****!!! Never go From reg oil to full on synth on a 143k KA.

[rsmithdrift]

Alright, today I was changing my belts and I noticed something EVIL under my car.............oil.................lots and lots of it.

So what happened is that right before I got the car the prev owner said he had just did an oil change and switched to full synthetic at 143k. I was kinda suspicious but the car had no leaks, just some oil around the valve cover (fixed the next week by me) But no other leaks.

I was under it a month ago when it had 145k on it and it was still sparkly clean with no oil.............last week it was at 146.7k and was a little dusty, but no oil still.............today I'm at 147,241 on the odo and it's leaking like a siv (sp?)............FROM BOTH FRONT AND REAR MAIN SEALS!!!!!!!!

How much does having both main seals replaced on these cars usually cost?? It's a 93 SE F/B 5-sp. I can do routine maintenance and stuff.........but this is over my head. I'm so mad right now.

[miked808]

By no means is this job over your head. If you can change your belts than you can change the front Main Seal. Take the Belts back off and Pull your front Crank Pulley and the Seal is right there. Pops out, pop a new one back in. And on the Rear some might say remove the Transmission from under the Car but when I changed mine I just pulled the Motor. With air tools and a Engine lift, Two guys with Moderate skills can have an Engine out and back together in a weekend. Jobs like this take your Moderate skills to the next level.

[KATwo40]

Sorry your oil leaks developed so quickly, but this is usually the case with high mileage engines. It may or may not be related to the synthetic oil.

Either way, you can do this job. It's really cake.

The rear seal is not so cake, but still, not awful. The hardest part will be to pull the trans out with the engine still in the car.

[SeanC]

when i got my car at about 135,000 i changed to synthetics, oil leaks did develop. i changed the front main seal and it no longer leaks.

[rsmithdrift]

I have a hard time believing that it's that simple. Don't you have to pull the oil pan off and take out the bearing or something??

Sorry, I just have a hard time believing that replacing such an important seal is so simple.

The rear isn't leaking bad, just a slight oil soaking around the bell housing, it's the front one that bothers me...........it's dripping almost constantly. If I replace the front one the rear should be fine unless it gets worse.

Wont that oil from the rear seal get on the flywheel causing the clutch to slip??

[SeanC]

nope it is easy the seal, is in the timing cover.remove intake duct remove fan shround remove fan remove belts remove pully using a puller then use a screwdriver to pull out seal place new seal in after coating it in oil.

[WESIDE]

Front seal shouldnt be that bad. You may also try and use a thicker weight oil. Been runnin on Mobile full syth 15-50 for like 5 years now and no major probs with over 170k. Good LUK

[rsmithdrift]

Ok, so I'll get on that next weekend.............but what about the rear seal??

Was I right saying that I think it'll make my clutch slip?? I hope not, but who know's. I REALLY don't want to have to drop the transmission.

[benemorius]

Perhaps we shouldn't try to convince you that it's cake, but it isn't all that hard.

The hardest part about the front is getting the crank bolt off. It can be a real PITA sometimes. You'll need a 27mm (someone confirm please) socket and a long breaker bar. With the ebrake up and the transmission in fifth, a bit of brute force should break the bolt loose. After that a ten dollar pulley puller from harbor freight will get the pulley right off. If you can change your belts and can acquire the aforementioned tools, you can do this.

The rear isn't as easy, but if you can change your clutch then you'll have absolutely no trouble.

hah! I just said absolutely no trouble. Silly me. The job is straightforward, but unless the car gods really like you, EXPECT to run in to snags along the way.

Damn. Gotta go in a hurry. No time to proofread. Sorry if your car blows up cause of me. :-D

[nismo dreaming]

When i first got my 95 ka, i immediately replaced the oil to ensure that i knew when the next oil change would be. There wernt any leaks from the front or rear main seal, but the valve cover was a lil dirty. After changing my oil and using Castrol synth blend, i noticed a small amount of oil on the ground and took my car to a shop to have it looked at. I got a call later that day saying that my front and rear main seal were out and that i should go ahead and also get the oil pan gasket replaced. To bad for me, i ended up paying 700 dollars to have something done that i could have easily done myslef. If theres one thing i have learned in the last few mounths of owning my car, ( just got done with and entire head swap, radiator, water pump, etc., etc.) something like a front or rear main seal could have been done in my driveway, at a much lesser cost. Unless you truly dont trust yourself, i would do some research and give it a shot. Kinda ironic the exact same thing happened to me.

