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I read an article in one of the hot rod magazines a few months ago on this subject. They said the newest oils for gas engines don't have the anti-wear additives partly because they don't need them. Most late model gas engines use roller lifters or cam followers, rather than the older style lifters or followers that more or less slide on the lobe surface of the cam (hopefully cushioned by a nice layer of protective oil!). The article said there had been a lot of problems with camshaft and lifter wear on some of the aftermarket high performance camshafts, which used the conventional flat tappet lifters. They recommended using the diesel rated oil, which continues to include the anti-wear additives, to prevent premature cam wear. I had been using whatever was on sale in 20W50 in my old Ford 641D, which leaks some oil and probably has over 10K hours on it. I always had better hot oil pressure with the 20W50 and since it was being dumped on the ground, I was trying to get by as cheaply as possible. Before I read the article, I had never had it explained why it was important to use diesel rated oil. My 641D will get Rotella at each oil change from now on, although I will probably use up the gas engine rated 20W50 I already have when I need to add oil, at least sometimes. I expect to need to rebuild or overhaul the engine in the 641D in the next few years. Hopefully the existing cam and lifters will not be worn too much to reuse, as I have heard that the diesel camshafts are hard to come by. I think I will use diesel rated oil in my 84 Ford pickup with 460. I am sure it uses conventional lifters and only has about 35K on a rebuild. I would sure hate to have the camshaft go bad on it. It will probably stay with me the rest of my life, gas hog or not. I need a hauler sometimes and the old Ford does that well.
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