Synthetic oils ??? Reccomended???

[Manitoba Delica]

Hey folks, I am about to do an oil change, heading into a clod MAnitoba Winter.... I've been thinking about switching to synthetic oil for a while, as Starting is already getting hard. I'm plugging in at -3 C which seems pathetic. I have some 5W 30 synthetic blend . If anyone has any objections to using this, let me know..... thanks folks.....

MAtthew

[Strada 92]

Hi,
I've a Mitsubishi Strada(same engine as Delica)and i live in Québec.During winter,i use only 10w-30 synthetic oil and my truck always start well,with or without block-heater.I think 5w-30 is not
enough for a good lub,not thick enough.For cold start ok but when the engine will be warm,the
5w-30 will not be good.
Here,a mechanic working for a mitsubishi fuso dealer said to me that in winter,they put 10w-30,synthetic or not.In summer they put 15w-40 not synthetic.So 10w-30 synthetic should be the best for your engine.

[Green1]

I'm plugging in at -3 C which seems pathetic

it is, and oil won't be your saving grace... I recommend checking your glow plugs are working properly...

[brewskie]

I was going to post a similar question. Synthetic or not and going with a different weight for the fast approaching Manitoba winter.

My van is starting just fine so far without plugging in so far for what its worth.

Cheers

Rob

[JMK]

In theory I'd like to use a synthetic, in practice I go with whatever I can get in Costco, which at the moment for Diesel is only the 15W-40 if I recall correctly? The price difference between COSTCO and places like Action parts or NAPA is pretty significant for motor oil at the moment.

Be interesting to see what kinds of prices (and the best sources) people have been finding synthetic for?

[Manitoba Delica]

Well, at my local co-op I got sythetic 5W-30 (DMO SL) for $23 for 5 L. I'm going to experiment with it, if no one has any serious objections.... I should check my glow plugs, because even plugged in at -5, I'm having hesitations starting... I keep going back to a fuel system pressure leak, or something like that... Could someone remind me about the glow plug test, and replacement part #'s.... I may just do it for the heck of it..... thanks all

[MardyDelica]

Hi, if you are going to 5w30 or 10w30 that gasoline engine used, you will soon destroy the bearing of your engine,
as per the mechanic in mitsubishi fuso diesel in your area in Quebec, i dont think its a wise idea, as that mechanic i guess dont realized that synthetic was made only on year 1997, so all our engine is not design for that synthetic.
later you will end up of the loose bearing as its so thin the layer of synthetic. it will just flush away between the piston ring & piston thne thru the exhaust, sure its good but soon later you would notice your out of oil.
as the mechanic or what mitsubishi fuso dealer tell you about using synthetic.
yes they can do it to there fuso truck, as the fuso truck now has different engine & bearing made for synthetic engine.they dont have old style engine meanign all new component for newly design engine.
& when you used synthetic & come back to regular oil your engine will be gone soon as you cannot used regular oil from a sysntheic oil that you used in your engine.
basically its better
to used regular oil for diesel like 10w40 for deisel or 0w40 for diesel as you can get this type of oil in you chevron commercial station area who do sell this oil. need to put a frost plug block heater its the best way to used to your engine when winter arrived. as per oil , try the oil pan heater to make the oil thiner for winter condition. this is just my thought,
hope this help.
Cheers;
Mardy

[JMK]

I'm assuming we all understand that we are talking about Diesel Oil and not that for gas engines, but it's worth clarifying I guess. This topic is always sure to spark a heated debate as can be seen on lots of other forums. There seem to be a lot of myths surrounding the topic. Not being able to switch back to organic oil seems to be the biggest urban myth that makes the rounds.

I presently use Dino diesel but I have been told by a number of mechanics that synthetic is most indicated if you have a turbo charger. Anyway, here are a few comments I came across that may be of interest for those, like myself, that are sitting on the fence:

From Mobil's site, click for more info:

Myth: Mobil 1 can't be used in diesel engines.
Reality: Yes it can.

For heavy duty truck engines that require API CJ-4, CI-4 Plus, CI-4, CH-4 or CG-4, there's Mobil 1Turbo Diesel Truck 5W-40*.

For certain passenger car and light duty truck diesel engines, Mobil 1 is appropriate for vehicles calling for engine oils that meet specific car builder approvals or ACEA-quality oils as indicated below:

Myth: Mobil 1 will leak out of the seals of older cars.
Reality:
Mobil 1 does not cause leaks. In fact, new Mobil 1 was tested in dozens of industry standard and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) tests to prove its seal performance. It is fully compatible with the elastomeric materials from which all automotive seals and gaskets are made. If an older engine is in good condition and does not have oil leaks, Mobil 1 provides the same advantages as when used in a new engine. ExxonMobil recommends taking measures to repair the leaks, then using Mobil 1. ExxonMobil also recommends following the automobile manufacturer's manual for the proper oil to use.

