I just bought a 1999 Dodge Ram 2500 with 92,000 miles and the 5.9L.
I was wondering what some of the pros and cons would be to change over to synthetic oil. Can I even still change over?

 

Doesnt really matter, all the hype about more power from different oil is bs. oil is oil as long as it keeps the cyl walls wet an engine cool thats all that matters.

 

I think this topic has been beaten to death. If you do a search, you'll find P-L-E-N-T-Y of threads that will answer any question you have, and even more you don't.

 

ultimately the decision is yours, and i'm sure there will be people that will agree with me, as not everybody in the world agrees, but you do NOT want to switch to synthetic. I'm sure you don't have leaks now, but if you put synthetic in, it just might find some. You should be putting high mileage in there, it helps protect against possible leaks and helps get rid of any oil sludge that might be built up in there. Again i'm sure people will bash me and tell me it doesn't matter what oil you put it, but it does and in my opinion you should be running high mileage anywhere right around 100000 mile and beyond.

 

how is it suppose to get rid of sludge, yet prevent leaks at the same time?

 

Pick one. Change it every 3000 miles. End of story.

 

Holy crap...I couldn't have said it better myself!!!

 

From what i've been told years ago, if you switch from conventional to synthetic, you may develop a leak. The theory behind it is synthetic contains more detergents and will remove the engine sludge that's been holding that leak sealed.

Now im not sure how much truth there is to that, but i run castrol gtx high-mileage. (i have a leaky front main seal, dont wanna make it worse i guess.)

I'de go with dinobones..

 

thers a solution inside the oil that wraps up the sludge, and swells your seals.



BECAUSE YOU CHANGE TO SYNTHETIC DOES NOT MEAN IT WILL LEAK.

i had 186 on my 5.9 when i bought it. the PO also took it in for a dealer conventional oil change every time. truck never had synthetic till i got it.

I switched to syn at 186K and NO LEAKS. i have 198K now, and i thought i had a bad head gasket but its the rear main seal. i only lost a half a quart of oil in 3K with it leaking...(VERY small leak)


My oil is due for change right now. but on my dipstick my oil is still clean and clear, not black at all.

I had a 96 Sunfire. bought it with 134K and switched to synthetic right away. sold it with 212K with no oil leaks.

 

If it has the API seal on the container it's recommended for your engine. 10W-30 works well in most conditions, while 5W-30 is sometimes prefered in the winter months of regions where the temps. drop below "0"F.