Automobile engine oil in tractors...

[KennyV]

For those that do not have any older flat tappet engines... It really is of no consequence if you believe modern oils are ok in older engines... For those that do have those engines, if you don't believe it by now you eventually will believe it.. our last 2 cam failures were mopar
Dodge cams, the rest of the engine looked great... the cam lobes shot. These were not extreme radical after market cams... AND the engines regular oil change with Mobil1 synthetic.
After discovering the EP reduction in engine oils has been linked to a lot of cam failures, I started using a ZDP additive with Mobil1 oil and have recently switched to Rotella T6...
in theory there is a problem, AND in reality it does make a big diferance...

The place in diesel engines that also needs a bit of ZDP help is the injector rack cam...
Not saying anyone else needs to add anything to their engine oils... but I do, and I change my oil annually, gas and diesel ... old and modern.

Back to the OP there are a few reasons to run diesel rated oil in a diesel engine. Low or no ZDP pack is only one of them. KennyV

 

[brucew44guns]

One reason I use Shell Rotella in all of my engines. Gas or diesel. No problems yet in over 15 years of doing this. Figure Delo 400 or Mobil Delvac to be just as good. I am sure there are others too. Diesel specific oils are just better.

I always considered, that if a big diesel engine that might cost 50 K to overhaul, was required to use an oil like Delo or Delvac, then how could it be wrong to use it in the cars and pick-ups? But the single most important consideration of an oil is the viscosity. If it calls for a certain viscosity, probaly best to use that.

 

[dodge man]

Its funny you talk about wiped cams on Mopars. I restored a Dodge Challenger in the late 1980's and the previous owner had rebuilt the engine. They apparently reused the old cam and I replaced it with a Magnum spec. cam from Mopar Perfromance. The original cam had a single wiped lob on it. You could visually see the lob was lower than the rest. This was in a 383 Magnum, with about 60,000 miles on the cam. Of course this was long enough ago that ZDP levels were a concern.

 

[ModMech]

The automotive industry has never been concerned about fuel consumption ....it's the OIL that is the concern.

Absolutely 100% false, as well as the comment regarding "slow to change engine designs".

The new oils ARE a problem for flat-tappet cams and even roller cams in some cases, that much is completely true. The engine remanufacturers group identified this a few years ago when newly rebuilt engines were failing cams at an alarming rate, yet the OE cams were fine. The cause was excessive break-in wear, not wear later in life.

I advocate concern and caution on this problem, not panic or misinformation.

 

[KennyV]

I advocate concern and caution on this problem, not panic or misinformation.

I agree BUT this is 'old' news to anyone that is involved in motor sports or follows industry news...
A periodic reminder for those folks that are less aware of changes and what is causing them is appreciated by all ... I hope. KennyV

 

[macrylinda]

I have done LOTS of research on this topic. Diesel oils EXCEED any car type spec. In fact I have several articles which test all different types of oils and Rotella and the others I mentioned are only a tick behind most synthetics such as Mobil1 etc in every category except cold flow characteristics.

Harley Davidson states in their owners manuals that the only reasonable substitute for their factory formulation of oil is that which is specifically formulated for diesel engines. The EP additives are still there...so it is not considered automobile engine oil? That would be an alternative for older engines, but to be sure?

Researching this farther, there are in fact additives available to supplement regular 'trendy' engine oils to replace the friction additives that the EPA is restricting in automotive oils. That leads to more problems....how much is enough or actually needed....how much by volume to this volume of oil....Similar to the tetra-ethyl lead issue and additives that WERE available for a while. People will not measure correctly.

We are so well protected. Problem is, protected by a bunch that we need protection from.