Dino Oil

[Chief USA]

rhickman.



Excellent point! Buy what floats your boat where you like and I alway try to get a bargain price. Its really tough to find goods made 100% in USA, but I get my oil from big green which is about American as you can get these days.



We are about to hijack Gray Ghost's thread again. So I vote for let's try to stick with his original subject matter. What dino oil do you use???

 

[Gray Ghost]

Damn I knew not to poke that hornet's nest on my porch.

Thanks for the lively debate. Guess it won't matter after Dec.

Then I will have to sell the house and truck.

 

[Chief USA]

Gray Ghost,



Sorry to hear about having to sell your house and truck. Is this a good thing? Moving to go to a new job? Hope you won't be without a Cummins for too long.

 

[Rman]

Sorry rfrazier i use amsoil. I use dino valvoline in my wifes van. I've used synthetic amsoil for many years in all my 'performance' vehicles, dirtbikes, and snowmobiles and all that other "fun" stuff.



I didn't want to hi-jack the thread. Since i use both dino and synthetic i'd like say use what you wish. I like advanced lubricants and think technology is cool, whether its justified or not is another debate and not worth starting.



My father in-law buys rotella T by the 55 gallon drum, i used it for 20k miles on my truck. I really didn't notice the smell that everyone complains of. Since rotella is all he uses, and he introduced my to diesels, i guess thats just what i learned on. His tractors all smell that way, i just assumed thats how they smell.

 

[Chief USA]

illflem, I just now got my reply back from John Deere and thought you might be interested about who makes their oil. But first I need to make a point. Cooker IS correct, John Deere said that they refuse to pay for the priviledge of putting the API donut on their oil containers. I was incorrect about this as was the John Deere rep that told me this. I emailed JD corporate for their answer in writing and it is as follows:





Dear Mr. Frazier,



Thank you for your message. We submitted your question to our corporate office and they responded with the following:



John Deere Plus-50 engine oil is tested to and meets and exceeds all the API service classification requirements. We do not pay for the privilege of putting the donut on the container.

We also test to and meet or exceed most all engine manufactures heavy duty engine requirements including, Ford for the Power stroke diesel and for Mack EON Premium Plus performance. This can be viewed on the Mack web site.



Plus-50 is a unique formulation that is blended by several different locations. One of the primary blenders is Chevron and is the blender for your area. Plus-50 engine oil is unsurpassed in heavy duty engine applications. It excels in reducing engine deposits, engine wear, dispersing soot, and resisting oxidation (which gives you long oil life due to not thickening under high heat).



Regards,

JDPOWER



Just goes to show ya. Ya learn something new everyday.

 

[illflem]

Sort of sounds like it depends on which area of the country you live in whose going to make their oil. No wonder there are so many different answers.

 

[Cooker]

rfrazier,

Thanks for posting the information you received. I am still waiting for my return phone call from a head marketing rep at JD (I guess they are not interested in the little man )



The information regarding how the region dictates who blend JD's oil is very interesting. I wonder who, besides Chevron, is blending JD's oil???



Thanks again,

Ryan

 

[Ncostello]

Every time I change the Rotella in our vol. fire trucks other members ask "Is this truck leaking or burning oil". It never fails. They just dont believe me when I tell them its actually Rosmella and it will in fact go away in a little while.



Anyway... the previous owner of my truck used Rotella. Its got 85,000 miles now. I've changed it using Rotella several times myself. I was considering switching to Chevron Delo 400 as I can get it cheaper and it seems it does better in cold weather start ups from what I've read and heard. Plus it may not smell as bad I hope. Do any dino gurus think the switch will cause any problems? I really dont think it will hurt a thing personally. I sure cant see how. But of course all the old timer diesel heads around here say things like "the seals will start leaking" or "it could cause it to start using oil"... stuff like that which I dont believe.



The way I see it, its just now broke in and I can switch to whatever I want to at this point.

 

[illflem]

Neil, I think you can switch to Delo without a problem. It's probably not good to change brands with every oil change but doing it every once in a while shouldn't make any difference.

 

[Cooker]

I agree with illflem.

