You can keep your crappy synthetic oil or Just call me leaky...

[Purrybonker]

Yep, It happens. My beautiful dry-as-a-bone 3.2 with 84k happy miles on dino oil got into the wrong hands recently - now it's getting sweaty at the case seal.

My wrench - who sips synthetic with his morning coffee and swears that God invented it on the eighth day slipped the stuff in for me after some recent work. I decided to let it ride and take my chances on the synthetic-starts-leaks lottery.

I lost.

I'd used syn as an "add oil" on occasion, but had always used dino at every full change. Now I'm hoping that a quick swap back to full dino will ebb the flow. But I'm not optimistic - I expect it's kinda like the finger in the dyke (or dike - whichever analogy works for you) - once it's out, it's out... (hey, that's actually a pretty sweet pun!)

Add me to the list of naysayers about putting synthetic in a mature engine.

[widebody911]

Synthetic oil is a oil-industry, anti-evironmentalist plot! I too had to go back to dino oil.

[Sonic dB]

Two words for you, to keep your p-car happy and bone dry:

Rotella T

(is that two words...?)

[Wavey]

Christ, here we go again. :>

[kach22i]

The same thing happened to me.

Welcome back to dino world.

It's only been a week since I switched back, and I still have to do the trans (more gosh dern Redline), but it's looking good so far.

[CarreraS2]

This part of the synthetic debate isn't really subject to debate.

Some older cars that have been holding dino oil just fine WILL start to leak if you use synthetic.

It's happened to me, and to a lot of others, and is just a fact.

Although I guess even on that, some people will debate. Is it the synthetic oil that is "causing" the leak? Mainly a semantics debate, but I say yes, it is "causing" the leak. But for the change to synthetic oil, the car would not be leaking. That is "cause" enough for me.

[RickM]

Apparently many Dino oils have gasket and seal swelling additives.

[sammyg2]

Last year I switched from Dino to Shell Rotella T synthetic,
my very small leaks got much bigger.
I ended up pulling the engine and fixed the leak sources while I had it out. Now I only have two leaks, one at the sump cover and one on a hose. They are next on the hit list.
I would really like to switch back to dino oil, but I'm nervous about running conventional oil in a non-water cooled turbocharger. Synthetic is supposedly better at preventing coking.

[v9ff]

I switched from dino to Mobil 1 a few months ago and I my oil leaks actually reduced! It went from 6 drops down to about 2 when I left her sittin for a while... no kiddin'!

I think you should just use whichever oil you're most comfortable with.

[Emission]

If you have a turbo, you are nuts for not using synthetic.

If you are NA, you can go either way (hmmm... switch hitters?).

[cyprusx]

Nothing but synthectic for me 88 with 114,xxx and no leaks... I do use dino in the spring and fall because I would rather store it with dino in the winter and spring is a little chilly so wait just before prime summer temps and put in Mobil1 15-50.

[SweetE]

It all has to do with your "tolerences"

If you have an older car -use the 15W50
If you have a newer car - use the other weights
up to the newest 0W40.

My car must be fantastic!!?

I ran it on 0W-40 for a period and experienced no drips at all.

Right now it has 5W-50 in it. It leaks about as much as could lie on a tea spoon - standing still for months (from the valve cover gasket in the drivers side).

[930fan]

Originally posted by Emission
If you have a turbo, you are nuts for not using synthetic.

If you are NA, you can go either way (hmmm... switch hitters?).

Dino oil was factory fill when the 930 was introduced. The quality has improved since then so I don't think there is anything wrong in using dino oil in turbos. Didn't they use to race them in Le Mans with dino oil?

[RickM]

Originally posted by 930fan
Dino oil was factory fill when the 930 was introduced. The quality has improved since then so I don't think there is anything wrong in using dino oil in turbos. Didn't they use to race them in Le Mans with dino oil?

I agree with better quality Dino oils. But, unlike a 24 hour race, we don't rebuild our engines every time we get into the car.

What do you think Turbo 911's run in them today at Lemans?

[Noel]

Rick,
If you alternate between Dino and Synthetic then you don't run on Synthetic, you have a blend in your car. Remeber that changing the oil in these babies still leaves in a good 4 quarts. BTW, mine started leaking on the second oil change to synthetic and I switched back to Dino juice.

[cyprusx]

Good point... I do end up changing oil during the summer and it didn't leak last year. Early June will complete my first glorious year of Porsche-dom. Have to see what happens in a few months. Hopefully I will continue to be lucky. I say lucky because it appears that most experience leakage when switching to synthetic. Someone should start a poll to get a better idea of the ratio of our fine community...

[tsuter]

I used Dino for the first 22 years and Synthetic for the last three in my car.... and it doesn't leak.

..... of course I drive it!!

[Emission]

Originally posted by tsuter
I used Dino for the first 22 years and Synthetic for the last three in my car.... and it doesn't leak.

..... of course I drive it!!

How often did you change the oil during the first 22 years? It sounds like you took good care of the engine (lack of gunk in the engine).

[tsuter]

At least once per year or every 5000 miles. I have replaced oil return tubes and gaskets at each valve adjustment or engine drop even when there is no leak. Idiot lite sender etc. as routine maintenance. Had the oil cooler spring a nasty leak once.. found out weld repair was not a good idea.

It rarely goes over two weeks without a good long drive. i think that makes a big difference in seal and gasket failures.