Oil Qualities

[mkjeepers]

I think this question has been asked before, but what are the + & - of certain oils.

1.) Synthetic vs conventional oils.
2.) Specialty oils, such as Lucas sythetic, AMSOil synthetic vs Mobil 1 or Valvoline full synthitics.

There's a lot of here-say about the different brands, but does anyone know which are the best oils and why.

[Materdaddy]

Starting the timer until an amsoil guy shows up...

[mkjeepers]

I've talked to a few manufacturers and each says his product is the best and the others are inferior. But what are the practicle things that make for the best oil.

[RAT]

One way to find out the differences between oils is to read the MSDS for each oil, which can be found on the manufacturer website. These are documents required by OSHA and provide only the characteristics of the oil, not a bunch of vendor sales prattle. I use a lot of different oils in my business in industrial equipment, which is a different beast all together from internal combustion engines, but across the board, for high heat applications, semi-synthetic and full synthetic oils perform much better in a wide range of applications. Having said that, standard hydrocarbon motor oils (name brands anyway) are very good at protecting an engine. I read in a thread somewhere on MJR that someone switched to synthetic oil in an L6 engine and it caused the valve lifters to fail. I don't know if this is true. I use standard 10-30 Valvoline in mine and have not had an issue in over 67,000 miles. I would suggest using what Chrysler recommends for the vehicle you have and don't get drawn into the synthetic oil hooplah. It is good for a lot of things but the cost is sometimes rediculous compared to a standard HC oil.
Oh, just my:2:

[mrchips]

Nothing can take the place of good regular maintenance, and I use Castrol synthetic blend, and at 52k no issues.

[dirtman13]

Nothing can take the place of good regular maintenance, and I use Castrol synthetic blend, and at 52k no issues.

x2 5w-30 50k+ miles. Note:Chevy motor

[Lumpy Grits]

'85 Jeep CJ-7, bought new in March of 1985, 4.2L with 118K miles shown. More miles when you consider I have towed this Jeep all over the western USA. This Jeep has been "driven" and used.
Other than to reseal the valve cover, I have never been inside the engine. Never had a reason to. Have only used 20w-50 Castrol, Wix oil filter.
I am OCD on PM.
Use Castrol(different weights)in every engine I have including my 2 generators.
LG

[mkjeepers]

From what I've been told, the synthetic oils stand up better to heat and don't break down as quickly as conventional oil. But it seems that oil manufactures these days are putting better additives in both types of oil. I always change the oil between 3000 & 5000 miles anyways.

[Russ Chung]

Bob Is The Oil Guy (BITOG) has a good explanation about the characteristics and the + & - of different motor oils:

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/motor-oil-101/

I've always used Mobil 1 in my 2005 Jeep Wrangler 4.0 engine and I used to change it every 3,000 miles in accordance with Chrysler recommendations (schedule B). In 2010, with about 140,000 miles on the engine, I began to take a regular engine oil sample every 3,000 miles. I switched from regular Mobil 1 to Mobil 1 EP 10W-30 and changed the oil when the oil analysis indicated that the cSt was getting high or the TBN was getting low (usually around 12k - 15k miles). Last year, I started to get some tappet noise, so I switched to Mobil 1 High Mileage 10W-30 at 195,000 miles because it contains slightly higher levels of ZDDP. The noise has gone away, but I have to change the oil more frequently (about every 6k - 8k miles) and I now have 207,000 miles on the engine.

My engine is running fine, but I am somewhat worried because the last two engine oil samples have shown elevated levels of aluminum; they show about 60 ppm of aluminum after only 6,000 miles, when previous samples have never been higher than about 10 ppm even after 15,000 miles. I'm not sure where the aluminum is coming from; I think it might be an indication of piston wear.

[inVERt'D]

Sounds like you're more on top of your oil, than 99.9% of drivers, Russ Chung. If there's aluminum in your oil, it's from your pistons.

I like how conscientious you are about your maintenance, but personally, I wouldn't be the least bit worried about 60ppm of aluminum at 6000 miles. At that rate, it will be a very long time before your pistons wear out. I mean, the engine is going to wear out eventually if you use it. If you can actually see a fair amount of aluminum when you drain your oil, then you can be concerned. I had a car that I fairly regularly drove over 100mph and quite often within 500 rpm of the redline. It had CHUNKS of aluminum (piston skirt) at the bottom of the oil pan, and it still ran great when I swapped it out for a V8.

[Navy-Jeepster]

I have run Amsoil in my jeep for the last 100k of miles. It has 140k on it now, and it still uses very little oil between changes. I usually run about 15 to 20k between oil changes.
I have thought of doing the oil analysis to track my oil's condition and the condition of my engine.
It was already mentioned, that the synthetics can handle high heat better than the standard conventional oils.
Oil itself does not really break down, but the additives break down and stop functioning in your engine. The additives in the synthetics are usually better, and last longer.
Most of the vehicle manufactures are increasing the interval between oil changes these days. This is because the oil available has gotten better than years ago.

Todd

[mkjeepers]

Does anyone have any thoughts on the Lucas oil stabilizers. They make one for conventional oil as well as a pure synthetic.

[Lumpy Grits]

The Lucas engine oil stop leaks WORKS.
The 27 year old front and rear main seals on my CJ-7 have stopped leaking in about 500 miles driving after using the stop leak
LG

[Lumpy Grits]

I have run Amsoil in my jeep for the last 100k of miles. It has 140k on it now, and it still uses very little oil between changes. I usually run about 15 to 20k between oil changes.
I have thought of doing the oil analysis to track my oil's condition and the condition of my engine.
It was already mentioned, that the synthetics can handle high heat better than the standard conventional oils.
Oil itself does not really break down, but the additives break down and stop functioning in your engine. The additives in the synthetics are usually better, and last longer.
Most of the vehicle manufactures are increasing the interval between oil changes these days. This is because the oil available has gotten better than years ago.

Todd

15-20K mi. is way to much on any oil with the hit and miss filtering we have on these engines.
Get a UOA asap.
What's the reason for the long OCI?
LG

[Russ Chung]

Todd,

My belief in regular oil analysis comes from my experience in the Army, where our equipment was regularly sampled. A single sample will tell you whether your oil can continue to protect your engine or if it is worn out and needs to be changed. If you don't need to change the oil, the TREND ANALYSIS that comes from comparing the readings in successive samples is an excellent way to reveal hidden problems.

Since you are an Amsoil user, you can get pre-paid oil sample kits from your Amsoil dealer. That's where I've been getting my sample kits. I take the sample, mail it in to the oil analysis lab and get the results back via e-mail usually in less than a week. You can also get pre-paid sample kits from NAPA Auto Parts stores and Caterpillar Tractor Dealers.

Russ