Oil Issues

[f_399]

Scenario:
1997 3100 using Amsoil/Royal Purle Synthetic 10w30 using K&N filter since 50,000 Miles

Currently: 146,000 miles

Issue:
The car has been pretty reliable but now it has a minor oil leak(oil seems clean an no signs of coolant mixture)

I want to move backk to regular oil and maybe a thicker grade to compensate for the leak

What brand and oil grade would you recommend?

Also being an old car I dont know if I want to continue on investing in expensive oil

I will still keep using K&N filter no matter what oil I use.

[boomerman]

Going to a thicker oil is not going to solve the leak.
When I was a mechanic at a Toyota dealership I would have people ask me this all the time.
The fact is a gasket or seal is leaking somewhere, once they start leaking there is no quick fix other than changing the gasket or seal.
That little leak is going to become a BIG leak over time.
Do yourself a favor and get it fixed correctly it will be cheaper in the long run!

[brick]

What he said /\\. If you like your car and want it to last then you really should fix the problem. Leaking fluids are only a symptom! Unless it's something like the rear main seal it probably won't cost you too much. Just take it in and get an estimate so you can drive without worry.

[holein1]

Scenario:
1997 3100 using Amsoil/Royal Purle Synthetic 10w30 using K&N filter since 50,000 Miles

Currently: 146,000 miles

Issue:
The car has been pretty reliable but now it has a minor oil leak(oil seems clean an no signs of coolant mixture)

I want to move backk to regular oil and maybe a thicker grade to compensate for the leak

What brand and oil grade would you recommend?

Also being an old car I dont know if I want to continue on investing in expensive oil

I will still keep using K&N filter no matter what oil I use.

K&n's (made by champion labs) are decent filter's that have a good flow rate but are slightly lacking in the filtration dept. There are many other filters out there that are half the price that do an all around better job.

I would highly recommend the auto-rx for your leak it's not some snake oil like you see on tv the stuff actually works! If you switch from full syn. to a regular dino the leak will more than likely get smaller or stop all together. One of the bad things about syn. oils especically amsoil is that it has powerful cleaning additives/detergents that will clean any sluge/build up created by reg. dino oil and there for expose any leaks.

One thing that a lot of people notice when switching from a full/true syn. oil to a quality dino oil is that the engine seems to run quiter & smoother, I know my car did!

[holein1]

What engine does your car have and how often do you change your oil? I see you live in Texas where it gets very hot, do you do a lot of stop and go driving?

[METEORIC]

I have been using Valvoline Maxlife 10W-30 in my truck for along time and it has 175K miles on it and it still does not leak. I have recommended this oil to my father and he started putting the the same oil in his van that has 80K miles on it. It used to leak a couple drips a day on the ground he said that it does not leak at all anymore after he changed it a couple times.

[Arashi666]

I would highly recommend the auto-rx for your leak it's not some snake oil like you see on tv the stuff actually works! If you switch from full syn. to a regular dino the leak will more than likely get smaller or stop all together. One of the bad things about syn. oils especically amsoil is that it has powerful cleaning additives/detergents that will clean any sluge/build up created by reg. dino oil and there for expose any leaks.

One thing that a lot of people notice when switching from a full/true syn. oil to a quality dino oil is that the engine seems to run quiter & smoother, I know my car did!

I dunno about all that stuff but I do realize my engine running alot smoother after switching to synthetic on my last oil change (Castrol Syntec)

[holein1]

I would highly recommend the auto-rx for your leak it's not some snake oil like you see on tv the stuff actually works! If you switch from full syn. to a regular dino the leak will more than likely get smaller or stop all together. One of the bad things about syn. oils especically amsoil is that it has powerful cleaning additives/detergents that will clean any sluge/build up created by reg. dino oil and there for expose any leaks.

One thing that a lot of people notice when switching from a full/true syn. oil to a quality dino oil is that the engine seems to run quiter & smoother, I know my car did!

I dunno about all that stuff but I do realize my engine running alot smoother after switching to synthetic on my last oil change (Castrol Syntec)

You are more than likely using American (castrol syntec ) which isn't a true syn. oil! It's just a hydrocracked group III dino oil. The courts allowed castrol to label their oil as a true syn. oil even though it isn't!

[SmaartAasSaabr]

Yeah Mobil was uber pissed about that!

I really like AC/Delco filters, they are relatively inexpensive and have very good filtering capability (particularly for the price).

[holein1]

Yeah Mobil was uber pissed about that!

I really like AC/Delco filters, they are relatively inexpensive and have very good filtering capability (particularly for the price).

I agree!