Natural to Synthetic Oil, any complications? Options

[hurley97]

I've always used natural oil because thats what I assumed the previous owner used. I want to switch to synthetic but I've heard bad things could come from doing so after using natural for so many years.

I can't remember exactly what possible problems I was told could arise nor can I remember where I heard it but it had something to do with the deposits that form and casing leaks, etc.

Is this just a myth? I plan to just flush the system like I did when I switched weights, would that have any negative consequences?

[jgreening]

Synthetic oil has detergents in it that can break down sludge build-up from dino oil use over along period of time. Sometimes the sludge was sealing leaks so use of synthetic can open those leaks back up. While the synthetic oil does not technically "cause the engine to leak" it can have the same practical effect. I think the risk is rather minimal but it is a possibility. In general, synthetic oil will lengthen the life of your engine and, all things considered, is generally a good move even for a high milage engine. The real question is whether it is worth the extra cost. That depends on how long you intend to keep your car and the engine's current state of health.