i own a 99 dodge dakota slt, has 3.9 in her.

its got 90k on her and i was wondering about changing to synthetic...
its due for a oil change and has never had synthetic in her.

is it safe to start using synthetic at this late of miles, i heard leaks can start if you have alot of miles becuase its so thin.

any input anyone?

 

There are a lot of opinions on that subject, and we all know what they say about opinions. My own personal opinion is that if you have been using conventional oil all this time, have no leaks or consumption issues then why change from what has worked so well this far?

I have read that synthetics can dislodge chunks and pieces of carbon and crud from inside the engine, and the carbon can block oil galleries and passageways, and it can clog your oil filter and send it into premature bypass or cause strain on the oil pump. I have never used a synthetic myself so I have no idea if that is really true but the possibility seems very plausible to me, and that is one reason I do not use any synthetic oil. Synthetics are super expensive too.

Maybe you could try a good synthetic blend like Valvoline SynBlend or Quaker State Enhanced Durability. If you have oil leaks or consumption issues then maybe try Valvoline Maxlife. It can help with that but it can also cause a loss of performance/power and gas mileage. The reason is because high mileage oils are blended at the thicker end of their given viscosity. I ran Maxlife in my truck for about 10,000 miles back when my truck had about 65,000 miles on it, and I noticed a definite but small power loss and a drop in MPG. I went back to regular conventional and things went back to normal. When you look at a bottle of high mileage oil in the store you will see there is no "Energy Conserving" starburst symbol on its label, either.

I like the Quaker State oils, they have the most boron content which is very good for your engine seals, plus Quaker State has a good amount of molybdenum, which is about the very best anti-wear and protective additive in any motor oil. Pennzoil conventional has the most molybdenum content of any conventional oil you can buy, and I decided to try it out on my last oil change. I can tell a difference, the molybdenum does make my engine feel like it runs smoother and quieter. Pennzoil and Quaker State are very similar in composition but Quaker State has less molybdenum and it has more boron in it than Pennzoil. I don't work for Pennzoil or Quaker State but I like their oils a lot, I think they are about the best conventional oils you can buy. That being said, if you do try a high mileage oil, personally I would not recommend Quaker State High Mileage. It is blended with Slick 50 and that stuff is horrible.

I never bought into the synthetic oil hype. It costs too much and the only real benefit is you can leave it in the engine longer. I have no plans to start extending my oil changes. They say you get better gas mileage with synthetics and it can increase engine performance. I have no idea. I have used conventional oil all of my life and will stick with what works for me.

There will be other opinions on this. This is my own 2 cents' worth on it.

Jimmy

 

Read all you can on the pros and cons of each get an education there is real proof out there on that subject.

I will not comment on this anymore so many lies have been put on the internet regarding synthetic oil it’s frustrating.

Read the hard facts but then the others will say it’s a one sided test if it doesn’t agree with them.

So ??

 

there are so, and i mean SOOO many critics out there about oil. people stick with an oil for their whole lives because they swear by it. it all does the same thing, more or less additives, thicker/thinner! you will not have troubles puttin in synthetic this late in miles. its all a personal decision with oils. been told to not buy the cheapest, and to not buy the most expensive. . . its really your call man!

 

Run some syn blend. I started to run valvoline 10w-30 syn blend in my truck at 70k. I havent ever had any problems. I just started to run it in my moms 04 grand cherokee 103k and using syn blend. No problems yet still only 2k into oil change. Of coarse you can run them 4.0 l6's without oil for awhile and they still manage to run lol

 

My 97 had 93K on when I bought it. I only use Mobile 1 in all my cars, lawn mowers, etc. I raced sports cars for 18 years and Mobile 1 always worked in engines turning over 10,000 rpm with no signs of wear. So I put it in my Dakota and it has worked fine. I change every 5,000 miles and have not had to add between changes.

 

What Jimmy said.