Hi gang,

My son recently purchased a 2001 V70 non-turbo that we think has lived on regular oil for its entire life of 89,000 miles. We have discussed switching to synthetic which is what my '04 XC70 and my wife's '99 V70 have have lived on with great results. I know the subject of switching oils on older engines has been touched on before on these boards, but I would like to see what people think and/or have experienced with what we are thinking of doing.

Our thought is to use a synthetic blend for a couple oil changes. If there are no leaks that don't go away, then we can make the switch to full synthetic oil. This would be a more gradual transition than an abrupt switch. If there are cleaning effects occurring, they may occur more gradually, and maybe reduce the potential for problems.

Has anyone tried such an approach to switching oils? If the switch results in problems (leaks, valve noise, etc.), is a return to regular oil successful. In other words, if problems result from switching to synthetic develop, are we doomed to have these problems lingering even after returning to regular oil?

I appreciate any thoughts on this before we try the experiment.
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Gary D