15w-40 rotella

[cowboydoc]

I'm not an oil expert but I did consult Shell on this one. They said to absolutely NOT use Shell Rotella in a gasoline engine. They said that the Rotella was formulated for diesel engines and that some of the detergents and especially the soot control formula was not approved for gasoline engines.

I buy it by the 55 gallon drums and wanted to just use it in everything but it was a no go after talking to Shell.

 

[SimS]

Richard;

I, like you, thought that Rotella could "go both ways". Your Shell expert contradicts what Shell is putting up on their Rotella web site. Is this another one of those oil threads where end up chasing our tails for the correct info?

Check this out: <A target="_blank" HREF=https://thegenesisnetwork.equilon.com/genesis/prodinfopdf/out/ROTELLA%20T%20MG.pdf>https://thegenesisnetwork.equilon.com/genesis/prodinfopdf/out/ROTELLA%20T%20MG.pdf</A>

Sign me Confused

Sim

 

[Anonymous Poster]

How the heck can it have an SJ rating if it can't be used in gasoline engines?

 

[cowboydoc]

I very well could be wrong and it looks like I am from that newsletter. I was thinking about it and it may have been a few years ago that I called them. At that time they specifically said not to use it for gasoline engines. To be honest this really makes me ecstatic as now I can use it to change the oil in my gas vehicles!!!

 

[Ozarker]

I'll bet they got a lot of inquiries like yours and decided to reformulate for both applications.

 

[Youare]

This past May I attended an Expo for the machine tool industry here on the east coast. There was a display booth for Shell Oil products, lubricants and coolants. I stopped and asked the rep. if I could use Rotella in both my gas engine and diesel.

He told me not to use it in the gas engines. The reason being that newer engines have smaller oil return holes in the upper valve train area. Rotella stays thicker when hot and does not drain as quiclky back to the oil pan. Newer engines are designed to run on lower viscosity oils for better gas mileage.

An intresting thing is I looked at the contianer of Rotella I have and it says that it is for diesel and gasoline engines. It does say gas engines 2001 and prior.

I will use it in my Kubota and right now I am using it in my 1995 Dodge pick-up with the 318 cid engine and my 1991 3.3 liter Oldsmobile. I too was looking to use one oil for everything, I still plan on it.

Randy

 

[Anonymous Poster]

15-40 Rotella T is a mixed fleet oil and is designed to be used in diesel and gasoline engines. I did use it in all the four-stroke engines I owned, But my new truck uses 5-30W. At work we used it in all the rolling stock cars,trucks,cherry pickers and dozers.

 

[NY_Yankees_Fan]

I was reading on the attached web site and came across the following from the Shell Resident Expert on Rotella 15-40.

Question:

What is the coldest temperature that you recommend using
15W-40w?

Answer:

The coldest temperature for using viscosity grades depends on the specific application. The manufacturer usually specifies this in their owner's manual.

Generally, SAE 15W-40 permits cranking and proper oil flow down to about plus 5 ° F.

With this in mind, I think next year I will install a block heater and switch to ROTELLA T SAE 10W-30 but its availability is limited, or switch to ROTELLA T Synthetic SAE 5W-40 year round. I picked up a gallon of the 15-40 today at Wal-Mart. How many hours should you have on your tractor before you switch to synthetic? I am planning to change the oil and filter every 50 hours . I know the book says every 100 hours, but Dad always said the oil is the blood of the engine, keep it clean and it will last a long time. How many hours can you go with synthetic between changes?

web page

Click on the compact tractor forum

 

[JATO_RaT]

There is no definitive answer to this question of a break in time that I have read. Some synthetic oil manufactuers say that no time is needed since todays engines have rings that are completely seated from the time it is first operated. That is the primary reason for "breaking in an engine" In fact, in the old days, you would use a non detergent to help seat the rings. As far as changing oil every 50 hours, you can, but to tell you the truth, the engine oil is not so much getting "dirt dirty" as it is getting darker because of various reasons, none of which are really negating the oils lubricating properties. What does happen over time is the loss of some of the effectiveness of various additives that help in viscocity indexing, oxidation to name a few. The oil filter does an effective job of insuring that the "life blood" does its job without prematurely wearing out the various componets by trapping the slight wear metal from these parts before they are sent back to lubricate. I will still change mine at 1 year or every 100 hours as the manual says. Rat...