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Old 05-04-2011, 06:31 AM   #1
kenandjudy
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TV oil

I need opinions on synthetic motor versus regular oil for diesl engines. Is it worth the price?
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Old 05-04-2011, 07:38 AM   #2
camper4
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I use regular Rotella 15w40 most of the year. During winter months I have one gallon of Rotella synthetic put in at oil change. The synthetic helps the engine turn over easier when it is cold out.
Is it worth it? I really do not know but I feel better.
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Old 05-04-2011, 08:33 AM   #3
Bill-N-Donna
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I use what the dealer recommended which I believe is a part synthetic oil. The last time I had it changed the dealer changed it. The right type of oil & liquids made for the engine along with regular maintenance is the life of the engine, IMHO.
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Old 05-04-2011, 11:20 AM   #4
kdeiss
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I have used Mibil 1 since the GMC was New The Cadillac SRX came factory filled with Mobile 1
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Old 05-04-2011, 12:03 PM   #5
Illini Trekker
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My 05 GMC is now synthetic bumper to bumper. I now use Rotella synthetic motor oil. Advantages are many cold starts, higher engine temps in the summer, extended oil changes with our long trips in summer.
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Old 05-04-2011, 12:31 PM   #6
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The long haulers still use the old dino, plus my owners manuals, in the three diesels that I have owned, all say you can use either, BUT it does not change the intervals for oil change. IMHO, not worth the extra money.
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Old 05-04-2011, 02:51 PM   #7
mhs4771
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I became a believer in Mobil 1 years ago. Had an old Camaro and we had a spell of -20F mornings with the daily high only up to zero if we were lucky. That old 327 cranked over like it was summer, while many others wouldn't even turn over. I had 220K plus on my Monte Carlo when I finally traded it and it didn't use a drop of oil between changes (usually between 9 and 10K). Ran it in my 2005 Duramax and now in the 2011 Duramax. More expensive than conventional, yes, but I wouldn't use anything else.
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Old 05-04-2011, 03:24 PM   #8
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I was using Rotella 15w-40 dino but cold winter hard starts had me try the Rotella T6 5w-40 Synthetic...it starts and does not complain. I do change at 5k miles but consider my truck worth the extra $$.
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Old 05-04-2011, 04:33 PM   #9
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I use Rotella 15w-40 in my 05 D/A, change when the computer says to around 10,000 miles. I do not have to add between changes. In the winter I will plug the block heater in when it gets below 32. Starts easy & the heater is warm quick. The truck has a 112,000 miles on it.
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Old 05-04-2011, 07:47 PM   #10
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I am a believer in synthetic...have been using Mobil 1 in my vehicles for at least 15 years maybe longer.
In my Cummins I am running the Mobil 1 15-40w Turbo Diesel formula.
I would also be OK with Royal Purple or Amsoil.
There are many reasons why synthetic is superior IMO, but regular changes and probably better filtration would be important too.
I am strongly considering going to a bypass type oil filter for better filtration.
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Old 05-04-2011, 09:26 PM   #11
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Here in Montana the winters get very cold, to the tune of -30 to - 40 below zero and sometimes that is the daytime high. I have used Mobil 1 in the wifes car and I use Purus 5w-40 in the truck since both were new. The truck has always started flawlessly and I drive it back and forth to work every day (cept when I am out playing with our trailer) The old girl runs like a top and doesn't burn a drop of oil between changes of 7 to 10 thousand miles. I am a believer in synthetic oil here.
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Old 05-05-2011, 03:15 AM   #12
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We use whatever Ford puts in there when they do the oil change.
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Old 05-05-2011, 03:29 AM   #13
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I am like Rich, only with a Chevy. The dealer does all the oil changes and whatever they put in there is what is there (I have no idea). Why would a person subject themselves to higher costs at a dealer you may ask?? I also have all maintenance including tire rotations done there for the simple reason that the truck came with free tires for life as well as free inspections. The value of replacing six tires for free far outweighs the additional costs that I incur for maintenance. I am 1/32" in tread depth away from the first set of replacement tires. This thread does have me wondering as to what Chevy dealers put in the diesels??
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Old 05-05-2011, 03:55 AM   #14
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Ill refer to what my Diesel mech always says. Any oil is good oil as long as you change it regularly.

