Comments by Jarrod K. Wright
Whoever told you that is misinformed. Synthetic oils and standard
oils are totally compatible. Switch back and forth to your heart's content; you won't
damage your engine. Semi-synthetic blends such as Valvoline DuraBlend combine organic and
synthetic oils quite well, although their effectiveness is questionable.
I have read reports that changing to synthetic oil after using
organic oil for an extended period of time (several years) may cause oil leaks around the
front and rear main seals and pan gasket. According to these reports, the chemical
properties of synthetic oils act on aged seals, shrinking them. Whether this is true, I
don't know.
Comments by Cason
My in-laws have multiple ford products with over 200,000 miles and
have never used synthetic. These are bronco II's and a ranger, all 4wd. No, it's not a
high-revving engine, but it works hard (these are only 2.9 liter v6's in a fairly heavy
vehicle).
My take on this is that synthetic might be overkill. Yes, it's
better. No, you'll probably never know the difference because organic oil is good enough
given regular changes.
The facts you state simply indicate that: 1) If you are bad about
changing oil, synthetic is a better idea, as it's proven to work longer; and, 2) If you
live in an extremely cold climate, synthetic is a better choice. Now the question is, do
the longer change interval and "safety factor" of maybe waiting another couple
of thousand miles between changes outweigh the increased cost? That's what people should
ask themselves, unless they live in Point Barrow. Not a flame, just a consideration of all
facts given.
