High mileage oil?

[1994Ranger$$$pit]

Is this worth using?
What is considered high mileage? My 94 Ranger has 160K.

 

[bmerr98]

160k? Bah! You're just a little past the break in point! Idk if there's anything to the high mileage oil or not. My old 1991 Ranger had just shy of 320k on it when I drove it into a river. Sad story. Anyway, I just used regular 5w30 store brand oil its whole life. Didn't burn any but it used about a quart every 1500 miles toward the end. Never rebuilt. Probably would still be running if I hadn't taken it swimming.

 

[ridgerunner]

HM oil is suppose to have additives that swell up gaskets to help with minor leaks and reduce oil consumption. I've used it in several of my old vehicles (88' Bronco w 302 & 90 F150 w 300 6) and it actually worked to help seal up those minor leaks around the valve cover gaskets. So, yeah sometimes it is worth using IMO. The add pack of the oil is also a little more robust too. Not a cure all though.

 

[simpler=better]

I run CAM2 partial synthetic in my truck because I get a deal on it locally(3.25/qt)

Any oil is fine as long as you change it on time.

 

[runnhrd]

I have a 1993 Ranger STX with 285,000 and run Amsoil in it for the past 12 years. Not one single issue.

 

[jhammel85]

I've used Valvoline maxlife in the past but now, I prefer Mobil 5000. It's cheap and it doesn't burn like the maxlife does. Weird isn't it? I have 180k and no issues with the oil consumption after using the Mobil 5000.

On Maxlife, I was consuming the "normal" 1 qt per oil change.

 

[1994Ranger$$$pit]

I've just been using Castrol 5w30 since I got the truck 12 years ago.

 

[swynx]

Previous owner ran that really cheap k-mart brand. Did changes around every 3k. Truck has 300k+ with no leakage or smoke.

As long as you change it regularly its great. I now run amsoil in the truck.

 

[oldcrowalki]

Thumbs up to Valvoline from me. Last 4 vehicles I started using high-mileage oil around 60k to 70k miles--have never had to add oil between changes, never had any leaks. Could never make up my mind between using regular oil or synthetic (heard that semi-syn is only 10% syn), so I buy a 5-quart jug of Valvoline HM 100% synthetic and a 5-quart Jug of regular oil Valvoline HM and then mix the 2 together when changing the oil in my 2 vehicles (2006 Ranger Vulcan & 2002 Taurus Vulcan).

 

[swynx]

Wasn't aware you could mix the 2. Heard once you use synthetic you can't go back.

 

[racsan]

ive always ran pennzoil. ranger has 160,000 , the wifes S-blazer has 187,000 (with 220,000 on the engine) run regular dino in both, oddly enough the ranger is a little harder on oil usage, that or its leaking more from the drivers side valve cover than i realize... ive ran pz high-milage before in the ranger but never really noticed any differance. i change oil about 3,000-4,000 in both vehicles, its usually every 6 months, i think that as long as your engine is getting up to proper temperature and the oil gets changed when its needed, its not going to matter too much what kind or type you use. i have switched to synthetic before and back again, didnt cause any issues...

 

[bmerr98]

Wasn't aware you could mix the 2. Heard once you use synthetic you can't go back.

I thought that too, but I did some reading and found that as long as the oil has the same API ratings the only difference might be in how long you can go between changes, and the price of course.

I am willing to be corrected on that though...

 

[Dune Runner]

I wouldn't run it unless you need to. I had a few seeping gaskets and am using some Pennzoil HM. It cured the seeping. If your engine is running good and not leaking run a good quality oil and change it when due. Most synthetics you buy at the store are not true syn oils anyway. Unless you are paying for Redline or Amsoil.

 

[4x4junkie]

Agreed, high-mileage oils have stuff in them to swell up any leaking seals. This would make me wonder if switching back to regular oil would cause all hell to break loose as the seals shrink back down (meaning once you switch to HM oil, you're now committed to it). I haven't seen many reports of this happening though, so maybe it's not a concern?

My BII has (1)85K on the ODO (and has spent many week-long trips in Low Range too, which isn't reflected much on the ODO). I run 10W-30 Valvoline Conventional in it. It seeps a little bit around the valve covers (but nowhere else), but doesn't burn any that I can tell (even in spite of the seepage, it's never been more than a half-quart low after 5000 miles).

Ranger has 106K and it gets the same oil also.

 

[ZMan]

I haven't used high mileage oil, but I actually just bought a fram high mileage filter, says it has "time released" additives in it, put it on my girlfriend's '03 accord with 202k, maybe it'll help it with its oil consumption (about a quart every 4k miles)