Synthetic Conversion

[Golgade]

Hello,
Im sure this gets posted alot, but I always like to hear new information. I have been doing research and decided to switch to synthetic, Which reading it just seems silly not to run it. I have had this car for only one oil change so I am not sure if it has run synthetic before but currently it is running some sort of 15w oil from jiffy lube. Should I expect any of those leaking problems that are claimed to happen when switching to synthetic on a high mileage car. Anything I extra thing that needs to be done during an oil change when switching? And last but not least(I have asked this questions a few times), which brand do people recommend?
Dan Lafley
95 530i
with 155,000 miles

[632 Regal]

the leaking thing is from the past, a non issue today. Brands??? I used to like Mobil-1 until they took Castrol to court about not actually being synthetic and lost... now M-1 isn't synthetic. I would like to hear what is currently used cause my last bit of old M-1 is about to be used on the final oil change.

[Paul in NZ]

i just swapped at 150,000 ks....no ill effects...

[BMWDriver]

I switched at 395 000 kms. Loose much less coolant now.

[repenttokyo]

royal purple and amsoil are still synthetic.

i use castrol syntec, works well.

[M20Turbo]

And last but not least(I have asked this questions a few times), which brand do people recommend?


I have been running REDLINE OIL for about 10 years, very happy so far. Here is some information from Dave Granquist Dave@RedLineOil.com on what oil to use in the transmission......

Thank you for contacting Red Line Oil.

Do you know what label is on the transmission? From '83 to '92 BMW attached labels to their transmissions to indicate the fluid called for.
The label should be affixed to the passenger side bell housing.
BMW's with Green Label - MT-90
Red Label - D4ATF
No Label - MTL

Green or Red label Units with D4ATF or MT-90 use 17mm external hex drain and fill plugs.

No Label Units with MTL use 17mm internal hex drain and fill plugs.

In the differential I would recommend the 75W90.

Regards, Dave
Red Line Oil

[artguy]

Valvoline synthetic 20w50. No leaks. 201,500 miles.

[bubba966]

Like I said in your other post I run Amsoil 0w30 in my 540 M-Sport. Run Amsoil Euro Formula in a friends '95 525, another friends '93 M5, and another friends '95 Miata.

I prefer how the 0w30 behaves, but it's a lot more expensive than the Euro Formula.

Things to do when switching over to synth from dino? Drain the oil when the engine is still rather warm. Pull the oil filter out and wait until the majority of the oil has drained from the block. Once it starts dripping instead of being a steady stream then pour a bit (maybe 1/4-1/2 of a quart) of the new type of oil in the oil filter canister to flush out what's left of the old oil. Once that's mostly drained out of the block, pour the rest of the quart into the oil fill to flush more of the old oil out of the block.

Let is sit and drain real well. If you can let it sit overnight then all the better. But I usually try to let it drain for at least an hour. Then put the drain plug & filter back in and refill.

If you want you can double the amount of new oil poured through the block (1/2-1 quart through the filter canister, and 1-1 1/2 quarts through the block). Usually found that pouring 2 full quarts through the engine gets most all of the old oil out of the block and pouring additional quarts through it don't accomplish much.

Seeing how Amsoil and Royal Purple aren't cheap, you might not want to bother with more than 1 quart poured through the block.

And I wouldn't worry much about new leaks being caused by switching over to synth. That was mostly a problem with vehicles built before the early-mid 80's. Had to do with what the older gaskets and seals were made with. A car as new as an E34 V8 won't have a problem changing to synth from dino oil.

[leicesterboy15]

Sorry to resurrect this thread but I am about to go through this same thing, i haven't got a clue what has been used in the car so far but I am doing the service myself this time (lost faith in my local mechanics) so I am going for synthetic.

AMSOIL and the like seem to be the premium choices but thats a stretch right now and I thought I would try a cheaper alternative first to see how it goes, i can always change it again in a few months but i just don't want it to cause more wear than normal, i doubt it will but I have no experience with engine oils.

Car is a 96 540i v8 with 145k on the clock, mainly city driving but not all and temperatures around here range from -5 (worst case) to 35 (ahem...hopeful) degrees Celsius.

I thought I should be using 15w50 but it seems 0w40 or even 0w30 is the way to go. I've got these two in mind (its very hard to source a good choice of oil retailers so its fleabay i'm afraid):

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=370145617605

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=370146617867

Which grade should I be using given my circumstances and which would you chose out of the above? Or are there any others I should consider?

[shrike071]

M1 "Turbo Diesel Truck" 5w40 is still 100% synthetic and is a near-perfect oil with a fantastic additive pack. It's also the same price as the regular M1. I've been running it ever since I stuffed the S52 in between the fenderwells and doing so year-round. This oil has been tested numerous times by Blackstone via used oil analysis and it's been shown to be good well-past 10k change-intervals.

Don't worry about any special-hoops in regards to making the switch. Just do it. Your engine will thank you.

[632 Regal]

this is good news, I will look for this on the weekend. Do you have any links regarding the 100% synthetic area?


M1 "Turbo Diesel Truck" 5w40 is still 100% synthetic and is a near-perfect oil with a fantastic additive pack.

[Blitzkrieg Bob]

I still use Mobil 1 15w50.

