Hey folks, coming up to my first oil change on this new to me 02 ram 2500. On my last truck I switched over to Amsoil at 40k, and never looked back.

Is it too late to go to a synthetic motor oil at 105k ? Thoughts ?

 

No worries switching to synthetic and back if you prefer and no special prep needs to be done. Just change your oil as you would. Any of these 'once you use synthetic you can never go back' stories are just rumors/myths/old-wive's tales in this modern world of oils and gasket materials.

 

never had any issues with going back and forth if needed.

 

Just as he said.

 

Any issues with developing oil leaks ?

 

No! If you are currently using a heavy duty engine oil such as one of the big three (but not limited to): Delo, Delvac or Rotella and follow the recommended oil change interval as per the manufacturers recommendations. If you have a leak ...you have one,however; synthetic oils do not create them.

Keep in mind the three oils that were mentioned are only examples of quality HDEO oils as there are many others that I did not mention.

 

You can start using synthetic at any time, if you already have an oil leak then it might get a bit worse,

 

I switched to Amsoil at 278K...so far no leaks

 

Sounds OK t mee... looks like I will go synthetic... I have always used Amsoil, what about Valvolene and Rotella synth ?

 

I started using synthetic about the same mileage, went to Amsoil a little later. Truck has leaked oil since the day I got it(70k) and I suppose it will continue to leak oil. It don't leak that much to really be a burden with cost or really noticed.

 

I ran Mobil Delvac 15W40 for almost 260k in my 2001 24v. I decided to try Rotella synthetic 5W40 due to the cold weather. That was over 200k ago and the synthetic helped quiet down the motor some. Actually I noticed the oil leaks on my truck slow up after I switched to the synthetic 5W40 from the 15W40 dino oil. I go 7500 miles on the Shell Rotella 5W40 synthetic and a Fleet Guard Stratapore filter and nothing but good reports from the oil lab with a engine with close to 500,000 miles on it..

 

I tried amsoil for a while, but was too expensive, so went to rotella 5-40 synthetic, works just fine, $20 bucks a gallon at walmart, I change every 8k miles, I also use a donaldson oil filter, $10 bucks from cummin`s truck shop.

 

I guess it depends on how often you change your oil. I run the Amsoil and change my oil in the truck twice a year. Costs' me about $250 per year. Amsoil EA80 High efficiency filter and 4 gallons of oil times two.

 

I've put Amsoil in every vehicle I've owned since 1979, and I don't buy many new cars. My Jeep had 135k hard miles when I switched.
All you have to watch is the oil filter. Amsoil has a much more robust additive package and will clean out the engine, that means the gunk will start to fill up the filter. If I were you I would invest in 2 or 3 filters and a couple of quarts of extra oil to top off after the filter change. Change out the filter after the first couple of hundred miles, then about a thousand then after a couple of thousand more. After that you can go back to the once a year.
It might be a little overkill but once the filter plugs enough the bypass will open letting all the crunchy gummy crap go straight to the bearings. There isn't an idiot light to tell you when the bypass is open so its a guess.

 

I am also about to install an Amsoil bypass kit, I am just fabbing up a bracket for the mount. My mechanic advised against going to synthetic now due mostly to the potential for oil leaks. Still not sure what to do. I am also an Amsoil fan...