What's new
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.

Stupid engine oil question

8

84gmcjimmy

1 ton status
Joined
Dec 3, 2003
Posts
12,836
Reaction score
0
Location
B.C. CANADA
I have 2 different jugs of engine oil in the garage. One is synthetic and the other one is tri-synthetic (according to the jugs) the synthetic says its aproved for a whole bunch of abbreviated things with numbers, like SAF-13 or something (i just made that up) and the synthetic one says it's approved for japanese valvetrain wear requirements or something. The tri-synthetic doesn't say anything about japanese vehicles.

Does any of this mean anything? Or as long as I have appropriate oil for my climate I should be fine? This is 10W-30 oil BTW...This is going both into the jimmy with a 350 and also the toyota with the 22re engine...

The reason I just don't use the synthetic one which is approved for a whole bunch of things is I only have maybe .5 litres left. The Tri-syntetic I have at least 5 litres...

help?
 
I'm not going to mix them. I was just wondering if I can use the tri-synthetic even though on the label on the back it doesn't say its approved for japanense vehicles? (toyota)
 
So I should be fine then?

And synthetic doesn't really mean much right? they're high mileage engines so it would do them good, right?? :confused:
 
should be fine. I would use it.

But what I hear is that if you go synthetic, its not good for the engine to switch back to regular oil. Not sure if its true or not, just what I have heard.
 
dogdaysunrise said:
should be fine. I would use it.

But what I hear is that if you go synthetic, its not good for the engine to switch back to regular oil. Not sure if its true or not, just what I have heard.
Click to expand...
It is true. It is also true that you shouldn't change brands or types of oil also. Pick a brand and type of oil and only use that same one. ie Valvoline 10/30....forever or Qstate 10/40...forever.
 
Most of the oil from the yoter was gone anyways...so I don't think I should have a problem of mixing?
thanks
 
if it was low on oil then you really need to keep an eye on the level for a while because synthetic has a tendency to burn more and leak more than dino oil. You should also strongly consider flushing the engine first to remove the conventional oil out completly. A safe and cheap way is to pour a couple of quarts of kerosene in and let it idle for about 20 minutes. Only do that if the mileage is not too high and it has been maintained properly. If not sludge will all go the bottom of the pan and clog the pump screen. I maintain a fleet of 40 trucks and pieces of equipment and run sythetic in everything from a honda 5.5 to a Mack truck.
 
The truck has over 230,000 KM on the engine.
Not too sure how I feel about putting kerosene in them.

Any other ways of flushing?
 
With that mileage I would stay away from synthetic. If its not leaking or burning oil now then it will be when you pour it in.
 
I'd mix them. Synthetic will mix with dino oil with no problems. But you'll loose the benefits of the synth.

Those #'s and letters are SAE & API ratings for the oil.
 
API rating tells you what the oil is good for. first letter is C or S. C=diesel S=gasoline. second letter is for rating the "newness" for lack of a better term, of the service rating classification. example...... SE classed oil came out in the '70s then as tech improved it changed to SF. Now both SE and SF are outdated. as the letter progresses through the alphabet it is a newer classification. So you can use a newer class in an older engine, but you cannot use an older classification in a newer engine. You have to know what the OEM specifies for your particular engine, then you can put that or newer graded oil in it. I think SL is the most recent grade oil for gasser engines. Clear as mud.

diesels are basically the same CF-4 is an outdated rating for severe service high speed 4 stroke engines. CF-2 is current rating for servere service 2 stroke engines. which are no longer manufactured for on-highway service, so CF-2 should remain the current standard till theres none left on the road. CG-4 & CH-4 were in through the '90's. based mostly on sulfer content and emmission standards. CL-4 is the most recent turbocharged high speed diesel engine oil rating.

You can have Combined ratings of one oil for both C and S service in some cases.
 
Last edited:
...and like the other guy said. if it's a high miler on dino oil that isn't leaking. if you switch to synth you'll find the leaks much faster if you've got marginal seals.
 
I switched to synthetic on 383 sbc with 150,00 miles on it, it didn't make it leak any more or an less. I don't know where all of these rumors about synthetics comes from. Oil is oil, you can mix brands, and you can mix synth with dino. It's like mixing champagne with Guinness, you may may ruin the flavor of the Guinness, but it won't kill you to drink it!
 
DEMON44 said:
...and like the other guy said. if it's a high miler on dino oil that isn't leaking. if you switch to synth you'll find the leaks much faster if you've got marginal seals.
Click to expand...

So if I have leaks I will find them easier now?
I guess it's a win-lose situation...

Thanks for the help with the oil numbers DEMON44
 
Are you freekin' Nuts!?!?!?!?:eek1: If you have run a motor on conventional oil for most of its life, never go to synthetic! It will have adverse effect on your engine. The gaskets and seals conform the a certain kind of oil and if you switch oils, your engine will leak like crazy. I highly recomend not using synthetic unless that paticular motor was raised on synthetic or it has very little miles on it.

Going along the lines of the alcohol anology, I guess conventional oil would be like beer and synthetic would be like Vodka. And you know what they say about that, beer before liquor, never been sicker, but liquor before beer you're in the clear.
I guess that works with what I'm trying to say except the last part because you shouldn't even switch from synthetic to conventional.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest Posts

Top Bottom