Conventional or Synthetic oil for 178,000 mile hemi

[FormerFordguy]

Hi, new here so sorry if this has been asked before.
I have a 2003 Ram 5.7 with 178000 miles I bought a few months back and didn't know which oil to use. Some say if it hasn't used synthetic then don't start now. I am also new to dodge and here some stories about oil sludge.

 

[hemihustlin]

Old wives tale. You can go from one to another and even back again with no problems.
Obviously syn has its advantages but if you like to change your oil every 3k miles might as well stick with conv. oil
Maybe a nice syn blend high milage oil would suit your needs. Its all about what you want to do with your truck.
Also its the 4.7s that have the sludger reputation. The hemis are very well built, very tough.

 

[ohiogrown]

Synthetic oil should not harm your engine. However, I have seen first hand leaks become more prevalent with synthetic oil than with standard. It's is molecularly smaller, it lubricates better because it can get in to smaller spaces, those spaces can happen to be outside the engine. That being said, if synthetic leaks, standard would have eventually, it can just become more evident.

 

[Gecko]

I've got 165k on my truck and I use full synthetic. My truck runs great!

 

[FormerFordguy]

Thanks guys, I might just go with the synthetic then. So far I love the Hemi just want to keep it in tip top shape.