All you 5.7L Hemi Owners, Synthetic Oil? - Page 2

PSU Turf · 03-29-2016, 08:31 PM

I ran Mobil 1 in my 2003 Chevy 2500HD with 8.1 L engine. It got me about 1/2 mpg more which paid for the added expense of the synthetic oil. When I have used up the 4 free dealer oil changes for my 2015 Duramax I will use synthetic in it.

stevensmith2859 · 03-30-2016, 06:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jonol

My my Yukon 1997 always make like piston claking when it is cold since day one .
Would the problem fix. if I was using syntetic oil?
I have now 160 k

I had an 04 Avalanche with the 5.3L as well. Its a common problem.

aceinspp · 03-30-2016, 07:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PSU Turf

I ran Mobil 1 in my 2003 Chevy 2500HD with 8.1 L engine. It got me about 1/2 mpg more which paid for the added expense of the synthetic oil. When I have used up the 4 free dealer oil changes for my 2015 Duramax I will use synthetic in it.

For your info the dealer uses Syn oil now under the name Dexos for all new vehicles. Later RJD

PenJoe · 03-30-2016, 08:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jonol

My my Yukon 1997 always make like piston claking when it is cold since day one .
Would the problem fix. if I was using syntetic oil?
I have now 160 k

The "piston clacking" you refer to is probably hydraulic valve lifters that have drained off. The petrolium oil viscosity is a little heavy on a cold weather start. Once the lifters fill up, the clacking goes away. If you take a broom stick or any other rod that will touch the valve covers and to your ear, you will be able to hear the lifters clatter. By moving the rod across the valve covers, you will hear which ones are making the noise. Simple old school technique that works.

Not sure if synthetic oil would eliminate the noise, but it may go away sooner. It's not too late to start using synthetic oil, but buy a good grade such as Mobile 1. Your Yukon will love you for it.

SusanML4650 · 03-30-2016, 08:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevensmith2859

Has anyone with the 5.7L Hemi made the switch to Full synthetic? Did you notice any improvements in temperature? Is synthetic really worth the extra money? Mine is a 2013 with 30,500 on the clock. How about any of you other V8 gasser owners?

2013 Ram 2500 5.7 Hemi- Yes. As stated runs better and cooler, also have a Air filter with with oil base for better mileage.

stevensmith2859 · 03-30-2016, 09:00 AM

How about a cold air intake? Worth the money?

Wolverine 1945 · 03-30-2016, 09:34 AM

I use Mobil One in everything,,, Car - Truck & Motor Home & Lawn Tractors,,,
@ Sam's normal price it is just over $6 a Qt,,,
not sure I would consider that a high price ???

The_Rhino · 03-30-2016, 09:55 AM

For the last 20 years I have only used Mobil 1 Full Synthetic in all of our vehicles & I do the oil changes myself to make certain it's done right... We have mostly owned Hondas which we kept past 150K miles before giving them to relatives who took them all past 200K miles....

However, in 2013 I took a BIG risk buying a 2 year-old feet-owned 2011 Ram 2500 CC w/5.7 Hemi & 85K miles. It was only $14K & had the balance of Ram's 100K mile powertrain warranty. Immediately after purchase I took it to a dealer & paid big bucks to have them change the oil, tranny fluid, differential lube, etc. The intent was to keep the warranty in-force. After about 3K on the dealer oil, I switched to Mobil 1.

At 96K miles the 5.7 Hemi dropped a valve, locked-up, and self-disintegrated as my truck lurched to a stop ( not towing)... Oil level was fine, temperature was fine, and I had no warning... I thought I would be out $5000 for a new engine but Ram replaced my Hemi under the 100K powertrain warranty! (Because of this I will likely choose another Ram when it's time to upgrade...)

I am totally babying the new engine. After a brief break-in period to seat the valves, I changed the oil & then changed it again at 1000 miles to Mobil 1. The new engine gets about 1 mpg less than the old engine which is typical for new vs. used... I never wrote-down the actual temps on either oil type for either engine except that they have always operated within the normal operating specs.

I now have a 5 year-old truck with new engine and no rust. I will continue to use Mobil 1 & hope to pass the truck along to one of my kids when I upgrade....

oldtool2 · 03-30-2016, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevensmith2859

Has anyone with the 5.7L Hemi made the switch to Full synthetic? Did you notice any improvements in temperature? Is synthetic really worth the extra money? Mine is a 2013 with 30,500 on the clock. How about any of you other V8 gasser owners?

My son-in-law who is a mechanic does my work. He said sense I am towing synthetic oil is the only way to go. My 5.7L Hemi is an 07 with 68,000 on it and it runs great.

Jim

Too Tall · 03-30-2016, 10:52 AM

Synthetic can help in extreme heat and extreme cold. It holds it's vis better but will get dirty just like Dino oil so unless you have a bypass filter system, don't go past the manufacturer recommendations.

mnoland30 · 03-31-2016, 07:26 AM

Synthetic doesn't break down like regular oil. They've done tests with big rigs and run 1,000,000 miles without an oil change. They changed the filters often. I change my oil once a year whether it needs it or not. I've been doing it for years on all my vehicles and never have had an engine problem.

