Hi, new owner here. I bought 5W-40 synthetic at my Farm and Fleet for $13.50 a gallon. The owners manual says to use CI-4 approved oil, and the back of the oil jug says it's CH-4. Can I use it in my '04 or should I return it ??? I'm not sure what they stand for.

 

Return the oil. The CI-4 notation means that the oil in the can meets that standard of the API.

If the truck is in warranty, you need to use an oil that meets the API standard of the manual and keep the receipt to prove that's what you put in it.

www.bobistheoilguy.com is the place to get info about oils.

 

not sure about the CI rating. You will need to use a good Dino oil (Rotella is my preference) until the motor gets broken in good. Usually around 20 to 25k. After that a good synthetic is ok. I do think the CI-4 rating is correct. Usually the back of the oil bottle with tell you which engine the oil is appoved for use in. At least that's the case for Shell Rotella.

goat

 

Ch-4 oil won't hurt your truck at all. The Ci-4 spec was specifically introduced to run cleaner in modern diesels with EGR and recirculaiting CCV systems...it helps suspend the soot better. Should you use CI-4? Yes. Will CH-4 hurt your engine if you run it temporarily? Not in the slightest.....

 

Here's my thinking on it. Manual say to use CI-4, you use CI-4. (reference: www.api.org) You need to use a mineral base oil until the engine is thoroughly broken in. If the engine has only a few thousand miles on it, you shouldn't be using a "synthetic" in it yet. If you like the Rotella brand, use Rotella T until you have 10-20 K on the clock, depending on whether you pull or not. What's most important right now is the filtration you choose to use. Another thing to chew on: Rotella Synthetic isn't a true Class IV PAO synthetic but a gussied up Class III mineral base oil.

 

For break in you have to use an organic oil, synthetic oil is such a good lub. that your rings won't seat (part of the break in) Rotella is the favorite of most cummins owners. On this site the oil survey Rotella ranked about 62 percent ;D if I recall correctly.

ramguy

 

as the men have said, use what is called out in manual. Do not use syn until you are properly broken in.

I use Rotella dino oil. 16,000 on the clock. Will switch to syn at 20,000. I do not pull.

At 20.00 a gallon, I may not switch to syn. :-

John

 

If you guys understood the difference in the additive chemistries, you wouldn't worry at all about the temporary running of the CH-4 oil. It won't make any difference. If you've already bought it, use it. As they have said above though, use dino oil for the first 10-15k per cummins instructions. The thought that rings wont seat with synthetic is silly and untrue though. ALL mercedes, corvettes, vw's, audi's, bmw's, etc come with synthetic from the factory. I guess none of them have seated their rings... :

 

You're talking about 2 different animals. All of the engines you note above are linered or sleeved engines and have harder bore walls; no break-in to speak of. The Cummins engine is a parent-bore design and is much softer. The break-in procedures are on the Cummins web site, and in the owners manual. I'd be the last person to try and talk you out of it if you choose to disregard them. But considering how DC is right,ready to turn down warranty repairs for slight deviations from the norm, I don't think we should be telling a new guy that it's OK to use a CH-4 synthetic when it's clearly stated in several sources that you need to run an API CI-4 mineral based lubricant for the first 20,000 miles. Incidently, I personally don't need to understand abstruse or even the salient points of oil chemistry. I just do what the service manual tells me to do.