Oil & lubrication

[montaillou]

Was recently reading up on engines and came across this: https://www.steelsoldiers.com/threads/how-to-improve-mpg-of-lds-465-1a-engine.87915/post-1507272 See post #23 & 25.

Now, there is some not-so-little bit on here about what oil to use, but most of those threads are 10+ years old, and technology moves exponentially. I wonder is there anything that anyone's tried or would like to try that's relatively recent development?

My goal here is for longevity. Some years I put 500 miles on, some 3000, in the future I hope to up this number to 10k or more miles. Unless someone offers me $100k for my truck, I don't ever expect to sell it. While I'm not made of money, I don't mind spending a little extra on some items, especially if there is a real, tangible benefit.

I'm not really looking to improve my top speed, at least that isn't my main goal, but the idea that the engine would run cooler and quieter, and even more fuel efficient has some appeal to me.

And if a mod feels this should be in Deuce Mods, please move it there - I wasn't sure.

 

[jasonjc]

"technology moves exponentially"
So true , but your engine is still 60 years old. These "new" oil are made for the "new" engines. They are thinner because the tolerance's are tighter on the new engines. My thinking is a good oil is all you need not the latest "super oil".

 

[montaillou]

I don't pretend to be an expert or even an enthusiast when it comes to petroleum, but for instance, synthetic oil is a thing now that wasn't a thing 60 years ago. Now, I'm not saying to use synthetic oil, just pointing at it as an example how technology has created something new.

This is less about "need" as "would it benefit". If we're gonna go down the "need" blind alley, I don't even need my deuce.

I thought I'd post here because I know several people here are gear heads, and some of them are likely to know and I believe in tapping resources.

I'm regretting not posting this in Deuce Mods now.

 

[BKubu]

Asking guys about which oil they prefer is like asking someone if they prefer Chevy to Ford and Dodge. People tend to stick with the brands they trust. I don't think you can go wrong with a quality name brand 15W40 oil for diesel engines. I've used many brands in the past...Rotella, Delvac, Valvoline, and others. I buy whatever good brand name is on sale. The more important piece is changing your oil and filter regularly (by time or mileage). With that said, if money is no object, I'd probably recommend Rotella followed by Delvac. Synthetic is always nice, but I use dino oil in my trucks.

 

[cattlerepairman]

There are a few objective considerations, such as viscosity. Originally, a single viscosity of SAE30 was specified. 15W40 is a good all-round alternative, provided the truck lives in a warm-ish climate or a heated garage.

That stuff becomes thick when it gets colder!! And I do not mean snow and ice cold. I mean just need a jacket cold.

It takes much more battery power and starter wear and tear to crank her over, with all that stiff honey in the crankcase.

Will it start? Sure. But lubrication won't be great until the 15W40 thins out.

A lower viscosity oil might be a better choice.





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[dmetalmiki]

Was recently reading up on engines and came across this: https://www.steelsoldiers.com/threads/how-to-improve-mpg-of-lds-465-1a-engine.87915/post-1507272 See post #23 & 25.

Now, there is some not-so-little bit on here about what oil to use, but most of those threads are 10+ years old, and technology moves exponentially. I wonder is there anything that anyone's tried or would like to try that's relatively recent development?

My goal here is for longevity. Some years I put 500 miles on, some 3000, in the future I hope to up this number to 10k or more miles. Unless someone offers me $100k for my truck, I don't ever expect to sell it. While I'm not made of money, I don't mind spending a little extra on some items, especially if there is a real, tangible benefit.

I'm not really looking to improve my top speed, at least that isn't my main goal, but the idea that the engine would run cooler and quieter, and even more fuel efficient has some appeal to me.

And if a mod feels this should be in Deuce Mods, please move it there - I wasn't sure.

I run vintage straight 40 vintage diesel oil with dag (Molyslip), in all my vehicles.
When not available, Rotella 40.
Axles gearboxes and ANYTHING else that goes round and round..Molyslip/molyslip grease..
They do seem to run quieter, smoother, and certainly seem to be 'Easy running';

 

[davidb56]

Multi grade oil has additives that make the viscosity thicker as the temperature warms up, not thinner. as it cools down, it becomes thinner. Thats why its actually better for climates that have extreme temperature swings. In the old days, we had to change the oil and viscosity each season.

 

[fleetmech]

I manage (and wrench on) a municipal fleet with well over 100 road going rigs, and our duty cycle is about as bad as is possible. From idling 8 hours a day, to plowing snow without shutting off for 30+ hours straight we've done it, and do it again every day. a few years back we traded in an f350 with a late build (good plug) 5.4 with 15k miles... and way over 8,000 hours. In the course of its life it melted a set of cats which pushed back on themselves and clogged the exhaust so bad it was backfiring out the intake when they finally decided to let me know something was wrong. I also found the spark plugs were melted from them continuing to drive/ idle it for days on end in that condition. I repaired it and we traded it in a few years later with a tiny bit of tensioner rattle on startup, but no internal issues, and that was all on regular oil (and basic fram filters!).

I switched all our gassers out to synthetic a few years ago, primarily for bulk purchasing as the new generations of cars and trucks are requiring it. The switch definitely brought an increase in oil consumption on those rotten 5.3 and 3.7 chevrolets that were already known oil burners, the Dodges and Fords don't seem to care either way.

The new Powerstrokes call for 5-40 syn in severe service, so thats what they get, our Cummins engines still call for 15-40, which they get, along with my personal trucks and equipment.

Glean from that rambling what you might, but suffice it to say Im a believer in conventional oil. Run any average brand of oil, a decent filter and change both regularly.

 

[V8srfun]

I have spent many hours researching oils and it is one of those things that is hard to get straight answers on. But to sum up my hours of research most oils are more than sufficient out of the bottle. Oils have progressed so far that even the cheaper ones are still good but the premiums just have more specific additive packages. Even the cheap store brand oils are just repackaged big name oil although I could not come to a conclusion that the additive package is the same. Multi grade oil like 10 w 40 is designed to be 10 weight wen cold and 40 weight at operating temperature. Most people get this confused because we know things get thinner as the temperature rises. It is important to use a oil that is designed for the purpose that you will use it for because the additive package. For example race engine oil sounds like a great choice for a street car but it is not designed for that use and will not protect as well as standard oil can for daily service.

The biggest thing I learned was that additives especially Lucas is the worst thing that you can put in your engine. Not only is it the wrong viscosity but it destroys your premium oils additive package and turns that premium oil into cheap bargain basement crap. Oil is a recipe and when you go changing that recipe it does not make it better. Or in other words I love siracha hot sauce but if you tried to put it on my ice cream sandwich I would not be happy.

As far as oils that are better than others I can not say with definite proof but I will say that it is generally recognized that rotella is the recommended lube for Diesel engines. It seems that rotella has the most refined additive package for the application but like I said I can’t prove this.

valvoline platinum is the only oil that is really revolutionary in recent years as it is made from natural gas. It will be interesting to see how the natural gas thing ages but it is irrelevant to us at this time as they only make it for gasoline engines at this time. If they release a formula for Diesel engines I will be interested because the natural gas base stock has the most uniform particle sizes compared to all other oils at the time of my research. This means that you are getting the most consistent product possible.

I personally run what is on sale at the time (in the past I was extremely loyal to a brand) but I can not see any difference or change in my engines from switching brands. The old tales that switching oil brands are not relevant any more because the detergents in oil will not allow oils to separate like in the past.