Your experience may vary but on Sept 30th had oil changed on the stock V6 and decided to go with Pennzoil High mileage oil. Went from a completely bone dry engine and garage floor to an engine bay just soaked in pools of oil and the back window just covered in fogged oil burn. Avoid this stuff!!

The brand new distributor seal is leaking again, the valve cover gaskets are seeping, and the oil pan gasket is just oozing oil. Can't beleive how shitty this stuff is. I would like to go back and have this stuff immediately dumped out!

Lemme guess, you have a half million miles on your car, you switch to synthetic oil and then blame the oil because it leaks.

How would think any oil can possibly do this?

Sounds like you have other problems with the engine, not the oil.

I've been running full synthetic in my Fieros for some time with no problems. If you have a leak, you need to fix it.
I've been using Mobile 1, but just bought some Penzoil full synthetic, because it was on sale at Wal-Mart. I'll be trying it in my 88 duke as soon as I fix an unrelated oil pan leak (at that big 4" drain plug 88 dukes have).

I found, (years ago) that putting synthetic oil into a "High mile" engine definitely WILL make it "burn oil", don't know about making leaks, But I suspect because the synthetic Does Go where the dino oil cannot "get to" (it seems to penetrate more), it could very well make it through small crevices &' leak". When it imediately started smoking, I drained it & went back to reg old "dino oil" & all was well again. I do use synthetic in all my rebuilds with no problems.

This has been covered here many times on the forum in the past. When you go from regular oil to full synthetic those old seals will leak as if they were removed, its not the quality of the oil that causes this but the properties of synthetic oil itself no matter what brand you use.

How about a plugged PCV or something else not allowing the pressure build up to escape?

Pennzoil High Mileage oil is not synthetic. It is full conventional oil that has what Pennzoil calls "Active Cleansing Agents" to remove sludge and deposits. They also claim it will reduce leaks but I don't see how removing sludge and deposits will help with reducing leaks.

leaks be leaks. oil doesnt make the leaks - it just finds its way thru them

but - in the end - I avoid Pennzoil as a whole

the 2 things which come to mind tho:
1> the deteregents cleaned up some gunk which was actually acting as a seal
2> some "high milage" oils add stuff to soften & swell gaskets, to help them seal - this can ruin a "on the edge" front or rear main crank seal

As stated here and there above, it looks like the detergents in your oil are the cause. On a high mileage engine, dino oil will gunk up over time and some of the gunk will build up anywhere there are small leaks, stopping them like stop-leak does in a radiator. Dino oil with detergents and Synthetic oils will both clean out the gunk in the system leaving leaks where there were none before.

On a rebuild, best thing to do is to use a good dino oil with detergents up to about 5,000 miles which should be about 3 oil changes then switch to a good Synthetic and stick to that brand.

Steve

[This message has been edited by JumpStart (edited 10-20-2011).]

Never use Penzoil, ever unless you don't want your car.

quote Originally posted by 87antuzzi: Lemme guess, you have a half million miles on your car, you switch to synthetic oil and then blame the oil because it leaks.

Let me guess, you didn't bother reading the post before replying?

quote Originally posted by TopNotch: as soon as I fix an unrelated oil pan leak (at that big 4" drain plug 88 dukes have).

If you figure out how to get the ruddy thing to seal, please let me know. I've tried new seal, new plug, rtv, teflon tape, threats even. Ruddy thing still leaks and I need to change the oil soon so more frustrations ahead no doubt (got it to a slow torrent now!).

------------------
Dave

www.ltlfrari.com

quote Originally posted by Pyrthian: leaks be leaks. oil doesnt make the leaks - it just finds its way thru them but - in the end - I avoid Pennzoil as a whole the 2 things which come to mind tho: 1> the deteregents cleaned up some gunk which was actually acting as a seal 2> some "high milage" oils add stuff to soften & swell gaskets, to help them seal - this can ruin a "on the edge" front or rear main crank seal

OK so how does that explain a brand new distributor with ring seal installed two months ago that was NOT leaking but is now is leaking within 15 days? When I installed that new ring, I made sure to clean it out really good to ensure a great seal? The only explanation is this specific brand of Pennzoil. I went from Pennzoil basic grade to Pennzoil High Mileage and it ruins a brand new seal??!? Doesnt make sense why using this for ANY car should this happen.

