Change oil brands?

[rsewill]

Changing oil to another brand that meets manufacturers specs is fine. Maybe even go full synthetic.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

I think with older stuff it is more important to operate it just like the last owner at first due to wear points in an engine and internal build up on moving parts over the the years. Over time run it at different speeds/loads. In hindsight I had a valve to stick in a high mileage truck while driving it home. I had it up to about 3000 RPM when I bet it had not been pushed beyond 2000 RPM for many years. My thought is that the valve traved a few thousands farther then normal and the build up on the valve stem caused it to stick and the valve becoming bent.

 

[DT86]

Changing oil to another brand that meets manufacturers specs is fine.

I agree. Except... I bought two 5 gallon buckets of Warren Lubriguard last year because it was cheaper than Rotella. I used it my truck (Cummins) and tractor (Deere). I don't know why but both engines began to leak around the valve covers. It was correct weight and yes the valve covers were tight.

 

[blueriver]

I don't even know the prices of any oil other than Rotella 15W40 ... thats all I have used for years and I keep it on hand and always have my filters so I'm ready to change. In my climate I run it year round. I have thought that I should use a thicker Rotella in the summer.

Now I did quit servicing my truck myself. I was last fall hauling a mule to get a coggins test and notice the front of my trailer all covered in oil ... inspection I see the filter is leaking ... I find the nearest 10 minute oil change location. Turns out the filter had a pin hole in it ... the tech said maybe a stone bounced up or something.

Anyway ... 15-20 minutes later the oil is changed, the filter all points inspected and greased all for about $15 more than I could do it for ... I was not all oily and didn't have to roll around under the truck or dispose of any oil ... so when I'm close to my milage I just pull in drink their coffee and let them get all messy.

 

[cowpie1]

Over the last decade I have figured out that most of the major brand oils are just fine, and even changing brands does not usually cause any issues. There really isn't any measurable difference, within grade and classification. And truth be told, only one refiner, Motiva, makes all the class II and class II+ base oil for the North American market.... yep, Rotella, Delo, Delvac, etc all use base oil from Motiva, which is a Shell owned refinery.

Infineum, makes the majority of additive packages for the market as well. And something like the CJ-4 classification is so strict that there is not much allowance for variation to maintain the rating.

It really just comes down to marketing and personal name preference. With the big name oils, you are really putting money towards their marketing and race car sponsorships. Some really good pricing can be found at local oil suppliers, who package the very same oils under their own label. Upwards of $2-$3 or more in savings per gallon.

Just use what you feel comfortable with and is a good price value. I have a Cummins ISX with well over 800,000 miles on it and the oil samples look as good as they did at 300,000 miles and all it has had in it is a local oil supplier brand 15w40 CJ-4. My New Holland, and other diesels get the same oil. And at the current price of just over $11 a gallon, it is a good value. But I would have no problem with any of the major brands in a pinch, and have even used Rotella and Delo as makeup oil when away from the house with the semi with no evidence of an issue in the used oil samples.

 

[deerefan]

Over the last decade I have figured out that most of the major brand oils are just fine, and even changing brands does not usually cause any issues. There really isn't any measurable difference, within grade and classification. And truth be told, only one refiner, Motiva, makes all the class II and class II+ base oil for the North American market.... yep, Rotella, Delo, Delvac, etc all use base oil from Motiva, which is a Shell owned refinery.

Infineum, makes the majority of additive packages for the market as well. And something like the CJ-4 classification is so strict that there is not much allowance for variation to maintain the rating.

It really just comes down to marketing and personal name preference. With the big name oils, you are really putting money towards their marketing and race car sponsorships. Some really good pricing can be found at local oil suppliers, who package the very same oils under their own label. Upwards of $2-$3 or more in savings per gallon.

Just use what you feel comfortable with and is a good price value. I have a Cummins ISX with well over 800,000 miles on it and the oil samples look as good as they did at 300,000 miles and all it has had in it is a local oil supplier brand 15w40 CJ-4. My New Holland, and other diesels get the same oil. And at the current price of just over $11 a gallon, it is a good value. But I would have no problem with any of the major brands in a pinch, and have even used Rotella and Delo as makeup oil when away from the house with the semi with no evidence of an issue in the used oil samples.

When talking oil, I always talked to truck drivers, especially private owner and long haulers, for tips and advice. Oil and engine performance is crucial to these folks.

 

[cowpie1]

Oil is one area where people really show their brand loyalty and sometimes let it get in the way of their thinking.

It is hard to argue with real world results. I put on 1.4 million miles on a 1996 Cummins N-14 without ever doing an overhaul..... using regular 15w40 HDEO. And now have over 800,000 miles on my 2006 ISX with the same results so far. All of the major brand engine oils, and even many of the no-name brands are just fine. All one really needs to be concerned with is the grade and classification. Of almost all of those no-name brands, they are actually blended and bottled by an outfit called Warren Distribution. Warren gets the same base oil and add packs as the big name brands.

I just tell people go with their gut and find the best value. No use starting a war over something like oil brands. I never down anyone for their oil choices. It is their money and comfort level.

 

[Barnone]

As they say in Texas, " Earl is earl".

 

[Soundguy]

we had an 80 mack tractor that we bought from a milk co down the road. we bough it with 1m miles on it.. had never had the hood cracked open other than for maintenance.

when we got it we dropped the pan and the mains and rods were still perfect..

we ran it 800K more miles and sold it to an outfit that took it to south america.

in that time we put in 2 rear, rear ends, and one air pump.

we ran fina diesel oil in it.. either bought in bulk off the truck to our service truck.. or in 55g drums...

soundguy

Oil is one area where people really show their brand loyalty and sometimes let it get in the way of their thinking.

It is hard to argue with real world results. I put on 1.4 million miles on a 1996 Cummins N-14 without ever doing an overhaul..... using regular 15w40 HDEO. And now have over 800,000 miles on my 2006 ISX with the same results so far. All of the major brand engine oils, and even many of the no-name brands are just fine. All one really needs to be concerned with is the grade and classification. Of almost all of those no-name brands, they are actually blended and bottled by an outfit called Warren Distribution. Warren gets the same base oil and add packs as the big name brands.

I just tell people go with their gut and find the best value. No use starting a war over something like oil brands. I never down anyone for their oil choices. It is their money and comfort level.

 

[blueriver]

we had an 80 mack tractor that we bought from a milk co down the road. we bough it with 1m miles on it.. had never had the hood cracked open other than for maintenance.

when we got it we dropped the pan and the mains and rods were still perfect..

we ran it 800K more miles and sold it to an outfit that took it to south america.

in that time we put in 2 rear, rear ends, and one air pump.

we ran fina diesel oil in it.. either bought in bulk off the truck to our service truck.. or in 55g drums...

soundguy

Nows thats a testimonial ... do they still make fina diesel oil? If so you need to email them that story.