Motor oil again

Tom in Mo. · May 17, 2015

I've been on this site since 2001 and many times the motor oil question comes up and invariably Shell Rotella gets blasted. Now there are alot of negative comments about Rotella but no one says WHY they don't like it.
I have run diesel pickups for 30 years, have a Ford backhoe, JD dozer and 3 diesel farm tractors and all have performed as expected. I have been using Rotella T 15-40 for a long time with no issues.
What's the problem that some of you fellas have with Rotella? Facts please.

David G · May 17, 2015

I use Delvac because it is a little cheaper.

showcrop · May 17, 2015

I have been on here since 2001 as well, and I have a completely different take on it. My impression is that amongst the general population here at YT that far more run Shell 15-40 all fleet than anything else. maybe by a margin of 4 to one. Many of us like it because of the "All Fleet" specs.

ShadetreeRet · May 17, 2015

I agree with showcrop, seems like I hear more approval than negative about Rotella. The only diesel that I have ever driven ran Rotella, I kept a couple quarts in the tool box to add when needed. When I went to work for the company they had just installed a reman. 8.2L Detroit in this F-700 or F-750, I can't remember which, but the reason they needed a new driver was the previous driver didn't keep the oil checked. I know Rotella has been around for a long time.

Tom in Mo. · May 17, 2015

Maybe I have misunderstood. I have used it a long time with no issues. Just curious.

KCTractors · May 17, 2015

I use Delvac 1300, 15-40 also, because that's what we run in all the log trucks and the logging equipment where I worked. Never had any engine problems either.

tim s · May 17, 2015

I have used Rotella 15/40 in all my engines for years, my road tractor has 800,000 on it and most of the old pickups have 200,000 plus on them..no problems so far..I'm not tooting the horn for Rotella but it's working for me.

Texasmark1 · May 17, 2015

Hat in the ring for ROT T too. 30 years running on the farm and 1 million miles on a 800 cu in, 400 hp big cam Cummins OTR......held
11 gallons and changed it once a month. I didn't put but couple hundred thousand on it but the engine had a million with one in
frame.

buickanddeere · May 17, 2015

I don't recall anybody here comparing Rotella mineral oil to an other mineral oil and calling the Rotella inferior.
There a story that claims JD Torq-Gard oil was/is a formulation very close to Rotella.

Pair-a-dice farm · May 17, 2015

Ive heard the same about Penzoil. I've run Penz in my gas trucks and wife's car for 25 years or more. I've put over 200-300K on most of them. The only trouble I've had was a Chevy 350 and that wasn't oil related. I can't remember using anything but Rotella in my diesels.

john in la · May 17, 2015

Name a oil; any oil; and I can go find someone that will think it is trash.

A while back I knew of a couple of Ford dealers that were having injector problems in the powerstrokes.
They were blaming the problem on Rotella oil and foaming problems.
Convinced several truck owners the oil was the problem because when they did a oil change and installed Motorcraft oil the injector problem went away.
Was it the fault of Rotella oil or was the real problem dirty oil?
I do not know the right answer but do know several truck owners that would not use Rotella oil in their truck if you gave the oil to them.

mjsnodgrass · May 18, 2015

how do you guys feel about delo 400 15-40

Dick2 · May 18, 2015

I've used Pennzoil in my vehicles for over 40 years. My brother bad mouths Pennzoil - but he's the one that has had to overhaul his engines!

johnlobb · May 18, 2015

After Pennzoil screwed me out of a $10 rebate after I had jumped through all their hoops, I would NEVER EVER buy any Pennzoil.

Geo-TH,In · May 18, 2015

Tom,
I've been using regular shell 10w40 and full synthetic 10w30 in tractors, mowers and
generators for decades, no oil related issues. I even removed the head on one engine, no
cylinder wear either.

INCase · May 18, 2015

in reality, if you look at the numbers (oil test numbers)

Rotella is a mid grade oil. Not the best, by far not the worst. A good oil for the $. that's it.

its the quality of the base oil and the additive packages that make or break an oil. the SAE stamp only means it passes the minimum standards. does not mean all oils with the stamp are equal.

personally don't use Shell. For synthetics I use AMSOIL (mobil 1 if in a pinch) and Castrol for non-synthetic.

dhermesc · May 18, 2015

You forgot the obvious - did it have anything to do with the oil or was it the original factory injectors? You have an injector problem, replace the injector and the problem went away.

buickanddeere · May 18, 2015

(quoted from post at 02:40:16 05/18/15) how do you guys feel about delo 400 15-40

Our Cabernet Franc rose DELO offers fresh aromas of ripe strawberry, raspberry and cherry. An exquisite balance of vibrant acidity and fruit. A perfect summer time oil to share in the garage with your tractor.

john in la · May 18, 2015

Replacing the injector did not help.
If you can remember that I am talking on long term memory about a system I know very little about I will add..........

