JJ

I bought my formula w/ 80k last June and have 88k on it now. I've never had any leaks at all so I figured it would be safe to try synthetic now. Well, you know what happened, something must have got cleaned out and I have a leak. What now, go back to my old castrol or is it to late, maybe the conventional oil will plug the leak again ? This really stinks, I'll try to find out where it is coming from in the next few day . . .

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87 IROC, 350/5 speed. gmpp 350, vortec heads w/some work, XE268, 1.5rr's, 650dp, rpm intake, MSD ing., ect.
89 formula, L98.

Vader

JJ,

At least you know that the synthetic is cleaning the sludge away. It might be fairly easy to find and repair the leak. It may take some time to build enough sludge to "seal" the leak again, and that really isn't the best way to solve the problem.

At what area/part of the engine did the leak appear?

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Later,
Vader
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"No matter how hard you try you can't stop us now..."
Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0

JJ

I just noticed it on the driveway about an hour ago after I moved the car so my wife could get out of the garage in the morning, hopefully I'll find out on tomorrow where it is coming from.

mcconahay37

iTrader: (3)

Don't go back to conventional oil. I'm not sure on the reasons for this, but I know once you put synthetic oil in your engine you can't ever go back to conventional oil. I think since the make-up is different, it causes the engine to wear less and differently. I know that you are supposed to break new engines in with conventional oil and then switch to synthetic, because the synthetic doesn't allow the rings to seat properly. If I'm wrong and someone else knows the answer, I would like to hear it.

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82 Camaro:
350, Erson cam, ported heads, Crane Hi-6 ignition, Accel supercoil, Comp Cams 1.6:1 rocker arms, Turbo 350 tranny with 2500 stall.

theformula

I developed a leak from my rear main seal once I switched to Castrol part-synth. I also noticed a decrease in oil pressure....?

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91 Formula
305 TPI 5speed
1LE/G92/WS6

Paxton SN93, SLP airfoil, ported/polished plenum, March pulleys, Crane AFPR(43psi),Crane Gold 1.6rrs,MSD coil,MSD6AL, Holley 9mm wires, fastchip, Bosch O2sensor, Bosch in-line pump(w/stock pump), SLP headers & catback,short shifter,3:73s w/Auburn posi,170* t-stat,JET 195* fan switch, Macewen white face gauges, Autometer gauges, Zoom hi-performance clutch.

Justin 87 GTA

iTrader: (3)

me too, tons of leaks now that I switched. it sucks. I loose a quart just going a couple hundred miles, and i have no blowby. the motor is tight.

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SUPERCHARGED 87 GTA: Blk/Gld w/Superam, 355cid Trickflows, forged pistons 9.5:1. Auto 2,600 stall, 3.45 9 bolt disc, Best time & mph (Naturally Aspirated): 13.567 @ 101.900 w/ a poor 60ft. Best mph: 104.3 *This car is 100% NYS emissions legal, w/ all emissions controls!* "If you want to have a fast car, hang out w/ those who do!"
http:// www.community.webtv.net/munks87/JustinsGTApage.com
VORTECH S-TRIM, INSTALLATION IN PROGRESS: 10 & 15 LB> PULLEYS, CUSTOM HKS RACE BYPASS, CUSTOM DUCTING W/ COLD AIR, SWAPPING TO SERPENTINE, & MANY EXTRAS! BEST TIME: 11'S I GUESS. WE'LL SEE IN SPRING!

chris1roc

I've heard many times that if you have over 60 or 70 thousand miles that you ar enot suposed to go sinthetic because like you guys have discovered you will get leaks.

