syntetic oil or regular oil ?

ok, let me tell you a story. I was in Fla, Summer, 113 deg, bought a new Chevy surburban, changed all the fluids to Synthetic, oil, transfer case, axles one weekend, the truck seem to run smoother, So the next weekend i changed the auto trans fluid. the next week i noticed the engine tempature gage was bouncing up and down about 180 deg, the transmission was running so much cooler that i could see the thermostat opening and closing and the water tempature was 20 deg cooler. instead of running 205 it was now running 180. just remember heat and vibration are the truck killers.

 

Very simple question...I, like you, just bought an '05 Volvo although mine has BIG RED (Cummins ISX). Before I quit my last job I asked the mechanic there at work...synthetic or regular? His response was..."How long do you plan on keeping that truck"? Then he said if you're gonna keep it another 10 years go ahead and spend that money. Otherwise you are basically wasting your money. But it is your choice. I did my oil change and PM and had them put in Mobil Delvac.

 

With synthetic you should be able to extend your change intervals (better be able to for the price). But when you are getting started you will want to be pulling samples to make sure that is the case. Don't assume that all is fine and you can go 30k because you have synthetic.

If you are going to change every 15k you are likely going to get just as good of results with regular oil and gallon of Lucas.

 

BigBadBill, what is it about Lucas that everyone is so fond of? I mean, I've been driving for almost 17 years, (just became an O/O three weeks ago), and I've never seen any mechanic put in a gallon of Lucas with an oil change. What's it for...what's it do? That sort of thing. I could probably go to their website but they would be a little on the biased side.

 

It destroys your engine and empties your wallet. Worthless crap but good advertisers.

 

I met a guy at Jubitz running Amsoil and changes it once a year at 150-180,000 miles.
3408 cat in a 79 KW he bought new. Obviously he does filters at normal intervals.

 

Local mechanic that works on CAT heavy equipment and knows more about trucks than anyone I have ever met swears by it. Not that he needs to explain why to me. If he says it, I do it.

But he does a lot of side work rebuilding motors and a lot of his customers bring rigs by to have him sample oil to see how it is going. Most samples with Lucas can go an extra 5-10K before change.

I have had plenty of people say they are not sure if it does anything or not but never anyone saying to has done damage. Several people have said it has cut down or stopped oil consumption.

 

I know a couple people that do this as well. I warranty requires 15K changes but was thinking about using Amsoil when it is over. Not sure that I will go that long but you never know depending on the samples.

 

I know a guy that rebuilds engines and he swears that when he tears down an engine that has had Lucas ran through it on a regular basis that it looks just like a brand new engine. Also he has told me that I can go an extra 10-15,000 over between changes. When I change my oil I use 1 gallon of Lucas oil stabilizer. Will till proved otherwise.