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This may not be completely related, but partially related to this thread. My last oil change I switched from Pennzoil 10W30 dino oil to Royal Purple. Shortly after, I started getting a leak on my 10,000 miles SBC Factory Roller with all the best seals, i.e. Felpro one piece, etc. It appears to be leaking from the fuel pump gasket, so now I have to change that. I have a brass tipped fuel pump rod on my Comp Cams 270HR cam. I have not pulled it to check it, but when I change the gasket, I will.
Despite the advantages of synthetic oil, some which are irrelevant to how I operate the car, I am switching back to Pennzoil 10W30 dino oil. Between this thread, where there is some indication that the fuel pump rod went bad due to synthetic, and the common threads on many forums that synthetic can end up in leaks (which many will argue is bad seals, but my seals are the best, and only have 10K miles on them). The other reality is that if you change oil every 3000 miles, and run the car like I do, then I really doubt there is any long term disadvantage to sticking with dino oil.
Since I am limited to 6000 miles a year by my insurance company, running Dino Oil is a non-issue for me in my lifetime.
Last edited by Shovels and Vettes; Jul 20, 2018 at 12:30 PM.
I have said this before many times but will share once again that every car I own, new and old, every piece of power equipment I own including generator, lawn tractor, snowblower etc uses Mobil 1 0W-40 European formula synthetic oil regardless of the weight specified by the OEM manufacturer for about 20 years now. If Mobil 1 oil was a problem with its lubication ability I would be up the creek without a paddle................
.....Post #11 above.
This includes my 78 L-82 355 Roller cammed AFR aluminum head with 10.2:1 compression rebuilt/upgraded engine in 2014.
There is absolutely zero data to support that synthetics CAUSE leaks...bad gaskets cause leaks!
The main advantage of synthetics is that all the molecules in the oil are the SAME SIZE versus conventional oil (dino) where the molecules are all Different Sizes, thus the ability of the synthetic oil to provide a more consistent protection of the metal contact parts.....The chemistry is NOT very hard to understand.
If a gasket is marginal or installed incorrectly, over time dino oil will leak as well (which it does all the time with older engines) but the leak will occur FASTER with a synthetic oil since ALL THE MOLECULES ARE THE SAME SIZE (providing the superior engine protection) and can breach the gasket barrier more easily versus a conventional oil (offer inferior protection) due the variable sized molecules.
I really don't care what folks use for oil in their engines but feel compelled to respond when i see topics going off the rails....................which often leads to disinformation or suggests causes that have no basis in fact.
Last edited by jb78L-82; Jul 20, 2018 at 01:45 PM.
matching the pushrod with the cam[/i] (and which I did check on) but I would also add with the correct oil.
The "which oil is best" debate will go on til the world goes all electric.. Everyone has their reasons and preferences.. But I am glad you got it resolved.. When I built mine I went with ALL Roller ..including a roller tip pushrod .. and yes, Synthetics.. Best of luck ..enjoy
This includes my 78 L-82 355 Roller cammed AFR aluminum head with 10.2:1 compression rebuilt/upgraded engine in 2014.
There is absolutely zero data to support that synthetics CAUSE leaks...bad gaskets cause leaks!
The main advantage of synthetics is that all the molecules in the oil are the SAME SIZE versus conventional oil (dino) where the molecules are all Different Sizes, thus the ability of the synthetic oil to provide a more consistent protection of the metal contact parts.....The chemistry is NOT very hard to understand.
If a gasket is marginal or installed incorrectly, over time dino oil will leak as well (which it does all the time with older engines) but the leak will occur FASTER with a synthetic oil since ALL THE MOLECULES ARE THE SAME SIZE (providing the superior engine protection) and can breach the gasket barrier more easily versus a conventional oil (offer inferior protection) due the variable sized molecules.
I really don't care what folks use for oil in their engines but feel compelled to respond when i see topics going off the rails....................which often leads to disinformation or suggests causes that have no basis in fact.
You know I respect you so I don't want to get into a back and forth like this subject always does, but what you stated above, in bold, ends up with the same result.....a leak. I really believe in synthetics, but I also believe that many of the advantages are irrelevant, and that the only true way to compare would be two of the same exact engine, driven in exactly same way in same conditions, and I have no doubt the synthetic would last longer.....but how long is long enough? I may change the gasket on the fuel pump and continue with Royal Purple and see what happens.......but, then we have the problem the OP brought up, which I do NOT want to have.
Last edited by Shovels and Vettes; Jul 20, 2018 at 05:55 PM.
You know I respect you so I don't want to get into a back and forth like this subject always does, but what you stated above, in bold, ends up with the same result.....a leak. I really believe in synthetics, but I also believe that many of the advantages are irrelevant, and that the only true way to compare would be two of the same exact engine, driven in exactly same way in same conditions, and I have no doubt the synthetic would last longer.....but how long is long enough? I may change the gasket on the fuel pump and continue with Royal Purple and see what happens.......but, then we have the problem the OP brought up, which I do NOT want to have.
Fair enough...just my opinion about synthetics....As I have stated before, differing opinions is always a good approach for any topic....