Using Rotella T in a gasser 350?

[knkreb]

Is this okay practice to use Rotella T synthetic in a gasser 350? I'm thinking that if it's good 'nuff for diesel service, a gasser should be no problem.

Any thoughts?

 

[THEFERMANATOR]

The biggest problem will be if you use 15W40 it may be to thick of an oil. I know the late model 350's can starve for oil at the rod bearings if you run a 10W40 in cooler climates, so 15W40 would be a bit much. I routinely use the 10W30 semi synthetic rotella in the lawnmowers and engines with flat tappet cams though.

 

[btfarm]

If you are talking about the 5W40 synthetic then it may be ok but why bother? I'd suggest Mobil1 10W30 synthetic or it's equiv. instead. Then you KNOW you have the right stuff.

 

[littleboy]

The 5-40 will work great.... don't know that i would go any thicker though. I have bin using the 5-40 for the last 5 years or so on my own gasser an so far no issue at all! Depending how new the engine is i would use a thinner oil cuz the newer engines have tighter tolerances.

 

[WarWagon]

Diesel engines have way different oil needs than a gas engine. Lower RPM, high soot, high impact forces with high compression. Gas engines have different needs where oil in the cylinder can reduce octane and promote knock. The engine oils are formulated for gas or diesel use and rarely both. Use the oil for the type of fuel as this is what the additives are targeted for is blowby and the like from the specific fuel used.

Oil weight is simply a trade off for upper or bottom end wear with MPG leaning toward thinner oil. removal of anti wear additives for kitty life at the expense of engine life. This said I am fond of 20w50 for 350's and have 140K on the engine using that before I sold it. Anti wear additives were still in 20w50 as it wasn't energy conserving and at 110 degrees out you want a thicker oil.

 

[3500GMC]

I used to use Rotella for any flat tappet engine because it had more ZDDP (Zinc DialkylDithiophosphates ) than auto grade stuff. Manufacturers have removed the ZDDP nearly altogether in all 'conventional' oils- even Rotella, Delvac, Delo etc..

The best I have found for flat tappet cams (the biggest reason to have ZDDP) is Valvoline VR1 'racing' oil.. It's still dino oil, Not synthetic. Use synthetics according to your wallet and app..

ZDDP is available in additive form too.

 

[THEFERMANATOR]

I used to use Rotella for any flat tappet engine because it had more ZDDP (Zinc DialkylDithiophosphates ) than auto grade stuff. Manufacturers have removed the ZDDP nearly altogether in all 'conventional' oils- even Rotella, Delvac, Delo etc..

The best I have found for flat tappet cams (the biggest reason to have ZDDP) is Valvoline VR1 'racing' oil.. It's still dino oil, Not synthetic. Use synthetics according to your wallet and app..

ZDDP is available in additive form too.

ROTELLA still has higher levels of zinc in it than standard automotive grade engine oils. The 10W30 T5 semi synthetic ROTELLA seems to be a good all around oil for gas engines. Also keep in mind that gas engines that are run the hardest use ROTELLA. Marine manufacturers like CRUSADER and MARINE POWER(MERCERY reccomends 20W40 since they make there own version) reccomend using 15W40 ROTELLA in them. Gas engine oils are rated with an S and diesel engine oils reccomend a C engine oil(C for compression ignition, and S for spark ignition). Diesel engines require more additives to prevent soot build-up, and is the main differrence between them. Most all C rated oils are also S rated I've seen, but most S rated oils are not C rated. And the VALAVOLINE oil is some GOOD stuff, my problem has always been finding it in a reasoneable viscosity(most all places aroud here carry straight 50 weight of it).

 

[BoostN]

Ferm, what would you recommend in a Crusader 454 Marine Engine?

 

[tanman_2006]

I ran quaker state 10w30 in my 95 305 for 200K miles and it only looses 1/2 qt every change and that can be blamed on the leaky rear main since it has nearly 300K on it. Also still gets 20+ mpg highway and 16 beating through the pastures.

My gpa runs rotella 15/40 in everything. His 07 Chevy 6.0 has had that in it ever since its 1st change, seems ok but lacks the power i think it should have with 150K (could be alot of other problems).

 

[THEFERMANATOR]

Ferm, what would you recommend in a Crusader 454 Marine Engine?

15W40 ROTELLA is what CRUSADER reccomends for summer use, and is what I put in all marine engines I work on. If it's winter time i run the 10W30, but keep an eye on the oil pressure.

 

[THEFERMANATOR]

I ran quaker state 10w30 in my 95 305 for 200K miles and it only looses 1/2 qt every change and that can be blamed on the leaky rear main since it has nearly 300K on it. Also still gets 20+ mpg highway and 16 beating through the pastures.

My gpa runs rotella 15/40 in everything. His 07 Chevy 6.0 has had that in it ever since its 1st change, seems ok but lacks the power i think it should have with 150K (could be alot of other problems).

