Quote:
Originally Posted by holland
Thanks for the reactions...
Question: I heard that using syntetic oil is not good for old cars. Is any of that true?
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I used to spend quite a lot of time on this forum for rear wheel drive (RWD) Volvos:
RWD - The Volvo Owner's Resource
This is an EXCELLENT information source for all the rear drive Volvos. There is a related forum for the newer front drive ones, you will find the links there.
On that discussion board, the generally held view was that synthetic lubricants (EVERYWHERE!) were superior to regular oils. The only exception would be, if you find oil leaking or being burned. So try it.
On our cars, I would always do an internal engine cleaning before switching to synthetic.
If you have Marvel Mystery Oil (MMO) available, I'd use that first. Add to engine oil per bottle instructions, then drive several hundred km or more. Just check oil level because the MMO will sometimes get past the rings and burn, or could leak. It is an excellent cleaner, has lots of phosphates. Good to use in fuel also, but that's another story.
Next step:
I used one of the very thin kerosene type solvents, made for use in the engine oil. Here, we have GUNK. You add about a liter to the oil, then idle the engine for maybe 5 minutes (whatever the can instructions say). Then drain it all, and put in fresh oil.
I always added an extra step to this solvent-type cleaning process.
After draining the solvent treatment, fill with regular new, cheap oil. Idle 5 minutes. Drain that. Now change the filter and put in the nice synthetic oil. The extra step is to rinse out any remaining solvent-based cleaner. I really don't want it staying in my engine.