oil choices.

[spaulding]

I understand this has been talked about at length.
I'm ready to switch to "cheapest" oil to "best" oil.
I think I'm leaning to some 10w40 or 30 synthetic.
The first 7 people to agree to a brand and weight gets the prize!!!
thanks.

[men in black]

I use Mobil 1 in the GW and the Buick

[armyfsj]

Quaker state Q 4x4 full synthetic 10w30 is what i use

[DanHS]

I like Castrol GTX 15w40 diesel oil for the GW, has more anti-wear lubricating elements and detergents then regular motor oil. My Chero has had 10w30 Mobil 1 it's entire 326k mile life, so that's all I'll put in it. I use regular Castrol GTX 10w30 in my Mustang. FWIW, my dad's cousin is a mechanic at a Porsche and Ferrari dealership/shop, and they only use Mobil 1 and Castrol GTX. Also I'm thinking of getting some of the 'AMC HD' 15w40 oil Bulltear has, which is supposed to contain more lubricants than the newer emissions friendly diesel oils. Out of curiosity, does MC have any comparison specs on his oil vs some diesel oils?

[AlsChopShop]

I like Castrol GTX 15w40 diesel oil for the GW, has more anti-wear lubricating elements and detergents then regular motor oil.
i've always heard of the detergents as a bad thing... :confused:

castrol 10/30w on the AMC motor, started on some 20/50 to slow down the rear main but you could hear it was a little slow getting to the lifters on cold startups.

it will be 5/30 in the chevy motor.

Al

[Serious Johnson]

Mobil-1 0W20 in the 360 when I'm at home in the Rockies. 10W30 in the Southeast. I use Castrol GTX in anything that needs much oil added between changes.

S.J.

[710 Burner]

I ran Mobil 1 in my baby Jeeps and I run it in Miss America. The GW has leaky valve seals so I just use Rotella 15w40. This old engine was designed when oil was thicker and had better lube properties, but at a cost of better fuel economy. BTW Dan, Castrol is made by BP, and is a favorite of European manufacturers. It is the only oil sold in N.America that meets the VW standard for their diesel cars.

[Gambler68]

Rotella S. I'm in a high dust environment, and plenty gets in the engine ;)

Boosted oil pressure about 5psi right off the bat..I don't have any psychic link with the state of my engine's happiness, but it seems to have run great all summer with the stuff. Which reminds me..time for an oil change!

[Mack_T]

I've been running the Chevron version of Rotella 15-40 (I forget the name off hand. blue gallon containers) and my engine seems happy with it as well. With the changes in formulation now though, I might end up purchasing the "AMC" motor oil, which if I'm reading correctly, should have the zinc like the Diesel crankcase oil had.

Clay

[710 Burner]

i've always heard of the detergents as a bad thing... :confused: Al

I think that is an urban legend that started back in the 70's. Back then, it might even have been true. I have not seen a non-detergent oil since 1984.

[Mahamotorworks]

The best oil you can go with is going to be synthetic. I would rank Synthetic like this. Amsoil, Royal Pruple, Mobile 1, Syntec. As far as conventional oil goes the only one that I like is Castrol GTX. I would run 5W30 or 10W30 in most AMC engines. I wouldnt go thicker then 10W30 because you may starve your heads for oil.

MAHA

[mattmopar440]

http://www.hoslotcarracing.com/image/Mobil1.jpg
10W30 high milage sny best stuff out there :thumbsup:

[dakotajeep]

I think that you should have said, "If anyone agrees thats the one I'll go with...."

A few guys like that Mobil 1 but its not clear cut......

My .02 is 10W30 whatever brand just keep it full......

[yankeedog]

i think with newer cars use whats on sale that meets the API grade that the manufacturer recommends.with these things that we drive i think rotella.after wiping out two crankshaft thrust surfaces i think it was the new improved motor oil that was the culprit.i was never convinced that a faulty torque converter was the problem.I am not going to find out the hard way AGAIN .I am sticking with diesel oil.

[spaulding]

Yeah, I knew the was a lot of different people using different oils, But I didn't think this many.
Not sure why, but I'm not sure diesel is a good choice for me.
Good call on the 10/40 having hard time reaching heads at start up. So i suppose it either Castrol or Mobil synthetic. Or AMC HD looks like a good choice. How long and how much total shipped to 14544?
thanks for input folks.