For some light reading on different oils and what it all means... ie... group 2 and 3, semi-syn, full synthetic... ect..

look here http://motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/Oils1.html

The article is a little older but there is tons of good info in it.

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Old 05-05-2011, 05:45 AM   #15
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I use Amsoil heavy duty deisel synthetic for year 2006 or older. This is a 50M mile change enterval and I change the filter every 12500 miles. If I add the bi-pass system I will send in samples for engine wear and change oil accordingly in addition they (Amsoil) just reported a big rig running 800000 miles without an oil change. The engine was torn down and had no abnormal wear and still showed the original hone marks. Synthetics in my opion are worth the cost for the protection they give.
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Old 05-05-2011, 02:55 PM   #16
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I change my own oil once a year (about 10K miles usually) so I use Rotella Synthetic from Wal-Mart. I've had my oil analyzed for the last 3 times and the report always indicates I could go longer before changing. My last report had slightly elevated Iron likely due to more start and stop short trips versus the longer less frequent journeys I was used to.
I like to do the things I can do myself, myself, so I added a Fumoto easy open valve to replace the drain plug.
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Old 05-05-2011, 03:20 PM   #17
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Synthetic is definitely better. weather you need it is another question. Your engine will last longer if you use synthetic but your engine will outlast your truck if you don't use it. Where you may see a difference is in your turbo. Turbos work at high temptress which synthetic will withstand much better than regular oil. You should get a slight increase in MPG with synthetic. It comes in Corvettes Cadillac CT'S-Vs ans Porches for a reason, it's better. I use Mobile 1 in every engine I own even my lawn mower.
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Old 05-06-2011, 03:51 PM   #18
sreigle
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I use Rotella T synthetic. One thing I think is telling is that the Dodge Diesel manual that comes with the truck says DO NOT use synthetic oil until at least 30,000 miles so the engine can break in properly. Since breakin requires friction, this tells me Cummins and Dodge agree that synthetic oil reduces friction, which means reduced rate of wear.

The truck has 78,000 miles on it now and I went to synthetic at just over 30,000 and change it and filter at every 10,000 miles. I'm sold on synthetic.
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Old 05-07-2011, 05:58 AM   #19
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Ford dealer recommended against synthetic, but last 10,000 miles I have been running Royal Purple Synthetic fluids in everything, diff, transmission, transfer case, power steering, and aux transmission. I change at 5,000 miles on engine, everything else at 30,000.

I can use synthetic and doing myself, cost is about $25 more than having it done. I had the 30,000 mile service done at the Ford Dealer. I found out they didn't change all the fluids recommended in Ford Owners Manual, so I did the 60,000 service (at 55,000) myself. Went with all synthetic (Royal Purple) at that time, cost about the same as the 30,000 mile service, but I had to do all the labor.

FYI, no difference in MPG.


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Old 05-11-2011, 11:24 AM   #20
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One thing that I noticed in the previous posts here -- almost everyone is running synthetic in trucks made before the 2008.5s came out. Since then we have had EGR requirements which put a lot of soot into the oil. I've not seen a single article anywhere that has mentioned extended oil changes being the norm since that requirement came in. That soot is suspended in the oil and while 'by-pass' filtration will remove the larger size soot particles, unlike years ago, the oil now remains black and contaminated with the smaller pieces. These pieces continue to wear on the engine parts. Then we add the oil dilution introduced with the Diesel Particulate Filter Regeneration cycles and the oil is further diluted / contaminated. So given these, extended oil changes are not recommended. Now, all this said, synthetic definitely has its value in cold weather starts, and then on the opposite end, turbo longetivity after shutdown. My opinion is if you can justify it to yourself, then by all means use it but do so not really expecting to get longer 'between oil-change' experiences -- at least not if you are driving a 2008.5 or newer vehicle.
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