Is Synthetic Oil Bad for Old Engines?

Should be no problem and I think the conventional wisdom is that you can go a bit longer between changes with synthetic oil.

However, my particular anecdotal experience is - Last year I switched three of my cars, two '97 BMWs and one '91 Volvo from conventional to synthetic oil. The fourth car, a 2004, has always used synthetic. I switched from 20W50 conventional to 15W-50 synthetic.

All three started leaking oil from one or more locations. The valve cover gaskets failed on all three. All three consumed more oil than they ever had before. They consumed more than they were leaking I am quite sure.

I switched back and replaced valve cover gaskets and some seals. All is well in the driveway again.