Oil & fluids
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 10
Likes: 0
From: Waveland, MS
Oil & fluids
I'm just into my latest F150. A one owner mechanic owned 4x4 with a 302 and a 5 spd. Has anyone gone to Synthethics and if so did you alter your viscosity. Can you use synthetics to an advantage in brake, steering or differential fluids, or do they even make them for that? Since I got one SO mechanically sweet, I wanna keep her that way. We'll save our nickels and dimes and get the physical done up right later. Truely hip to hearing from those who have converted to synthetic. Living on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, it gets HOT here. I'm sure that will be a factor. I've tinkered with very, very minor mechanicals before, but I REALLY don't want to hose up this 1990 4x Lariat.
Talk to me!! Hobby or professional mechanic. Dont just say, "Yes, use synthetic." If you can explain in laymen's terms, I really want to know why your suggestions will improve _______ .
I keep seeing Royal Purple everywhere. Is a Performance product even better in a domestic vehicle?? Momma's Lexus??
Appreciate all input!
Talk to me!! Hobby or professional mechanic. Dont just say, "Yes, use synthetic." If you can explain in laymen's terms, I really want to know why your suggestions will improve _______ .
I keep seeing Royal Purple everywhere. Is a Performance product even better in a domestic vehicle?? Momma's Lexus??
Appreciate all input!
89 F-150
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 29
Likes: 0
From: Elk Grove
no do not use synthetic, synthetic is designed to break down any gunk in your oil and clean. synthetic is also thinner so you dont have to let your truck warm up that long. Synthetic is great if you have good gaskets and a fresh rebuild or a new engine but if you dont, switching will most likely start an oil leak.
5 Year Member
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 2,646
Likes: 258
From: Charlotte, NC
I am for synthetics. If your budget allows it, why not go for it? As far as causing leaks, it's basically cleaning up any sort of sludge/deposit buildup that accumulated in the truck over the years, but if it was well maintained, it probably won't have any buildup.
And besides, why put your trust into a deposit buildup (instead of properly functioning gaskets) to keep your engine sealed? The latest conventional motor oils have a good amount of detergents, so the risk of "oil causing leaks" is still there. I've never had synthetics to directly cause a leak and I've been using synthetic for nearly 20 years at this point. Maybe my luck is just that good on synthetics.
As far as viscosity, I won't get into the thinner/thicker discussion, but use whichever viscosity you like. I'm a fan of any Xw-30 or Xw-40 viscosity with the exception of 15w-40.
Currently what I'm using in my truck is 10w-30 synthetic. I normally use 5w-30 or 5w-40, but I found a smokin' deal on 10w-30 and it's definitely good for the summer in my location. If I found a good enough deal, I'd actually use 0w-30 or 0w-40 without hesitation.......and I'm sure that me mentioning the use of a 0w oil will undoubtedly make someone cringe!
Regarding Royal Purple, that is definitely a quality brand and if that's what you are curious about trying, go for it! You never know what results you'll get from it until you actually try it. I've been very curious about their 0w-40 oil, but never tried it.
As far as improvements (From my experience):
Differential/rear end (whichever you call it):
Usually helps with gas mileage and reduces engine load. It did in my case and it was a very substantial improvement in gas mileage and my engine seemingly pulled easier when driving up inclines.
Transmission fluid - Consistently smooth shifts, no more "clunks" into gear as experienced with cheap fluid.
Motor Oil - The one improvement I noticed was my engine ran cooler when changing over and I did have a pre-existing sludge buildup when I bought the truck and when I changed oil the first time, I noticed a good amount of soot in the bottom of the drain pan. Upon taking a valve cover off to inspect the pre-existing sludge condition, there was substantially less sludge and I trust that the synthetic will get it all the way clean.
Power Steering - I have not upgraded to synthetic yet, but my truck did not like cheap generic type F (it whined......literally), so I ended up using Valvoline Type F, which made a quite a difference.
Brake Fluid - I can't honestly say I saw an improvement because my rear brakes (bad wheel cylinders) were shot when I went to synthetic brake fluid. However, from what I see nowadays at the parts stores, pretty much every brake fluid is synthetic and you need to change it out anyway because brake fluid does absorb water over time and cause problems.
And besides, why put your trust into a deposit buildup (instead of properly functioning gaskets) to keep your engine sealed? The latest conventional motor oils have a good amount of detergents, so the risk of "oil causing leaks" is still there. I've never had synthetics to directly cause a leak and I've been using synthetic for nearly 20 years at this point. Maybe my luck is just that good on synthetics.
As far as viscosity, I won't get into the thinner/thicker discussion, but use whichever viscosity you like. I'm a fan of any Xw-30 or Xw-40 viscosity with the exception of 15w-40.
Currently what I'm using in my truck is 10w-30 synthetic. I normally use 5w-30 or 5w-40, but I found a smokin' deal on 10w-30 and it's definitely good for the summer in my location. If I found a good enough deal, I'd actually use 0w-30 or 0w-40 without hesitation.......and I'm sure that me mentioning the use of a 0w oil will undoubtedly make someone cringe!
Regarding Royal Purple, that is definitely a quality brand and if that's what you are curious about trying, go for it! You never know what results you'll get from it until you actually try it. I've been very curious about their 0w-40 oil, but never tried it.
As far as improvements (From my experience):
Differential/rear end (whichever you call it):
Usually helps with gas mileage and reduces engine load. It did in my case and it was a very substantial improvement in gas mileage and my engine seemingly pulled easier when driving up inclines.
Transmission fluid - Consistently smooth shifts, no more "clunks" into gear as experienced with cheap fluid.
Motor Oil - The one improvement I noticed was my engine ran cooler when changing over and I did have a pre-existing sludge buildup when I bought the truck and when I changed oil the first time, I noticed a good amount of soot in the bottom of the drain pan. Upon taking a valve cover off to inspect the pre-existing sludge condition, there was substantially less sludge and I trust that the synthetic will get it all the way clean.
Power Steering - I have not upgraded to synthetic yet, but my truck did not like cheap generic type F (it whined......literally), so I ended up using Valvoline Type F, which made a quite a difference.
Brake Fluid - I can't honestly say I saw an improvement because my rear brakes (bad wheel cylinders) were shot when I went to synthetic brake fluid. However, from what I see nowadays at the parts stores, pretty much every brake fluid is synthetic and you need to change it out anyway because brake fluid does absorb water over time and cause problems.
Last edited by qdeezie; Jul 13, 2011 at 08:13 AM.
