Oil suggestions after oil treatment?

"Yellow Gunk under filler cap" could be a whole range of issues, from contaminants to fuel dilution to a plugged PCV line. Unless you're shooting for extended Oil change intervals and dont mind spending $40+ for an oil change then go for Amsoil. I otherwise see it as just another top teir synthetic oil much like PPPP and Mobil 1. I use their Two Stroke premix with great success.

 

What I said is accurate and so is what you said. The oil in the picture said "API CI-4" on it meaning it is only rated for diesel engines. Oil for gas engines would have a rating like "API SN" on it. If the oil has both ratings it's intended for diesel or gas engines.

Now you're educated.

 

Lol. K

 

Delo® 400 LE SAE 15W-40 is a mixed fleet motor oil recommended for naturally aspirated and turbocharged four-stroke diesel engines and four-stroke gasoline engines in which the API CJ-4 service category and SAE 15W-40 viscosity grade are recommended.

From the manufacturer website.

 

Royal Purple 10w 30 in summer
5w30 in winter. MA winter that is.

 

I would have ZERO faith in these criticisms of conventional oil. Conventional oil does NOT leave more deposits and such behind, so long as you change it on schedule. Synthetic easily goes 10K-15K between changes with zero bad effects. Conventional oil will NOT do that well over extended oil changes. But if you are careful about change intervals, conventional oil works just fine.

I have had two experiences with long-term use where I could verify the effects. My 1968 Hemi Roadrunner only used conventional since there was no synthetic in 1968 to use. It was raced at the strip probably every other weekend, as well as being a daily driver. After about 70K miles, I decided to blueprint the block and make a few improvements. On disassembly, it was perfectly clean inside. No sludge or gunk anywhere. Of course I changed the oil every 3K back then.

My son had a 2000 4.6 mustang that we hot-rodded regularly, going to the drag strip probably 1-2 times per month depending on the time of year. A couple of years ago, he missed the 2-3 shift, and bent two valves. We disassembled the engine completely, and found that it, too, was perfectly clean inside. Running nothing but Castrol GTX conventional oil and changing it every 5K miles. Heads were clean, underneath the cam covers was completely clean. Ditto for the block and oil pan.

So IF you change conventional oil as recommended, it won't cause any problems. The advantage of synthetic is that it will survive over-heating far better than dino oil. Best usage is in NASCAR and NHRA where temps are extreme. For us, they provide a bigger margin of safety, and maintain like-new lubricating qualities far longer than dino oil.

But this stuff about running quieter, etc, just doesn't happen if you are changing oil as recommended and using the recommended viscosity. Running heavier oil than recommended has detrimental effects on engine. Runs dry longer on cold-startup. Harder to pump when really cold. Using heavier oil to fill gaps that are beyond spec only hides the problem, doesn't fix it.

Trying to convince people to use heaver-than-recommended oil is a bad practice. Lighter oil will certainly improve mileage since it is easier to pump and thinner makes it easier to reduce friction internally. TO A POINT. But thinner oil can be forced completely out of the rod/crank bearings under heavy load which is not desirable. Thinner oil will reduce oil pressure since it is easier to pump and flow throughout the engine. This might have a negative effect on the vvt performance.

Some seem to like to change things just to change things. Not always a good idea. I presume the manufacturers have chosen the recommended viscosity based on exhaustive testing. I don't see any reason to second-guess them unless you make major changes to the engine (a supercharger certainly changes things, for example, higher temps, higher loads, etc). Using synthetic is probably pointless although I also use mobil 1 myself, for the added protection and extended oil change intervals. In my 4.0 two oil analysis runs have showed no problems with the oil or engine wear using 10K oil change intervals. I'm happy with that and today, mobil 1 is not all that expensive, going for about $22 for 5 quarts. If it were $50 or more, I probably would NOT be using it and would be sticking with the normal 5K interval.

One thing is for certain, having done a ton of drag-racing over the years, I absolutely can NOT tell the difference between two engine oils of the same weight. Not in the time slips. Not in engine feel. There just isn't any. These "butt-dynos" are pretty humorous...

