's no detergents included. There's some chemical reaction that ends up having a negative influence on how well the oil flows and protects as well as inducing premature break down over time thus reducing the lubrication properties of the oil / synthetics.

After looking at the evidence, hearing other testimonials and running real-world tests on my own vehicle, I have come to the conclusion that running full synthetics in my old Dodge truck is not advantageous and have decided to simply use good old fashioned dino oil for the remainder of it's life span.

CM

 

You keep mentioning old. Would you feel the same if you had a rebuilt engine?

 

^thats a good question....

did an oil change yesterday, and i used Valvoline synthetic blend...oil PSI is less then when i ran Quaker state full syn, but hopefully this will clean my motor better.

 

Absolutely not and, I will tell you that, if it's using hydraulic lifters or roller rockers, it's not going to work.

Case in point:

The owner of a brand new Chevy Corvette took it to Cali Horsepower and was complaining of it running rough and it was knocking and making a racket.

The owner of the shop asked the vette owner if he had changed the oil. He had not. The car went into the bay and the oil was drained and replaced with dino oil. It was then fired up by the owner - problem solved.

Root problem: Synthetic oil caused loss of hydraulic pressure in the lifters and caused the valve train noise. Problem was remedied by simply changing the oil out to Valvoline dino oil.

So, based on that, no, I would not use synthetic oil in a rebuilt or brand new motor that ran hydraulic lifters. The other issue is, your still going to see that baked on crust on a new engine or rebuilt motor after a period of time so, either way, at current, I would not use it.
CM

 

quick ot, do those pulstar plugs you run make any difference in power, gain or loss? and mpg gain or loss?

 

I love these plugs and yeah, it feels much different to me for sure. I had been testing out some Autolite 3924s, (think that's the P/N) for quite a while along with the old standard NGK V-power and the Pulstars. Recently, I just popped the Pulstars back in and, man, I don't know what it is about these plugs but, there's a difference in feel that just feels so much smoother and has more "something". I know it's just a capacitor inside and, I like to try everything to see what does what and for once, I got lucky on this risk buy.

As for mileage: I never even checked. I was so focused on the feel that I completely forgot to check the mileage but, I highly doubt there's going to be any difference. That part- I dunno about. They advertise that but, man, common sense here says, your still going to be burning the same amount of fuel ratio at a given speed over time so, I highly doubt that part lives up to the advertising. I also would not assume that it adds horsepower either.

All I can tell you is that it makes the truck run smoother and, it's got more throttle response along with the feel of less resistance - if that makes any sense.

CM

 

Well I'm definitely going back to dino oil. I've ran synthetic since I got the truck because I assumed it was better because of the higher resistance to heat and longer life before it starts to break down, even though I change it at 3000 miles religiously.

Here's another picture of the baked on crap that was taken pretty soon after I took the timing chain off my truck with the sun on it to give you a good reference.

 

damn....

 

You should have seen mine after running Mobile 1, Valvoline Synthetic, Penzoil Synthetic and Castrol Synthetic for almost 200k! I only recently started to use Amsoil. Prior to that, it was a "variety pack". Now I know why it didn't matter which brand I went with in terms of it not making a notable difference. The only time I noted a difference and, a BIG difference at that was when I switched back to dino oil. LOL

In the heads, on the valve springs- man, it was huge flakes of crusty material that were loose and floating around in the valve train. The lifter valley looked like a BBQ grill as well as the super crusty chain like yours. Looks like the damage sets in quick as I note you've been running it for what, 50+K miles?

CM