Is anyone using synthetic engine oil in cold weather?
I am trying to get something that will allow easy starting in very cold weather without cranking the battery down and I dont want to use any ether...of course there is no AC power
outlet for the block heater available...
Good day Woodhog:
I have been using Synthetic oil in my Peterson 8" WPF ever since the engine went through it's break in period. It does stay much thinner in the extreme cold and therefore I assume starting is improved. My mill also has what might be describered as a transfer case where the blade axis is. I use synthetic gear oil in this case as well and find it has reduced drive belt wear and frequency of tightening required. I run the stuff year round and have been very pleased.
The container speakes about lower rates of viscosity breakdown in high and low temps :P and that can't be bad.
I suggest you give it a try. The stuff is a little more money but only about $10.00 per oil change. Oh I use the conventional filter as provide by Kohler for their Command 25 engine.
This has nothing to do with starting in cold weather but I've been using synthetic oil since the mid 70's. I put around 30,000 miles a year on my truck (Chevys and Dodges). I change the oil twice a year whether they need it or not. :D. And have never worn out an engine. I always keep my trucks until they have more than 100,000. My son has my last truck and it now has 150,000 and still doesn't use a drop of oil. As you might guess, I think synthetic is great.
I was having trouble with the oil pump pushing oil around the filter when the temperature approached zero fahrenheight. I tried to tighten the filter but it still leaked when the engine was cold. Started using Shell Rotella T sysntetic and it doesn't leak, even at -20 fahrenheight. I have other problems then, but the engine starts real easy and it isn't much difference in price when I double the time between oil changes too. I'll let you know how the engine wears after I get another half million bd-ft through it. ;D
Seems like the price of Synthetic has gone up since the start of the "war". Anybody else notice this in your area???
I use Mobil-1 5W30 in my vehicles. Change it twice a year which is a little more than 4000 miles. Petro Canada has some good synthetic products too. There are 0W30 oils that have pour points of around -70F. Also 5W40 diesel oils. These work really well for cold starting.
I used mobil 1 in a toyota pickup we bought new in 91 put 251000 on it had it 12 years . recently got rid of it .breaking in a new deisel now.
I use the Pennzoil synthetic oil in my vehicles and I think its great. I feel the engine runs quieter. I think its worth the extra money.
Welllll.... my mechanic told me this about synthetic oil: We don't change your oil cuz it's wore out, we change it cuz it's dirty. You figger a way to keep your oil clean, and I'll put synthetic in your truck!
This with a grain of salt, don't most engines specify a much thinner oil in the winter than the summer anyhoo? (I'm not denying that synthetic is better in the cold, I just wonder if a guy can avoid the problem with thinner oil)
Can't add much about the cold ::) ::), but, I was told if ya change yer filter every 1000 miles, eventually you get all the burnt additives filtered out and the oil will stay clean. It's short drives and condensation that dirty the oil, along with burnt additives ???
Dirt from dirt roads makes my oil dirty - air filters get lots, but can't get it all.
Woodhog I started a thread a year ago about hooking quick couplers in your heater lines on a pickup and using heator hose with quick couplers on the end to hook in to the cold moter your starting and circulate the warm antifreeze from a pickup to a cold moter to warm it and get it started. I never did this but a couple people on this forum did.
I have been using Mobile 1 in every motor I own since I was 13! I still have the original Montgomery Ward lawn mower I baught at 13 years old to cut grass in the summer. The motor has never failed me, although I have rebuilt the carb a couple of times.
My 86 Isuzu Trooper had 330,000 miles on it when I got rid of it last fall. Mobile 1 !
My 93 Suburban has 427,000 miles on it 8) 8) 8)
MOBILE 1 8) 8) 8)
I cant wait until my WM 25 hp has about 5,000 hours on it 8) 8) 8) It also has Mobile 1 and I have had no problems with it starting in the cold!
Wifes car has 150,000 miles. You guessed it, Mobile !
Kirk,
How often do you change the Mobil 1?
My Dodge van service manual says change oil every 3000 miles, which I consider too frequently. If I went with Mobil 1 and changed it every 8000 I suppose I would void the warranty.
I'm currently running synthetic blend in our other vehicles and changing every 6-8000 but I am questioning how much synthetic is in the quart of blend. Might just be a cup or less per quart as a nice way for the oil company to boost the profit margin.
-Doug
Doug,
I have found that I change it based on color and appearance more than how many miles.
I tend to drive a lot of highway miles so I can go 15-20,000 miles before the oil looks dirty. As a retired AF jet mechanic I found through lab testing that the miles driven has little to do with the condition of the oil. For example, I normally change the oil in my truck between 10-12000 miles, again, depending on appearance. Now when I am towing a trailer or my mill it tends to dirty up quicker and I have changed it at 4000 miles before. It just depends on the load on the engine. The more you make it work, the faster the oil will break down.
My wifes car on the other hand, is all in town driving. Stop and go type of stuff and hers gets changed on average around 8000 miles.
Its kind of like reading the directions on an aspiren bottle. Two tablets for an adult? Well, thats written for a 80lb 90 year old grandmother who cant handle any more than two tabs.
At 210 lbs, two aspiren is a joke. When my son was 6 years old he was 80 lbs. One fall he had a high fever and childrens tylenal was not reducing the fever at all. I called the doctor and his first question was how much does he weigh? When I told him 80 lbs he told me to give him two adult tylenal and see what happens. Sure enough, an hour later his fever broke.
I have learned to ask "Says who, and With What Proof"!
So many directions for things in life but very few can support why they have those directions.
For example:Change the oil every 3000 miles!
I drive about 60,000 miles a year so thats 180,000 in three years. I can replace the motor in my truck with a rebuilt V8 chevy 350 for $1200. That includes unlimted mile warrenty for 3 years. (Eagle Engine Sales).
By changing my oil every 3000 miles I will have spent $1,197.00 on oil changes based on a 19.95 charge at most quick lube places for regular oil.
Synthetic would be over $2000 for the same committment. It makes little sense to follow the car manufactures recommendations when the same money could be used to buy a replacement motor.
Rest assured, the vehicle mfg have invested greatly in the oil industry!
Just my two cents worth.
Kirk
We started using Mobile 1 in the race car back in '76 or '77. The product has changed a lot since those days. I had a '79 Datsun Pickup that had about 300,000 miles when I finally sold it. It got Mobile 1 most of its life. Similar story with my '89 S-10 Pickup. I think the stuff is very worth the money. I tend to change it between 5,000 and 10,000 miles depending on the usage.
Back in the mid-90's they came out with Mobile 1 for aircraft piston engines. It didn't hold up as well as hoped. Lot's of engine problems and a few lawsuits. After a couple of years they pulled it back off the market.
I use it in water cooled engines, but not my air-cooled ones.
VA-Sawyer
I drive all my cars 200,000 miles,most have nearly 100,000 when I buy them.Don't change the oil only every 7-10 thou.Should you switch to syn.oil on these high mileage engines? My current "breeder mobile" has 204,000 and stillrunning it 150 miles a day.Those GM engines are tough! :)