Castrol GTX 20W-50 for 92 FJ80 3FE

[AJM0617]

Hey guys, just wondering if anyone here uses a castrol gtx 20W-50 on FJ80 3FE motor. What do you guys think about it? My 3FE got 210,000 miles right now. Im from oregon so we get around 32 degrees winter and summer like right now 90 degrees. Currently using Shell rotella T 15W-40 all year round. Just thinking about trying it out. And would like to know from you guys first..

Thanks in advance

 

[AJM0617]

Anyone??

 

[BlackLS1]

rotella is some good stuff, just stick with it.

 

[KoalaCruiser]

I use Castrol GTX 20w-50, although here in the Philippines, its a constant 80*F all year long. im satisfied with castrol. have also ran numerous 20w50's like motul & such. Castrol seems to work high milage seems to work better for me. haven't run shell rotella yet.

 

[AJM0617]

I use Castrol GTX 20w-50, although here in the Philippines, its a constant 80*F all year long. im satisfied with castrol. have also ran numerous 20w50's like motul & such. Castrol seems to work high milage seems to work better for me. haven't run shell rotella yet.

I'm born in Manila Philippines.. what part of Philippines are you?

 

[tominboise]

rotella is some good stuff, just stick with it.

+1 on the rotella. Any of the 15W-40 Diesel engine oils are good stuff. Rotell 5W-40 synthetic is also a great choice if you want to move to a synthetic ( I do, as my oil gets changed about once a year and temps range from 20F to 105F during that period.

 

[John E Davies]

+1 on the rotella. Any of the 15W-40 Diesel engine oils are good stuff. Rotell 5W-40 synthetic is also a great choice if you want to move to a synthetic ( I do, as my oil gets changed about once a year and temps range from 20F to 105F during that period.

I agree 100%. You can't buy 20W50 at any sort of discount price. The 4 quart jugs of 5W40 Rotella T6 are available at Walmart for around US$30, I think. The dino oil is significantly cheaper. It's been a while since I bought any. I tend to stockpile the stuff.

I use the T6 in my son's 1991 Audi Coupe quattro, which is supposed to get 20W50, as well as in my LX450 and my Outback XT (turbo). It's good oil. My only complaint is that out of the bottle it is a little dark. I would prefer it to be a clear oil like Mobil 1, so I can see it darken over time.

I do annual changes on both older vehicles since they don't get many miles on them. I wouldn't do that with a dino oil. It's a little more costly for the synthetic, but half the oil changes - the math works for me. Less labor, less disposal hassles, excellent lubrication.....

Steer clear of the Mobil 1 5W30 - it's way too light for your 80. I tried it once and the oil pressure started to get wonky due to the oil thinning too much in high temperature driving.

http://www.shell.com/home/content/rotella/products/

John Davies
Spokane WA USA

 

[KoalaCruiser]

I'm born in Manila Philippines.. what part of Philippines are you?

Im in Angeles City. Im from Cali tho.

Try running 10w40?

Sent from my iPhone using IH8MUD

 

[KS-Ryan]

I'm running Mobil 1 0w-40. Oil pressure is good, engine is running great and I only have to change it once a year.

 

[beachcomberspi]

I'd likely not use it in winter due to its weight. I use the Rotella T6 (Texas) year round. Cheers.

 

[LINUS]

Steer clear of the Mobil 1 5W30 - it's way too light for your 80. I tried it once and the oil pressure started to get wonky due to the oil thinning too much in high temperature driving.

Shell Rotella Products | Shell Rotella

John Davies
Spokane WA USA

I don't want to start any sort of "oil war" since it's like talking religion & trying to convert people.

You have a 1FZ if you have a LX450 & 5w30 is the preferred oil right in the owners' book (in fact I've run it for ~60K/10 years & it gets an annual change like a few of your vehicles - just saying & I'll leave it at that - Rotella is great stuff, more power to you, if you lose oil on M1 5w30 & there's no gasket leaks, maybe you have enough miles your stem seals are worn out.

 

[FastCarGuy]

rotella is some good stuff, just stick with it.

...X2!!

 

[cary]

I don't want to start any sort of "oil war" since it's like talking religion & trying to convert people.

You have a 1FZ if you have a LX450 & 5w30 is the preferred oil right in the owners' book (in fact I've run it for ~60K/10 years & it gets an annual change like a few of your vehicles - just saying & I'll leave it at that - Rotella is great stuff, more power to you, if you lose oil on M1 5w30 & there's no gasket leaks, maybe you have enough miles your stem seals are worn out.

Without trying to start the war, the 5w-30 recommendation in the manual is for the purpose of meeting fuel economy standards. If you look at the overseas oil weight recommendations, you will see that they recommend heavier weights for hot climates. We also have UOA's showing that 40 weight oils provide slightly, and I emphasis the slightly, lower wear.

There is no reason to run 20w-50 in these engines. It will result in much longer times for full lube on startup and if anything accelerate wear. Also, heavier oils remove heat slower and cause slightly hotter running temperatures. Personally, I would rather see you run 30 weight than 50 weight.

