Negative side effects of switching to synthetic?

[Jay 535i]

My engine has 225,000km on it (about 140,000mi). It's always been run on regular motor oil.

I've been told that, if I switch to synthetic now, I risk unclogging any number of engine leaks that are sealed with old sludge, creating a long-term nightmare.

Is it true?

[Interceptor]

My engine has 225,000km on it (about 140,000mi). It's always been run on regular motor oil.

I've been told that, if I switch to synthetic now, I risk unclogging any number of engine leaks that are sealed with old sludge, creating a long-term nightmare.

Is it true?
Yes, it is. It happend to me. I solved it with a ceramic oil additive.

[Jay 535i]

Yes, it is. It happend to me. I solved it with a ceramic oil additive.

Tell me more, man. :)

[Qube]

Would you care to explain this "ceramic oil additive"?

[SharkmanBMW]

yes, tell us what you know!

[uscharalph]

My engine has 225,000km on it (about 140,000mi). It's always been run on regular motor oil.

I've been told that, if I switch to synthetic now, I risk unclogging any number of engine leaks that are sealed with old sludge, creating a long-term nightmare.

Is it true?
I did the change over to Mobil 1 synthetic 2 days ago. So far no leaks, but I'm sure it takes a while. I'll keep the forum posted if this changes.

[uscharalph]

Yes, it is. It happend to me. I solved it with a ceramic oil additive.
How long did it take for your leaks to appear?

[bimmerd00d]

bought my car with 90k or so on it. put mobil1 in there, it leaked for about 15-20k, then the seals and rings were conditioned and it stopped. No leaks or any other problems when i sold the car at 218k

[Interceptor]

yes, tell us what you know! Read here: http://www.ferret.com.au/articles/48/0c035c48.asp

or go to http://www.liqui-moly.de and choose English then Products -> Catalogue -> Additives -> Oil Additives.

It restored my compression, reduced engine noise and helped with the noisy/leaking hydraulic valve lifters. The procedure should be repeated every 50k km. Oh yeah, it improved my gas mileage and performance.

"CERA TEC is a high-tech ceramic wear protection product for all motor oils. CERA TEC reduces friction and wear due to ceramic compounds that withstand extremely high chemical and thermal loads. Prevents direct metal-to-metal contact, thus increasing the engine service life. The low-friction effect reduces fuel consumption in gasoline and diesel engines. Sufficient for 5 liters of motor oil. Operational area: CERA TEC is added to motor oil and is self-mixing. CERA TEC provides extreme wear protection for all moving parts and friction surfaces in the engine."

[Interceptor]

How long did it take for your leaks to appear?
After the first 500 km it consumed around half a liter of oil :) I do have a slightly leaking valve cover gasket, but that shouldn't be the reason for that much oil consumption!

[uscharalph]

Read here: http://www.ferret.com.au/articles/48/0c035c48.asp

or go to http://www.liqui-moly.de and choose English then Products -> Catalogue -> Additives -> Oil Additives.

It restored my compression, reduced engine noise and helped with the noisy/leaking hydraulic valve lifters. The procedure should be repeated every 50k km. Oh yeah, it improved my gas mileage and performance.

"CERA TEC is a high-tech ceramic wear protection product for all motor oils. CERA TEC reduces friction and wear due to ceramic compounds that withstand extremely high chemical and thermal loads. Prevents direct metal-to-metal contact, thus increasing the engine service life. The low-friction effect reduces fuel consumption in gasoline and diesel engines. Sufficient for 5 liters of motor oil. Operational area: CERA TEC is added to motor oil and is self-mixing. CERA TEC provides extreme wear protection for all moving parts and friction surfaces in the engine."
So you're saying this stuff also stopped oil leaks?

[uscharalph]

bought my car with 90k or so on it. put mobil1 in there, it leaked for about 15-20k, then the seals and rings were conditioned and it stopped. No leaks or any other problems when i sold the car at 218k
When it leaked, how much and where did it leak?

[Blitzkrieg Bob]

Oh ****, I was think of something else.

I run Mobil 1 Euro, and I have had no leaks.

My thoughts are that if you do spring leaks, they were there before and you should just fix them as they come rather than just allow the engine choking sluge to hide them.

[Interceptor]

So you're saying this stuff also stopped oil leaks?
Yes. It apparently creates a layer of ceramic coating that stops oil from leaking past the piston rings.

[Anton CH.]

It's true it will unclog your engine. I already had oil leaks and synthetic made it worse. Not sure if its because I unclogged leaks or just because the molecules are smaller. I just learned to deal with it and slowly chasing after each oil leak: vc, oil pan gasket and soon I'll do front crank nut seal.

P.S. I'd never put that additive in my engine. If you rings aren't sealing well then you have a big problem.

