Oil Type/Brand??

Van Living Forum

Help Support Van Living Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Zil...12/12K wouldn't cut it in the desert southwest, I don't care what the book says. Try that and you'll be draining some of the nastiest oil you've ever seen, not to mention the shorter life of your mill.
Come on down and spend a year and you'll become a believer too.
20K on tranny fluid can even be pushing its limits to the hilt.

Be sure to bring plenty of eyewash to get the grit out of your eyes a few times a day too ;)
 
Oil color is not really indicative as to its ability to do its job.

Look at a diesel engine, change the oil, start it up, check the level, and the new oil on the dipstick is now black.

Similarly a short trip driven engine in a humid environment with big temp swings can have slightly amber colored oil, yet if the oil were to be tested, the TBN( total base number) could be below 2, indicating the acid fighting portion of the oil is worn out.

The only real way to decide how any certain oil is holding up to a certain oil change mileage/timespan/regimen is with a used oil analysis, but these in general, cost more than just changing the oil and filter.

Here is my analysis from a batch of Mobil1 0w-40 that was in my sump for 13 months:
UOAtwleveeleventhirteen_zps90b16e14.jpg


I still need to attend to that coolant leaking into the engine via the timing chain cover.

Notice the TBN is still 4.2, and this was 13 months of pretty much exclusively short trip driving, but in San Diego, not exactly a bastion of weather extremes, so there was not much condensation build up, which is the main TBN depleter.

An oil filter actually filters better the more miles it has upon it, but at some point the media will get clogged and the filter will go into bypass more often, and do less filtering.

There are two types of Bypass within oil filters, the thread end bypass, and the dome end bypass. When the Dome end bypass filter does go into bypass, the oil flow washes the dirty side of the oil filter and allows it to enter the engine.

The thread end bypass does not, or at least to a much lesser degree.

Another feature of a good oil filter is a Silicone Anti drain back valve, which are orange colored. These stay softer and seal better and can reduce the start up clatter as oil can get to the top of the engine faster.

The Filters that any iffy lube joint use are bottom of the barrell. Anybody who cares for their engine is not doing any favors by installing the highest profit margin oil filter the manager could buy in bulk.

Also these joints will use any filter which fits the thread and mounting plate, rather than the specified oil filter. The Bypass ratings can vary filter to filter so this is another way an Iffy lube joint is doing a disservice to an unsuspecting customer.

Unless one opens up the filter, one does not know if the filter was stuck in Bypass, or if the filter media tore.

Who here has bothered to open their oil filter?
30001open_zps196e9613.jpg


This was a Purolator 30001. Sadly there are recent reports of Puro quality control falling and the media tearing where it meets the base plate.

Some engines are much harder on oils than other engines on the same oil. The only real way to see is with a used oil analysis.

Some can notice different noise levels with different oils, but there is no indication that those noisier oils are causing any more wear.

I Do not Like Lucas Oil Products in the engine, though their power steering stop leak has worked for me.

Their oil "stabilizers" have zero additives, No detergents, no extreme pressure additives, no antiwear.anti scuff additives, no TBN replenishers, no Friction Modifiers. When Added to properly formulated oil, all the Lucas Products is thicken the properly formulated oil, and Dilute the additives present in it.

There are also reports of Lucas products causing the Oil to foam up. Do you want foamy oil being pumped through your bearings? Answer, No.

It IS an effective oil thickener. If you feel you need thicker oil, then buy thicker oil. Don't play chemist and rely on a well marketed snake oil.

In general most vehicles will goto the wreckers because of other mechanical issues. The engines will usually still be serviceable when the body or frame rusts out or the tranny quits.

Modern Oils, conventional or Synthetic, are so much better than what was available even 10 years ago that any name brand oil, should do fine as long as it is changed before it is worn out.

So the Oil is Oil approach has merit, but some of us want to know a bit more and actually look at virgin oil analysis and make decisions based on TBN, moly and Boron content, ZDDP levels Magnesium or calcium based detergents.

One other thing that needs mentioning is on older vehicles that spec a 10w-30.
Back in the 80's the oils were not as good and the wider the spread between the numbers, the more prone the oil was to shearing to a lighter grade.
My owners manual says to not use 10w-40 as back then this grade was prone to shearing badly into too thin an oil.

That is not the case with oils one can purchase today.

In fact many 5w-30s will be thinner at start up, and thicker at 100C than their 10w30 counterparts. The same goes for Modern 0w-30's.

And Since it requires higher quality basestocks to make meet a 0w-xx rating, the 0w-30 oil will be superior to the 10w-30. Especially if in a Northern Climate in the winter. Whether this translates into less engine wear is another highly debatable matter.

