Switching oil brands?

[joemomma]

I'm really wanting to switch oil brands for the '94. PO used regular old Pennzoil 10W-30, which is fine, but the only place I can find it is online through Amazon. None of the local stores carry the regular stuff, only the high mileage. Thoughts on changing brands to something else I can find locally? I'll stick with conventional oil, but is there any harm in switching to something else?

 

[badass98svt]

No harm whatsoever.

 

[lwarrior1016]

Why in the world would you stick to conventional oil?

 

[96blak54]

I found out the hard way what conventional oil does to a performance engine. Its like a boat anchor.

 

[joemomma]

Why in the world would you stick to conventional oil?

I've always heard not to switch to synthetic on high-mileage applications. It's the stock 302 with 158k on the clock.

 

[Dubsport]

No problems whatsoever changing to synthetic...

 

[cobrajeff96]

Any sludge buildup from using conventional motor oil without detergents will get knocked loose with a synthetic being that it has the detergents in it. Engine is in for a crude enema!

 

[lwarrior1016]

Any sludge buildup from using conventional motor oil without detergents will get knocked loose with a synthetic being that it has the detergents in it. Engine is in for a crude enema!

I don’t quite believe that. Have you ever torn down a sludged up engine and tried cleaning it? That stuff does not come off easy.

 

[cobrajeff96]

Depends on how far gone it is, how much buildup and for how long. It's all variable.

 

[PinkieT]

Any sludge buildup from using conventional motor oil without detergents will get knocked loose with a synthetic being that it has the detergents in it. Engine is in for a crude enema!

Almost all conventional motor oil has detergents, only exception are some lawn motor oils because some of the older air cooled motors required non-detergent oil or some really cheap crap I see at the dollar stores. Switching from Pennzoil or any brand name conventional to a synthetic shouldn't cause any problems at all. High mileage oils (both conventional and synthetic) contain special antioxidants, detergents, and additives that can help reduce engine wear and minimize the chances of sludge buildup. High mileage oil also helps prevent aging seals and gaskets from becoming brittle and causing leaks. High mileage oils are suggested for motors with 75,000 miles or more.

 

[96blak54]

I got 150,000miles on my transit mini van. I use the mobile synthetic 20,000 mile stuff. No oil usage, no oil smoke, runs like a top.

 

[badass98svt]

Do you actually go 20k between changes?

 

[96blak54]

Most times i change it at 5k.

 

[joemomma]

So is the consensus to switch to synthetic then?