 

[slo-ryde]

Delo 400, I buy it at Costco for $35 (6 gallons). Hope this doesn't start a "How Costco is ruining America" banter!

 

[rbattelle]

I always say this

I like Valvoline Premium Blue 15w-40. Buy it at the local Cummins shop. Has the Cummins logos on the box and the bottles and says "this product is endorsed and recommended by Cummins Engine, Inc. ".



I seem to be in the minority.

 

[Tony T.]

Delo 400 15w-40 for my CTD. I did see Rotella Synthetic this morning at Walmart for $12 and change rollback from $18 and change for you Rotella guy's that use the synthetic

 

[Ncostello]

Finally got around to switching to Delo. I had been using Rotella T up to this point. The Delo seems to do better when it gets real cold out versus the Rotella T. I like Rotella T otherwise. Well other than the smell.



I bought 6 Fleetguard 3894's through my work for $5 each. Also bought me a new Mopar drain plug and washer for $15. My old one wasn't cracked but did show a slight tweak when placed on a straight edge. I'm only going "hand tight" with a 3/8" drive socket wrench too... no more torque wrenches. Way too difficult to remove when torqued to 40 ft-lbs.



I got the Delo at Autozone for $6. 13 per gallon. I also bought a nifty 5 gallon plastic drain pan with a spout for pouring into my 5 gallon waste oil buckets. I used to use a 1. 5 gallon pail that I would have to empty half way through the drain. Replacing the plug while flowing full is nothing short of a mess.



One thing though... the Delo jugs use a easily removeable seal. Just pull the little tab and the whole thing comes right off. Dang Rotella bottles have that stupid foil seal with no tab. I hate having to cut those off every time. I'm always afraid of just punching them through for fear of a rogue piece of foil ending up in the engine. That alone makes the switch worth it to me. Heck with the oil... the jugs rule!!

 

[klenger]

jugs rule

I agree!!

 

[DennyDay]

Valvoline

Blakers - - Sorry to bust your bubble, but Valvoline is made in numerious locations including south of Atlanta. They buy the oil base from the Exxon Baytown Refinery, as well as others (whoever is low bid) and recieve it by the tank car, along with an additive package, also recieved by rail.



It is a good quality oil, and they also make Cummins branded oil at another plant.



There is really no difference in oil, asphalt based or parifin based, its the additive package that counts



Denny

 

[Rogue Ram]

Try this......

To those of you who have used both Rotella and Delo, and seem to think Delo isn't as affected by the cold, you're right!



Take 2 of those small plastic punch cups, pour Delo in one, and Rotella in the other (same viscosity), then stick in your freezer for a couple hours. What you see the next time you look is down right scary. Delo still pours alright, at least it looks like it would flow better on a cold morning..... but Rotella, holy cow..... its terrible.



Try it yourself. It also convinced me to not only run Delo, but to keep the truck plugged in when cold weather comes and let it warm up a bit before it moves.



Regards,



RR

 

[illflem]

I noticed the same thing while changing oil on two tractors one 10° winter day. One called for 10w-30, all I had was Rotella, the other needed 15w-40 so I used Delo. Both oils were in the unheated part of the shop beforehand, even though the Rotella was thinner oil it would barely flow from the jug compared to the Delo.

Could be it's properties change once it's used a little?

 

[Chief USA]

This is probably going to start another "oil fire fight" , but my intent here is to clearify a comment I made earlier in this post about Amsoil. The "snake oil" comment.



I in no way meant that to discredit or detract from the quality and fine product that Amsoil is or the great people who sell this product. When used in applications that it is called for and meet manufacturer's specs. ; it is indeed one of the best products out there.



My "snake oil" comment was due primarily to experiences a friend had with trying to market Amsoil and in my case Amsoil's recommendation to use 3000 Series 5W-30 motor oil in the NV5600 transmission. Don't want to get into a debate about whether or not it is suitable for this as I have researched it with the manufacturers and it is not according to them. If you would like to rehash what my findings were click here



Just wanted to clarify my comment. My apologies as I should have been very clear about what I meant.