One must look at the HTHS Spec of an oil, which is how thick it is under full temp operating conditions, and within the 30 weight category, these numbers can vary widely within the category. There are thick 30 weights and thin 30 weights, and some 40 weights which will quickly shear to a heavy 30 weight and stay there.

Synthetic Oil is Not 3x more expensive if one shops wisely. In Walmart a 5 quart jug of Pennzoil yellow bottle conventional is about 16$, a mobil1 product is 23$.

Pretty much the only reason I shop in a Walmart is the oil.

I know I don't need synthetic, and the warm and fuzzies it gives me are just that. But it does seem to have eliminated the lifter tapping on start up, and I generally try to find high quality products, and for the extra 8 dollars I spend on 5 quarts of Synthetic, spread out over a year, well those warm and fuzzies are not really expensive, and to me, worth it.
 
Different conditions and uses, but cutting open a filter will prove my point, even without a chemical "anal-ly-ass".
I've seen oil that looked so thick you'd swear it was 50W when it began as 30W...all because it was full of gunk that didn't belong in there.
If nobody wants to believe me its fine, but I've lived here long enough to know for a fact how bad it can get.


(just joking with the word...analysis is a good thing)
 
On Mopar LA series of engines, the same bolts which hold the water pump go through the timing chain cover. These same bolts penetrate the water jacket.

I used a lot of RTV on the bolts when I last did the timing chain and new water pump, and let it dry for 24 hours before refilling the block with coolant.

3 months later I noticed it was leaking outside the TC cover. A couple loose bolts, retightened stopped the leak temporarily. it came back.

Those same bolts just weep coolant,especially on cool down, and I was hoping that it was just an exterior leak, but the used Oil analysis proved otherwise.

Not looking forward to doing that task again, and have been putting it off.
 
I am about 65% sure I used the permatex copper on the task.
I've been eyeballing the Aviation gasket stuff since the first drip was noticed..

The Bolts, I reused the bolts, and wirewheeled the threads and chased the threads in the block too. perhaps a big mistake.

Next time all new grade 5 or grade 8 bolts with the good goo.

Problem is they are all different lengths.

I can usually retorque the bolts and stop the visible external leak for a few weeks, but the same bolts loosen up.

tried loc tite on the bolt heads. leak stopped for ~6 weeks.

It does not lose much coolant, but irregardless, I do not want coolant in my oil.

Probably easier to just change the oil more often.
 
I have been in Phoenix, does that count?
The temperatures would be no problem if using the proper SAE grade oil.
If running in very dusty/dirty areas, that is considered extreme service and oil should be changed more often.
The dust/dirt getting in the oil travels through the engine to get to the oil. It does much damage on its way past the rings. A better air filter set up is needed in sever dusty/dirty areas. My experience was to use oil bath filters in the desert.
 
Zil...You bet Phx counts with their harsh dust storms. I remember a 1960 Chevy I had that a sand storm took the paint off right down to the metal on 1 side and half the flat surfaces....I'm talking bright, shiny metal :(
Sand was piled inside (windows tight), and yes, fluids and filters got changed immediately. The car was only 6-7 yrs old then. I think that was the worst sand storm I've ever seen. Luckily my '66 convertible was garaged or it would have been trashed too. (I think that was the car I traded for my first little RV a few years later.)
 
SternWake Wrote:

On Mopar LA series of engines, the same bolts which hold the water pump go through the timing chain cover. These same bolts penetrate the water jacket.
I never had a problem with coolant in the oil in a small block mopar from timing chain cover bolts; built and raced a number of them. I only used the paper gasket, sometimes used grease to hold them on. Maybe something else going on like a porous casting or bad threads in block?
I am about 65% sure I used the permatex copper on the task ... tried loc tite on the bolt heads. leak stopped for ~6 weeks.
Not suprised loc tite didn't work. Never could get it to work in oil saturated metal threads; only after boiling the blocks. Suprised that the soft 'form a gasket' stuff didn't work; which makes me think that something else is cause of the leak.
I have used cotton thread (or string) wrapped around the threads to act as a seal for high pressure thread leakage problems. Sometimes tightening the problem bolts weekly is the easiest (and cheapest solution).
Just trying to help -- Spiff
 
It is by no means a big leak. It is not as if i would drive it around if there was enough to cause the oil to turn into a milky mess.

If I did not do the Used oil analysis, I would not know for sure the coolant was getting into the oil, and the low PPM numbers of potassium indicate that relatively little is/was.