[632 Regal]

Bob you live where Banana and Coconut trees are the norm... LMAO Here was our 3rd day above freezing in 2 months so that would be a bit thick right now.


I still use Mobil 1 15w50.

[shrike071]

this is good news, I will look for this on the weekend. Do you have any links regarding the 100% synthetic area?

http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/MotorOil/Oils/Mobil_1_Turbo_Diesel_Truck_5W-40.aspx

Notice that this is one of the only ones that Mobil will still tout as "Fully Synthetic".

Also - check out bobistheoilguy.com. There is a TON of good reading on there regarding all sorts of oil and associated tests. The information from this site is the reason I went to M1 TDT.

The Lotus and Ferrari guys adore this oil, if that tells you anything. With Amsoil being over $9/qt now, this is the way to go.

[632 Regal]

Awesome link! thanks!!!

For diesel engines, Mobil 1 Turbo Diesel Truck:


Meets CJ-4, CI-4, and CH-4
Is recommended for diesel-powered pickup trucks built by Ford, General Motors, GMC and Dodge.
Meets diesel engine requirements of Cummins, Powerstroke, Duramax and Navistar.





http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/MotorOil/Oils/Mobil_1_Turbo_Diesel_Truck_5W-40.aspx

Notice that this is one of the only ones that Mobil will still tout as "Fully Synthetic".

Also - check out bobistheoilguy.com. There is a TON of good reading on there regarding all sorts of oil and associated tests. The information from this site is the reason I went to M1 TDT.

The Lotus and Ferrari guys adore this oil, if that tells you anything. With Amsoil being over $9/qt now, this is the way to go.

[shrike071]

http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f25/mobil-1-turbo-diesel-oil-ok-62743/

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1144473

http://www.chargerforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=55812

Down towards the bottom - look for "Doug H's" post:
http://www.boxsterforum.com/forums/printthread.php?t=11572

This oil is a well-kept secret of Mobil-1 and the 'Gorilla in the corner' for Amsoil and RP.

[leicesterboy15]

found this link on the subject, has more of the basics (my level), do you ever prime your filter when changing oil? The m60 has a different housing but I guess you could prime it by pouring some directly into it or does this provide no benefit?

[leicesterboy15]

whoops, here it is:

http://www.carbibles.com/engineoil_bible.html

[leicesterboy15]

turbo diesel truck engine oil in a non-turbo petrol car? wow I wasn't expecting that!

[shrike071]

The only thing I do in regards to priming, is disconnect the fuel-pump relay and allow the engine to cycle for a while to get the oil running around. In the M5x/S6x series of engines, you can't prime the filter - it simply drains back into the block.

[Dave M]

A little OT, but is Mobil 1 5W50 still available in the US? I noticed its not ontheir website list. I can still find it here in Canada, but I'm wondering whether it will become hard to find in the future.

Dave

[Blitzkrieg Bob]

A little OT, but is Mobil 1 5W50 still available in the US? I noticed its not ontheir website list. I can still find it here in Canada, but I'm wondering whether it will become hard to find in the future.

Dave

I can only find the 15w50 in big juggs at wallyworld

[632 Regal]

Just picked the turbo diesel M1 @ 5.99 a quart, listed at 6.99 but rang up less.

[leicesterboy15]

Just got confirmation from a man that knows that the Mobil 1 0w40 turbo diesel is exactly the same as the petrol mobil 1 0w40, apparently its just a branding excercise, he said its a very good oil though.

Ordered my oil today, will whack it in and see how it goes, I opted for mobil 1 15w50 fully synthetic in the end due to 145k on the engine, I will change it in 6 months anyway (sooner if its crap) and see how it goes in the mean time, won't do any harm to run for it for a bit, its got all the acreditations. Cost me £62 including postage for 10 litres.

[BMW4LIFE]

any updates on the diesel oil used?

I am rather curious to say the least ;):D

[ArnZ!]

any updates on the diesel oil used?

I am rather curious to say the least ;):D

Diesel oil just has more cleaning agents to deal with the extra soot diesel engine commonly have. I also think the oil film has a higher shear tolerance to put up with the heavier components and higher compression. Running diesel oil wont hurt it at all.

[BMW4LIFE]

Diesel oil just has more cleaning agents to deal with the extra soot diesel engine commonly have. I also think the oil film has a higher shear tolerance to put up with the heavier components and higher compression. Running diesel oil wont hurt it at all.

hmmm...Wallyworld has the 5W-40 for the same price I pay for the 10W-40 high mileage stuff I am currently using...

is it worth the try?

[ryan roopnarine]

A little OT, but is Mobil 1 5W50 still available in the US? I noticed its not ontheir website list. I can still find it here in Canada, but I'm wondering whether it will become hard to find in the future.

Dave

mobil 1 5w50, iirc, has never been available in the states. I don't think you need to worry about canadian supplies of the stuff.

[ryan roopnarine]

The only problem with running fleet diesel oil 15w40 that I heard of in an SAE paper was that there is more zinc in the oil, which can cause premature degredation of gas catalytic converters if changed at less than 5,000 mile intervals. If you are comfortable leaving dino in for 6k, then you don't have much to worry about.