Synthetic oil myth...bullsh*t, it's true!

[NightRiderQ45]

Good Morning everyone. I just want to vent out my frustrations about my "mechanical free" car until now. Many of you might remember two months ago I started a thread asking if it would be ok if I switch from mobil clean 5000 to mobil 1, even though my car has high mileage (169k). Well, I was still reluctant to change over because I was afraid my seals would leak using synthetic; but after speaking with the "Q45 gurus" on this forum, I switched over. Bad mistake Since, I've driven my car from Oklahoma to Alabama twice since the switch and I noticed a burnt smell once I exit of the interstate. I told myself that this "better be not what I think it is"!! Knowing that my car never produced that smell before, I took my car to the Infiniti dealership yesterday to speak with some Infiniti technicians.

The technician remembers my car coming in there previously to fix the ECU (remember BestBuy screwed it up) and he asked me why was my manifold full of oil and it wasn't leaking before?! At first I thought he was joking with me, but then it clicked! Damn it, I switched to synthetic oil! I explained to him that I switched over to Mobil 1 and he said that was a bad decision considering my mileage. He said with the mileage on my car, the seals and gaskets are hard, and since Mobil 1 is such a superior oil, it was able to penetrate the gaskets, thus spreading all over my manifold! He said I'm lucky it wasn't in the rear man. Long story short, my valve cover gaskets are leaking badly now and $456 to fix!! He told me once he fix it, to go back to dino Mobil clean 5000 and my car will be ok with my strict schedule of changing my oil. So for future people, if you have high mileage on your car, PLEASE DON'T SWITCH OVER TO SYNTHETIC! It WILL cause oil leaks. I'm a living testament!!

[Q451990]

When were your rocker cover gaskets last replaced? At 169K it should have been a couple of times now. Just because something happens after you do something else does not prove causation. Please do not make blanket statements based on one instance. If you want to work off of personal experience only - then I have switched four cars from dino to synthetic oil and haven't had this issue at all.

Heath

[maxnix]

Nothing to do with M1 (which has seal conditioners), but a lot to do with deferred maintenance.

[NightRiderQ45]

Well, it will be replaced now, but it wasn't replaced before. It wasn't leaking before. According to the Infiniti technician (actualy I spoke with two) at Jackie Cooper Infiniti in Tulsa, he said that was the reason why it's leaking now. I trust his decision since he worked on my car previously and he KNOWS my car wasn't leaking. I purchased my car with 93k mileage and it wasn't leaking at all. I switched over to Mobil 1 synthetic at 166k. From that point, that's when I started to notice the smell. Both technicians told me that switching over to synthetic with my mileage caused it. So are you saying that the Infiniti technicians with combined 30 years experience are lying to me and didn't know what they are talking about? Long story short, I will replace the gasket because I don't mind spending money to keep my car running fine.

Q451990, I can understand you switched over your cars to synthetic oil with no problems. I never said that it will always leak. I said with the mileage on my car, the superior synthetic oil caused leaks. Do any of the cars that you switched over have atleast 166k? Until then I can post statements based off of what Infiniti technicians old me.

Modified by NightRiderQ45 at 9:05 AM 1/23/2008
Modified by NightRiderQ45 at 9:15 AM 1/23/2008

[NightRiderQ45]

Nothing to do with M1 (which has seal conditioners), but a lot to do with deferred maintenance.

Deferred maintenance my a@*!! I can pull all of my maintenance records! How many times have you changed your valve cover gaskets and it wasn't leaking!? My car wasn't leaking before! Not once did I bash M1! If you read correctly, I said that It was a superior oil! If it has seal conditioners, then it wouldn't be leaking right!? I'll rather listen to the Infiniti technicians than listen to you maxnix since you were one of the people who said it would be no problem to switch. If they told me that the leak was caused because of the switch to synthetic, then I believe them. Remember, we should trust the diagnostic decision of true, qualified, Infiniti technicians right Thought so.

By the way maxnix, you're the one who said that OEM brake pads were ceramic, WHICH THEY ARE NOT!! Obviously, you don't know as much as you think you do They are made of more of an organic material, not ceramic! I didn't want to call you out on your previous post, but since you tried to bash my maintenance on my car, I just thought that I would let you know that you should do some research before you post answers or just call Joe for "true" information!

[xerexabante]

I had that experience with a Honda I was Fixing. This guy bent his oil pan for his motor. So he decided to change over to Synthetic while I had almost all the oil drained out. The next morning I had a call He said the car was leaking like a faucet. Wow! Well ok I told him and to have the car towed. I looked at the car and I was not comming from the oil pan. I said let me look at the timing belt. So I did. And what did I see? The oil seal from the camshaft was totally out! I mean out!

After that fix change the timing belt ans all the seals. The guy said he will never use synthetic.

[Jesda]

Its not the oil's fault. Something was already about to leak. Synthetic simply revealed it.

Its your car's problem. My 92 Q was switched to synthetic at 150k.

