Hello, everyone.

I've been rumaging through the archives, and decided to just ask about synthetic.

My 244 is at 99,912 and I am starting on 100K service items. An oil change and tranny service is on the agenda for next week, and I am really thinking about going to synthetic. Right now, I am losing no oil whatsoever. I like not having to continuously top it off like with my old Jetta.

So, what are the specific benefits of changing over to synthetic?

What are the potential pitfalls of the change?

Any further recommendations?

I'd like to keep on top of this car and drive it for many years. Thanks in advance, BBers.
-pu
--
((1992 244, 100K)) ((1987 245, 270K)) San Diego

I would simply do an AutoRx treatment and switch to synthetic.

--
Paul's Amsoil and other lubricants

well as with most daily driver engines its that old statement we used make about another product that was really big at the time....STP! one guy would say how great it is, another would say no diff.....and the crack we used to make was..."if it dont hurt it(the engine)put it in, if it helps it, that good!!!
i was in the air force 1965-69 and i worked as POL, petroleum, oils & lubricants. all of the jet engines took oil, govt spec was MIL 7808 SYNTHETIC OIL.
was alwasy told not get it on your skin, or accidently eat it(say you had some on your hands, and then ate a donut)was really bad stuff to humans. i belive that this auto synthetic aint far removed from that. iam no jet mechanic, but i know no internal combution engine will ever get to the temps that a jet runs, and that was the reason they used a syn oil...most petro based oils would be turned into smoke in a jet.

I switched at 143k, and replaced all front seals within 30k because of seepage. Still comes out the back one a bit.

My car had Drydene changes since new, and I used Castrol after that; it never lost any oil between changes, was right on the top line every time.

I have found that the Rotella 5-40 synth (WalMart, cheaper too) lasts better in my than Mobil 1 or Amsoil, ie I don't have to add a quart between changes (4-5k), which I used to have to do. My car now has about 230k on it.

One advantage to synth is that the flame trap doesn't get clogged. I still check it, but it doesn't need to be cleaned anymore.

I tried extending the change interval with synthetic after I had been using it for a few changes, but didn't like the way the engine sounded, so went back to regular intervals.

I think all oil wears out in 4-5k, so the real advantages are cleaner internals, better cold starting, possible longer engine life, longer seal life (if they have life left), and the flame trap.

One area that really made a difference was putting Synth ATF in the power steering; silk is a good way to describe the feeling.

And Redline MTL if you have a manual trans is worth every exhorbitant penny.

I switched to Mobil 1 at 100K. Began leaking like a seive at 110K. Replaced the rear main and switched back to dino at 125K. Both Volvo specialists here said synthetic is not necessary. My parts guy has one with almost 400K with dino. Good Luck!

I've typically bought Volvo 240's at about 100,000 miles (in one case, I bought a car at 180,000 miles), and I always then start using AmsOil 10W-40 in them (I always also change* the transmission fluid with AmsOil ATF, too). I've never had any leaks crop up. I've heard that AmsOil is a different kind of molecule than Mobil 1, and that could be why I've never had any problems (viz., they're different effect on seals), but in any case, that's been my experience.

{ * I usually had my local garage do the tranny fluid (incl. torque converter) change, but I just bought and used IPD's tranny fluid flush kit (really a hose), and it's worked great!)

re: I've heard that AmsOil is a different kind of molecule than Mobil 1 ... (Ken C)

The difference is nicely explained here:

http://www.canadiandriver.com/articles/pb/synthetic.htm

However, there's no problem with starting use of any synthetic at any point. The sooner the better, in fact.

Pancho,

I changed over to Mobil 1 10w30 when I purchased my car last fall. ('91 240 with 112,000) It started leaking eveywhere. Had to replace the seals. It has been fine ever since and does not burn a drop of oil.

What should you do? After reading the posts on this thread, if your car starts to leak oil, you know what happened.

Mak

1993 245, 112K miles on dino oil. Switched to mobile one, no problems.

I changed to synthetic about 7k miles ago, on a 100K car. No leaks before and no leaks yet. Original seals are on the car.

My son switched over to synthetic on his new purch on a 100k car, about 800 miles ago. We installed new front seals for preventive maintenance purposes. No front seal leaks yet. BTW, the rear seal was leaking before and it is still leaking about the same amount...so far. (I am not getting excited about dropping the tranny.)
--
Tom F '95 945na, lien holder on a '95 944Ti, RIP '78 244

Hi again Pancho,
I switched my '85 turbo over at 185K to Mobil 1 and the few leaks actually lessened, the '88 was switched over somewhere around 155K and no problems. These cars will live forever with dino oil, the only reason to switch a non turbo car over is the slightly extended change interval with synthetic and better cold starts for those up in the northern zones. I do notice the synth' seems to stay cleaner looking longer, it's only $24 per 6 pack at Costco and mann filters are only $3.90 up at Interauto in the Kearny Mesa area not too far from where you are, so for DIY it's worth changing.

