>     Just for the heck of it, I switched to Castrol DuraBlend,
> their semi-synthetic, and switched weights from 20w-50 to 10w-40.
> My motor has just over 9,000 miles on it now, and doesn't leak
> in any significant quantities.
> 
>     The bus runs a lot quieter, and I don't think its from
> the valve adjustment, as only a couple valves were off (#1 and #4
> exhaust, just a smidgeon tight)  It has more power too, but I
> attribute that to the plugs, which had 9k miles on them.
> 
>     Anyone care to comment on my choice of oils?

Ack!  I ran Semi-synthetic in my 1776 and it went from a mildly warm 
running engine to a cooker.  I quickly went back to dino and solved 
my problem.

Apparently synthetic sheds the heat into the case, and in our little 
air (really oil) cooled engines, you need the heat to stay in the oil 
until it goes through the air-cooler. 

- Mike White 

[Mail: mike.white@law.utah.edu   -   mwhite@eng.utah.edu]
Visit my '57 23-Window VW BUS at: [http://cloud8.law.utah.edu/]