The injectors in a powerstroke are oil pressure fired.
Some how the oil was getting air bubbles in the system.
Ford was blaming the bubbles on Rotella oil foaming.
Shell was blaming the problem on the oil pickup design.
Old dirty oil moves slower. Shell said if you put the truck at a specific angle; with dirty oil; the pickup tube was creating a bathtub type vortex that allowed the engine to suck air into the oil system.

What was the real problem.
I do not know.
Did Ford finally find a pickup tube problem and redesign it.
I do not know.

The thing I do know is I never heard of this problem with anyone that did not use Rotella.
And if you changed the oil with Motorcraft oil the problem went away.
I do not know of anyone that changed the oil with Rotella to see if that made the problem go away.
I do not know of anyone that was using Motorcraft oil that had the problem to start with.

So with what some would call half the facts and no real study data to back it up
One could very easily jump to conclusions and blame Rotella oil.
I know a few truck owners that did after talking to dealer mechanics.

Foghorn Leghorn · May 18, 2015

My concern with all the oils now is how they have changed recently, and I am not happy about some of what I see. Especially for older gas engines with flat tappet lifters and cams, this newer oil without ZDDP would seem to be a problem. That includes older diesels now as well. This was an EPA mandated change for the newer stuff, but is a problem for the older.

I actually went TO Rotella for this reason, but discovered that the conventional rotella oil redeuced this as well. Running with Rotella synthetic t6 5-40 in my Oliver 1655, but that is only used in the winter. Seems OK. Just put Rotella semi synthetic 10w30 in my allis C. Used in summer for mowing (was using mobil conventional 10-30.

On my 87 BMW, I am using Mobil1 15-50. Only run that in the summer. That does still have ZDDP.

This will be an even bigger issue over time. The cant take our older stuff away, so they are trying to make them unuseable. They will be successful unless we fight back.

sotxbill · May 18, 2015

John, I know a guy who ran rotella and His wife got pregnant and his house got termites... : )

I prefer delo when I can get it... but usually run rotella as the delo always sells out first at wally world.

As others have said. when the added catalytic converters they had to lower the zddp to keep it from coating the converters, and the oil is no longer as good as it used to be. zddp is attracted to anything extremely hot and will bond to it,, so a 3000 degree catalytic converter would be a prime target. The new oil is rated LE for lower emission engines.

screwloose · May 18, 2015

don't have any facts other than I have been using Travelar oil from TSC for years. 99 powerstroke 284,000 miles, Komatsu trackloader I forget how many hours, john deere 310sg backhoe 5,000 hrs. Mack and freightliner dump trucks etc. etc. I had a shop put new front and rear oil seals and a pan gasket in the 99 powerstroke. The owner of the shop told me he couldn't believe how clean the engine was inside on the inside. I run 15-40 in everything, car, truck, lawnmower, tractor.

Ultradog MN · May 18, 2015

LOL
Good one

casenut1 · May 18, 2015

Anybody besides myself run Scheaffers Oil? Have used it for years. Keeps the engine the
cleanest I have ever seen.

Bill in IL · May 18, 2015

I recently read this attached article. It was very interesting but must be a couple of years old. Its geared toward motorcycles and what oil to use.

I run Rotella 15-40 in my old tractors and have been happy with it. Next change will be delvac cause of their rebates on 5 gallon buckets. I don't care if you have cheap oil or expensive or synthetic all oil gets dirty and the additives break down with time.

Any newer tractor gets the dealer oil that was specified to go in it. Its not worth saving a couple of bucks for the headaches if I would have a problem with a newer engine.
All about oil

Traditional Farmer · May 18, 2015

Fellow I know that runs about 10 trucks won't use Rotella oil says he had a problem with it,he uses Kendall 15W-40

Jerry Coulter · May 18, 2015

I always used Rotella 15-40 in my 93 Chevy PU with 6.5T diesel engine. Bought it at 104K miles, at 173K miles it threw a rod. My service manager advised that Ford and Chrysler posted a bulletin discouraging the use of Shell Rotella but GM had not yet taken any position on it.

ss55 · May 19, 2015

Newer motor oils have additives that break down the wet clutch linings in many motorcycles. If I remember correctly the change was back when SH or SJ oil was introduced, close to 20 years ago now.

Motor oil again

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