a while back i heard that oil used in diesel engines or fleet trucks was good for the older engines. did i hear wrong? im gunna be changing the oil in my 322 nailhead n wanted to give it a try. thanks
correct me if I'm wrong, but the biggest difference between deisel and regular oil is that diesel oil has more detergents and such to deal with the excess soot buildup. Might be good if you have a high mileage engine with excessive blowby. I run Delo 400 in my old diesel benz, great oil and cheap at Walmart.
I once had a mill (gas) that was burning 4 qts to the tank and had to make it to Texas from S Mexico. I filled it up with Diesel oil and made the trip. Lots less oil consumption, but I wouldn't recommend it for a daily. it was a desparation thing.
I've posted this comment before, but....Having read the comments about diesel oil I thought it sounded good, but things aren't always as they seem. so I did the "ask Shell" thing, if it would be a good idea to run diesel oil in a pre-PCV engine. They said it has additional detergent & anti-wear additives & would be a good choice.
I've heard that the extra addiives are good for a gas engine. The only problem is using it in late models. I've heard it can cause problems with cats and stuff, but we sure don't have to worry about that here.
A guy in our car club owns a truck salvage/parts bussiness and I remember him saying uses Shell Rotella in his Blown Olds powered A sedan.
I had a 87 mazda B2600. It used an leaked oil bad.. I'd stick ANYTHING in that *****. I always had alot of quarter gallons of rotella. I'd stick that in there if I had it. Half quarts of synthetic, anythin I could bring home from work an was free. I used that blue 2 cycle oil, chainsaw bar an chain oil... it made the exuast smell aweful. I once put BBQ sause in the power steering.... I didn't care... bad thing is that was like 3 or 4 years ago an I still see a little mexican guy drivin it every once in a while. Even saw it get sold at a farm auction for 800 bux before that!! That damn little truck has been around...
as a diesel apprentice i would not recomend useing delo in an old engine, because it does have more detergents it cleans carbon deposits from youre rings causeing un sealing and oil p***ing/burning. but if we are talking a newly rebuilt engine you would be ok.
its an old nailhead in my 55 special. the oil i was thinking was kendall 15-40 or something like that. i drive an isuzu turbo diesel for work n was thinking about it the other day.
If you read the specs on the can you will find that many top brands are rated for gas and diesel. Roetella and similar store brands work very well in old high miler engines. Ive run it for years in Ford and Dodge gas trucks of the late 70's thru late 80's. These are all in the 150K thru 380K mileage range and it sure hasnt hurt anything. I dont think Id use it in the more modern engines with micro clearances, hyper eutetic pistons, etc. I do run Castrol 20W50 in my 94 Taurus and 94 Volvo, both right at the 200K mark, even tho the manuals say 5W30. Screw the manuals, all they care about is the CAFE and thinner oils get better gas mileage or so they say. Castrol got on the band wagon about a year ago with their High Miler series of oils. They possibly have the addidtive specs on their web site.
In an engine with some oil consumption, the oil with the extra additives/"diesel oil" will foul the plugs sooner. Neal
it's a good deal, use C_ rated oils (first letter S= spark ignition, first letter C= compression ignition) so a SF/CG could be used for either, go for the 15W40 as it works well in older style engines.
I use 15-40 in everything, new, old, trucks, cars. never had fouling, or washed out bearings, cat problems, or any. I've used it for around 15 years now. I've noticed my towing truck runs cooler with it than with 10-40, or 20-50. Its a gas 454 chevy. Better oil pressure too.
I worked my way through college as a mobile mechanic for a local mobile maintenance company and still do some part time work with thenguy, he's a good buddy of mine. The deisle oils have more detergents, yes that is true, and usually they run the 15w-40 which is a little heavier than most gas engine oils. That being said, I run the 15w40 in damn near everything I own also and have never had a problem. So if you want to run it in your older engine it should not be a problem, other than it will clean the inside of your motor a little better.
My personal experience is this...NEVER put diesel motor oit in a high mileage engine. I did many years ago with the thought that I would clean up the engine in my new purchase, a 60 Chev with a sludged up 283. Long story short it did.... boy oh boy did it! In less than 30 miles the engine transformed from a non smoker to raw oil spewing out the exhaust pipes along with a cloud of smoke you could hide a destroyer in. Rick
WHAT? I thought I was the only maniac that did that! Every vehicle or tractor engine I have, gas or diesel (including peterbilts), 4, 6, or 8 cylinder gets 15-40. Everyone says its going to have horrible consequences, but ive yet to have anything bad happen. Although we had one international semi that required a detergent free oil. Also, if it is an old, unrebuilt motor (especially flatty, from what ive heard), ive heard its disastrous to use a detergent oil. The detergent loosens the 30+ year old grime and plugs lots of p***ages up, or even the pickup screen. If its an old motor but you have torn it down and cleaned everything (either for a rebuild or just to clean it up in the inside), then I wouldnt hesitate using a detergent oil.
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