[veovius]

......I just went from Reg to full synth on a 170k S14....wish I saw this thread earlier

[matt4pl]

front main seal is easy, mine was spraying oil all over at higher rpms, replaced it, cost me $10, took an hr, remember to tap in the crank pulley, not just shove it in and bolt it back on, coat it with a bit of oil to make it go in smoothly. i switched to fully synthetic after getting napa oil changes at 140k or so, no problems at all

[s13satch]

Although it is not recommended to quickly switch from synth to non-synth (or vise versa), I have done it plenty of times on my 125,000 mile KA without any problems. The only difference is that the motor burns about 1/2 quart between changes on non-synth compared to burning nothing at all with synth. Sorry about your luck.

[Sil40_Mayhem]

Weirdness. I once had an 89 hatch with somewhere in the neighborhood of 204K miles on the clock. I ran a couple of part synthetic oil changes before I went to full. By the time I passed her on to the next guy, she had 226K with no leaks. I've done the same with the B18 on my 92 Integra. Started with blended oil at about 167K, moved over to full at around 174K. She currently has 195K and the only oil leak she's had was from an oil drain plug that was missing the washer (which has since been replaced; now, no leaks!).

I've always heard that, in order to prevent leaking/failing seals, you should gradually switch from full dino to full synthetic over a series of oil changes. Maybe it's true. I have done it this way with all of my cars, and so far, so good. Right now, my S14 is on it's first part synthetic cycle. After at least one more part synthetic change (perhaps two or three), then I'll go for full.

Anyway, sorry to hear about your car. At least it sounds like the front main seal shouldn't give you too much trouble.

[penpen-commander]

rear seal: $17.50front seal: $6.30

... from the dealership.... too much for labor.

[420sxse]

Yes, the crank pulley bolt is 27mm. The cutout the front seal fits into is much deeper than the seal itself, so when I first tried, I would get it crooked with one side too far in. I ruined one new seal trying to get it out again. To get the new front seal in easily/evenly, take the new seal to Home Depot or something and look in the plumbing section. I found a PVC pipe connector with an octagonal diameter that covers the surface of the seal. The points along the edge extend past the seal, so you can (gently) tap it right in (with the PVC piece between the hammer and seal) and get the seal in straight. I did a series of hearty taps in a star pattern around the edge in several steps until the entire perimeter of the seal was flush with the cover. I ended up taking the cover off anyways, but the idea was that the pipe connector would fit around the end of the crank, which sticks out a bit. Also, be careful not to damage/gouge the cover when prying the old seal out. Luckily, I DIDN'T have that problem. Kudos to the FSM for reminding me. As for the rear, +1 for doing it when the clutch gets changed if it can wait that long.
Modified by 420sxse at 3:24 AM 4/6/2006

[whiteonwhite240sx]

reg. oil after so many miles causes gaskets 2 desinagrate n bilds up sludge around them. Sin. oil is very slick n will get past the sludge, past the gasket n cause leaks! If U were leaking oil b4, Sin oil will make it worse in most cases! I liked my MPGs with sin oil! I will slowly change from reg.oil 2 sin. blend 2 full sin.

Im at 126xxx w\ my 96 240sx base white on white!

[S3t0_S13]

nooooooooooo if only saw this damn thread bout 2 weeks agogreat, im gonna have 2 go buy the damn parts, my carss been pissing oil everywhere

what do u reccomend as the best full synthetic oil for a 140K engine?

[D-UNIT]

Also gaskets and seasl shrink over time. You may have super small little leaks here and there. Just realize that the syn molecule is much smaller than reg oil molecule causing it to shoot out of leak holes that were relatively small before.

