Advise on using synthetic oil

read synthetic oils in general discussion,page one.you be the judge.
someone else can answer the thermostat question for you cause i'm clueless.

See my post in the general discussion section of the forums!! -Brad-

It is not likely that the synthetic gummed up the engine. What may be likely is that the synthetic loosened the gum/sludge from the dino oil and it caused problems at the pressure sensor. If the oil pressure light came on, you either had a oil pump failure (rare), a pressurefilter bypass failure or a sender failure. So, what is happening that it costs $1500.00 (a new oil pump)? I find it hard to believe that synthetic oil was the lone culprit. I suppose it is possible that it was a coincidence.

Did you get a second oppinion? "Sludge" is a by product of the parafin found in all dino oil. Oil from the Northeast part of the country have the most parafin (i.e. Penzoil). The additives in dino oil keep the parafin in suspension so they do not collect inside your engine. The additives get "used up" over time, hence the need to change dino oil more frequently. You do not want to allow this sludge to form.

Now, synthetics do NOT have any parafin present, so they do not and cannot cause or produce sludge. Based on this, I would get a second opinion because it sounds like the present mechanic is feeding you a line of garbage. With all that said, I have heard that synthetic can loosen sludge (due to cleaning effect of synthetic oils) caused by dino oil and maybe this plugged an oil passage that caused damage. Not likely, but I suppose it is possible if you let the engine go long periods of time between oil changes, but hey then you should expect problems anyway.

FWIW, sludge does collect in the pan and head. If the connecting rods need to be replaced (very rare) then you need a complete engine rebuild as most if not all components will be worn beyond service tolerances. Please do your homework on this one to avoid gettng a partial repair that will cause you problems in the short term. Good luck.

by the way,if them valve covers or rear main seals are leaking,i wouldnt run synthetic.take it from a man who knows his lubricants...all jokes aside.run castrol gtx 10w40.it readily withstands my harsh abuse.

There are three basis of oil,paraffin asphalt and synthetic.
Go to /www.viperclub.org/articles/oilfaq.html

I have been runnnig synthetic AMS Oil in my 01 SAN, it does not leak, very very smoth operation and I change the oil once a year. 700+ hrs. 160 thermo.

vince told me to run a 143 in salt water and a 160 in fresh i have no idea why. we put synthetic in a motor cycle with a wet clutch. it was so slick it wouldnt even move. that sold me.