The loc tite on the bolt heads, not the threads, was a half hearted measure after the fact, to try and keep them from backing themselves out, and I just wiped the offenders with a paper towell and rubbing alcohol, so it was a half assed attempt too and was not surprised the measure did not last


Two of the bolts which keep loosening are the ones that go through the 'ears' on the waterpump and TC cover. I used paper gaskets with some rtv on them.

I put one bars leak coolant system tab in my radiator, which caused the cheap Taiwanese 9 radiator to stop leaking in a single day, and seriously slowed them amount which makes it to the asphalt too. I'm assuming the amount which is leaking internally has subsided too.

Anyway this thread is getting derailed. Thanks for the input.
 
I am not sure. The Coolant is now 4 years old and due for a swap, So I might pull the offenders, get some replacement bolts and some Avaition permatex or similar reinstall and hope it resolves the Issue.
I really Don't want to have to pull the TC cover off. All those accessory brackets which need to go on at the same time and in a specific order, always cause a curse fest.
 
Yeah, its a real bear to do the whole gig. Glad its no worse than it is :)
I'm also wondering if a healthy dose of brake cleaner spray would cut the oil residue in the block threads and allow the Permatex more "tooth"(?)
 
I've been using synthetic most of the time. Cost more for sure. Is it worth the extra cost. Don't really know. Just the other day, a mechanic told me I should stick with synthetic oil if the vehicle is used to having it, so I guess that's a mainstay now. There was a time I would ask for Mercedes brand oil for my Benz. Looking back, that was a total waste!
 
I haven't checked myself, but my mechanic said synthetic oil is a used car dealer's friend as it does not smoke. But it is best not to mix oil.
 
I just paid Chevron $120 for an oil change for my BMW 3 series. Why? Cuz it's synthetic oil. Geez. I'm really starting to dislike the whole synthetic thing.
 
I'm not paying anyone $120 for an oil change on a car. I wouldn't want a Benz or other "upscale" car anyway. Been there, done that, and wore out that T shirt a long time ago.
Creature comforts are one thing, but outlandish luxury is ridiculous in my feeble little mind. My taste for the real things in life have gone way beyond things like that.

I've had cars that would blow you way and run that Benz into the ground all day long.

I guess that's why they say, "Different strokes for different folks" ;)
 
Benzes and beemers usually have large sump capacities, and they also have special requirements of the oil. Certain specs that the oil must meet. And Dealers always force owners of such cars to bend over and spread em.

If the vehicle call for a Synthetic oil, and you throw the cheapest conventional oil you can find in there and engine suffers, under warranty it would not be covered, after warranty and you'd have a very expensive repair.

Best option is to find an oil which meets the specs of the manufacturer and wait for oil deals from the big Ap stores, or if Wally world carries it, then get it there and have the shop use the oil you have provided, perhaps the filter too if You managed to find the right one on the shelves.
 
If you think $120 for an oil change for a Bimmer is pricey, getting a tune-up would make anyone gasp! :p

This will be the last time I'm getting anymore German made anything. I've been looking at the Scion IQ car, which I think is great for parking in tight spots. Might even make a great dingy (toad?) one day, never know! Either a Scion IQ or maybe a Mini Cooper.
 
a BMW is a fine machine. You drive in comfort and safety for many miles. It does require care. Why synthetic? Your oil change interval is 7500 miles, as opposed to 3000. There are other reasons.
7 quarts and new filter is about $70 wholesale. Chevron may have done more than just change the oil, I'm sure they inspected things while on the lift. How much is piece of mind worth? Or you could buy the equipment take the time and crawl under get dirty skin your knuckles,, you know..
 
Yeah, I'm sure the Chevron mechanic did more than change the oil. I also asked him to inspect the vehicle in general and let me know if anything might be wrong. He mentioned to me that he also has a Bimmer 3 series, so that put my mind at ease. The mechanic told me nothing is wrong with my vehicle and everything is running properly, so I was relieved. By the way, my Bimmer is automatically set to warn me for an oil change every 12,000 (or 15,000) miles, I forget which. Every time I start the engine, there is an LED number that shows up on the dashboard, which essentially is a countdown to let me know when to get the next maintenance. Since I just recently got an oil change, the LED number now reads something like 11,900 (miles) and continuously counts down until it gets to zero. Every time maintenance is done to the vehicle, the mileage count down resets back to 12,000 (or 15,000) as I don't remember which. By the way, I needed new windshield wiper blades, and I told the mechanic to get me the good stuff. Turns out the good stuff costs $75.00 for a new pair of windshield wipers! Dang!
 
Top