Mobil 1 synthetic vrs. dino motor oil

[Paul W]

First this is not a which is better thread.

I am trying to diagnose a head gasket leak. I followed the collective advice of forum members and used some Mobil 1 full synthetic. I am getting oil in the intake from somewhere I think. I am going to work on it today so need some advice. I have read about every thread on head gasket failure but did not come across anything about synthetic oil.

When synthetic is burned in the motor will it produce the same white smoke that dino oil does? I have used 2 stroke synthetic that does not smoke.

When water (coolant) is present in the oil will it look the same as with dino?

Is it normal for the oil pressure gauge to sit on high (3) until the car warms up to normal temps then drop back to 2?

[vstech]

first, when motor oil is burned, it produces a blue tinted smoke, not white... white is water or fuel.
second, yes, water in the oil will be a beigey creamy color... but it's gotta be a really bad leak in a diesel to show up...
third, the Oil pressure gauge is correct, and normal.

[Brian Carlton]

Originally Posted by vstech

first, when motor oil is burned, it produces a blue tinted smoke, not white...

This can be deceiving. The '87 produced the what I would characterize as white smoke. You'd be hard pressed to invoke the color "blue" when looking at it.

To the OP:

What symptoms, other than oil in the intake, have caused you to conclude that you've got a head gasket failure. Oil in the intake can be caused by oil leaking from the turbo..........quite common on 603's.

[compress ignite]

1.Yes, Mobil1 will have the same appearance in the exhaust stream,if it is
being burned.
2.Yes, Some form of Horrible Milk Shake.
3.Yes, It is perfectly normal for the oil pressure gauge to "Peg" at the upper
limit when the engine is cold.
3a. Where the oil pressure needle registers with a warmed up engine depends
on:The state of the bearing clearances,The state of the Oil pump,Ambient
air pressure,Ambient air temperature,VISCOSITY and Age of the oil, Etc.
Two bars oil pressure at idle with an engine at operating temperature is
Good.

Head gasket leak?
1. What number head (14,17,22,Etc.) version is on the engine?
2. When you first go out to the car in the morning and squeeze the upper
radiator hose, is it hard and tight?
3. Do you have coolant in your oil or vice versa?
4. Have you performed a cooling system pressure test?
5. ARE YOU LOOSING COOLANT, WITH NO VISIBLE LEAKS?
6. (a stretch here) Cylinder leak down test? Compression test?

"Oil in the intake from somewhere"
1. The damn PVC type hose that runs from the top of your valve cover
will dump "Oil Enhanced" air (depending on the state of your valve
sealing and ring sealing ["Blowby"]) into your intake.How much oil
is hard to tell until you clean it all out of the intake (remove intake).
Oil you are seeing now may have been in there since 1987.
2. A bad cartridge (the bearing,shaft,seals ,turbine wheel,compressor wheel)
in your turbocharger will blow LOTS of oil into the intake.
3. How much oil are you losing from the sump?

[Paul W]

Thanks for the all the quick help.
Has #14 head 104000 miles. My father inlaw bought the car new in Germany and gave it to me 6 months ago. I have all records of everything done to the car and it has been very well maintained.

The car does leak a little antifreeze, but I can not see where it is coming from. I am going to take it and put it on a lift to day and try and find it from the underside.

I get oil leaking from the intake gasket by the head. I have cleaned it and have watched it very closely and am 95% sure it is coming from the intake. I took off the cross over pipe and it is caked with wet black sludge. I got new gaskets for the intake and will replace them after I clean the black crap out. The strange thing is I don't see alot of smoke. That is why I was wondering if the synthetic would create smoke when burned. It has been colder than hell here so it has been hard for me to do alot of out side checks.

I am going to do the pressure check today on the cooling system.

My guess is that it is the turbo. It started after I switched to synthetic. What is the best way to check if it is comming fromt he turbo and not the breather?

I am not sure how much oil it uses. Since I have owned it I have only put two tanks of fuel in it and only drive 3 miles a day. At that rate it could take 3 months to get a real reading with the amount of oil these things hold.