# Change to synthetic oil or not?



## 67 SR Deluxe (May 28, 2008)

I just purchased a 1998 Passat with the 1.8 T engine with 92,000 miles. The prior owner who was the original owner used Pennzoil 5w 30 and changed the oil every 3,000 and I have the paper work to back that up. I removed the oil cap and the valve train looks very clean with no slug. At this point the engine is running great. My question is do I change it over to a synthetic oil with the amount of miles the engine has or continue using Pennzoil or some other mineral based oil. If I change to a synthetic oil at this point will it damage the engine or cause the gaskets to start leaking?


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## dubs1987 (Aug 25, 2006)

*Re: Change to synthetic oil or not? (67 SR Deluxe)*

From my knowledge you can switch to synthetic without even doing a flush and it will be fine. Just don't switch back to mineral oil after, cuz seals will leak. Do further research though.


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## dubbinmk2 (Jan 15, 2008)

*Re: Change to synthetic oil or not? (dubs1987)*

just run what ever he ran ]...92k and it's fine? it will go another 92k


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## seanmcd72 (May 14, 2008)

I'm no expert, but I think the only time it was bad to switch either way was in the early days of synthetic oil. Nowadays I don't think there is an issue switching to or from...


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## BassNotes (Mar 16, 2005)

Shouldn't be a problem. You can switch to synth and increase the interval to about 8 to 10 thousand (miles).


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## ricardo (Feb 19, 1999)

*Re: (BassNotes)*

you should switch to synthetic since you got a turbo and B5 have sludge problems/issues...


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## EaglesFan573 (Mar 27, 2010)

Stick with the regular...I switched to synthetic thinking it would be smart and the vehicle ran horrible.....


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## BassNotes (Mar 16, 2005)

*Re: (EaglesFan573)*


_Quote, originally posted by *EaglesFan573* »_Stick with the regular...I switched to synthetic thinking it would be smart and the vehicle ran horrible.....

What caused your car to run horrible?


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