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Converting new vehicles to synthetic motor oil

Got yourself a nice new vehicle? And you want it to last a really long time? Considering the use of synthetic lubricants to get the most life out of your investment? Here's what I recommend

For gasoline engines, the first five hundred to one thousand miles should be driven on the factory filled oil. At this point I recommend changing that oil and filter to your choice of synthetic motor oils and a quality high efficiency oil filter. Changing the factory filled oil and filter early removes contaminants and particles left from the manufacturing process.

Now you may wonder why so few miles, what about break in? The fact is with modern metallurgy and manufacturing techniques break-in really doesn't take as long as it used to. Without being too technical, engine break in has as much to do with how many heat cycles (how many times the engines been hot and cold) as does the number of miles driven allowing the parts to "wear in." Put the synthetic in at five hundred to one thousand miles, your engine will be just fine and live much longer too!

Can I just put synthetic oil in the engine right away? Yes, you can and many engines are factory filled with synthetic oil. However because petroleum motor oil has lower film strength it is actually better for breaking in the engine than synthetic. Particularly with an older engine that has been overhauled.

What about the transmission and differential(s)?

Essentially there is no need to wait. Automatic transmissions, manual transmissions, transfer cases and differentials can be changed right a way. If your vehicle has an automatic transmission and most of your driving is city use changing to a synthetic automatic transmission fluid can dramatically extend the life of your transmission. Consider that with stop and go city driving your transmission is constantly shifting up and down through the gears and transferring torque load from dead stops through the transmissions gears. A big workout for your transmission! This is even more important for commercial vehicles hauling loads in city use such as vehicles in a delivery fleet.

Synthetic automatic transmission fluid provides much greater protection from wear and the high temperatures of stop and goes driving or from pulling heavy loads than conventional petroleum transmission fluids and can greatly extend the life of the transmission. Very high quality PAO (polyalphaolifin) based synthetic fluids have the added benefit in that they dissipate heat faster than conventional transmission fluid and will lower operating temperatures by as much as twenty to fifty degrees. Automatic transmissions are most easily changed on a fluid exchange machine which thoroughly replaces all of the transmission fluid including what’s in the torque converter removing the vast majority of contaminants at the same time. Many auto shops and oil change centers have fluid exchange machines for changing out the fluid in automatic transmissions and over the life of your vehicle it is worth paying the cost having the fluid changed out.

If you would like to change the transmission fluid yourself see my article “How to change your automatic transmission fluid and filter in 11 easy steps”

By Larry Crider ;