 

Well, he's not technically wrong . When he said "only rated for diesel engines", he didn't say "only rated to be used in diesel engines and nothing else". Though I don't think he understands that he meant Delo was designed "rated" to work best in diesel engines, but can easily be used for other applications as well.

 

But I guess what it really comes down to is, the engine additives are meant to deal with cylinder blow-by. and diesel blow-by, I assume, is just a tougher cookie to clean since it has "......higher emissions of NOx and much higher emissions of particulate matter" according to this website. And by all means if someone knows more about diesel vs gasoline emissions than me when I go to the first site that google gives me, let us know.

*edit*

Also, yes, additives also help in engine longevity and protection, but I believe cleaning more so than the other 2.

 

You know its sludged how?

Anyway, best treatment for a neglected motor (only reason sludge appears) is simply using whatever SN API is on sale, with somethong like a wix filter. Do a 500, 1000, 1500 mile changes (3 changes). The detergent in the oil should be adequate to clean it up in that 3k miles.

Now fill it up with the conventional SN OTC oil of your choice. Have a lab test at 5k, learn the health of your motor and how much more life the oil you just tossed had.

Set future OCI targets based on that.

No reason for boutique oils (amsoil, RP, Redline, etc) nor for any elixers, additives or other magic in a bottle.

 

What kind of information to they give you from that? I've heard of it, but never done it. Not sure I even know anyone that's done it, but I find it interesting. They check my blood, but not my oil.

 

Regarding this area about thicknesses. I've read for quite some time that referring to oil's "thickness" as it's relative size to "fill in gaps", is a misconception. I've always been told oil lubricates the same and is the same size no matter what at temperature and the truth is that the "thickness" really refers to the consistency/viscosity, as in, is it as "fluid as water" or does it "drip like honey", and the advertised viscosity differences only mean that when cold it will travel through your engine like water and slow down as it warms up til it begins to move like honey.

Thoughts?

 

http://m.blackstone-labs.com/

 

Wow, another oil thread!!!

Oil Change Interval. The three most important words. Stick to the correct interval, and it won't matter what brand of oil you use, as long as it meets API specs.

 

I poked around there some. How do you know what to do with that information? It's not like I can give my truck lipitor based on a blood test. Like I said, it's interesting, but I just don't know enough about it. How do you know that if reading X is too high that you need to do action Y?

 

It's in the report you get. Sample here.

Sometimes there are things to do to make the system healthier. Change interval, filter type, viscosity, etc.

Certain things cannot be corrected, such as mechanical wear that shows in the oil. You know. Like 'you're going to die. We just don't know when'.

 

+1 on the Pennzoil Platinum, which you can get on amazon for $22 and change (for 5qt). Then, you can send in an easy mail in rebate (attached) and get $10 back up to $48 (so 5, 5qt jugs). That works out to ~$2.40/qt for full synthetic. Pretty good.

 

Pennzoil doesnt use the same additives or as much as other brands. Why do you think they are known for wax and sludge build up? Its not like its just me that says it. Thousands do...

 

It will never "slow down". It only gets thinner as it gets hotter. Pure chemistry. The variable viscosity is more about low temps where where it doesn't get as thick as a straight N weight oil, and when it gets hot, it only gets as thin as the upper viscosity rating. IE 5w30 says at low temps, it is no thicker than a 5w oil, while at high temps is is no thinner than a 30w oil. You can verify this by changing your oil once when dead cold and then the next time when the engine is hot... it definitely is thinner at higher temps. 5w30 has less variability than straight 30w, because at 0 degrees, that straight 30w is REALLY thick.

 

Most people don't care enough for it to matter. 90% of drivers have the mentality that a car's a car, oil's oil and cars are used for getting from point A to point B. When it comes to oil, they use whatever's cheapest or take it to Iffy Lube for a $19.99 oil change and call it a day.

 

327k in my 3.4. 5w-30 conventional all it's life. Would a synthetic oil offer me any benefits or should I stick to what I've been doing?