Best Engine Oil 4JB1T

[kingman]

Hey Guys...now that my boost is up on the engine i suspect i would need to shange my oil every 3mths or so now and not every 4mths.. With respect to oil we get Mobile,Shell, Castrol here I use Castrol GTX 10W-40 Diesel Engine Oil..My engine is doing 188,000 Km...

Would I need to change my oil now with this higher temps ect and milage on the engine??

[kingman]

I also use Castrol CRD engine oil...

[geeves]

That oil is ok.
There are many good oils. I would always recomend getting the best grade diesel oil you can in 10w40 although with that engine in Barbados you would also get away with 20w50 with no harm. Do avoid the synthetic and semi synthetic oils though as they tend to leak.
Oil shoould be changed every 5000km or 6 months. Changing more than this doesnt give a large improvement to engine life

[mulover]

I agree with geeves there, 5000km is fine between changes, just don't go any more than this as the motor starts fouling up and loosing power. I dont think there is really much difference, and it wouldn't suprise me if half the oils came out of the same tank these days anyways. Be sure that when you pick an oil to stick with it, as a motor will tend to burn oil for the first few changes if you change brands.

[kingman]

Thanks guys...

[geeves]

Not sure about this burning oil for a while after changing brands. There are some oils that did cause oil burning for the first few changes but most of these are gone now and the engines most affected were old english ones. A good example was Castrol CX Put that in a morris 1000 and it was used as fast as the petrol but if you persevered the oil burning did stop.
The same thing seems to be true with some synthetics causing leaks on old engines but they dont seam to go away but changing back to minral oil does seem to seal them again.

[4JB1T]

Valvoline Diesel Extra seems to work for me.

[bedford4x4]

I notice that my Mu user manual says that I need to use SAE 30 API CD for NZ temperatures. I have been using Valvoline Diesel oil and wonder if it's too thin.... I once had a Rover 95 car and thought I'd do it a favour by changing from 30/40 to a 20-50 - big mistake. Lost heaps of power and didn't get it back until I went to a thicker oil.

[geeves]

30/40 is thinner than 20/50 at running temp
You dont realy want to run monograde oils these days because you pay extra for them and they tend to be lower quality oil. Ive been useing the Valvolene diesel extra for 5 years now and its fine. The CD rating is the best oil made when the car was now CG4 or CH4 are pretty standard. The oil additives have improved heaps in the last 20 years
With the oil viscosities the lower number is foe when its cold (W means winter) and the upper number for when its hot.

[Demonic]

As part of my "City and Guilds" Cert I had to do a peice on engine oils, and viscosity, here is the reply i recieved for my research from caltex about oil viscosity (thickness), a good read I thought.

Andrew, thanks for your inquiry via http://www.caltex.com regarding engine oil viscosity.

Viscosity is the internal friction of a fluid, but I will use the terms 'thick' and 'thin' as they are commonly used to describe viscosity.

An important point to consider is that all oils (as with most fluids) are thickest when they are cold, and they thin out as the temperature increases. There are some misconceptions about multigrade engine oils, and a common one is that they 'thicken up' when hot. If you are looking at an engine oil at ambient temperature, it can only get thinner as it is heated, or thicker as it is cooled.

Because the viscosity of oil varies exponentially with temperature, engine manufacturers had to have a system of specifying an appropriate viscosity grade for a range of climates/temperatures. The Society of Automobile Engineers developed the SAE viscosity grades early in the 20th century. They devised an abitrary grading system based on maximum and minimum viscosity ranges taken at 100 degrees C. The viscosity of any oil can be measured, and it will fall into one of these SAE grades - 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50 etc.

In cold winter conditions, we are more interested in whether the oil is going to be too thick and un-pumpable below zero degrees. For that reason the winter (W) grades were developed. These grades have limits as to how thick the oil can get at sub zero temperatures. For example:


SAE 10W oil - must be pumpable down to -25 degrees C
SAE 15W oil - must be pumpable down to -20 degrees C
SAE 20W oil - must be pumpable down to -15 degrees C

Prior to the 1960's, engine oils were monogrades. You might choose an SAE 15W for winter use, and switch to a SAE 40 for summer use. In the 1960's, multigrades oils were developed. These oils use additives that resist the tendency of the oil's viscosity to thin out with temperature increase. These additives are called Viscosity Index Improvers, and they make multigrade oils possible.

An SAE 15W-40 multigrade oil is a true SAE 40 when measured at 100 degrees C. It is also pumpable down to -20 degrees C, and therefore also meets the requirement of an SAE 15W. This allows the engine to be used in a wide range of temperatures. Most modern engine makers demand the use of multigrades.

