Dino oil or Synthetic in motor?
- Thread starter Ricoh
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robnmo
Well-known member
Dino for us, also what our dealer reccommends. Got a friend that was sold on synthetic that ran it in his Harley, after motor replacement he said NEVER again, he also went back to dino in his diesel truck. But there's tons of articles pro and con for both, it's a personal choice and whatever your comfortable with. Main thing is regular changes regardless which you use and a GOOD filter.
Jellystone
Well-known member
I will not put synthetic oil in anything that I have. Synthetic oil has not been around long enough to really know the "long term affects". It has been proven though, that synthetic oil does cause seals to expand and/or contract too much with continued use. The expansion or contraction depends on the type (grade) of synthetic oil used. I stick with the "old school" oil. It has worked for over 100 years and counting. JMHO
BruteForce
Well-known member
I used nothing but Mobil-1 synthetic in my Durango 5.9L (gas) because I could get 7500 miles between oil changes. With the Ram CTD now using 3GALs, its just not cost effective. I now use Valvoline Prem. Blue every 4-5k oil changes. At $8-10/gal, its more cost effective than synthetic.
Edited to add: My oil analysis (Blackstone labs) is now proving this theory. A little more labor on my part (I do my own oil changes), but the engine wear is proving excellent.
Edited to add: My oil analysis (Blackstone labs) is now proving this theory. A little more labor on my part (I do my own oil changes), but the engine wear is proving excellent.
Here's my take. I don' t think that the advantages of synthetic oil in terms of reduced oil change frequency applies to diesels. Soot particles collect in diesel engine oil, so unless you have some additional filtration (like a bypass filter mentioned above) you will still have to change synthetic oil at the same freqency as regular oil. Some will analyse the oil and change their oil accordingly. However for the cost of, say, Shell Rotella 15W40 (often on sale) I'm sticking to regular oil and following the maintenance schedule.
SilverRhino
Well-known member
Rotella 15-40......change oil and filter every 5k. This is what was recommended by a buddy that has been a Peterbilt mechanic for over 25 years.
Paul_in_MN
Active Member
We have a number of diesel engines in tractors and Bobcats and our trucks on the farm. For years I have bought bulk delivered oil from our CNH dealer, engine oil being 15-40. All of our diesel engines have lived a long life with this product, but in a cold MN winter the 15w part is a bit too stiff for the tighter tolerances of the Powerstroke Ford engines. Many big truck fleets have switched over to semi-syn 5w-40 made by Citgo. I am now using it in our 3 powerstroke engines (2 at 100K miles and oldest 1 at 275K miles). This oil has been working well for us in all seasons. I think the price has been about $15/gallon. Our JD dealer has seen a lot of engine failures due to the 15-40 not flowing easily enough in super cold weather. In our tractors that have the 15w-40 we use electric tank heaters (heats the antifreeze and circulates it) for a few hours minimum before trying a cold start. In my car, I use Mobil 1 5w-20 in the Ford 4.6 liter engine.
My brother used to run a fleet of 500 vehicles nationwide at approx 100,000 miles per year per vehicle, in the 80s and 90s. He did all the lab testing and became a solid customer of Mobil 1 in all the fleet vehicles. Usually they sold their used vehicles with about 350,000 miles as a 3 year old, with good running engines (the original ones in every vehicle). I don't think there is any need to see if this product is going to work out, it has a proven track record for about 30 years.
Paul_in_MN
My brother used to run a fleet of 500 vehicles nationwide at approx 100,000 miles per year per vehicle, in the 80s and 90s. He did all the lab testing and became a solid customer of Mobil 1 in all the fleet vehicles. Usually they sold their used vehicles with about 350,000 miles as a 3 year old, with good running engines (the original ones in every vehicle). I don't think there is any need to see if this product is going to work out, it has a proven track record for about 30 years.
Paul_in_MN
ct0218
Well-known member
I'm not sure why synthetic hasn't been around long enough to be proven--I've been using Amsoil in everything for 34 years, never had a problem with seals, and 34 years is a long time. Many expensive high performance engines and transmissions come with synthetic in them from the factory.
porthole
Retired
Synthetic is superior to dino oil in heat related issues. But in a diesel there are too many other factors to add in, least of which is soot and fuel dilution. So there is no real advantage to using the syn oil.
I put Amsoil in the engine when I did the trans. After seeing the cost I decided not use it anymore (since I was not increasing my between oil mileage).
But I found either Shell of Mobil syn oil at Walmart for almost the same price as dino oil, so right now the truck had Mobil 15w40.
Although it is not directly related, if you do a google search of air cooled motor oil tests you will find a pretty good article on various syn oils as used in an air cooled Harley.
I put Amsoil in the engine when I did the trans. After seeing the cost I decided not use it anymore (since I was not increasing my between oil mileage).
But I found either Shell of Mobil syn oil at Walmart for almost the same price as dino oil, so right now the truck had Mobil 15w40.
Although it is not directly related, if you do a google search of air cooled motor oil tests you will find a pretty good article on various syn oils as used in an air cooled Harley.
08UltraRider
Member
I belong to a couple of other forums and Harley (because I ride one) is one of them... The great oil debate appears everywhere I go...
I use Mobil 1 in both my Harley and Duramax. 20-50 V-Twin and 5-40 in the truck. The oil in a Harley (without a cooler) can and does run upwards of 300 degrees when in stop and go traffic. The benefit of the Synthetic is that it doesn't break down until around 350 degrees. Dino starts to break down at around 250 degrees.
AMSOIL Premium CJ-4 15-40 Diesel oil recommends 3 times the OEM oil change recomendations of up to 25,000 miles or 1 year which ever comes first. This is for NON DPF equipped Diesels because of the fuel dilution from DPF regenerations AMSOIL recommends OEM intervals for those. Would I leave my oil in my expensive truck for 25,000 miles? Not a chance... But AMSOIL can provide oil analysis backing up their recommendations. I've read them but it still wouldn't convince me to leave it in for that long.
I use 5-40 Mobil 1 in the truck mostly for the cold weather starts where it flows much better than dino and change it when the DIC nags me to.
p.s. I am not an Amsoil salesmen or am I promoting their products. I am only posting what I have learned.
Rickhansen
Well-known member
Dilution shouldn't be an issue in the '11 Duramax's as the DPF Regen is accomplished by a ninth fuel injector in the exhaust system ahead of the DPF. They also go about twice the distance between regeneration thanks to the Diesel Exhaust Fluid.
Rmcgrath53
Well-known member
I have had amsoil in my truck for the last 15,000 miles. I have had it anylized 2 times ounce at 7500 miles and the other 15000 miles. I have changed the oil filter 2 times and added a guart of amsoil each time. It hasnt burned any oil, it starts great in cold weather. The anylis came back great the 2 times. I plan on running another 7500 and change the oil and filter maybe to amsoil maybe back to rottela. ya figure 25 dollars for the test and a new filter every 7500 miles and it is still more expensive than rottela every 5000 miles. Rotella has a synthetic that I may just use instead.
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