Motor Oil
 

Just a thought; My Kabota Diesel tractor uses 10-30 motor oil and sometimes works very hard on the farm. My Dodge/Cummings owners manuel calls for a variety of different weight motor oils. 0'-30'F calls for 10W30 weight oil. 10'-30'F+ calls for 15W40 weight oil. The thermostat regulates the running temp of the motor so why can't we just run 10W30 year around. What is the benefit of running 15W40 ?:s:

i prefer rotella 15w 40 myself and i run in all type of weather and temperatures and i dont see anything wrong with it as long as u plug ur pickup in when its really cold but never had any problems with oil pressure in the winter i just love 15w40 its what ive always run in all my pickups just my thoughts on motor oil its more about what u prefer to pay for

How much 0 degree weather do you get in Alabama?

If not a lot, youll be fine with 15W40. Whatever you use make sure its oil that is rated for a diesel. Regular oil cannot deal with the soot generated by a Cummins.

i run rotella 5w40 syn in mine. year round. advantages to it in the summer you still have the warm up thinkness needed for thermal breakdown, and during the winter its still not so thick that if you forget to plug it in or cant, it wont take forever to build oil pressure. well i run it it my VW jetta tdi as well, my cub cadet lawn mower, and ford tractor. and in my kawasaki atv. so im pretty sold on it and its capabilities.

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im not so sure it ever gets to 0 in lower alabama. cause we never even see 0 in north GA. but the past few weeks it has been cold. but not that cold

Remember that you block heater does not warm up your oil, only the coolant. The oil is about 5" away from the effects of the block heater. The oil is still just as cold as the ambient temperature. Trying to suck up 15W40 at 0* is very difficult, and will take a while to get pushed though the engine. Until oil pressure is generated, and even a little after, the valve train is left with only the oil residue from when it was last run. 10W30 is better, but I prefer 0W40. I run it all year round, and we see temperatures from -40* up to +95*.

im gonna have disagree while agreeing with you on this, if that makes since. coolant runs throughout the entire motor, your heating the coolant with the block heat which in turn heats the cast block and head. metal tranfers heat energy very well and it will trasfer some of that heat to the oil pan its self, which will heat the oil in it above ambient temps. it wont get to coolant temps which is where i agree, but it will heat some which is where i disagree.

Heat rises, is that a good counter argument? Haha! Also, the gasket will act as a insulator between the block and oil pan. Unless all this heat is being transferred by the oil pan bolts. I think there would be minimal heat gains in the oil from the block heater working. Maybe a degree or two at the best. That's my opinion, I'll stick to running a lighter oil rather than hoping radiant heat will warm thick oil, allowing all moving parts to be lubricated quickly upon start up.

That oil is still pretty cold in the pan even with the heater. In response to the original question, you can either one all year. I know many that use 5/30 year round...although it's synthetic.

How about 10/30 all year around. Seams to me that 30W would circulate easier and more freely than a 40W

We get down to -20 or so in the winter so I run Rotella 5W40 synthetic in the winter and Rotella 15W40 in the summer.

Not to hijack but why isn't there a Rotella 15W40 synthetic? Just kinda something I've always wondered :humm:

The first number is cold viscosity, second is hot viscosity. Once warm, 30 or 40, it doesn't make as much difference as the cold viscosity.

I have not had an issue running 15w40 amsoil all year in cold weather here was 4 out and turns over just fine. But the amsoil has a cold pour point in the -40 range or so.

I run amsoil diesel and marine blend. 15w 40. Seems to work pretty good. My oil pressure shoots up right away after starting. I hae been thinking about switching to Rotella Synthetic just so I dont have to keep ordering oil when I need a change. Where I live, we get 30 below often in the winter. I have actually started my truck in 47 below temps.

The reason I quoted your post is im curious what you run in your pickup?

I'm not a engineer in oil or engines,but a Kabota Diesel tractor and a cummins are two different engines.If the owners manual says to use one oil viscosity as per your climate cold or hot then stick to it.

Oil weight, or viscosity, refers to how thick or thin the oil is. The temperature requirements set for oil by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) is 0 degrees F (low) and 210 degrees F (high).

Oils meeting the SAE's low temperature requirements have a "W" after the viscosity rating (example: 10W), and oils that meet the high ratings have no letter (example SAE 30). An oil is rated for viscosity by heating it to a specified temperature, and then allowing it to flow out of a specifically sized hole. Its viscosity rating is determined by the length of time it takes to flow out of the hole. If it flows quickly, it gets a low rating. If it flows slowly, it gets a high rating.

Engines need oil that is thin enough for cold starts, and thick enough when the engine is hot. Since oil gets thinner when heated, and thicker when cooled, most of us use what are called multi-grade, or multi-viscosity oils. These oils meet SAE specifications for the low temperature requirements of a light oil and the high temperature requirements of a heavy oil.

You will hear them referred to as multi-viscosity, all-season and all-weather oils. An example is a 10W-30 which is commonly found in stores. When choosing oil, always follow the manufacturer's recommendation.

Wondering how you can save money and protect your vehicle at the same time? Consider switching to synthetic oil and changing your oil at greater intervals.

Remember that the cummins has the cooling nozzles in the cylinders to cool the cylinder walls.

If the nozzles are intended to cool the liners, it's the first I have ever heard of it. I've seen and heard of piston cooling jets many times.

ive wondered why rotella didnt make a synthetic 15w40. i run the rotella 5w40 and have since i bought the truck in 04. and thats all i will put in it too. i worked for valvoline from 02-04 and to keep our certs for them we had to have so many hours of classes on oils and updates and what nots. i will never forget the last one i went to one of the dealers in atlanta asked, "ever diesel that comes in our shop wants rotella in their trucks, how do we convince them to buy a valvoline product?" one of the CEOs over sales replied "there is nothing we can say, the only problem with rotella is it doesnt say valvoline." that was all it took for me to know what i needed to about their products. if a CEO of a compeating company says its one of the best, what can you say to that.

i friggin run whatever we put in our tractors. its rotella somethin but iv read in some diesel books where they use that royal purple stuff. sounds like something more expensive than necessary to me though. :bat:

ya rotella synthetic is 19.95-25.00 depending on where you buy it at. royal purple is at the cheapest ive seen 34.95. works the same and cost 30-50 more a change depending on the size of your oil pan. ive tried royal purple before and didnt like it in engines. a friend ran it in his yoter and it made the valves chatter. went to ams oil in it and it stopped.

Like i said I run the 5w40 synthetic in the winter and rotella 15w40 in the summer. A guy that drives truck for my dad told me he's been running it in his pickups (7.3 powerstrokes) and he's the kinda guy whose truck looks brand new with 200,000 miles on it. So i've been using ever since. Only did one oil change with a different oil on my truck and that was before he talked to me

i run the 5w40 in mine year round. and thats all that will go in mine.

I have been running Rotella 15-40. I was concerned about cold starting lubrication or damage from the lack of lubrication in cold starting weather. The Dodge owners manuel says that 10-30 is okay to run but suggests 15-40, there must be a reason.