Rotella Oil (1 Viewer)

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Joined
May 20, 2021
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Location
Virginia
I have a '92 with a 3FE engine and I am needing to do an oil change. I was wondering why many on here choose to go with diesel motor oil (Rotella) over a typical gas motor oil. Also which type of Rotella do you guys recommend, if it helps I live in Virginia and hoping for a year-round oil.
 
There's a lot of info on this topic, if you search you'll get a good head start on making a decision. Below are some that came up first when I searched.





 
Thank you for that, but is there a reason to run diesel motor oil vs standard gas?
 
I'm in central NC...just changed from Toyota Dealer oil change (unknown weight) to Rotella T6 5w-40 and ran a quick trip to some elevations this past weekend to Asheville. Everything seems to be similar so far, but I did notice I'm running at a higher oil pressure on load.

Assuming it has to due to thickness?
 
I'm in central NC...just changed from Toyota Dealer oil change (unknown weight) to Rotella T6 5w-40 and ran a quick trip to some elevations this past weekend to Asheville. Everything seems to be similar so far, but I did notice I'm running at a higher oil pressure on load.

Assuming it has to due to thickness?
I just bought the 10/30 mobile one for high mileage vehicles. I was tetering on the delo/rotella 40w oils but I decided to go with the toyota recommended weight since I only drive it occasionally and for the cold starts. I was hesitant to go with the thicker weight since my oil pressure is good with the 30 w that was in the cruiser when I bought it. I have no idea what makes the "high mileage" version any different but it lists 10k mile oil intervals.
 
@zbrad I've been running the SuperTech dino (10w30 I think) for years. I believe people run the diesel oil because it has more detergents but on an older engine that isn't necessarily a good thing. I'm not saying oil is oil but so long as you change it regularly there is little point on spending big bucks on it.
 
Running diesel oil has nothing to do with detergents and everything to do with Zinc (ZDDP). Most modern automobile oils have removed the ZDDP for the purposes of cleaner emissions. Our old flat tappet tractor engines need this ZDDP in order to stave off cam / lifter wear. ZDDP was not removed from many of the oils meant for diesel trucks. Rotella still has some ZDDP in the formula, as do some others like Mobil Delvac. The Rotella T4 15W40 dino oil is relatively inexpensive, the viscosity fits for most of the temperature zones in the US, it's got Zinc and it's readily available. That's why so many of us use it.
 
High mileage oils usually just have extra additives to help old seals, slight anti-wear changes and things of that nature.

No matter how beat the horse is, gotta accept that oil discussion never ends. What I’ve gathered - T6 is a good oil in general, and I’ve always felt like part of the reason it’s chosen is simply because it’s one of the widely available 5W40 options… good cold starts, but a slightly heavier weight at temp for certain vehicles that might like it. These engines, like many “older“ 4x4s, are often called tractor motors for a reason. They are relatively simple and are not built with the high tolerances of today, where you really should stick to a 30, or even 20 weight in newer vehicles.

It’s often mentioned that Toyota recommends 5W30, but that’s just the EPA recommendation in the US under the idea of fuel economy/etc. Toyota’s global spec for these engines is anywhere from 5W30 to 20W50, depending on climate. I don’t know that 5W40 was an option back then, so in my mind, it sort of bridges a gap that might be a sweet spot for many users. Again, good cold starts/colder climate, while retaining a more robust 40 weight at temp. There’s also 0w40 these days.

As mentioned above, “diesel” oils have additional additives to help deal with the dirtier nature of diesel engines, but many are approved for gas engines, and it’s not going to hurt anything. Some feel it might clean a dirty engine too much at once and cause issues, but I don’t know that I’ve actually heard of that happening? If the engine is that dirty, there are probably bigger things to worry about. There’s also the whole topic of ZDDP/antiwear additives and many oil analyses coming back showing 40 weights to protect a bit better against wear in these engines.

And the idea of age > wear > slightly lower oil pressure > slightly thicker oil. I have been using Mobil 5w40 “turbodiesel” partly for that reason.

You can really use whatever you feel happy with, just make sure it makes sense for your climate/use, and perhaps most importantly that you HAVE oil in there
 
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I've been running Rotella T4 for a few years now in my 92. Oil leaks have been less and I'm sold on the zinc helping overall. Although I've heard that the zinc also destroys the cats over time. (pretty sure mine are shot anyways) Luckily my county in PA doesn't check emissions so it's a non-issue for me.
 
I use kirkland oil from Costco because it is cheap and I change it every 3,000 miles
 
The popular fleet DEO’s now say “approved for all engine types” meaning ok for CAT’s meaning ZDDP content has been drastically reduced because petroleum companies found a replacement additive for the kind of lubrication that ZDDP provides meaning you will be hard pressed to find a DEO on the shelf downtown that’s not API certified for all engines and exhaust systems.

Diesel powered vehicles on the road in the USA have had CAT’s for years. My 2005 Dodge does.
 
Delo boys post up. The superior diesel oil. Pisses rotella and s***s mobil 1.

BLUE BOX CREW

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280,000 miles. Mobile 1 5W30. Sometimes I use the extended mileage, sometimes regular and sometimes the high mileage. Sometimes I mix and match. I never change less than 7500 miles and I don't sweat it too much if it goes over that. Changing every 3k with dino oil just seems like such a waste. I don't think you can even buy non-synthetic in Europe anymore.

FWIW I changed the oil in my 1994 FZJ75 when I bought it. The only Mobil 1 oil I could find in Riyadh was 0W40 (or 0W20 IIRC but that was a non-starter). I was a little hesitant but it seems to like it just fine. That vehicle has basically the same engine, 1FZ-F, which is the carburated version of the 1FZ-FE.

I think the most important thing was already mentioned by @SpenserAK; just make sure you have oil in the engine.
 
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