Turbos gain a lot with synthetic's reduced coking properties so I plan on switching the 245 over as soon as I get it up to par, it's right at 190K.
Cheers
Dave Shannon
Spring Valley, California (San Diego area)
'84-245 200K+
'84-245T 190K+
'85-244Ti 200K+
'88-240 180K+
'01 Jeep Wrangler Sahara 10K
www.volvo2.homestead.com (Opens new window)

Hey, Daveshan - good to hear from you. Hope things are well.

I've been reading the exceptionally helpful posts and am thinking about it. It seems the benefits are nominal - I actually like keeping to the regular change intervals with dyno - it gets me under the car to look around.

Anyway - we'll have to see. Stay cool in this July heat.
-pu
--
((1992 244, 100K)) ((1987 245, 270K)) San Diego

Hi,

I have always viewed converting to synthetic as a very desirable mod, mostly for the superior engine protection, but I did have a bad experience doing this with my last car.

I had a Dodge Daytona with a 2.2 liter turbo engine. Engine had 75K on a rebuild, used little or no oil, had a few oil leaks here and there. Seemed like a reasonable candidate for a conversion.

Almost immediately after the oil change, I notice a dramatically increased rate of oil leakage--so much that it was making a very noticeable stain in my parking spot. I converted back to dino oil after a week or so, but the increased rate of leakage continued.

I had started with a pretty clean engine, and ended up with a real leaker.

YMMV--obviously this was a different kind of car--but I've been very skeptical about converting to synthetic oil ever since. I have a '92 240 with about 85K but I've avoided switching over based on this. You hear stories about this happening and in my case they were true.

dschwie

probably because of the aforementioned reasons. sometimes the sludge from dino seals up the leaks and syn will flush it out.
--
Kenric Tam
1990 Volvo 740 base sedan (B230F)
My Volvo 'Project'

You hear lots of different stories. The last thing you want to do with a car is create a problem that didn't exist before...

...great advise so far.

-pu
--
((1992 244, 100K)) ((1987 245, 270K)) San Diego

Well, no risk, no gain. I mean honestly, without replacing all yours seals, it's true. There's no way to guarantee that you won't leak as a result of cleaning up sludge.

I did my change at 123K miles roughly and it's been holding up solid. I think I might have a very very very tiny leak as a result.
--
Kenric Tam
1990 Volvo 740 base sedan (B230F)
My Volvo 'Project'

Here's what I would do with your car. Flush the transmission (see FAQs) and replace with synthetic ATF. Flush the brake system - throrough bleed until all old brake fluid is out. Replace with high quality DOT 4, not Dot 3, not DOT 5.

Get a Mann or equivalent oil filter, and change to Mobil-1 or equivalent pure synthetic, not a blend. Be ready to change again in 3000 to 4000 miles as the oil will pick up a lot of old varnish and stuff that the dino oil left behind.

After that change, set up to change oil every 8000 to 10000 miles, and every 4000 to 5000 miles change the filter and add a quart.

Good Luck,

Bob

:>)

"So, what are the specific benefits of changing over to synthetic?"

Sometimes possible improved fuel economy, but don't bet on it.
Better cold starting characteristics. (pumps more readily, wider range of temps)
Extended drain intervals (depending on which syn you use).
Better protection for the engine overall.

"What are the potential pitfalls of the change?"

More expensive, unless you do extended drain intervals.
Oil leaks may be revealed because of synthetics' abilities to seap into cracks that dino might not have, and also because it may clean out sludge that was sealing the leaks.

"Any further recommendations?"
There are a few methods of switching over that people do. Some use an engine flush to get rid of the old stuff completely.

What I did was just do a regular oil change, except put in synthetic. Then I did my first change w/filter after only 1500 miles. My next change I did after 3000 miles. Then my next after that 6000 miles.

And now I change my filter every 3000 miles, and the oil every 6000 miles. I am using Mobil 1 10w-30 synthetic.

The reason for the first 2 changes only being 1500 and 3000 is to get rid of any old stuff, and also because the first two changes will be dirtier because the synthetic is cleaning out your engine.
--
Kenric Tam
1990 Volvo 740 base sedan (B230F)
My Volvo 'Project'