[nuwde]

i switched at about 120k and now i'm at 140k and no leaks. maybe i got lucky?

[Interceptor]

P.S. I'd never put that additive in my engine. If you rings aren't sealing well then you have a big problem.
I too was a sceptic before, but additives (from reputable makers like LiquiMoly or LubroMoly in the US) evolved a lot in the past few years. A lot of science is put into it, and most of the people have pleasant experiences (myself included).

If you can solve an oil leak with an additive that costs $50 rather than with a $2500 engine overhaul, why not? We will all have to do an overhaul sometimes, but better later than sooner.

[Qube]

Searching for a place to get Ceratec in Canada... coming up dry so far...

[Bill R.]

will rebuild worn rings, if the product was based in the US i'm sure the ftc would have already had filings on it. If you go to the website there are no documented tests whatsoever, Its just like slick50, lubrilon and any other number of scams out there. I have searched for any kind of lab testing and there appears to be none. If someone like this truly had a revolutionary product they would not hesitate to back up the claims with lab testing, verifiable lab testing. All of these rebuild in a can products are just designed to separate you and your dollars. I had a number of customers in the past make the same claims about slick 50 and when you show them the statements from dupont and the ftc court cases that slick had to pay out for false claims they are always quite surprised.







I too was a sceptic before, but additives (from reputable makers like LiquiMoly or LubroMoly in the US) evolved a lot in the past few years. A lot of science is put into it, and most of the people have pleasant experiences (myself included).

If you can solve an oil leak with an additive that costs $50 rather than with a $2500 engine overhaul, why not? We will all have to do an overhaul sometimes, but better later than sooner.

[Interceptor]

will rebuild worn rings, if the product was based in the US i'm sure the ftc would have already had filings on it. If you go to the website there are no documented tests whatsoever, Its just like slick50, lubrilon and any other number of scams out there. I have searched for any kind of lab testing and there appears to be none. If someone like this truly had a revolutionary product they would not hesitate to back up the claims with lab testing, verifiable lab testing. All of these rebuild in a can products are just designed to separate you and your dollars. I had a number of customers in the past make the same claims about slick 50 and when you show them the statements from dupont and the ftc court cases that slick had to pay out for false claims they are always quite surprised.
LiquiMoly is the best additive maker in Europe and their products are praised around here. After all, they're from Germany and not US, so the possibility of scam is drastically smaller. And finally, my mechanic recommended it after he tested it on several engines (he works only with BMW & Mercedes) and said that cars passed the compression test at the dealer with flying colors.

As for the FTC, German Trade Comitee has far more rigorous testing than the US one. I have yet to see one US product that is better in quality than German one. :)

And finally, why did the oil stop leaking after adding Ceratec?

[uscharalph]

Searching for a place to get Ceratec in Canada... coming up dry so far...
So I found a place that sells it: http://www.bavauto.com/se1.asp?dept_id=318

[Bill R.]

claims as to repairing engine ring sealing or oil leak stopping, it is sold as a friction and wear reducing additive only, which means that on a new or low mileage motor it may reduce the wear that takes place over the long term. They claim TUV testing to back up their claims. Again, its not a sealing product. The most likely reason that your car stopped leaking is because the higher level of detergent in the synthetics cleaned out the gunk that was sealing up areas and then it started leaking, and after some time the seal swelling agents that are present in all modern synthetic finally swelled the seals up enough that they stopped leaking. I'm starting to think its time that i left this board.







LiquiMoly is the best additive maker in Europe and their products are praised around here. After all, they're from Germany and not US, so the possibility of scam is drastically smaller. And finally, my mechanic recommended it after he tested it on several engines (he works only with BMW & Mercedes) and said that cars passed the compression test at the dealer with flying colors.

As for the FTC, German Trade Comitee has far more rigorous testing than the US one. I have yet to see one US product that is better in quality than German one. :)

And finally, why did the oil stop leaking after adding Ceratec?

[632 Regal]

Just this thread, there was a reason I didnt chime in on this one, it wouldnt be worth the wear of my keyboard.


I'm starting to think its time that i left this board.

[Jason]

It was not a well thought out respnonse.

[632 Regal]

Jason, I really dont like how your car looks in that picture.

im so jealous...

[uscharalph]

claims as to repairing engine ring sealing or oil leak stopping, it is sold as a friction and wear reducing additive only, which means that on a new or low mileage motor it may reduce the wear that takes place over the long term. They claim TUV testing to back up their claims. Again, its not a sealing product. The most likely reason that your car stopped leaking is because the higher level of detergent in the synthetics cleaned out the gunk that was sealing up areas and then it started leaking, and after some time the seal swelling agents that are present in all modern synthetic finally swelled the seals up enough that they stopped leaking. I'm starting to think its time that i left this board.
You're not going anywhere. I hope!

