Oil change info please

Im getting an oil change next week. Should I use synthetic, or non synthetic oil?Before you flame me, i DID use the search feature. My concern is that some people were saying synthetic can cause problems/leaks. My last oil change was non synthetic, and the oil change sticker said it was only good for 3k miles. What do you recommend? Truck has 49,800 miles fwiw.

 

You'll be fine with synthetic. Most people talking about leaks, are probably talking about vehicles with really high miles. Meaning they switched to synthetic when it had really high.

 

I have a 2010 with 93000 miles. I've always used Castrol 10w30 NON synthetic and change it every 5000 miles. That's what I used in my 2001 and never had a problem.

 

The 3000 mile oil change is all about selling more oil changes that most of the time are not needed. As far as switching to synthetic, you can switch anytime you want. JMO and you will probably get 100s of different opinions and most of them will probably be right. I would just keep an eye on the oil levels and cleanliness and change the oil when you feel it needs to be changed based on your driving demands and mileage.

 

FLAME!

Alright, now that I got that out of the way. You're going to get a million different answers.

I use synthetic. Some guys do not. Really up to you. I go about every 5-6k, but again going to be heavily based on how you use the truck. There's one 2nd gen floating around here with 300-400k on there that has always changed his every 10k. I forget his name - someone chime in if you remember.

Really no right or wrong answer here man, within reason. Just research and pick what's best for you.

 

Wive's tales left over from the 80's.

Sales pitch. And also wives tales from the days of lower quality oils and engines not as tightly toleranced putting more contaminants in the oil.

Reading www.bobistheoilguy.com, having your oil analyzed by Blackstone Labs and making a decision based on those results.

Capsule..........

Modern dyno oils are quite good, almost to the syn of yesteryear. Using one of those and using 5-7.5k OCIs will be just fine on a normally used vehicle. More abuse, shorter OCI. Just like the owners manual says.

Moving to syn is valuable if a) the vehicle is worked hard (heavy towing, racing, lots of short cycles, etc.) or b) you are willing to use extended OCIs of 10-15k. (backed up by lab work of course) If your motor is pampered and you insist on short OCIs, syn is a waste of money

 

Thanks guys. The maintenance req light /oil change reminder comes on every 5k miles right? I may just check my oil myself, and go by the light.

 

You are correct

 

IMO, that would work out just fine. Just the fact that you care about maintaining your truck will be all the info you need.

 

i think im going to be canceling my appointment

 

well said. Absolutely, i rely on the truck every single day. My philosophy is "take care of it, and it'll take care of you". Unless its a ford or chevy. Then your s.o.l. Sorry, had to throw that dagger

 

Synthetic's main attribute is at start up, when most engine wear occurs. It's the most stable, compared to regular oil

 

Correct. And if you decide to move to extended OCIs (say 10k) you can reset the light at 5k, and then change the next time it comes on.

Hope you are kidding. You should be under hood checking everything every couple of weeks anyway. Along with tire pressures. 10*F change = 1 PSI change, up or down.

 

It flows better in cold temps as well.

 

i do keep an eye on it. I meant i am just going to check the oil now, and cancel the oil change until my light comes on.

 

I've used Mobil 1 full synthetic in mine since the first oil change. Regular (quality) dino oil will be just fine also as long as you change it regularly. I bought into the full synthetic and have never had a issue.

 

Please, not another oil thread! We need it like another floor mat discussion!

 

No one made you post

 

i got lots of helpful, positive replies that i appreciate.

 

And we'll continue to help people out. If you don't enjoy them, ignore them.

I'm glad OP! Let us know what you end up going with!