[DanHS]

Diesel oil should exceed all requirements of a gasoline engine, the Castrol I use does. It also seems to last longer, it comes out just like it goes in, only with carbon in it, you'll never have to worry about any kind of breakdown of the oil. The insides of my 360 are perfectly clean, depite previous owners not knowing what oil changes are.

I think 15w40 is a good weight for older engines too, 15 isn't too thick for cold startup, and the slight extra thickness of 40 helps a worn old engine that has some bearing wear. I don't get any valve clatter when starting up in the cold, so the 15 weight is going up the pushrods just fine. There are also fewer polymers (they are affected by heat to change shape and adjust the viscosity) in 15w40 than 10w40, so there are fewer polymers to break down and ruin the oil, although in only 3000 miles that isn't much a problem. In a new or unworn engine, I'd stick to 10w30 though, as there's no need for anything thicker, although a thicker oil probably wouldn't do any harm aside maybe rob you of .5 horsepower. They use thinner oils in small engines now trying to get maximum effeciency, but these engines are also designed for the thinner oil and they're in small cars.

Look on BJ's offroad or Bulltear's website for the AMC HD oil, it costs about the same as regular oil, less than Mobil 1.

While we're on the topic of oil, how about oil filters? There's plenty of posts about that. I like the K&N and Mobil 1 filters that have a synthetic media, they filter better than cheap paper filters and they have a much better assembly quality. May as well spend $10-12 on a filter rather than $4 since I'm not changing it every week, and the filter is pretty important. Wix filters are also good.

[10fenny]

just pointing out that penzoil owns quakerstate.
used to work at jiffy lube and people always came in talkin crap about penzoil and requestin quaker... they paid an extra 3$ for the same thing

[Marvin Gates]

Just for the record, anyone who thinks pennzoil is a great oil, should run Fram oil filters with their candle wax. :eek: :D :D since pennzoil uses candle wax as one of its additives.
Instant sludge!

[crispyboy]

With all the hype about additives I went to Shell Rotella 5w-40. I feel I get the best of all worlds. Good for cold starts, 40w for good oil pressure and synthetic longetivity and handles the heat better.
I use Hastings filters.

[10fenny]

this candle wax... are you stuck on the old penzoil, or is this a factual comment about new penzoil

[spaulding]

thanks all for opnions.
I chose a store brand (parts plus) 10w30 for economical reasons.
I settled on a Wix filter to replace my Fram. I think the Fram was causing me problems and from the opinions of fram here and elsewhere I understand why.
thanks again.

[threepiece188]

After hearing the disturbing news about recent changes in engine oil I thought I would come here to see what you guys are recomending. I was surprised to see that little was mentioned about the lack of what seems to be an important ingredient (for us) in current motor oils. It seems that since most if not all current production auto engines have roller style valve trains an ingredient with a name that is too long for me to remember (basicly zink) is no longer needed. My understanding is that this ingredient (zink) was also contributing to the demise of catalitic converters further prompting it's removal. It seems that zink is an important lubricant for high unit pressure area of the cam lifter interface.

[spaulding]

I think that in the futre I'll be getting the AMC HD from Bulltear. It's supposed to have all the old school stuff that we like.

[letank]

remember (basicly zink) is no longer needed. My understanding is that this ingredient (zink) was also contributing to the demise of catalitic converters further prompting it's removal.



this is why they have the oil for engine over 75,000 miles.... the warranty of the emission system is over after this much mileage.... and i believe that the formulation have the zinc.... the problem is that it may have some swelling agents for the gaskets.....

running semi synth castrol 10W40..... which is more like 1/3 or 1/4synth.....

[Wagabond]

Mobil one leaked out too easy, use whatever excess Rotella I have.
Castrol Syntech in the Bonneville w/ any filter but Fram.

[armyfsj]

Since we got on the subject of filters and good and bad I do agree Fram are junk. We had one with the inards that came out and ruined a $15,000 engine. For future reference Napa gold filters are Wix filters and are half the price. However the cheaper Napa filters are not made by Wix.

[mrtazwrench]

Since we got on the subject of filters and good and bad I do agree Fram are junk. We had one with the inards that came out and ruined a $15,000 engine. For future reference Napa gold filters are Wix filters and are half the price. However the cheaper Napa filters are not made by Wix.

Local NAPA store owner who I have known quite a while told me WIX makes all of them, just to different specs, Gold is all I will use.