TowRig.com - Diesel Discussion and Tow Tech

There is so much conflicting info out there about what the best oil and filters are for diesel engines. Thought it would be nice to get some advice from everyone as to what is the best oil and filters out there and to find out what everyone else is using. I had also heard that it might not be good to use synthetic in my truck. Something about it breaking down the seals. I currently use Motorcraft oil filters, Shell Rotella oil, and NAPA fuel filters. Also, I went to Walmart the other day to pick up my usual gallon of Diesel Clean and they said it was recalled but couldn't tell me why. Anyone have any info?

I switched to AMSOIL in all my vehicles a few years ago, then started selling it via my Corvette Racing team, so feel free to take this with a grain of salt. I do have a 2003 F350 with the 6.0L and have been running AMSOIL Synthetics in it for 57,000 trouble free miles using about 7,500 mile oil and oil filter change intervals.

Though these aren't a diesel oil comparisons, you may find them interesting:
Comparative Motor Oil Test (http://www.c66racing-synthetics.com/TestResults/Comparativetest11-05.htm)
AMSOIL Motorcycle Oil “White Paper” (http://www.amsoil.com/lit/g2156.pdf) (1 MB pdf file)
409,000 Mile Oil Drain Interval Mack Truck Teardown (http://www.c66racing-synthetics.com/TestResults/409ktest.htm)

Products for the 7.3L:
AMSOIL Series 3000 Synthetic 5w30 Heavy Duty Diesel Oil (http://www.c66racing-synthetics.com/Product%20Bulletins/HDDPB.htm) (I use this in my 6.0L)
AMSOIL SAE 15w40 Heavy Duty Diesel Oil (http://www.c66racing-synthetics.com/Product%20Bulletins/AMEPB.htm)
Ford 7.3L Powerstroke Induction System (http://www.c66racing-synthetics.com/Product%20Bulletins/PCIS73PB.htm)
AMSOIL Ea Oil Filter (http://www.c66racing-synthetics.com/Product%20Bulletins/EAOPB.htm) (part EAO99 for the 7.3L)
AMSOIL Ea Air Filter (http://www.c66racing-synthetics.com/News/EAFilters.htm) (part EAA728 for 7.3L)

You can find all the AMSOIL products applicable to any of your vehicles here:
AMSOIL Online Product Application Guide (http://www.amsoil.com/redirect.cgi?zo=1206638&page=appguide)

Amsoil synthetic and either Amsoil nanofiber or Donoldson Endurance nanofiber filters are the best on the market.

It will not eat up your seals.:rolleyes: If the motor has been serviced properly then it would be fine to convert to synthetic. If an engine sees lots of over due oil changes, sludge builds up from the old oil breaking down and clumping up. The sludge blocks the seals by covering them, this doesn't let additives in the fresh oil penetrate the seals to keep them soft and moist. This causes them to dry up and get hard. The mulecules in conventional are larger than synthetic, along with all the sludge piled in front of the seals, it takes a long time for them to visually fail by starting a leak.

When you add a high detergency synthetic to a sludged up motor with dryed up seals..... the high detergency washes the sludge away. The smaller synthetic molecules penetrate the seals and causes them to leak. Thats how you get a leaky motor after a syn conversion.
Unfortunately, once the seals dry up from lack of fresh oil they can't be brought back to life.

As long as an engine isn't sludged up too bad, synthetic doesn't cause any leaks.

I'm thinking AMSOIL longer life and better lubrication.

I have been using Amsoil for about 6 years now. Used it in 3 different trucks ranging from 350-600+ hp. The stuff is the best. I sell it because I use it. Right now I have about 7500 miles on my last (first) change and will be changing it soon so I start fresh with the new bypass filter. Then I will have no concerns going 15k miles on a truck with A LOT more fuel than most guys here run for a daily driver. Truley is great stuff.

Amsoil synthetic all the way.

-Troy

IMO I do not like Amsoil, mostly due to the "pyramid style" sales structure, not that I think it is a bad oil. I have seen and read several oil comparisons such as the above posted links sponsored by Amsoil that touted it as the greatest product out there, but what would you expect considering the study was paid for by them.:rolleyes: Nothing like a little unbiassed opinion. I have also read several independent oil studies that found Amsoil to be at best equivalent to any other good quality synthetic such as Mobil-1. Here is a good link to some independent oil studies.http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/
Don't get me wrong I am in favor of using synthetics. Although I am starting to think the extended oil change is a PITA with all the documentation, oil sampling, and filter changes. I have used Mobil Delvac-1 with a bypass filter (non Amsoil due to their proprietary threads on the filters, another reason I do not like Amsoil) and oil sampling at oil change intervals of up to 30,000 miles. I have 270,000 miles on that engine right now, no oil consumption or contamination issues.
As far as not using synthetic in a diesel or it causing seals to dry up,,,that myth was put to rest back in the early 70's when Mobil was just getting started in the retail synthetic oil biz.
My other diesels all use Dyno oil. I usually use Rotella-T 15-40, Cheveron Delo, or a few others I can't remember right now.
Motorcraft are good filters, some others are Napa Gold, Baldwin, Racor, Fleetguard, Luberfiner, & Donaldson.
Bottom line is use a good quality oil and filter no matter what brand and change it at the engine mfg. recommended intervals and you can't go wrong.

I work for Valvoline and I'm going to start selling Amsoil myself I do belive they have a better product than my day job or Mobil as well,I have or have friends who have exprimented with other oils.Try to look for a Premium Blue Extreem or Premium Blue made by Valvoline is Amsoil is not up to your specs but you will get much less service life at the same cost after working in the quick lube industry for a year I will not run anything less than a synthetic oil conventional oil break down to fast and clog up an engine as far as the manufactures intervals the majority are on a semi synthetic or conventional base,why not go longer with something engineered to withstand it .

