I was wondering about switching to syntethic oil on my 96 240sx it has 100,000 miles on it and its been running petroleum oil throughout its life and i jsut purchased it and i was wondering if it would be safe to switch to Syntethic oil.
Ive asked the ppl who changed my oil if it be safe to put syntethic in and they said it would be advised to start synthetic earlier with the car during its 20000mile mark.

 

well, you obviously cant go back to 20,000miles... i see need reason not too, imo i would have switched a long time ago

 

It's fine just don't have any leaky seals...

 

yep, I just switched to Royal Purple and I've got 135,000 on mine. Of course I went royal purple on the tranny and rear end too. I love it.

 

Thanks for the reply,

But what i meant by saying the ppl(They were ppl with an oil exchange shop... so i guess their knowledgable...) advised to use syntethic oil during its earlier life because they said if i had used synthetic oil now at my 100000mileage mark that it could possible ruin my engine... And being that i just purchased the car 3weeks ago and the owner telling me he has used regular oil up till then...
Im just trying to stay cautious because i can keep using conventional oil...i just dont want to ruin my engine...

Im not even sure why they would say such a thing like that though if it wasnt true...

Oh and how should i go to checking my hose for cracks or leaks?

Appreciate it!

 

you arent gonna 'ruin' your motor because you switched to better oil

 

people say to use it earlier because synthetic oil can fit through a smaller hole than regular oil can, if your seals arent great, running synthetic will amplify that problem. As a hint, put a piece of cardboard under the car overnight before and after the switch, if you notice more oil after the switch try to locate the source. I switched my car at 136k miles and it didn't leak before or after.

Edit: I'm not sure if anyone mentioned this, but if you switch check your oil regularly for a while to be extra safe.

 

I was reading on another forum about switching to synthetic and one of the user posted that beside checking for leaking seals, it probably be good to use Auto-Rx to clean out the engine and then use synthetic.
Do you guys thin kthis be a good way to go.
Also if a seal is leaking what measure would i have to take to repair it.

I've also been reading about Royal Purple Synthetic.. and it claim it dosnt harm any seals...

 

the synthetic wont harm seals, like I said it'll fit through a smaller hole so if they're not great they'll leak and if they already leak they'll leak worse. And to repair a leaking seal you just install a new gasket.

 

Thanks! For all the information so far.

I got one more question thus far lol.

Which is better Royal Purple or Amsoil, i ask becuase me and a pal are going to split the price on a set of these and my friend claims amsoil is really good while i think royal purple is good too...this is a real noob question...heh. Just wondering your opinion between the two.

 

once you go synthetic you can never go back.

 

I switched to synth. when my car had 99,xxx miles on it. Turns out I had a leaky seal but got that fixed. no biggie.

 

my acura legend had been running petro base until i got it at 101,000 miles, and i started using synthetic. It leaked like crazy... turns out the gasket behind the oil plug.. and the plug itself, were very very bad. THANKS OIL CHANGE GUYS... they almost ruined the pan. Luckily i had the right tap and fixed the threads...


The moral of the story is, Always change your own oil, and every time you do, replace the gasket behind the plug... its like 30 cents and saves a lot of headaches.

 

I always change my own oil, I never trust some damned minimum wage little pothead with my car.