Wolverine 1945 · 03-31-2016, 07:43 AM

Syn Oil last for ever ???
I would not bet my engine on that !!!

PenJoe · 03-31-2016, 08:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevensmith2859

How about a cold air intake? Worth the money?

We had a cold air intake on our 2002 Ram 4x4. The previous owners put it on the truck and the kits are not cheap. It was annoyingly noisy to us and really had no benefits. We were getting 8-9 MPG running empty with the cold air intake. The advertising states a 3-4 MPG increase in MPG.

It looks pretty under the hood. If you want to pay the bucks for a throaty sounding engine, go for it. If you want a quiet enjoyable ride, definitely not worth it. Especially so, if you are working the engine on and RV or TV. We saw no improvement in HP, MPG increase, or performance. Others may argue the point. Having been there and done that, I will never be convince otherwise.

rsdata · 03-31-2016, 08:29 AM

Quote:

Syn Oil last for ever ???
I would not bet my engine on that !!!

For testing purposes by the oil companies and others, there have been extensive tests at very extended oil change intervals. I know of a company that sells an oil decontamination machine to outfits like bus companies, and garbage collection companies, that eliminates the need to actually change engine oil. It filters the oil in-engine overnight, like your liver filters your blood, then returns the engine into service.

Not using synthetic oil and not extending oil change intervals is a waste of resources and money.

1 year or 10,000 miles has been my change interval for at least the last 10 years using full synthetic...

I run it in my farm tractor, lawn mower, and every engine I own.
I am coming up on 1 year and 10,000 on my current tow vehicle, a 5.2l Dodge engine with 198K miles on it and it does not burn or leak as much as 1/2 quart every 3,000 miles. Been on synthetic oil since 2001.

stevensmith2859 · 03-31-2016, 11:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PenJoe

We had a cold air intake on our 2002 Ram 4x4. The previous owners put it on the truck and the kits are not cheap. It was annoyingly noisy to us and really had no benefits. We were getting 8-9 MPG running empty with the cold air intake. The advertising states a 3-4 MPG increase in MPG.

It looks pretty under the hood. If you want to pay the bucks for a throaty sounding engine, go for it. If you want a quiet enjoyable ride, definitely not worth it. Especially so, if you are working the engine on and RV or TV. We saw no improvement in HP, MPG increase, or performance. Others may argue the point. Having been there and done that, I will never be convince otherwise.

I am thinking that I am just gonna put a K & N in the air box and call it good. Its a lot of money to spend on a few possible HP.

PenJoe · 03-31-2016, 01:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevensmith2859

I am thinking that I am just gonna put a K & N in the air box and call it good. Its a lot of money to spend on a few possible HP.

K&N is what we had.

Wolverine 1945 · 04-01-2016, 07:24 AM

I have heard that K & N is bad deal,,, IF they are not cleaned properly !!!

mnoland30 · 04-01-2016, 07:37 AM

I purchased a K&N filter for my Jeep diesel. When I read the directions, it said it wasn't good for dusty conditions. I live in Albuquerque, and it is dusty from March to June in a good year. Just drove through a dust storm on the way back from Lake Powell. The K&N is still sitting on the shelf in the garage.

stevensmith2859 · 04-01-2016, 07:46 AM

Fortunately, back east, we dont have very much dust

HappyGuy · 04-01-2016, 07:58 AM

We have run synthetic in multiple engines and vehicles over the last 20 years. Royal Purple, Amsoil, and Mobil 1. Ran an F150 with a 5.0L to 300K until we swapped in a stroker motor. On tear down it didn't have a groove at the top of the cylinder. The fellow that bought the core honed the block, swapped the bearings and cam, swapped in his cylinder heads and went racing with it in his mustang. To my knowledge the engine is still alive and kicking to this day.

Ran synthetic in an S10 with a 4.3 known for coking problems in the EGR system. Never had a problem with carbon buildup but that one was totaled before 100K so I can't talk about longevity there.

I also ran synthetic in 406 and 350 small blocks in two different trucks. When I sold them they had less than a 10% drop in cylinder pressure across the cylinders (like new).

Currently I am running synthetic in the RV and two volvos. Both volvos are turbos and are known for carbon build up due to high temp degradation of oils. There isn't any carbon buildup to date and one currently has over 150K on the engine with no loss of cylinder pressure, or slop in the turbo bearings and a nice golden color in the block. Most used Volvos I look at have a dark red to brown color in the block and evidence of carbon build up in the block and on the oil cap.

I change the oil on the turbo cars and the RV every year or 10K miles whichever comes first and normally aspirated engines I change at every 15K miles or every year whichever comes first. All this being said I have never really seen a temperature drop from using synthetic and the fuel mileage gain has always been negligible. I suspect that any mileage gain would be due to a drop in oil viscosity and not due to the oil being synthetic. I have always run the recommended viscosity oil in my vehicles which is probably why I haven't seen a mileage change.

If I owned a DP or diesel pickup I would be testing the oil yearly or every 10K instead of changing it. When you're talking 5 gallons of oil in an oil change oil tests start to make financial sense.

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