[superuber]

By the way maxnix, you're the one who said that OEM brake pads were ceramic, WHICH THEY ARE NOT!! Obviously, you don't know as much as you think you do They are made of more of an organic material, not ceramic! I didn't want to call you out on your previous post, but since you tried to bash my maintenance on my car, I just thought that I would let you know that you should do some research before you post answers or just call Joe for "true" information!

Thems fightin' words!It was most likely a coincidence. But in my opinion you should not have changed. Change your oil regularlyand you are fine.

[AlabamaDan]

I wouldn't say that the oil created the issue, but rather that it revealed the issue of gaskets ready to go. The synthetic oil does penetrate places more than dino oil and cleans a little more. So, with gaskets that old they were worn, however the dino oil would deposit some crud in there that prevented the leak. When you switch to synthetic it cleaned out the crud and was more penetrating thus revealing the leak.

I think everyone would agree that synthetics are better for the engine. Is switching a high mileage engine over a risk? Sure if you haven't replaced all your seals and stuff.

If you plan to keep your Q for another dozen years and reach 300k then it's best that you switched and now are replacing your valve cover gaskets. They don't last forever. By the way, it's not a difficult job. I would consider it medium maintenance. And yes, some of us do replace things before they wear completely out.

[maxnix]

The OEM pads are a ceramic blended compound.

It really doesn't matter so much what they are but how they work and for what they are designed, i.e. - the G50. Third party pads are not designed nor tested for particular models.

It is customers like you that Q45tech states is the bane of auto repair. It always starts off with "Ever since......"

[bullittandy]

Good Morning everyone. I just want to vent out my frustrations about my "mechanical free" car until now. Many of you might remember two months ago I started a thread asking if it would be ok if I switch from mobil clean 5000 to mobil 1, even though my car has high mileage (169k). Well, I was still reluctant to change over because I was afraid my seals would leak using synthetic; but after speaking with the "Q45 gurus" on this forum, I switched over. Bad mistake Since, I've driven my car from Oklahoma to Alabama twice since the switch and I noticed a burnt smell once I exit of the interstate. I told myself that this "better be not what I think it is"!! Knowing that my car never produced that smell before, I took my car to the Infiniti dealership yesterday to speak with some Infiniti technicians

The technician remembers my car coming in there previously to fix the ECU (remember BestBuy screwed it up) and he asked me why was my manifold full of oil and it wasn't leaking before?! At first I thought he was joking with me, but then it clicked! Damn it, I switched to synthetic oil! I explained to him that I switched over to Mobil 1 and he said that was a bad decision considering my mileage. He said with the mileage on my car, the seals and gaskets are hard, and since Mobil 1 is such a superior oil, it was able to penetrate the gaskets, thus spreading all over my manifold! He said I'm lucky it wasn't in the rear man. Long story short, my valve cover gaskets are leaking badly now and $456 to fix!! He told me once he fix it, to go back to dino Mobil clean 5000 and my car will be ok with my strict schedule of changing my oil. So for future people, if you have high mileage on your car, PLEASE DON'T SWITCH OVER TO SYNTHETIC! It WILL cause oil leaks. I'm a living testament!!

You've got a pretty good AB experimental design, wish there was a way to do an ABAB design.

If its any consolation, your gaskets were going to leak soon, mine started at 200K-and now that I think about it that was about 6000K miles after I switched to synthetic after he PO used regular. How bout that?

[Q451990]

At 169K and 9+ years in service, your valve cover gaskets were due. Anything on the car (except hard metal parts - assuming good maintenence) is fair game. I don't doubt that the techs. told you that it was the oil's fault - but I think they're wrong. Ask 10 techs. something and you'll get at least 5 answers. There are a lot of "urban myths" in the automotive world, and some of them are based on old facts - like the early years of sythetic oils that did cause break-in problems and gasket issues. Check out http://www.bobistheoilguy.com for detailed oil discussion. I suspect there are more lubricant and mechanical engineers with automotive experience there than anywhere else on the web.

That said, I'm sure you're convinced that "ever since" you changed the oil you will have problems, so I don't blame you for going back to dino oil. Change it regularly and you'll be OK... not as good as synthetic changed regularly, but you'll be fine. I just hope this thread doesn't discourage other members from switching to better oil based on your one experience.

My oil conversions were on:

-1991 Maxima with 70K? Miles in 1995.-1990 Q45 with 83K miles in 1996.-1990 Q45 with 47K miles in 2003.

Only the Maxima didn't get new valve cover gaskets at approximately the same time. The others were already seeping or leaking with the dino oil that was in them when I bought the cars. 169K on your OEM gaskets is probably a record! I have been running M1 in our G35 since it's third oil change at about 6.5K. I did two quick dino oil changes at 1130 miles and 3750 miles and then started her on the good stuff shortly thereafter at 6500.

