Which oil are you using?

[woytovich]

OH....MY....GOD....

PLEASE STOP.

While I DO care about my truck and I DO care about the oil I put in it and I DO care about the opinions of mudders... enough is enough.

There is plenty of info in this thread (entitled "Which oil are you using?" by the way) for anyone that has the time to read it to use to make their own decisions as to how to maintain their cruiser.

Maybe it is time to agree to disagree on the finer points of oil changes.

Mark

 

[Spike Strip]

Getting away from this juvenile tit 4 tat, and getting back to what this thread is supposed to be about:

Modern quality oils that are SM, SL, etc., rated can easily be left alone for year if the mileage is low and the vehicle is driven to operating temp a few times a month. They are far more resistant to acid formation than older spec engine oils. 2F engines have large tractor bearings that are hard on oil, and break down additives quickly.

I don't put many miles on my cruisers but try to change the oils every 6 months or so just cuz it's easy and cheap (Rotella or Delo w/ some zddp add) and I want the engines to last. In my modern engine cars, I leave it alone for a year, using high-quality full synthetics.

 

[Mace]

I've adopted a different approach, that is easy to think about and remember. I change every 5000 miles on the 5000 miles on the odometer. So 150K, 155K etc. It's easy that way and I don't need a sticker to tell me it's time to change. It averages out to about once per year on the Cruiser fleet and twice per year on my wife's car.

This is exactly what I do in my vehicles. Every 5K just because it's easy to remember.

My 60 gets Motocraft 5w-20 semi synthetic (5.0 not a 2F)
My 40 and the 63 bug get rotella t (and some extra zinc additive)
My F350 gets Rotella T

My wifes Jetta gets the synthetic that the dealership uses because I do not want to deal with crawling under that car to remove a canister oil filter.. What a mess..

 

[woytovich]

Mace, Cruiserdrew and Spike:
"Every 5K just because it's easy to remember."

Smart, simple... brilliant. One of those things that make me slap my head and think what a dummy I am....

Thanks...

Mark

 

[land crusher]

My wifes Jetta gets the synthetic that the dealership uses because I do not want to deal with crawling under that car to remove a canister oil filter.. What a mess..

What series? We have a MkIV Golf that a lot of people say to remove the filter from the bottom, but I find it easier to get at from the top. Regardless, removing the filter spills oil everywhere; no way around it--terrible design. That car is a bitch to work on. Can barely change the plugs without removing the intake manifold. Anyway...

 

[FJ40Jim]

That car is a bitch to work on. Can barely change the plugs without removing the intake manifold. Anyway...

There's your problem. Real VW's don't have sparking plugs.
But they do use super good synthetic oil that works with the factory OCI monitor system to give OCI over 25K miles under best condition, 15K at worst.

Like others have said, I just change the VW every 10K cause it's easy.

The FJ60 gets changed every year or two, since it doesn't drive much and is partially self changing (hella leaky fuel pump.) It does get oil with high ZDDP or zinc additive. And a big-arse filter.

 

[Mace]

What series? We have a MkIV Golf that a lot of people say to remove the filter from the bottom, but I find it easier to get at from the top. Regardless, removing the filter spills oil everywhere; no way around it--terrible design. That car is a bitch to work on. Can barely change the plugs without removing the intake manifold. Anyway...

No clue, I'm an early bug guy, the Jetta is a 2008. I let the stealership worry about things...

There's your problem. Real VW's don't have sparking plugs.
But they do use super good synthetic oil that works with the factory OCI monitor system to give OCI over 25K miles under best condition, 15K at worst.

Like others have said, I just change the VW every 10K cause it's easy.

The FJ60 gets changed every year or two, since it doesn't drive much and is partially self changing (hella leaky fuel pump.) It does get oil with high ZDDP or zinc additive. And a big-arse filter.

Leaky fuel pump?? The gasket? Points for the proper use of "hella" btw

I do have to admit tho. My 40 does not get oil changes every 5K miles. It used to, but since it is not driven on the street any more. I kinda do it when I feel like it... I've only had it since 88, and it's on the second motor. Which is not because the first one actually died. The Banjo bolt fell out of the connection between the oil pump and the block. It lost oil pressure and I pulled the motor and replaced it with another one I had sitting around. That poor motor sees more abuse than 99.999999% of the F series motors out there..

 

[land crusher]

There's your problem. Real VW's don't have sparking plugs.

Tell me about it. My wife bought it before I met her and she was too impatient to wait the extra couple months for the TDIs (this car was one of the first MkIVs off the boat, complete with all the gremlins that came with the mid-year model change).

 

[land crusher]

No clue, I'm an early bug guy, the Jetta is a 2008. I let the stealership worry about things...

Model year 2008 is probably a MkV, so probably completely different arrangement under the hood than mine. Last time ours went to the dealership they cross threaded a spark plug into the block. Anyhow, it's a 99 with 260k so it's now a game to see how long it lasts.

 

[dorcom]

...and what does all this gobble-di-guck yak-a-di-jyak jazz have to do with "What oil are you using [in your FJ60 2F]

Are we pushing 60 here, in IQ?

 

[FJ40Jim]

Leaky fuel pump?? The gasket? Points for the proper use of "hella" btw

The 1987 engine is wearing a manual priming lever 1963 fuel pump with well over 100K miles on it. The old pumps are made of a lead zamak (junk) alloy, that wears at the pivot pin and warps at the bolt holes. It's a qt every 800miles kinda leak, but I do love the manual priming lever so it just gets parked on the gravel for now.

 

[Mace]

Ahhhh

 

[TobyB]

i love threads like these...

hee

t

 

[daveIT]

I read this whole thread and I'm still going to buy whatever's on sale.

 

[mrt6644]

S about a month ago I switched to Rotella 15-40 in my FJ62, no additive.
Recently I have been concerned about running a diesel oil in my gas engine so I have been reading posts on this board.
I actually read all 17 pages of this thread.
So, the consensus(I know, there isn't one) is that running Rotella requires the use of additives?
Or I can switch to something like a Mobil1 15W-50 with no additives?
I don't care that much about the cost as these 2 choices are not a big deal.

I decided to use the Rotella last month because I was under the impression that it was good for the engine, as is.
I see now that is not the case.

 

[woytovich]

I THINK the idea is that the Rotella is good but that it is better with the additive. I THINK that just about any oil, with the additive, would be just fine.

 

[Benjaman]

I had been using Redline 15/40 from the time I've owned the rig, but last year I switch to Mobil1 10/40 high mileage, and the rig runs a whole lot better, smoother, and more quiet. I still use the Redline engine brake-in additive.

 

[tag3]

Any oil is better than no oil. Look at the owners manual, has a neat chart in it to show what viscosity to run depending on temps.

 

[mrt6644]

So I should run an additive with the Rotella, but some say too much is bad.
Boy do I like exact sciences, and this ain't one.
I guess Mobil 1 is an easier path.

 

[woytovich]

If you read this thread and skip the chat parts I think the bottom line is that GENERALLY modern oils don't have the zinc (and other stuff?) that older oils had. It is said that an F or 2F will run on olive oil (Extra Virgin) for 300k miles most of the time (don't try this at home) but if you choose to use motor oil instead (good choice by the way) that there are some oil choices that might offer better internal protection than others.