Synthetic oil smoke?
05-17-2011, 07:55 PM
#21
Safety Car
Synthetic seems to find its way passed old seals and gaskets so if you have a lot of mileage I wouldn't use it...
I used it in a differential once and had oil wet spots on every seal with in 1000 miles
I used it in a differential once and had oil wet spots on every seal with in 1000 miles
Last edited by hugie82; 05-17-2011 at 07:55 PM. Reason: spelling
05-17-2011, 08:56 PM
#22
Melting Slicks
Thread Starter
My reason for this thread is that recently I have seen many threads on our C3's smoking on startup or other times but still running well and this is perplexing to the owners. I am just looking for a simple fix or trying to
at least make the problem easier to live with.
at least make the problem easier to live with.
05-17-2011, 09:49 PM
#23
Melting Slicks
In almost every case the smoking on startup issue can be traced to worn valve stem seals and/or guides. Also, in almost every case this issue does not create excessive oil consumption. In my own personal case (The infamous Rodeo) I checked every possible seal around the engine for leaks and found none so I can only surmise that all that oil was getting past the rings and/or through the guides. So (At least in the case of Valvoline) there is some property in [their] synthetic oil that allows it to migrate past places that mineral oil doesn't.
I understand the love affair that a lot of people have with their Corvettes; for me I felt as though I had kind of 'achieved something' when I finally got mine after years of hard work. I personally think that people like putting expensive, exotic oil in their Corvettes because they feel as though they are somehow 'protecting their investment', but I had already rebuilt several American V8s before buying my Vette so I wasn't really afraid of taking another motor apart and rebuilding it if I had to, and in the case of my C3 that happened three times before it was finally right (!).
From a purely economic perspective using synthetic oil in an old small- or big-block Chevrolet may provide enough friction reduction benefits to improve gas mileage somewhat but the additional cost of most synthetics easily offsets that, so there is still a net loss. And as for Mobil 1's claim that it's OK to just change out 1 quart and the filter on every other oil change, it still doesn't stop it from getting dirty any faster, which is why you change oil in the first place. The single best justification that I can see for using it (especially the super high-dollar stuff like Red Line, RP, etc.) is if you have a race motor packed full of kryptonite and unobtanium components that you're running at 14,000 RPM that cost upwards of $15,000 to build and you just want to provide that extra little bit of protection for. For a street-driven cruiser (like mine) or even a street car that sees the throttle get buried fairly often I just don't see the need for it. Don't get me wrong- I am in no way trying to represent myself as some kind of expert on the matter, and I'm not in any way advocating that everybody goes out and dumps their expensive synthetic oil in exchange for cheap dino oil. I'm just sharing some of my own personal experience mixed in with what I feel are some mildly educated opinions. Blessings to all!
I understand the love affair that a lot of people have with their Corvettes; for me I felt as though I had kind of 'achieved something' when I finally got mine after years of hard work. I personally think that people like putting expensive, exotic oil in their Corvettes because they feel as though they are somehow 'protecting their investment', but I had already rebuilt several American V8s before buying my Vette so I wasn't really afraid of taking another motor apart and rebuilding it if I had to, and in the case of my C3 that happened three times before it was finally right (!).
From a purely economic perspective using synthetic oil in an old small- or big-block Chevrolet may provide enough friction reduction benefits to improve gas mileage somewhat but the additional cost of most synthetics easily offsets that, so there is still a net loss. And as for Mobil 1's claim that it's OK to just change out 1 quart and the filter on every other oil change, it still doesn't stop it from getting dirty any faster, which is why you change oil in the first place. The single best justification that I can see for using it (especially the super high-dollar stuff like Red Line, RP, etc.) is if you have a race motor packed full of kryptonite and unobtanium components that you're running at 14,000 RPM that cost upwards of $15,000 to build and you just want to provide that extra little bit of protection for. For a street-driven cruiser (like mine) or even a street car that sees the throttle get buried fairly often I just don't see the need for it. Don't get me wrong- I am in no way trying to represent myself as some kind of expert on the matter, and I'm not in any way advocating that everybody goes out and dumps their expensive synthetic oil in exchange for cheap dino oil. I'm just sharing some of my own personal experience mixed in with what I feel are some mildly educated opinions. Blessings to all!
Last edited by birdsmith; 05-17-2011 at 09:54 PM.
