what about filters? ive seen the oil at wally world but havent found the filters

 

fleetgaurd filters is what i've been told to stick with. www.genosgarage.com has good prices on them if u can't find them locally, but you should check the local big rig shops they'll have them.

 

im using rotella t 15w-40.
fleetguard stratapore filters.

I was thinking of switching to the valvoline blue...
It was the only thing on the shelf at the local cummins shop.

both rotella and blue around here are $10 a gallon.

 

Ive been running Rotella T 15w 40, and 3894s for a while now, no problems and its all ill ever run in a diesel...

 

As far as i know, mines never had anything but Rotella in it & it's very clean inside at 420,000 miles.

 

im using valvoline blue. on the label it states.." for cummins diesels"...i think it feels thicker than rotella. thats just what i use!

 

Boy oh Boy! I had no idea I was getting at such a touchy subject!! I appreciate all of the in-put.

Maybe I can narrow the scope. For those truck owners that have over 250K miles and know the history of their trucks, what oil have they had experience with??????

 

Just missed me on the mileage. I've only got around 218,000 miles on my Rotella fed truck and I use either Fleetguard or Wix filters. The speedo has been off for years since I changed to 285 tires so I'm not sure of the actual mileage. It was as clean as a pin inside when we changed the headgasket. And still had the factory crosshatching in the cylinder walls with no signs of wear or heat damage. And this truck sees 1600 degrees on every pass with the TST turned all the way up.

 

This discussion has been very civil, I think. I don't know why some folks defend their oil to the death, but they do. If you really want to see some drama head over to thedieselstop.com and check out the coolant threads.

 

Shell Rotella 15w40 most of the year, and Rotella "synthetic" 5w40 only during the coldest part of the winter. (Nightime temps below 0 F). Only reason I switch to the 5w40 is for ease of starting without the block heater when I go snowmobiling and don't have access to power for the block heater without firing up a generator. Starts down to -25F, anything below that even with the "synthetic" it cranks too slow to fire. Might try amsoil true synthetic next winter to see if it's any better in cold weather.

By the way, when I pull the valve covers to adjust the valves, there's no buildup or sludge from the Rotella, and change it every 7500 miles.

 

I switched to Rotella for my last oil change and at 3500 miles it looks a lot cleaner than the Delo 400 from the previous cylce of 5000 miles. I'm no expert so I think I'll spring for an oil analysis. PS, I drive pretty much the same between changes, the only variable has been the weather, its been a cold winter this year in the Pacific NW!

 

Just wanted to share that there are two major players in the additive markets. Lubrizol has already been mentioned as one, the other is Oronite which has partnership with Chevron Global Lubricants.

Another point that may be of interest... Delo 400 base stocks are isodewaxed and have been that way for some time. Other companies that use this technology (which was developed by Chevron) call their oils synthetic. There are fine lines between some Group 3 and Group 4 (POA's) base stocks. The benefits of these base oils are higher thermal stability and resistance to oxidation. Modern group 3 technology is extremely competitive with PAO's and this comes at a lower cost. Technology is a beautiful thing!

In addition.... not all diesel oil is created the same, remember that companies aren't going to just give you something, it's a business and one of the area's that costs are cut is in the additive package.... either in the quality of component and/or total additive package.

Diesel formulations are not the same as automotive formulations.... Always run oil designed for and meeting diesel specs!

 

IMO... using oil analysis is looking for a problem and when you find it.... it's too late, the deed has been done!

 

Some common problems, detectable through oil analysis, can be corrected before the engine is destroyed. For instance: silicon in oil indicates poor air filtration, water in oil, additive package depleted, excess soot, oxidation from high temperature, viscosity breakdown. Must be more.
Also, an analysis at each oil drain can reveal trends in metal wear accelleration, etc, if current results are compared to previous numbers. My lab automatically does a computer comparison for trends and will alert me if anything shows up.

This engine must last 20 more years, I figure at age 80 they will take my license away. I will not buy a computer controlled diesel.