[Robin-535im]

Who will tell us how to reset the SRS light?

[632 Regal]

.
Who will tell us how to reset the SRS light?

[dacoyote]

Who will tell us how to reset the SRS light?

Thats easy.....

Remove the airbag from the car... hold airbag against chest... tap the wires agianst the battery to reset.....

or... a couple smashs with the hammer works.... or... do as my friend... take a small drill.. and drill out the light.

-Charles

[dacoyote]

Please don't leave... it would be one less person in the know to save me from my diy fun...

-Charles

[SRR2]

This is nothing more than wishful thinking. I googled this stuff and found copious amounts of puffery and not a shred of objective evidence. The only reasonable conclusion is that this stuff falls into the same category as fuel line magnets and SOLID STAINLESS STEEL [sic] gizmos that go into the air intake plumbing. NONE of this crap works! But the gullible public, always willing to follow their faith instead of science (... gee, this sounds just like the creationism ..er... intelligent design argument) will continue to plunk their money down and make millionaires of scammer after scammer.

As far as your mechanic's "testing". Give us a break. There's NOTHING the least bit scientific or reproducible about this kind of "evidence". I'm pretty sure that your mechanic hasn't much of a grasp on running controlled tests that generate statistically-significant results. Basically, he's welcome to his opinion (how much does he make on a bottle, by the way?) but please don't try to pass this off as anything more than a fairy tale.

And, I have to give you credit... This really cracked me up -- "I have yet to see one US product that is better in quality than German one." Uh, sure. Guess you never wiped your butt with Charmin, eh? Heh heh.

[Jason]

I appreciate that.

[632 Regal]

the angle, contrast and background just look soo good... still jealous.

[Interceptor]

claims as to repairing engine ring sealing or oil leak stopping, it is sold as a friction and wear reducing additive only, which means that on a new or low mileage motor it may reduce the wear that takes place over the long term. They claim TUV testing to back up their claims. Again, its not a sealing product. The most likely reason that your car stopped leaking is because the higher level of detergent in the synthetics cleaned out the gunk that was sealing up areas and then it started leaking, and after some time the seal swelling agents that are present in all modern synthetic finally swelled the seals up enough that they stopped leaking. I'm starting to think its time that i left this board.
Why would you leave? I appologize if I offended you, but I don't see how? Why is everyone so touchy these days? If my posting makes other people want to leave the board, then I should leave.

On a more on-topic note - why did the leak stop IMMEDIATELY after adding (and going thru the break-in procedure of) the additive? This is not a retorical question, and I would really like to know.

[632 Regal]

coincidence most likely

[Interceptor]

coincidence most likely
Why don't you reply to the follow-up but rather to the main post? It's very hard to follow the discussion this way :)

There is a smaller REPLY button in the lower right corner of the follow-up which posts a reply to that specific follow-up.

[uscharalph]

Why don't you reply to the follow-up but rather to the main post? It's very hard to follow the discussion this way :)

There is a smaller REPLY button in the lower right corner of the follow-up which posts a reply to that specific follow-up.
Yeah I couldn't figure out what Jeff was talking about either.

[dacoyote]

Yeah I couldn't figure out what Jeff was talking about either.

I cannot figure out that I am talking about half the time...

anyone wanta come help me work on the colt? (free beer)

-Charles

[Interceptor]

Yeah I couldn't figure out what Jeff was talking about either.
Maybe that's the point :)

[632 Regal]

how do you guys view these threads? What mode do you use, im always lost...lol

[dacoyote]

how do you guys view these threads? What mode do you use, im always lost...lol

Hybrid Mode.. so I can see the threads but can read it all really fast.

-Charles

[uscharalph]

how do you guys view these threads? What mode do you use, im always lost...lol
Threaded Mode.

[Blitzkrieg Bob]

Otherwise the room starts spinning

[uscharalph]

Otherwise the room starts spinning
CHEERS!

[Jay 535i]

If I end up having to replace a lot of seals, how expensive can that get?

I switched my other car to synthetic at 150,000km. No new leaks, but oil consumption did go up (from zero to a quart a month). I don't mind though, as the synthetic oil seems to be doing it's job -- not a penny spent on that car in over a year, passing 200,000km and still driving like new.

[Blitzkrieg Bob]

if you provide the elbow grease, not not that bad.

Usally it's the pan. valve or cam & front end seal. pray the rear seal is dry.

If you take it to a shop......you'll be looking at a differant sort of grease as you bend over to pay the bill. ouch

[Interceptor]

how do you guys view these threads? What mode do you use, im always lost...lol
IMHO, Hybrid mode is the best and easiest for viewing and keeping track :)