[T3] My Synthetic oil experience!

["Keith Park" <topnotch@nycap.rr.com>]

Ive been saying Id type it in for years... finally this rainy night I have
done so... I had indeed forgotten some of the details but they are all
included below.  Be interesting to see what our Guru's think.

Keith

My experience with Synthetic Amzoil. This is copied as written to the Amzoil
Corp after their product did its damage to my engine. April 1990.

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I recently purchased some 10W40 Para-Synthetic Amzoil from an auto parts
house in the Buffalo New York area. Some literature I read and the advice of
a vintage Jaguar owner prompted me to buy the product as I have a 1971 VW
Squareback with an air-cooled engine which is often driven on long highway
trips. I wanted an oil which could hold its viscosity at high temperatures
resulting in better engine oil pressure. Immediately after refilling the
crankcase with the required 2.5 Quarts of Amzoil the oil pressure showed no
noticeable improvement. About a week later I drove the car from Buffalo to
Rochester (about 60 miles on the highway) with an outside temp of about 76F
the car overheated in about 5 miles. I stopped the car and left the engine
running and checked it (The cooling air flaps were open allowing maximum
cooling air to the engine) I drove on to Rochester at 45 MPH as the car had
only 14PSI oil pressure and would overheat if driven any faster. (It was
running hot at this speed) Once in Rochester the car sat for 1 hour, cooled
down, and when started again the air flaps opened as the engine warmed up.
The oil pressure was still below what it was with the 10W40 Pennzoil. A
repeat performance was realized on the return trip to Buffalo followed by a
loud knock in the engine when it was started cold the next morning. This is
a rebuilt stock VW Type3 1600cc engine with 10K miles on it. It has a normal
highway oil pressure of 25-28PSI in the summer. The oil has been changed at
2500mile intervals in the past (since the rebuild).

The engine has used nothing but standard brand Pennzoil. After removing the
Amzoil from service after a mere 350 miles in the engine and replacing it
with SAE 40 Pennzoil the engine has not even approached overheating but does
now have a bearing knock prevalent at certain times when started cold that
it did not have before. I have also had valve lash troubles on one cylinder
head. It is still running, now, with some 3000 miles since the incident but
has slightly less oil pressure than before.

I have been extremely anguished over paying $4.45 a Quart for a product
which has failed to even be sufficient to operate my car and has left me
with serious concern over the future reliability of my virtually new engine.
I have driven a Squareback over 50K miles and Never had it overheat and
Never had oil pressure that low. Enclosed you will find a copy of the
receipt from the place of purchase and I also have the used Amzoil removed
from the engine and remaining new oil (1 Qt unopened) available upon
request.

I request and feel a full refund of the purchase price of the product is not
at all unreasonable as this does not even begin to compensate for the
inconvenience the product caused or the damage it did to my engine.

Nowhere in any of the literature or on the bottles did it not recommend use
in an air-cooled engine or with an oil cooler but performance in these
situations I have found to be more than unacceptable.

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I will add that the engine finally burned through #3 piston on the highway
on a March day in the 40's about 10K miles after the Amzoil incident. When I
tore the engine down I found that piston to actually have been cracked, and
these were quality Mahle piston and cylinder sets. I also will add that ALL
of the pressure fed bearings were very ground down. even the thrust surfaces
in the case of #1 main had about .060 play in them (you could slide #1 main
in and out that much!) Even #4 main didn't get spared the damage and was
worn down notably. I was really surprised it lasted as long as it did.

My theory. two fold, First: the oil didn't transfer the heat from the heads
to the crankcase OR did it allow the oil cooler to cool it. What else could
possibly cause one of these engines to run so hot consistently, repeatably,
with the cooling system working properly on a 76 degree day?? And the
Synthetic oil thinned out considerably giving rise to the extremely low oil
pressure. Secondly: when I talked to the Amzoil rep he shut up really fast
and disappeared when he heard that my engine didn't have an oil filter.
Without an oil filter the neatly stored sludge's that get cleaned out and
re-suspended by the highly detergent properties of a Synthetic get
circulated over and over again through the bearings. grinding them down
quickly. Remember, this was in 1990, things may have changed since then as
obviously some peoples results have varied.



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