Rotella T.....I'm a believer now!

[lastlaugh]

I just changed the oil in my 94 3VZE. It sounded like my old diesel before the oil change. It had fresh dino in it from the dealer, and had very good service records when I bought it. I changed it with Rotella T and PureOne oil filter. Here is the video of before the oil change, then after. These were both done today, just a few hours apart.

Before :
Before rotella - YouTube

And After:
After rotella - YouTube

to me, it sounds like a totally different engine!

 

[giro]

Nice!

Were they the same weights and at the same outside temps. Looks like the engine temp was about the same but cold in both videos. Was there as much of a difference when both were fully warmed up?

I switched to Mobile-1 0W-30 a few years ago on both the 4runner and Sienna from 10W-30 conventional, after reading a very long thread from a cardiologist on a Ferrari group. In short it came down to 2 things. The first was that the main engine damage was right at startup before the oil was lubricating everything, so having a non-viscous oil at outside temps was good. That's the first number. The second number is basically based on temps the engine runs at, so you should probably keep that constant. So, switching from 10W-30 to 0W-30 is good, but switching to 0W-20 wouldn't be a good idea unless you have other reasons.

The second was that traditional oil breaks down faster than synthetic, both from time and temps. Synthetic isn't that expensive when you consider other expenses.

(and then there were whole things on different synthetics. Basically not all are equal, and many ones considered synthetic in the US wouldn't be in Europe. I decided Mobile-1 was fine for me, but if I were driving Ferrari's maybe I would up to something even more expensive)

On my 4runner I was sticking to the FSM suggesting oil changes at 7500 miles under normalish conditions. With the 0W-30, it would start getting a little low headed towards that. There weren't any dripping leaks, but must have been a little leaking or burning (nearing 160k now). I've now tapered back a little, feeling that a 5W-30 synthetic blend is just fine for it. If I was putting enough commute miles on it I'd use that in the summer and 0w-30 in the winter. But I'm now down to only 4k/year, so one oil change with the 5w-30 blend is enough.

(Found the link: http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/faq.php?faq=haas_articles
Lots of info, and he seems like a smart guy, until he empties every little bit of dino oil before adding synthetic, so much so that there's terrible noises for the first couple seconds. Funny he never mentioned that as a regret)

 

[TOY2G]

I just changed the oil in my 94 3VZE. It sounded like my old diesel before the oil change. It had fresh dino in it from the dealer, and had very good service records when I bought it. I changed it with Rotella T and PureOne oil filter. Here is the video of before the oil change, then after. These were both done today, just a few hours apart.

Before :
Before rotella - YouTube

And After:
After rotella - YouTube

to me, it sounds like a totally different engine!

This is similar to adding an oil stabilizer such as Lucas. Problem is you made your oil thicker. So year it's shutting the valves up, but it is straining you oil pump and it making your starts harder because it takes the oil longer to get up top.

Basically. Here is your trade off.
Engine valves are more quite, but you are shaving what could be years off your engine.

A better option is to run the climate appropriate oil and adjust the valves. This solves both problems and is far cheaper than the cost of both Rotella T and engine emplacement.

What you have done is the equivalent of shutting the light off to make an ugly chick not so ugly. She is still there, still ugly, and she is going to poke a hole in your rubber.

 

[KidVermicious]

What you have done is the equivalent of shutting the light off to make an ugly chick not so ugly. She is still there, still ugly, and she is going to poke a hole in your rubber.

:rofl:

 

[Hyde802]

What you have done is the equivalent of shutting the light off to make an ugly chick not so ugly. She is still there, still ugly, and she is going to poke a hole in your rubber.

I legit loled on that one. Nice description! Haha

 

[lastlaugh]

I live in south TX, so I was figuring the extreme heat would kinda offset the slightly thicker oil. Either way, I intend to switch to Rotella T5 on my next oil change. It comes in 10w30

 

[Howitzer]

What you have done is the equivalent of shutting the light off to make an ugly chick not so ugly. She is still there, still ugly, and she is going to poke a hole in your rubber.

