re: Synthetic Oil & Flat Cams

[Carl Prochilo <Carl_Prochilo@domain.elided>]

Tom,  I don't have any experience with the Alfa V-6, but the other car I
drive, Taurus SHO, has a high-revving Yamaha 24 valve DOHC V-6.  One of
the top rated mechanics that works on these engines has made this same
claim for that engine.  He's never tried to give an explanation like you
did, but rather tries to talk people out of synthetic oil based on his
experiences.

My biggest gripe on synthetic oil is that it seems to find its way or
even make leaks that weren't there.  Given that the Alfa V-6 uses enough
oil as it is anyway under normal circumstances, I see no reason to dump
synthetic oil in the engine.

Carl P.
1991 164 w/80k miles

> From: Thomas Washburn <thomasw@domain.elided>
> 
> I have heard of more than one case of rapid cam lobe
> deterioration (in under, say, 10K miles) after switching
> to synthetic oil from conventional oil on Alfa V-6es 
> with around 60K - 80K miles.
> 
> The theory, anyway, is that the extra suspension additive
> in synthetics picks up the build-up of metal particles at
> the bottom of the camshaft oil troughs on older engines.
> The oil in this area of the Alfa V-6 is fairly captive 
> and doesn't make it through the filter very often, so it
> stays in suspension and abrades the cam lobes.
> 
> Anyone out there have similar experiences?

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