15W40 ROTELLA is borderline dangerous to run in a 6.0L. It's thick enough I'm surprised on a cold start it doesn't cavitate the oil pump and cause a drop in oil pressure. And when it's hot I'm surprised he hasn't burst an oil filter yet. I always hated it when people would bring there cars in complaining of low power, and then I would look at there oil change sticker and see where they had request 20W50 oil be put in. Unless an engine is tired, a 10W30 is more than adequite for most any engine. And some modern engines need to run 5W20 oil as that is what they were designed to run. Some of these new engines use such small oil passages designed for the new oils, that they can actually burn up from running a 10W40 as the oil won't flow when cold.

 

[saratoga]

I ran 10w30 in my 01 2500HD a couple of times and it definitely made the cold start piston slap last longer. Still did it with 5W30, but it stopped quickly.

 

[BoostN]

15W40 ROTELLA is what CRUSADER reccomends for summer use, and is what I put in all marine engines I work on. If it's winter time i run the 10W30, but keep an eye on the oil pressure.

Thank you.

 

[WarWagon]

More additive = less film strength. Diesel engines have bigger bearings. Their oil has more additive. This is one of the reasons they have both diesel and gas oil or ignition type as pointed out above.

 

[THEFERMANATOR]

More additive = less film strength. Diesel engines have bigger bearings. Their oil has more additive. This is one of the reasons they have both diesel and gas oil or ignition type as pointed out above.

Most diesel rated oils are ALSO S rated for gas engines, so ROTELLA is fine for a gasser provided you can find it in the correct viscosity

 

[Ed HD]

IMHO, the only time you should run anything different than the Manufacturer's specifications of weight and rating for your climate (EG: CJ4) is if an engine is at the end of its life, and you're trying to get a few more miles out of it, and using a thicker oil to cover a knock, burning, etc. Otherwise, there is absolutely no need to run a different weight than what the OEM says. The biggest thing to pay attention to is if you are in a climate where it gets very cold like here in MN or places where it gets really hot.

 

[RedneckBuckeye]

I know a retired mechanic locally that has a mulch/snow removal business that has a fleet of 6 Chevy trucks with the 5.7 and that's all he runs in them. He swears by the stuff. in the earlier 350s i don't think it would hurt, but tolerances are a lot tighter on the later ones and i would think that could potentially cause some problems.

 

[iamdave0887]

I run Rotella in Dad's 5.9 gasser dodge and the '71 Camaro with a built 350. Both love it. The dodge was burning 10w-30 so we stepped it up to the 15w-40. Doesn't go through oil as bad now, but i know the valley pan gasket is leaking so that's my burning issue. The 15w-40 just puts it in borrowed time.

15w-40 Rotella is run in the Camaro because it's a flat tappet camshaft, so the extra ZDDP helps there, even though it was broken in long before i was born.

If it says it's safe to use in both gas and diesel engines on the bottle then i don't see an issue running in in my applications. However i wouldn't dare run it in Dad's Jeep Liberty which calls for 5w-20. Common sense applies there, and in other applications. If something calls for a 5w-30, that's what should be run. If something calls for 10w-40, you can probably get away with the 15w-40 as well. JMO though.

 

[THEFERMANATOR]

I run Rotella in Dad's 5.9 gasser dodge and the '71 Camaro with a built 350. Both love it. The dodge was burning 10w-30 so we stepped it up to the 15w-40. Doesn't go through oil as bad now, but i know the valley pan gasket is leaking so that's my burning issue. The 15w-40 just puts it in borrowed time.

15w-40 Rotella is run in the Camaro because it's a flat tappet camshaft, so the extra ZDDP helps there, even though it was broken in long before i was born.

If it says it's safe to use in both gas and diesel engines on the bottle then i don't see an issue running in in my applications. However i wouldn't dare run it in Dad's Jeep Liberty which calls for 5w-20. Common sense applies there, and in other applications. If something calls for a 5w-30, that's what should be run. If something calls for 10w-40, you can probably get away with the 15w-40 as well. JMO though.

I wouldn't run 15W40 in a DODGE 5.9L with a gerotar oil pump. The DODGE engines are known to starve for oil if you use a thick oil even down here in FL heat. Not to mention even with a 10W30 they can hit 80 PSI of oil pressure cold pretty easily if they are semi tight. As for the intake valley gasket, that's a gravy job. I used to do them in an hour and 20 minutes on the full size trucks, and about an hour and 15 on the DAKOTAS. It was one of the few warranty jobs I could actually make money on. The new metal gaskets pretty well take care of the blown valley gasket for good though.

 

[Woody35]

IMHO, the only time you should run anything different than the Manufacturer's specifications of weight and rating for your climate (EG: CJ4) is if an engine is at the end of its life, and you're trying to get a few more miles out of it, and using a thicker oil to cover a knock, burning, etc. Otherwise, there is absolutely no need to run a different weight than what the OEM says. The biggest thing to pay attention to is if you are in a climate where it gets very cold like here in MN or places where it gets really hot.

x2 thats what i learned in my auto class.