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88 iroc
305 tpi
k&n, flowmaster, ADS chip
home made ram air
removed smog pump
ASCD big block hood

JJ

oh well, if it is from the rear main seal, here is what will follow. I'll park the car in the driveway so when my wife play basketball with the kids she will see the oil drip. she will ask about it and I'll tell her it's from the formula and it needs the rear main seal, tranny dropped, ect. I'll then add the TC are prone to problems due to the leak and that I need a new one, of course, as far as she knows the vigilante is the only TC out there . . . you get the idea

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87 IROC, 350/5 speed. gmpp 350, vortec heads w/some work, XE268, 1.5rr's, 650dp, rpm intake, MSD ing., ect.
89 formula, L98.

mcconahay37

iTrader: (3)

That's the way to think JJ. LOL!

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82 Camaro:
350, Erson cam, ported heads, Crane Hi-6 ignition, Accel supercoil, Comp Cams 1.6:1 rocker arms, Turbo 350 tranny with 2500 stall.

JETHROIROC

JJ - You can put any oil back in there you want, hell, mix the conventional with synthetic if you want to. There are a lot of myths out there concerning synthetic products, but I can assure you they are compatible with conventional oil and they are far superior to it. I remember when I switched to Mobil 1 and the car blew smoke every morning due to valve stem seal leakage. I'll be damned if I won't run Mobil 1, so I put new seals in it and I've had no problems since. Take Vader's advice, find the leak and fix it so you can run the good stuff. I think you're on the right track with the wife, that tomfoolery works on mine too !

The ODB

Yep you can use any oil you want to use.

Synthetic oil will dissolve silicone gasket sealer, so if your gaskets were weak to begin with then you will likely get leaks. Just fix the leaks.

Good new is that when you get globs of silicone RTV into your arm-hairs, you can use synthetic oil to get it out quickly.

good luck
ODB

83CAMAROMAN

definetly go with any oil you want you do not have to use synthetic just becasue you did once or even if you used it for 100k miles. it aint gonna hurt

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1983 CHEVROLET CAMARO with a 1986
305 C.I.D.V8 BORED .030 OVER
HIGH VOLUME OIL PUMP
FLAT-TOP PISTONS
MILD CAM
3" CAT BACK EXHAUST W/ FLOWMASTER MUFFFLER
KEYSTONE CLASSIC WHEELS.
B&M RATCHET SHIFTER
STAGE THREE SHIFT KIT
(she'll spin em into third)

MUSTANGS SUCK

Eggplant Jeff

I had about 135,000 miles on mine when I switched to synthetic. No problems :-). Maybe I'm just lucky.

gruveb

My car "marks its spot", but more because it sat for nearly 10 years and the seals rotted. I'm changing all of the seals to "fix the leaks". And while I'm there, might as well install a new cam, headers, intake and so on.........

Leaking valve guide seals are the perfect excuse to upgrade your heads.......

JoelOl75

Your kidding right?!?!?

Synthetics dissolve silicone gaskets!?!

Never heard that one.

82camaro

When I rebuild the rear-end in my 82 4.5 years ago I used silicone sealer and no gasket on the rear diff. cover. Then installed synthetic gear lube. Absolutely no leaks yet.

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82 camaro--original steering wheel, brake/gas pedals, seats--everything else modified
82camaro

JETHROIROC

Ditto for me and the rear in my truck 2.5 years ago.

Stuart Moss

Synthetics do not dissolve silicone gaskets.

Any reasonable person would know that if such an absurdity were true, that it would be well well advertised (by both the synthetic oil and silicone manufacturers).

Actually, I'd like to have something that would dissolve it so I could easily remove it upon disassembly. I'd make a lot of money marketing it...

RB83L69

Stuart: lacquer thinner.

I have never heard anything about synthetic oil dissolving silicone. If it's true, please don't tell my motor; I run Mobil1 and silicone-only intake ends. So far no problems, but it's only been like that for a total of 50 or 60k miles, so who knows what can happen on down the road.

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"So many Mustangs, so little time..."
ICON Motorsports

JoelOl75

I was being sarcastic....

I know synthetics are nothing more than a "regular" motor oil except all their molecular structures are synthetically made to be all the same size. Regular oils have many different sized particles, the thinner ones burn off in the cumbustion process and the heavyer ones form sludge. There is nothing "spectacular" or "spooky" about them.