Motor Oil Question ??

We are now using Rotella T 15-40 in our diesels, Rotella T 10-30 in our water-cooled gas engines and Rotella T SAE 30 in our older Detroit 71 series diesels and air cooled gas engines.

Here's some coorespondence I had with the people at Shell. It may be of some interest to you:

----- Original Message ----- From:
To:
Sent: Wednesday, December 20, 2006 10:22 AM
Subject: RE: Rotella Ask Our Expert: Lubricant Properties

Either the Rotella T 10W-30 or 20W would work great in your gas engines.
Thanks again for your loyalty to our products!
Sincerely,
Link
Link > > -----Original Message-----
> Dear MaryCarol,
Thanks for the quick reply and for the detailed explanation as well. I > agree that 15W-40 may be a bit heavy for our winters here in the
would the 10-30 grade or single viscosity (SAE 20) Rotella T be a better
choice?
Over the last 30+ years, I have rebuilt many engines and never had a > cam/follower failure after rebuild..... ...until last year. The > manufacturer (Edelbrock) stood behind it, but now I am wondering if it
in fact their problem. I think it may be time for us to run Rotella in
of our engines. Please let me know if 10-30 Rotella T would be a
choice for our gasoline engines.
Thanks again for your time and consideration.
Best regards,
> > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From:

Dear Scott,

Zinc levels are being lowered on almost all engine oils, but the heavy
duty diesel engine oils, such as the Rotella T, will continue to have
higher levels than the passenger car/gasoline engine oils. The
T 15W-40 meets API SL, SJ, SH and all previous specifications for
gasoline engines. The 15W-40 viscosity is heavier than what is
recommended for most gasoline engines, but if you feel comfortable
it, then there should be no problem. Rotella T 15W-40 is recommended
for and used in many mixed fleet applications. It does have a higher
antiwear level to protect the heavy duty diesel engines and should
you very good performance in this regard. Even though the amount of
particular additive, the ZDDP, is being lowered, the amount of
protection is not changing. It is just being accomplished with
different additive chemistry. For those partial to zinc, the Rotella
products still have the higher levels. Regarding you farm equipment,
you have had good success with your current products, I would not
recommend changing.

Thank you for using our products! If you have any further questions,
please call us at 800 231 6950.


Sincerely,
MaryCarol Boemmel
Lubrication EngineerLink


>Link -----Original Message-----
From: scottgoff277@earthlink.net [mailto:scottgoff277@earthlink.net]
Sent: Sunday, December 17, 2006 7:09 PM
To: AskOurExpert@rotella.com
Subject: Rotella Ask Our Expert: Lubricant Properties

----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- -----
ROTELLA.com E-mail Form
----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- -----
NAME Scott Goff
E-MAIL ADDRESS scottgoff277@earthlink.net
SUBJECT Lubricant Properties
COMMENTS
----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----
I am hearing a lot about changes being made to the anti wear packages
lube oils for gasoline engines, especially regarding the reduction of
the
additive ZDDP.

Claims are being made that the new (Energy Conserving) lube oils work
fine
in modern gasoline engines with roller tappets, but older engines with
flat
tappet camshafts are not getting the protection that they require.

Another claim is that diesel lube oils - i.e. Rotella - still has the
additive ZDDP and will protect older gas engines equipped with flat
tappet
cams.

Is there any credence to these claims? We use Rotella in all our
diesels,
would it be wise to run it in all our older gas engines as well?

We have always used a high detergent SAE 30 in our farm's gasoline
tractors,
trucks and air cooled engines with excellent results. In light of all
the
concern regarding ZDDP, should we change to something different?

Any help will be appreciated.

Best regards,

Scott Goff
Sunset Hollow Farm
Bakersville, CT

Where did it read that zinc was cheaper and they plan to remove it altogether someday? She stated that Rotella "will continue to have higher levels than passenger car/gasoline engine oils". She also stated that Rotella "does have a higher anti-wear level to protect the heavy duty diesels and should give you good performance in this regard".

If there is no problem with the lowering of ZDDP levels in the newer Energy Conserving oils, why are cam manufacturers such as Crane & Comp now recommending an oil additive as well as assembly lube? Why are regrinders such as Delta Camhaft recommending the use of diesel engine oils with higher levels of ZDDP?

We appreciate your lesson on cam run-in, since I only have about 35 years experience machining and rebuilding gas and diesel engines and I sometimes forget which end of a screwdriver I am supposed to hold.

Like it or not, lube oils are changing and we should stay informed regarding the changes.

Here's an interesting link:

• Oil discussion