The company claims that the oil is designed for high mileage cars...so what do high mileage cars need that low mileage cars don't need? High mileage cars tend to leak out their seals because they are worn out or have had too many hot and cold cycles, I have seen old rubber seals crack and leak like crazy...pick your reason. The additive in the high mileage oil swells the old seals just like soaking them in Varsol or paint thinner will do. Lacquer thinner will swell seals to the point of falling apart! (Usually rubber seals) The Idea is that the slightly larger seals will now take up the space that was worn out or cracked creating a tighter seal and stop the leaks. As this additive burns off, and the seals shrink back to normal or even worse, deteriorate faster. Changing the oil to fresh high mileage might swell the seals again and stop or slow down the leaking but will regress once the additive wears out again. A perfectly good seal can be forcibly worn out and damaged by this process and cause it to leak where it didn't before which is why you should never use high mileage oil in a newer engine.

At least that is how it was explained to me.

quote Originally posted by Pyrthian: leaks be leaks. oil doesnt make the leaks - it just finds its way thru them but - in the end - I avoid Pennzoil as a whole the 2 things which come to mind tho: 1> the deteregents cleaned up some gunk which was actually acting as a seal 2> some "high milage" oils add stuff to soften & swell gaskets, to help them seal - this can ruin a "on the edge" front or rear main crank seal

Bingo! Good call Pyrthian. Back in the day, when i was green, i switched to synthetic in my first chevy citation. the car was old, but only had 50k miles on it, but age supercedes mileage in this case. the cleaning agents of the synthetic oil removed all the depsoits that were keeping all the old seals from leaking, and i started getting minor leaks all over the place.. finally, it ruined the rear main seal, which was made of rope from the factory in 1981... it leaked bad, about a quart every 3 or 4 days, so i had to replace the seal, bottom line.

anyways, i dont think the oil is to blame.. the oil probably did what it advertised... you just can't switched to an oil with high detergents.

i always had good luck with pennzoil. i only used syn oil once and it just poured out of the engine lol didn't blame the oil tho. blamed my age for not getting the car from new and taking care of it lol! simple answer don't use syn oil in old engines and only use oil you have a good track record with its another of those personal choice deals....

Just to give an update. I drove 1 mile back to Jiffy Lube (flame away, but I prefer not to mess with recycle exchange). By the time I reached the bay, the entire driver side of the engine was drenched in oil. It was oozing from every seal including the distributor, valve covers, and oil pan. The manager agreed that this was unusual and comp'd a free oil change back to conventional oil and the staff meticulously cleaned up the engine bay. I drove it the rest of the day and the oil seepage almost stopped to the point where it's hardly noticeable.

So for whatever reason, that oil will definitely make NEW and old seals start leaking. Like I said before, the distributor seal is brand new and started leaking shortly after using this oil and almost stopped after changing it back.

A bunch of years ago, I had a Jensen Healey with the 2 liter twin cam Lotus engine in it. I used Penzoil in it, cause I ws young, and foolishly thought it was a good oil. After about 6,000 miles and two oil changes, the engine was numb. It needed full a rebuild, Valve guides, rings, + bearings. I took it to a friend of mine that had a British car repair shop, He was trained by Lotus, in England to work on this particular engine. He guessed right off that I had been running Penz. He told me that the only Lotus engines he had ever had to rebuild, were on cars running Penzoil in them.
Lesson learned: I switched to Castrol and never looked back. Haven't looked at a bottle of Penzoil since! recommend against it to anyone who will listen!
Mark

Usually switching back to conventional oil won't fully stop the leaks. You could try 5w40 instead of 5w30, to slow leaks more at operating temp.

