I was involved with a test of a synthetic oil in an N14, we installed spinner filters and an oil drain hose so we could fill the oil sample bottle without draining the oil or using the vacuum system Cat uses. when the N14's came out they had an injector problem they did not work, we were in the engines quite a bit every week and there were twelve engines involved 6 got the synthetic, 6 got Delo 400. after a very short time the engines with the synthetic were full of a black jelly, we did main bearings at 200,000 Kilometers the first go round, and at 250,000 after that
When the trucks had about 500,000 K they did the cost analysis, when the costs of the oil analysis and the fact the oil usage was higher with the synthetics, I had kept all the bearings tapped together with WO numbers on them I asked everyone to write down the 6 sets of bearings that were in the best shape. They wrote down the WO #s the company rep from the synthetic oil company was there and precipitated. These trucks worked 22 hours a day two 11 hour trips over 2 mountain ranges pulling 144,000 lbs of chips.
When the chose the best bearing sets I read out the number that had used the Delo 400, not one person had chosen a set I did not read out. Every engine was converted to Delo 400 when the standard oil change intervals came up, a gallon of ATF was added 1/2 hour before they came in to the shop for the oil change to clean them out.
I like the use of a bypass oil system, personally I change my oil early, and use Shell Rotella 15/40 Dyno. I do not have a bypass filter system.
