Rotella oil users ?

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Joined
Oct 12, 2006
Threads
11
Messages
19
I am a total newbie wrench, but am wanting to learn to work on my cruiser myself. I just switched oil to Rotella Synthetic from wally world, the blue gallon 5w-40 jugs. My question to those who use the stuff is, how much did you put in your 80? I was thinking that 2 gallons measured correctly, should I ad more? Excuse my ignorance, and any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
 
I seem to remember it taking two full jugs, however wait for someone else to chime in :)
 
Holds exactly 2 gallons (8 quarts) of oil.

Use diesel oil. It has higher concentrations of zinc in it, which lubricates better than oil that has the starburst label that says "For Use in Gasoline Engines".
 
Specs are for 7.8 quarts, but 0.2 quarts over probably won't hurt anything.

Just did mine today w. Toyota JDM filter from cdan.
 
2 whole containers bub. 8 qts
 
Like all good things- 2 jugs is best!
 
Thanks guys

I put in the 2 gallons (8-quarts) and feel much better, thanks to all. Lee.
 
Diesel Oil in Gas Engine?

Use diesel oil. It has higher concentrations of zinc in it, which lubricates better than oil that has the starburst label that says "For Use in Gasoline Engines".[/quote]

Im not saying your incorrect, but can anyone else back this info:confused:

Diesel fuel is very oily and helps lubricate the engine so I dont understand why diesel oil would have or need more Zinc, if that even helps with lubrication.

I could of sworn Ive read or heard somewhere its not a good idea to run diesel oil in a gas engine:confused: It wouldnt be the first or last time I am wrong but would like to hear some more feedback on this issue since I do own a gas LC and a 500+ Horsepower diesel. :grinpimp:
 
... Use diesel oil. It has higher concentrations of zinc in it, which lubricates better than oil that has the starburst label that says "For Use in Gasoline Engines".

Rotella is diesel oil. But it is also suitable for gas engines. Its formulation, compared to regular gas engine oils, is not so much about providing extra lubricity as it is about addressing diesel-specific problems, such as viscosity increase from soot and viscosity breakdown due to shear (diesels run roughly twice the compression of gassers). I suspect soot will be less of an issue now that ULSD has replaced LSD.

I'm looking at a Rotella bottle I had in the garage; I use the stuff in my diesel G-wagen. It carries the CI-4 Plus designation for diesel engines and also the SL designation, which is the API standard for 2004 and older gasoline engines.

Refer to the API oil service categories here and the Rotella T Synthetic page here
 
Use diesel oil. It has higher concentrations of zinc in it, which lubricates better than oil that has the starburst label that says "For Use in Gasoline Engines".

Im not saying your incorrect, but can anyone else back this info:confused:

Diesel fuel is very oily and helps lubricate the engine so I dont understand why diesel oil would have or need more Zinc, if that even helps with lubrication.

I could of sworn Ive read or heard somewhere its not a good idea to run diesel oil in a gas engine:confused: It wouldnt be the first or last time I am wrong but would like to hear some more feedback on this issue since I do own a gas LC and a 500+ Horsepower diesel. :grinpimp:


The Zinc content is an excellent anti-wear agent, but per federal regs, the amount in gasoline oils has been decreased, because over time, the zinc degrades the catalytic converter. Until recently diesels had no catalyst, so the oil had a slightly higher zinc content. My guess is that over time, that content will get lowered as well.

The thing is, though, it only applies to the most recent cars. SL is fine for 80 series, so if a diesel oil like Rotella (actually a "mixed fleet oil") meets the SL spec it will work fine in an 80 series.

My understanding is that the Oil Manufacturers have substituted other antiwear compounds in SM oils, so even though there is less zinc, they still lubricate the car just fine. I would not worry about it.

I run the Rotella Synthetic in my FJ60 November-April, and Chevron Delo 15w-40 April-October. In my 80 I use Mobil1, and my 40 gets whatever is on sale (usually Chevron Supreme 20w-50).
 
Last edited:
Be more specific, what engine.
 
I use it in my "5-banger" .....just curious, what's your concern about a 4-cylinder? Higher RPMs?
 
For most engines the rotella will work great. There are some newer engines (Honda, and certain VW engines) that are specifically designed to work on lighter oils and turn in their best wear numbers with these oils.
 
As I understand it, the items that suffer the most from the lower zinc additives are in vehicles that run non-roller valvetrains. Oil manufacturers took zinc out because new vehicles run roller valvetrains and no longer need the zinc. The zinc also can cause the degradation of the catalytic converter although I believe that is a pretty slow process. I have read reports of non-roller cams being wiped out in as little as 900 miles of driving. Now that is pretty extreme and I would suspect that there may have been a problem in existance beforehand.

Diesel oil still has the zinc additives. Even though diesels run roller valvetrains, I guess that the higher pressures and stresses found in a diesel engine make zinc a necessity. Diesels do run catalytic converters of sorts but they are different from gasoline convertors as the things they are trying to get rid of are different so it is possible that the zinc doesn't affect them. I'm only guessing on that one though.

Since our 80s run non-roller cams, I feel that it would be best to run an oil that still has the zinc additives. As anal as many of us are about the maintenance of our trucks, I can't see taking a chance with anything else until I see concrete evidence that the oil companies have come up with a solution to the problem. At this time however, it seems that the oil companies are ignoring the issue.

Just my 2 cents!
:cheers:
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom