Hi, the previous owner of my 82 TA used mobil one synthetic oil in it. My car likes to burn oil and I'm getting tired of wasting $5 a qt on oil that gets burned up in a few weeks. I heard someone say that once you run synthetic you can't go back to normal oil. Is this true? if so then what can I do to run my car on regualr oil again? A poor collage kid saying thanks

 

It's not true, just change it back, it won't harm anything, you can even mix synthetic and regular oils as long as you use the same weight oil, and I wouldn't mix brands. You might try using some of that new oil made for hi-mileage engines, I think it might condition the rubber seals in the engine and help prevent leaks.

 

Awesome. Thanks. Yea, that guy I work with that told me that is a moron I should have known better to listen to him. Are you talking about that valvoline max life stuff in the red bottle? I might have to look into that, it might get rid of the smoke that spews out of my pipes. hehe.

 

it doesn't matter as far as i know, i've mixed weights, brands, dino and synthetic and have saw no bad effects from doing so, in fact i'd say any engine, car, truck, or piece of equipment of mine has given me very good service with no failures, all with a little preventive maintance.

 

Im about to do my first oil change on my new motor and Im gonna start running synthetic oil all the time. Just preventative maintanance

 

TBI305, if your engine is brand spankin new, you might want to do 1 more oil change with crude. Crude is s'posed to be better for breakin periods... But then again...3000 miles is probably adequate already, right?

 

I waited about 2k miles or so on my motor to switch to Mobil 1.

 

How long has the Mobil 1 been used? If it was a high-mileage engine that built up a bunch of sludge and varnish over the years, you may just be cleaning that stuff out with the Mobil 1. Dirty oil gets by rings more easily than clean oil.

If the Mobil 1 has been used for a few years over several oil changes, and the engine is in overall good shape, then you may have a simple seal problem. SBC valve guide seals are well known to fail, and if the engine had petroleum in it for the first 10 years of its life, for instance, those seals could be rock hard now and letting the Mobil 1 pass without challenge. They are relatively easy to replace, and can make a dramatic difference in oil consumption.

Using synthetic is a bunch smarter than using petroleum oil from an investment protection viewpoint. Even if the Mobil 1 is being consumed at a faster rate than you would like, it is protecting the engine better than any petroleum-based lube could.

Finally, a plug: Mobil 1 is known to be consumed (and leak) more than AMSOIL. It has to do with the base stock formulation. But, I'd still recommend you address the source of the consumption and continue using Mobil 1 before you give in to the dark side and put Pennzoil in your poor car.