Figured I would post something positive... Well got up this morning and realized I didn't plug the truck in ...Don't usually plug it in but last nite they predicted over a foot of snow and temp drop well below freezing...at 9am temp was -8 below... Well went out figured I would give it a try... truck fired right up first crank and went into a really smooth idle.... I was really impressed......

 

Let me guess.. synthetic 5w-40, I bet!

I solved all my cold weather starts with that.

 

No... Dino oil.. Motorcraft 15w40... But my Ficm was updated last week...

 

LOL.. that shows how good Motorcraft Dino has become even with 15w-40.

 

I would suggest, like gearloose1 did, to use a synthetic oil, at least in the winter, and your new updated FICM will probably last longer. Synthetic will let the engine spin faster during winter starts and the engine will run quieter after start.

Just some food for thought!

DSMMH

 

Yeah was thinking of switching to synthetic next oil change.....I know everyone recommends a lite oil.. But wondering does anyone make a synthetic diesel 15w40

Thank you

 

Take a look at Petrocanada Duron-E 100% synth oil in 15w-40 if you want that grade.

I have a thread on it.. it is suspected to be the CK-4 (succesor to CJ-4) oil...

If so.. it is fantastic...


Shell, Valvoline, Mobile 1 etc. all make a synthetic 100% 15w-40 diesel oil.

 

LOL You are really AMPed about this New Oil!!! HAHAHAHAHA

 

At the rate I am going, I am going to order a pint of it at the pub and taste test it.

 

Would the mobile1 15w40 say specifically for diesel.... I have used Mobile1 15w40 in my car... but saw no mention of use in diesel

 

Mobil 1 Turbo Diesel Truck 5W-40


They make a 5w-40 diesel, not a 15w-40 from the site right now.

In theory, it will work as well as 15w-40 at the hot / warm range.

 

Wash it down with some elc! lol If your feelin like gettin really tore up grab a bottle of Dieselkleen! lol hahaha

 

Or... It proves that the benefits of running syn in this motor are overstated. I'm running Deere syn now, just because we had some laying around the shop and the bulk tanks were further away from where I was standing at the moment.

I can convince myself that it is better- but dollar for dollar, over the life of the truck? My bet is that the truck will suffer some other type of catastrophic failure before the motor fails due to major component wear.

Let's say you own the truck for 200k and you change the oil 20x. How much extra does that 70 gallons of synthetic oil cost?

Do you expect to own the truck long enough to require an engine rebuild?

My oil analysis results have NEVER indicated that the non-syn oil (Rotella or Delo) was suffering a break-down anytime under 200 engine hours.

And unless you run the truck until the engine requires rebuild, you will never earn a return on that extra oil cost- unless of course you believe that syn oil prevents injector failure- an argument never formally made by Cat or International (the two manufacturers to use the HEUI system).

Don't get me wrong. I like synthetic oils. I just am not convinced that it is a cost effective option for this application. My hunch is that oil in this motor requires changing due to contamination loads, not due to oil break-down- the primary advantage of syn oils.

Of course I actually think that the engine starts better with synthetic oil- but that does not mean that when I sit down and do the accounting I can in any way justify the extra cost.

My hunch is that if the manufacturer had any evidence that syn oil would extend motor life, the manufacture would recommend the use thereof.

-mike

 

IH

The one thing that is compellingly better with synthetic is pour point.

It simply will flow where no dino oil will go when the going gets rough (e.g. -40F/C).

That just happens to be my application...

I am using it for better / easier winter starts in extreme cold.

In that cold, regular dino just barely turns over.. and with synth, my motor turns over as if it is spring with dino.

 

gearloose:

Well- Having grown up in Minnesota, I do not believe that syn makes it crank "as easy as spring with dyno". In actual cold temps, your available battery crank power is a fraction of warm-weather power- no matter how special your oil is. The only thing that gets me to that point is a block heater, oil pan heater, battery blankets and a shop.

But I agree, it does seem to crank and start a lot easier with the lower viscosity oil. Whether or not that is worth the lifetime cost of syn oil... when I do the math I tend to doubt it. All I am doing is saving the motor for the guy who buys the truck after I have worn everything else out.

-mike