In answer to your questions about the difference between an SAE 20W-50 and a 15W-50:
Both oils have a similar viscosity at 100 degrees as they are both within the SAE 50 grade. As the temperature drops, both oils will thicken up. The 20W-50 will thicken up at a faster rate, and become too-thick to pump somewhere below -15 degrees C. The 15W-50 doesn't thicken up as much, and will remain pumpable down to around -20 degrees.

We would tend to say that the 20W-50 is thicker than the 15W-50, at lower temperatures (always comparing them at the same temperature). To complicate things a little, at temperatures over 100 degrees C it is likely that the 20W-50 will actually be thinner than the 15W-50. This is because the inferior multigrade will thin out quicker than the better multigrade. This can be graphed as a slope that drops from very thick at low temperatures and very thin at high temperatures. The flatter this slope the better. If you could imagine a fluid that did not change in viscosity with changes in temperature, that would be a flat graph and would represent the perfect ideal fluid. Aviation and Space equipment is subjected to wide temperature extremes, and they use synthetic oils that have very wide multigrade properties.

Generally, the lower the Winter grade the better, and the higher the summer grade the better. You will notice that the higher priced synthetic engine oils have very wide multigrades, such as 10W-50.

I trust this information is helpful. Viscosity grades can be a difficult concept to grasp, because everything is relative to temperature. Being an ex-mechanic myself, I know that there are a lot of people who judge an engine oil by looking at it at room temperature. This is a mistake - because the important things are what happens at cold start up (maybe -20 degrees at a ski resort), or what is happening in the piston-ring area (maybe at 200 degrees ).

Regards,
J.... C...
Caltex Customer Services
New Zealand

[geeves]

excelent answer for engine oil
What are you doing getting an english certification? (city and guilds)

[Demonic]

That was in 2002. Dont know if it was an english thing,it was marketed to us as the mechanical version if the doctors "Surgical Guild" and it was an optional part of my Automotive Engineering course, the "City and Guilds" was ment to help get a job should I ever decide to travel.

[geeves]

its well known and respected everywhere. If I had done my trade in england it would of been under city and guilds

[scruff123]

Will 20w60 0r 50 be sweet in my 4jg2? its valvoline xld. wonder if it will help with the oil consumtion problem i have?

[geeves]

Please confirm XLD is a diesel oil?
Im useing valvolene diesel extra which is a 15w40 with no oil measurable consumption.
If the motor is very tired that oil wont harm things but you could loose power etc.
Oil consumption would be helped better by searching for the catch can thread

[scruff123]

yup its a diesel oil:
XLD Premium



XLD Premium Motor oil is amongst the finest multigrade mineral oils available . It uses the most advanced dispersant & detergent technology to keep the engine clean & free of sludge while providing optimum film strength to extend engine life . Recommended for petrol & passenger diesel engines , both normally aspirated & turbo charged .

*

Keeps the engine clean & free of sludge .
*

Provides optimum film strength to prevent metal on metal contact thus prolonging engine life .
*

The multigrade properties provide rapid circulation to overcome wear associated with cold starts & provide maximum performance at high temperatures .
*

Suitable for dual fuel systems & provides proven performance in both conventional & multi-valve engines .



Grade

SAE 20w/50


Valvoline XLD HI-VIS


Valvoline XLD Hi Vis is a 20w/60 high viscosity enhanced mineral oil . It is a shear stable lubricant designed for engines requiring a viscous lubricant . XLD Hi Vis is especially suited where oil consumption may be an issue .
XLD Hi Vis reduces oil consumption & maintains oil pressure in high mileage engines .

Grade
SAE 20w/60

ive got a catch can installed.
im using valvoline diesel extra aswell and its used nearly a litre and on 1500 kms,

doesnt leak and only smokes on startup, doesnt blow any smoke wen at operating temp.

i think ill give it a go, cant do any harm can it?

[flatlander07]

This is just me...but the CJ oils concern me. Developed with way low zinc/zddp, they are good for ULSD and catylic converters. Check it out on the web. But I hoarded some CI John Deere Plus 50 (15W40)...NOT plus 50II, this is a CJ, but a 55 gallon drum is good for a lifetime. It's discontinued. I got the last drum at my local JD dealer, but they still had some in bulk.

[geeves]

For most of us with older engines this would at best be extreme overkill and could cause seal issues. For the 4jx1 and newer engines though the better the oil the better. I havent run into cj rated oil yet