Fella's,

I own a '00 F250 4D 4WD w/ 7.3PSD and an 05 Excursion w/ 6.0 PSD, both with Rotella Synthetic in their bellies. I know there's so many different opinions on the type or manufacturer of oil to run. But, I was told something a few days ago, that sound mythelogical to me.

A guy I know, who's owned many diesel trucks, had issues with a 7.3 PSD running as it should. Low power, pittiful MPG's, etc. He took it to a mechanic who told him to change the oil and run Motorcraft Diesel oil. Reluctant to believe the guy, he tried it and it worked. The explanation he received went something like this: Rotella Syn and Rotella T, even though good oil, doesn't have some of the same factors as Motorcraft Diesel Oil. The oil runs the injectors and if a lesser oil is used, they will not function properly. The mechanic said there's something different, which he admitted he doesn't know what or why, about Motorcraft Diesel oil. He'd ran into the same issue on another engine, and the Motorcraft Diesel Oil cured it.

Anyway, this sounds liks BS to me, but I'm neither a Diesel Tech nor a lubricity expert.

But, with today's fuel cost and my trucks only seeing 12.5-15.5 mpg, anything would help to increase MPG's.

 

**Subscribing**

 

I've run Rotella T and Motorcraft and then sent them to a lab for analysis. They seem identical to me....I can't tell a difference between the two brands and neither can the lab. For the Feb '13 sample....they listed the oil as Motorcraft when it was actually Rotella T. I noted it on my sample ticket but they must have missed that I changed brands again.

I am running Delo right now. Seems the same as Rotella and Motorcraft to me.

 

I realize it isn't the same oil, but I've run Mobil Delvac 1 synthetic in pretty much every diesel I've ever owned, including my 7.3. My fuel mileage has always increased after the switch to the synthetic.

 

Rotella T6 is fine oil. Some people have sources that say the base oil isnt as great but I have never seen any evidence to the contrary. Rotella T6, Delo, Valvoline Blue, and Amsoil synthetic oils have all made their way into my oil pan and I have not noticed any differences on paper (with the exception of Amsoil) or by the seat of my pants. Truth be told, they are all good.

Same with conventional, they are all pretty much "good" when compared to eachother, but there are differences to be seen between synthetic and conventional.

For me, I generally go with Rotella or Valvoline synthetics unless something is on sale. The best thing you can do is change your oil on time (and I am allowing "on time" to include extended OCI with proper precautions)

 

Anyone have any experience with Mobil's Turbo Diesel Truck, Delvac 1300 Super, or Delvac Elite? I currently have the Turbo Diesel Truck in mine, 1st oil change with my new truck and it was the only synthetic available in sufficient quantity at the time, so giving it a try. Gonna send in sample to lab at 5000 miles to see how it did.

 

Yes I ran Mobil's TDT syn. last winter and loved it, run Delvac 1300 super in the warmer months plus I get a 4 gal. case at Sams club for 46 bucks and change. My truck used maybe a quart on a 6000 mile oil change.

 

I know a lot of people like to rag on rotella for whatever reason...

However MC oil and Rotella do look awfully similar...

The Petroleum Quality Institute of America

All the major anti-wear additives are within literally a few PPM of each other, the viscosities are almost identical as well... I can't see a reason why one oil would behave one way and a different brand another.

If your not having issues with Rotella in your truck now then I don't see any reason to change.

I have run everything from Super Tech (which is actually what is in my truck's engine now) to Rotella T5, amsoil etc... never noticed any difference between any of the oil brands. They all seem to do their job well. Just my two pennies.

 

My truck has always ran Rotella T 15-40 for 275,000 miles before I switched to Rotella T6. FWIW I ran Motorcraft oil for one change in a bind and I used 2.5 qts in 3,000 miles, with Rotella it was a qt every 3,000 miles. My engine runs quieter on Rotella then motorcraft.

 

This was what Blackstone just told me about my 7500 mile old Rotella T6:

Your 7.3L Power Stroke looks good at 152,500 miles. Universal averages show normal wear for
this type of Navistar diesel after 5,500 miles of oil use. You ran this 5W/40 oil 7,500 miles and all wear
metals still read at or even below those averages. That's an excellent sign that the engine is doing just fine
mechanically at this point and should continue to do so for many miles to come. Air and oil filtration (see
silicon and insolubles) were normal. The oil's TBN was 5.9, showing loads of active additive. 1.0 is too low a
reading. Try going up to 9,500 miles for next oil change.

I dont have to add any oil between changes. I use the Mobil 1 Extended Performance M1-601 filter.