Date: Fri, 26 Aug 2005 10:53:53 -0500
Reply-To: Stan Wilder <wilden1-1@SBCGLOBAL.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Stan Wilder <wilden1-1@SBCGLOBAL.NET>
Subject: Re: changing to synthetic oil
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
The general rule about switching from dino to synthetic is that you should
take the necessary measures to DESCALE your engine internal surfaces of
carbon, sludge and varnish deposits before switching because the Synthetics
are higher detergent and will be breaking loose, softening up and in general
removing all the goop in your crankcase.
These particles can block oil passages, stick the guts of your hydraulic
lifters, clog up your filter, remove good varnish that is sealing old flaky
gaskets and seals.
One thing to consider is that most rubber / neoprene seals like your main
seals are set from age and removing build up could cause leaks so the
philosophy is to run something like MMO as part of the roll-over process to
condition the seals, loosen the carbon, soften the varnish and them use a
quart of the commercial Engine Flush (Gunk Motor Flush, Rislone, Siloo or
other) for the recommended cycle printed on the can.
I've personally run this routine just to get any Infomercial Additives out
of cars I've recently purchased and I swear it works very good.
On one 80 Westy the oil looked fairly clean and you could still see the dip
stick marks through the oil.
After about 45 minutes of running MMO in the driveway you couldn't see the
stick through the old crankcase oil.
After adding a quart of Rislone and running it for 5 minutes the oil was so
thick the drop on the end of the dipstick would not drop off.
The oil I drained was black as tar and thicker than any oil I'd ever seen
drain from an engine. Even at full oil temp of around 230 degrees.
I ran the same process a couple of more times using Auto Zone ElCheapo 30 wt
oil in the engine with the Rislone flush and after about three sessions the
inside of the valve covers were clean, the varnish was stripped off the oil
dip stick, the varnish was stripped off the strainer plate and the oil
pickup bell appeared to be very clean to the naked eye.
I cite this as an extreme case on an 80 Westy I bought as a cripple not
running.
After about ten days of driving around town I dropped several valve seats
that had possibly been held in by carbon deposits.
But before that the engine had good oil pressure, the lifters were quiet and
the van had plenty of power.
I would think that if you've had your van for several years and changed the
oil regularly that you should get by with just one crankcase flush routine
with a quality engine flush.
If after running the flush you have solid sand or dust like particles you
can see on your dipstick you should revert back to the MMO routine followed
by the engine flush again.
Stan Wilder
Engine Ceramics
214-352-4931
www.engineceramics.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Rob" <becida@COMCAST.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Friday, August 26, 2005 9:05 AM
Subject: Re: changing to synthetic oil
> At 8/26/2005 06:08 AM, David Bohannan wrote:
>
>
> >Why are we discussing this again? But then again, here I am weighing in
ha!
>
> I brought the question up. I'm (with luck) going to buy a Vanagon
> today, either an '86 that runs with high miles or an '80 that needs a
> head repaired.
> In all the VW's I've had over the years I've used dino oil but I've
> long suspected that I could get better results from synthetic oil.
> This might be the time to check it out.
>
> I wondered about problems switching oils.
>
>
>
> Rob
> becida@comcast.net
> Western WA state with no VW right now... but I'm looking
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