Regarding turbochargers, this is from the Machinery Lubrication website:

The best technique for dealing with turbocharger problems is to prevent them from occurring.
Use the proper synthetic oil recommended by the manufacturer.

This is from a site that apparently is run by an automotive engineer that is a lubrication specialist, again use the link and click here to read the full details:

Synthetic Oil Proven to Prevent Turbocharger Bearing Seizure
One of the many specific areas on a turbocharged engine that can clearly benefit from the use of synthetic motor oil is the turbocharger. In a typical automotive or diesel engine turbocharger there are two floating bearings lubricated by engine oil tapped from the main oiling system. The job of the oil is to lubricate and cool the turbocharger bearings. These are special bearings usually with internal axial grooves that rotate at extremely high RPM’s. Typical turbocharger RPM is between 10,000-15,000 RPM at low engine speed up to around 60,000-100,000 RPM at full engine speed.

So, unless there is some compelling industry literature to make me change my mind, I'll probably switch to synthetic as soon as I can find it for a good price, the literature regarding the Turbochargers seems to tip the scales in favour of the synthetic.

[oceaneer77]

Synthetic diesel oil is available and is reccomended for diesel engines.
But make sure that you are using DIESEL oil as all oils that are made for diesels have to have lots of detergents to remove the soots and carbon present in a diesel engine.

At work we use synthetic oil on our large and small diesel engines and have no problems. on some engines we can stretch our maintenance interval.


Dylan

[Manitoba Delica]

The oil I bought is DMO SL (diesel motor oil) and it says its a synthetic blend..... whatever that means. Its 5W 30.. The way synthetic was explained to me is that it is thin at cold temps, and remains that thin as it heats up. 5 W 30 should remain 5W 30 at whatever temp.....

[konadog]

Those numbers represent viscosity at a range in temps. In the old days you would get say 30 weight oil which was just w30 viscosity, hot or cold. Multi-viscosity oils, like 10w-30 or 15-40 work better at keeping the proper viscoity at different temps., synthetic or mineral

[JMK]

What would be best for ALberta winters, go with the 5W-30 or is that too thin?

[Green1]

What would be best for ALberta winters, go with the 5W-30 or is that too thin?

5w30 got me through last winter, some people if they are having trouble starting will even go with a 0w40 or some such...

[Fishtank]

Just a brief comment on oil numbers. like Konadog said, the numbers that you see for oil weights (15w-40, 10w-30, 0w-50 etc...) represent the viscosity or thickness of oil at various temps. The lower the number the thinner the oil and the higher the number the thicker the oil. With straight weight oil (30w or 10w) the viscosity doesn't change.

An easy way of thinking of it is to picture oil as a bunch of tiny ball bearings, take 15w-40 as an example. In the cold, the bearings are small and easy to roll over each other, this is 15w oil, and as it heats up the balls expand making it harder to move over one another and your oil now has the viscosity of 40w oil.

This is why you will see synthetic oils with a greater range of viscosity over dino-oils. So if you think that a synthetic 0w-50 oil is too thin for summer and dino 15w-40 is better, think again, the synthetic will actually be thicker at higher temps and thinner at lower temps.

JMK, depending on where you are in Alberta, 5w-30 may be too thick.

This is a simplified explanation, there is alot more technical details and I don't claim to know it all, but for us laymen out there this is an easy way to think about oil when we make decisions. If anyone wants to expand or correct my explanation, feel free.

[Green1]

If anyone wants to expand or correct my explanation, feel free.

The only thing I would clarify in regards to temperature ratings is that effectively the first number is the viscosity of the oil in the vehicle after it's been sitting overnight (summer or winter doesn't make a huge difference) and the second number is the number once the engine is up to temperature.

I gather for these vehicles a 30 oil is on the light side for the running viscosity, 40 is probably better, the initial viscosity though (first number) depends a lot on outside temperature, and while a thicker oil may be better for the engine if it's really cold out you need to make the engine as easy to start as possible, so the lower the number the better, if you run a 10 or 15 weight oil during the summer, you may find that as things dip to -40 that you just can't get the engine started and you may want a 5 or even a 0 weight oil.

So this basically means that you may want a 15w40 in the summer, and a 0w40 in the winter (as an example)