Amsoil all the way

you say you work for valvoline...how do you feel about the new extreme blue 5-40 full synthetic oil...i just switched over to it a few days ago on a hot shot drive at 23500 miles from delo 15-40...the guys at the lube center highley recomended the new blue xtreme syn 5-40...i need a good oil that is easy to get while i am working on the road, so i will take my gamble with the new blue...

That valoline premium blue is not a true syn. If you look up the MSDS, its list of contents specifically state 73-93% hydrocracked petroleum distilates. Not synthetic at all, just highly refined petroleum oil.

i do not understand, i spoke with valvoline and they said its %100 syn just oil companys use different formulas. cummins even strongly rcomends this oil. so what i want to know is this oil good or bad....when i switched from delo to extreme blue the truck ran smoother and oil pressure biuld up quicker as well....i would use asmoil but difficult to get when you are on the road and busy like me....but might consider it......

Shell Rottella & Motorcraft filters Thats all thats ever been in my PSD not one problem. 100k stock-105k with Gale Banks Powerpack. Runs better now than the day I bought it. 97 F350 PSD auto 4x4.

NO argument that running regular oil and frequent changes work. They do. Only down side is you have to change the oil and filter out so much. With a quality synthetic you are able to extend your drain because the oil is of a higher quality, and does not break down nearly as easily, and is more tolerant of heat, which makes it perfect for guys that rack up a ton of miles working a truck hard.

The Valvoline and the Rotella both are not true synthetics, but rather they are using the term "Synthetic" as a marketing tool. There is no legal definition for "Synthetic Oil" so a company can legally put syn on a bottle of petoleum oil. Basically whats called a class III syn, highly refined petroleum oil. Nothing special.

I have always been partial to using Valvoline, and Napa Filters, I use them in all my vehicles. I change every 3,000, never had any problems.

Are You Suppose To Use A Special Filter When You Use The Amsoil?

Supposed to, no. We do reccomend you use the Amsoil brand filters, which are manufactured by Donaldson. Very nice filters.

The Cummins filter is Rated @

98.% efficent @15 Microns
50% efficent @7 Microns

This means the filter stops 98.7% of ALL particles 15 microns and bigger on a single pass through the filter, and 50% of ALL particles between 15 and 7 on a single pass. Most filters are Absolute (98.7%) at around 30 microns. This means better filtration, cleaner oil. ALso, the Donaldson filters are from their "Endurance" line, which are designed to be in use for longer periods. They are engineered to hold more contaminates before affecting oil flow.

They are available both from Donaldson and from Amsoil, same filter, different label. I keep both in stock, but will start just ordering in the Amsoil ones here soon.

If you decide to use a different filter, no promises on filter life. Generally, change the filter at the halfway point in the oil life, and top off your oil. This way you know the filter will not plug up.

Oil life without oil analysis -

Diesel vehicles - 15K miles
Gas vehicles - 25k miles

OR once per year, whichever come first.

Are you saying that buy using Amsoil and the proper filters that I can increase my oil changes to 15K in my diesel and 25K in my gas engines?burnout

on my 02 7.3 with 93000 miles i switched to amsoil and at 5000 miles it was 6qt low. i have used shell rottila 15-40 since it was brand new, with changes every 5-6k and with MC fl1995 filter and it has never used oil.
some say the truck had to many miles. some say swicth back , others say keep on running the amsoil. HELP!!

Are you saying that buy using Amsoil and the proper filters that I can increase my oil changes to 15K in my diesel and 25K in my gas engines?burnout
That is right, and with an AMSOIL Bypass Filtration kit you can run 30k miles on your diesels. That's what I have on my '02 Cummins.

-Chuck

I just called my son and had him check the oil, with almost 10k miles on the AMSOIL we are about 4-6 quarts low. We are changing back to Rotella tonight!

so you are saying the same thing im . what is the miles on your truck?
i changed my filter at 5000 miles filled it back up with amsoil and still was putting a qt every 200-300 miles in the truck to get it home.

The truck has about 135K on it now, we put the oil in at 125K the first time.

Dad has a 99 with 350,000 uses rotella and changes oil at 10,000. He does not have any mods , and has never had any internal eng work. Now !! I would have a hard time changing that process to use a " synthetic"

By the way ,that is not his truck in the pic on the trailer

I am curious as to why none of the Amsoil dealers have not commented on the excessive oil usage after switching. I have thought about finding a local amsoil dealer, but am now concerned as to what it would do to my 116k mile 00 7.3.
I do know the benefits of using it, as my dad bought an 81 F-150 new. It was a stripper model, 4.9 6cyl 4X4 and it has gone through 4 teenagers, my redneck brother-in-law, and the engine now sits in a homemade hay stacker. It was taken out of the truck in 96 at over 500,000 miles, gets used and abused every year, and still doesn't use any oil, still using motorcraft filter and amsoil changed every spring.

The only time I have seen a motor use oil after switching over is on the initial change. After about 5k miles they tend to be down about 2-3qts. This is the old oil that you can't get out of the block boiling off, as well as normal oil consumption. All engines consume oil to some extent. But, the conventional oil boils off over time approx 2-3 times as much as Amsoil. After the second Amsoil change, typically the motor only consumes 1-2 qts in 15k miles, depending on the motor. I think thats a reasonable amount of oil consumption.

To all of you doubters out there, I changed my entire truck over to Amsoil last fall. Then I moved to kodiak alaska with a fifth wheel in tow in January. (the yukon territories was frieken cold by the way) That same 3 gallons of oil is still in my pickup today. I have yet to add even a drop. Truck is in sig.

B-waytogo