The sweep spot with these engines appears to be 40 weight oils. 30 weights will work fine and at the end of the day, we are probably talking about the maximum of a few percentage difference in engine life.

 

[John E Davies]

if you lose oil on M1 5w30 & there's no gasket leaks, maybe you have enough miles your stem seals are worn out.

It burns no oil between 5000 mile changes - I have a few tiny external weeps, that is not the issue. With Mobil 5W30 I would see the oil _pressure_ start to follow the rpms up and down when the oil was really hot (climbing steep mountain grades in summer), an indicator that the oil was too thin.

Draining and refilling with 5W40 T6 fixed the issue and it has never returned.

Mobil 1 5W30 is known to be a little "thin" for its rating, according to various Internet sources. I can't point to any definite proof. I've used it for many years in other vehicles, but I won't in my 80.

John Davies
Spokane WA USA.

 

[AJM0617]

I ended up sticking with Rotella T 15W-40 with wix oil filter

 

[cary]

It burns no oil between 5000 mile changes - I have a few tiny external weeps, that is not the issue. With Mobil 5W30 I would see the oil _pressure_ start to follow the rpms up and down when the oil was really hot (climbing steep mountain grades in summer), an indicator that the oil was too thin.

Draining and refilling with 5W40 T6 fixed the issue and it has never returned.

Mobil 1 5W30 is known to be a little "thin" for its rating, according to various Internet sources. I can't point to any definite proof. I've used it for many years in other vehicles, but I won't in my 80.

John Davies
Spokane WA USA.

All weights are allowed a range. In the case of 30 weight oils, oils from 9.6cst to 12.4 cst if I remember correctly. The Mobil 1 30 weight oils (except the high mileage) are in the low 10 cst range. So they are objectively on the thin end. The Mobil 1 40weights are in the 13cst range which is on the lighter end of the 40 weight scale, one reason I recommend them over the 30 weight.

 

[LINUS]

Personally, my rationalization for running the M1 5w30 over going Rotella is that I live in WA - we rarely see triple digit temps (in fact, last 2 summers didn't happen at all IIRC) - and winter worst we see for a few days in a row is like 15*F - so I figured the lighter weight oil was better than if I lived in the NM, TX -type climate, at least for the hotter end of the scale.This is simply my reasoning, I'm not an oil expert - so if I somehow have my reasoning off, feel free to give me the internet equivalent of a "smack in the back of the head" - I'm not above saying I easily could be way off - I just figured the above made sense whereas guys living in the South need a little more viscosity to keep wear & tear down that my ambient temps don't dictate.

As to the comment made by somebody - I thought it was supposed to be a rev depedant situation as to what the oil pressure reads - you gun it & let off, it's supposed to spike the oil pressure momentarily - that's not a sign of anything wrong at least in all the vehicles I've had with or added a OP gauge. Also, the warmere the oil gets & the viscosity drops some, it doesn't swing as extreme as when you are cold & can near peg the gauge if you rev'ed the motor cold (obviously not a brilliant idea), it tapers off to a steadier mid-range indication the warmer the oil / motor gets.

 

[cary]

Personally, my rationalization for running the M1 5w30 over going Rotella is that I live in WA - we rarely see triple digit temps (in fact, last 2 summers didn't happen at all IIRC) - and winter worst we see for a few days in a row is like 15*F - so I figured the lighter weight oil was better than if I lived in the NM, TX -type climate, at least for the hotter end of the scale.This is simply my reasoning, I'm not an oil expert - so if I somehow have my reasoning off, feel free to give me the internet equivalent of a "smack in the back of the head" - I'm not above saying I easily could be way off - I just figured the above made sense whereas guys living in the South need a little more viscosity to keep wear & tear down that my ambient temps don't dictate.

As to the comment made by somebody - I thought it was supposed to be a rev depedant situation as to what the oil pressure reads - you gun it & let off, it's supposed to spike the oil pressure momentarily - that's not a sign of anything wrong at least in all the vehicles I've had with or added a OP gauge. Also, the warmere the oil gets & the viscosity drops some, it doesn't swing as extreme as when you are cold & can near peg the gauge if you rev'ed the motor cold (obviously not a brilliant idea), it tapers off to a steadier mid-range indication the warmer the oil / motor gets.

Here is where your thinking is off. The 30 v. 40 weight denotes the thickness of the oil at operating temperature (measured at 100c). The first number in a multiweight oil denotes the cold pumping thickness. So all 5w-xx oils are approximately the same thickness at cold temperatures. A 0w-40 oil pumps faster at cold temps than a 5w-30, which in turn pumps better than a 10w-30. In the old days, we used to worry about wide spreads between the cold pump weight and the operating weight, i.e. 10w-40 mineral oils. With the older basestocks those wide spreads required a great number of VI improvers which lead to sludge. Now even SM and SN "mineral" oils are made up of a mix of Group II, Group II+ and Group III basestocks which requires less VI improvers so it is not an issue. With synthetic oils, it is a non-issue to begin with.

You are correct, the oil pressure gauge should move. As long as it is a couple of needle widths off the bottom at idle and goes up with RPM's, you have sufficient pressure.