Have had a bad week so far, and you, sir, have made my entire week. That's absolutely hilarious!!!:vader:

 

[SV_Dude]

What you have done is the equivalent of shutting the light off to make an ugly chick not so ugly. She is still there, still ugly, and she is going to poke a hole in your rubber.

Even ugly chicks need lovin'.

 

[mikebontoft]

I always ask my doctor for automotive advice... does anyone else? Not like I'm a Master tech or anything. Doctors are where it's at.

Doesn't even scratch the surface of what oil to use. The bottom line is use THE oil the engine was designed around. Don't bother with with the SAE ratings. One oil's "weight" rating can have completely different properties as another of the same weight.

Also most of the "synthetic" oils sold here are really just a synthetic blend that someone somewhere decided to call synthetic. I forget which tier it falls into.

 

[giro]

I always ask my doctor for automotive advice... does anyone else? Not like I'm a Master tech or anything. Doctors are where it's at.

LOL!

It had been a couple years since I read it, and didn't have the link handy at first, but his occupation was one that I remembered since there was a little overlap of somewhat related knowledge between it and his hobby.

Unfortunately you have to take the knowledge share where you can get it, and try to decide if it's actually info worth following. Not very many people go to the trouble to write such an article, so it's not that you have 2 side by side articles that try to explain oil to the layperson, one from a doctor that's looked into it as a hobby, and one from a Master tech.

But that inside knowledge from someone working on cars on a daily basis is great when you can get it!!!

 

[chethro]

Rotella oil does have Zinc in it and this will help with your valve train. It is one of the few oils that still contains Zinc.

 

[Kmvreter]

I live in south TX, so I was figuring the extreme heat would kinda offset the slightly thicker oil... It comes in 10w30

That thinking would only apply to the first number (i.e. 0w, 5w, 10w) in a multi-weight oil at start-up. The second number is what counts at normal internal running temps which are not governed by geography and are higher than even what you would experience in south TX.

What weight oil did you use? If it's a heavy duty diesel Xw40 I would do that next oil change sooner rather than later.

 

[crash813]

Oil threads are the best....I read this, he said that, i've used x forever and ......

Just change the oil and understand what the oil weights and viscosity do. Everything else is just noise.....spend the extra time to do something more productive then trying to split hairs on best oil use.

 

[lastlaugh]

Wow! Didn't know oil was such a hot topic here! I would have never thought to put Rotella in my truck. I read a huge write up here on this site called: "What every 3vze owner should know about their truck". It was written by SB(walker i think. I had already bought a gallon on Mobil1 10w30, but damn near every body in the thread, and a lot of other threads agreed with him. And the explanation about the having zinc made even more sense. Ive used rotella for years in my diesels and knew it to be good oil, so I figured "why not try it?". The truck seems to start and run better now is all I know. It very well may not be the oil at all. I ran seafoam thru the crankcase, in the gas tank, and dumped a half can into the vacuum hose. Between that and the oil, it sounds and runs much better!

 

[mikebontoft]

I just tore down my valve covers to do gaskets again. It was nice to see that I have absolutely no sludge buildup on my $100 junkyard engine

Well I HAVE a picture. It won't upload though...

 

[TakeitApart]

I and other racers swear by the Rotella-T 5w40 synthetic. We're talking 600, 675, and 1000cc motorcycle motors screaming to and past the rev limiter multiple times for at least 16-20 miles per race. Multiply that by at least two races per Saturday, if not four, then repeat that again on Sunday. There have been motors torn down after a season or two with no discernible wear on them.

The only thing I might even worry a little bit about is that since it carries the JASO-MA rating, it doesn't have the additives that typically cause motorcycle wet clutches fits. I don't know what that additive is or why it's in a lot of other synthetic motor oils, but just something to think about/research.