2000. Accord. 4. Cylinder. 293,000. miles. can I switch to. Synthetic. Oil? Still use. Conventional
Can I switch. to Synthethic. Oil at. 293 k. 2000. Accord. 4 cylinder
Please don’t double post, thanks.
DO NOT switch to full synthetic. Try synthetic blend first and check for leaks.
What's your reason for switching to synthetic?
What’s up with the text formatting of this post?
I think you should keep using conventional oil for two reasons. The first one is the conventional oil has worked well since your car is 21 years old with high mileage. The second reason is that my recent experience of switching from conventional oil to synthetic blend in a 20 year old engine with 153K miles seems to have resulted in a minor oil leak at the rear main seal.
The oil experts say the synthetic oils flow better than conventional oil and may flow past old, worn seals where conventional oil may not. They also say that synthetic oils have better cleaning additives which can remove the sludge that was preventing a leak. As Doc has indicated above there is a good chance that switching from conventional oil to synthetic or synthetic blend could cause an oil leak or make an existing leak worse.
As previously mentioned, I recently tested those waters (oils) and realized my mistake. A little over a week ago I switched back to conventional oil and added some AT-205 seal conditioner that Scotty recommends. I have driven the car 172 miles since then and the leak has either stopped or slowed so much that there are no drips on the white poster board I have been keeping under the car. I think I got lucky. That engine will never get any kind of synthetic oil again and I will also say the owners manual does not mention anything about using synthetic or synthetic blend oil, which were quite main stream 20 years ago so....... Check your owners manual carefully. I usually have to learn things the hard way. I hope this helps with your decision.
2000. Accord. 4. Cylinder. 293,000. miles. can I switch to. Synthetic. Oil? Still use. Conventional