Heath

[ScottJackson]

I also think the gaskets were gone before the oil change. The synth probably cleaned out the gum/varnish and that was it. Once it's freshly sealed up again, keep running the Mobil1 if you want. Personally, I run regular old dino oil as I don't see the advantage in using synthetic except for cars that get driven very hard (oil gets hot and synthetic is much better for high temps). For example, all of the vehicles at my farm are over 200K miles and none smoke on start up or use oil between changes, yet they've all had nothing other than regular valvoline or wal-mart oil. Some of them like my red '92 Ford with 253K miles get oil changes every 5000-7000 miles, on regular cheap oil. As of 230K miles, it still had 38psi oil pressure at hot idle and doesn't use a bit of oil between changes. I could probably treat it better, but the body is gonna fall apart before the engine goes. My 540i gets synthetic, but just because it had it before I bought it and it does get run pretty hard. It also sometimes sits a long time between starts.

[NightRiderQ45]

You've got a pretty good AB experimental design, wish there was a way to do an ABAB design.

If its any consolation, your gaskets were going to leak soon, mine started at 200K-and now that I think about it that was about 6000K miles after I switched to synthetic after he PO used regular. How bout that?

Yeah, I know. After reading some of the posts, I'm quite sure that the gaskets wouldn't last forever. Q451990, I might have a record with OEM gaskets lol. I glad to see that other people have had the same experience that I have and I'm not crazy. Like I stated before, I'll fix the problem and drive it for another 169K

[AlabamaDan]

If you fix the gaskets yourself it will be about $75.

[bullittandy]

If you fix the gaskets yourself it will be about $75.

I did a write up on replacing the gaskets and its straightforward other than one bracket o n the driver's side, the post was recently near the top-check it out.

[bullittandy]

[QUOTE=AlabamaDan]I wouldn't say that the oil created the issue, but rather that it revealed the issue of gaskets ready to go. QUOTE]

Sort of like old men having sex reveals that they have heart problems, "Ask your doctor if you're healthy enough for sexual activity."

[RAP]

I also think the gaskets were gone before the oil change. The synth probably cleaned out the gum/varnish and that was it. Once it's freshly sealed up again, keep running the Mobil1 if you want. Personally, I run regular old dino oil as I don't see the advantage in using synthetic except for cars that get driven very hard (oil gets hot and synthetic is much better for high temps). For example, all of the vehicles at my farm are over 200K miles and none smoke on start up or use oil between changes, yet they've all had nothing other than regular valvoline or wal-mart oil. Some of them like my red '92 Ford with 253K miles get oil changes every 5000-7000 miles, on regular cheap oil. As of 230K miles, it still had 38psi oil pressure at hot idle and doesn't use a bit of oil between changes. I could probably treat it better, but the body is gonna fall apart before the engine goes. My 540i gets synthetic, but just because it had it before I bought it and it does get run pretty hard. It also sometimes sits a long time between starts.

Spoken like a true conservative, as an Iowa farm boy or anywhere farm boy.

What with owning all those cars you can't have voted for HILLARY or O BAMA ? ?

My recently purchased 2000 Q is leaking oil at the valve cover gaskets, 94000 miles. From the service records that I have:The oil used came from those Jiffy lube type places, 10 W 30 regular oil. That will continue. NAPA has a house brand oil, often on sale, and I stock up when that happens. The NAPA oil comes from Ashland Oil/Havoline. The owners manual has API oil specs which is what I use as a recommendation, the cheaper the better.

As far as quoting any words of wisdom from any source on this Internet, well anyone can say anything on this medium.

Jack

[NightRiderQ45]

I did a write up on replacing the gaskets and its straightforward other than one bracket o n the driver's side, the post was recently near the top-check it out.

Thanks Bullitt and AlabamaDan!! I didn't think that it was very straight forward. I can get the gaskets at the Infiniti dealer for $25 a piece. Infiniti was charging me $420 (4.2hr) just for labor and another trusty shop is charging me $286 (3.7hr) for labor. It it's something that I can truly do, then I'll try it. If it isn't, I'll pay. Bullitt, what title of the topic?

[AlabamaDan]

I think Jeff Williams did a write up too. While your in there change your spark plugs. Are the OE?

[NightRiderQ45]

I think Jeff Williams did a write up too. While your in there change your spark plugs. Are the OE?

Thanks will do. No, I have the iridium ngk plugs in there. Also, I figured that I will pay someone else to do the work. After I looked at Andy's post I figured I'll pay someone else to do it. I don't have the time or great weather to accomplish that task. It's 10 degrees here in Tulsa. BTW, good post Andy.

[bullittandy]

Thanks will do. No, I have the iridium ngk plugs in there. Also, I figured that I will pay someone else to do the work. After I looked at Andy's post I figured I'll pay someone else to do it. I don't have the time or great weather to accomplish that task. It's 10 degrees here in Tulsa. BTW, good post Andy.

I think I made the comment that the job was only worth $300 to me. so any labor price below $300 I would rec that you have someone do it-and you've found it.

There's no way I'd do it in 10 degree weather-its worth $750 then! LOL