[240crawler]

I have had the same problem before; that is why my S13 is still on dino. I had a 92 Crown Vic with Interceptor engine and Handling package. Sweetest 4-door car ever (sorry M5). With 84,000 on the clock, my feeble mind decided to go from Motorcraft 10-30 to Mobil full synthetic in the same weight. Within 2 days, I lost 4 quarts, at $5.99 each, and had the entire engine bay covered. I also had this problem with a 91 Integra of my girlfriend's. She decided to use Castrol full synth because She saw Danica Patrick advertise it. When she had it changed (at Wal-mart noneless), oil came out everywhere. I now believe that dino oil is far superior for a used engine.

On another note, after trying to find out which dino oil was best through book and net research, I took it into my own hands for some informal testing. The results would have shocked anyone.

I used 3 identical 8hp Briggs side shaft engines connected to water pumps. I loaded the pumps in a creek, ran them at max engine speed for 24 hours and looked at the oil when finished. Needless to say, this is a test that holds weight with me.

My findings were that Shell Rotella in sae 30 held up the best. The oil was still clear, still slippery, and the motor did not burn one drop. That could not be said for the other 5 oils.

When I related my experience to my uncle who runs a repair shop for Caterpillar and Cummins diesels, he reminded me of the time we pulled main and rod bearings out of a 425 Cat with 495,xxx miles. They looked brand-new. Caterpillar reccomends changing at 150,000; 400;000; and every 250,000 after. This engine since new ran on 11 gallons 10-30 Rotella and 1 gallon Lucas oil stabilizer. The truck only saw oil changes every 20,000 miles.

Before anyone says that the KA and a Cat are like apples and oranges, let me tell you something often overlooked. The engine in an over the road semi tractor is the hardest working engine in existence. They routinely pull a load of 50-80,000 pounds, always at redline. A Cat engine has oil squirters just like any high-performance car engine, 4 valve heads, direct injection, and most important--it can be modified for more power. There are upgraded turbo-intercooler packages for these motors, modded fuel pumps, rear-end gearing swaps along with trannys to suit any need. They are modified for their type of performance; not on a track but up a hill. A 425 Cat starts life with 425hp at 2250rpm and over 2,000ft lbs between 1400 and 2500. They can be tuned up to 750hp with exponential increases in torque.

[jdm_master_X]

organic to synthetic is a bit controversial.

the reason it wouldnt be a good idea to run an engine to full synthetic when it was run on organic oil all its life is simply because seals will swell in the presense of certain additives on the sythetic oil. eventually seals will break. but its kind of a hit or miss thing.

[S3t0_S13]

hmmm

im taking my car into shop 2day for oil change, transmission oil change, tire roation and all sorts of goodies

wat oil should i put in, im already leaking synthetic, so ill see if they wont charge 2 much 2 have them fix the leaks in the 2 seals

should i stick 2 full synt, or go back 2 dino?

[benemorius]

If you're already running synthetic and you're already prepared to fix any leaks that arise, just stay with synthetic.

[Florida240sx]

I do regular oil with 1 qt of lucas

[jdm_master_X]

well you need to figure out if the engine was raised on organic or synthetic majority of its life. the key is to stay consistent with the types of fluid you are using (especially oil).

[boznuttz]

my brother didnt know the previous owners used natural oil for over 10 k miles or so. luckily for him that was it.

[rsmithdrift]

LOL my thread came back.... To keep everyone updated..... I changed from 5w 30 mobil 1 synth, to 10w 30 Valvoline Maxlife Synth and all my leaks mysteriously stopped. But I have a tiny bit of valve tick at warmup now though. And I never did change any of the seals.

[xckid]

my car leaked oil when i was on regualr dino oil at 170,000 some k i changed to full synthetic and no more oil leaks i was expecting more but i no have no more

[new_to_drift]

which blended oil do u guys recommend?and which synthetic? i have a swapped 96 motor in my car.Motor has 60k so i figure ill start running blended,and i just want to know a good oil i could use.Ive been using castrol gtx for the last 2 oil changes

[benemorius]

mobile 1 full synthetic