Thank you for the great humor. It is almost Halloween so I think it is pretty appropriate.

Glad to hear your car stopped leaking...

Charlie

I wonder if the shop put in the wrong weight oil, or something else to make it leak out that bad. Pictures would have been helpful, as something isn't right about this story.... I don't believe it was the synthetic oil.

Maybe it was the wrong grade, and your pressure went high.

I had this happen.

Often the less used oils they keep at those quick oil change places they look to dump on customers. Who really knows what they are putting in there?

As I said in a previous post at the beginning of this thread, Pennzoil High Mileage oil is NOT synthetic.

Ive said in here many times, never use Pennzoil or Quaker State if you like your car. The high mileage (non synthetic) one prob has some of the solvents in synthetic that do eat off the sludge that kept yours from leaking. Ive said a lot of times Mobile One seems to have very aggressive solvents. I know a lot of people that changed to Mobile One in older cars and immediately they turned into gushers. Ive not seen that happen with other brands. Ive had cars that leaked or burned a little oil and completely stopped with Castrol Synthetic.

quote Originally posted by jaskispyder: I wonder if the shop put in the wrong weight oil, or something else to make it leak out that bad.

quote Originally posted by RotrexFiero: Maybe it was the wrong grade, and your pressure went high.

And I'm wondering if they simply put too much oil in the crankcase. I had that happen to me the one time in the last 30 years that I took a vehicle to a shop for an oil change. (Two extra quarts of oil in my SBC.)

I agree with Patrick. The oil change places don't use bottles they just grab the hose and pump away. (suppose to be measured of course)
If they over filled it would wipe up the oil and force it out all over the place.

[This message has been edited by Dodgerunner (edited 10-29-2011).]

Hello,

I have used Pensoil for a lot of years (since 1987) and NEVER had an issue. When I was young I would run the engine 12000 miles between changes. I caned my motor daily. Powerbrakes, street racing, driving the car like I stole it (1987 TransAm) The engine gave me 118,000 miles before a bad mechanic lied and told me he changed the thermostat and didn't. Engine melted idling in a drive-thru.

I love their product and it holds up. I have also used with success, Castrol Syntec, Mobil 1 (currently in my jeep and truck), Klotz, BelRey, Golden, Maxxum, and Wolf's Head.

The oils I suggest you stay away from is Valvoline and Havoline. Both have cost me motors around 60k miles. Took the valve covers off and full of gunk!

I had a mechanic tell me he sees it all the time from these 2 oils. He said you must change it before 2000 miles with these or this will happen.

That said it seems like the oil change place overfilled you. I once went in and had a place change it and they filled it 2 times. Acted just like your problem.

Paul

------------------
1988 Fiero
3800SC Series 1 w/5spd Getrag
Lowering Springs
Konis
18's w/Pirellis
Corvette Dash Mod
https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum3/HTML/000099.html

1985 GT
1986 Notchie
1987 Notchie

"The oils I suggest you stay away from is Valvoline and Havoline. Both have cost me motors around 60k miles. Took the valve covers off and full of gunk! "

Ive used Valvoline before I started using Castrol. I never had a problem with normal period oil changes.

Every engine Ive been into that used Quaker State or Penzoil were crudded up with what I call mashed potatoes. Clogs the oil pump intake and oil passages. I had one buddy who changed the oil in his truck and couldnt get a dipstick reading. He used Quaker State since it was new and changed it when it was supposed to. We took off the valve covers and all the new oil was in them, never ran down to the crankcase because heads were plugged up. Pulled the pan and oil screen was mostly caked over too. I was surprised the engine hadnt blown up. Im sure there are exceptions, different experiences or they wouldnt still be in business. I wont use either unless I absolutely have too. (like punching a hole in the pan and thats all the nearest store carries )