engine oil grade for 30 degree weather

[CEnzien]

Will 15w 40 hurt the motor starting in cold weather conditions ?the mainainance manual says to run 10w 30 when it gets below 30 degrees. Some days the temperature is in the teens or twenties, other days its in the 50 degree range. I have a 2001 cummins ram with the 235 hp engine. Will I hurt the motor running 10w 30 on a 50 degree or 60 degree day ?

 

[Diesel Freak]

I have run Delo 15w40 in everything from the lawn mower and my quad to my Cummins. Temperatures have varied from 23 to over 100 using the stuff and I have had no problems. Just don't load the engine heavily untill you see deflection on the engine temp gage.

 

[chuck3]

Oil.

I use the Delo 15w 40 all year long no problems, gets in teens or below, try to plug in over night which helps.

 

[DocStressor]

The teens in Albany NY? Global warming must be worse than I thought! I used to live there and remember January 1976 when the temperature only made it above 0F for 2 days during the entire month. Have they cancelled the Montreal Express weather systems?



The Cummins engine, like other medium and heavy duty diesels, was designed primarily for continuous operation in tractors, boats, generators, and OTR trucks. They are engineered to use 15W-40 conventional oil for those applications. However, if you start up your truck a couple of times each day in temperatures below 20 degrees and can’t use the block heater, your will experience significantly less engine wear (and better driveability) by going to a 5W-40 diesel oil, or if cost is not object, Amsiol series 3000 5W-30. Mobil and Chevron make conventional 10W-30 diesel oils but they are not CH-4 rated. All available 5W-X CH-4 rated oils are listed as synthetic (either Group III or Group IV/V base stocks). This is because no conventional base stock has a high enough viscosity index to meet the 5W specs at low temperature yet be able to be fortified to meet 40 weight specs at high temperature. You can run any of these oils year round at any temperature and you can also extend oil drain intervals with most of them if you want. The group III oils (Petro Canada Duron, Chevron Delo 400 synthetic, Rotella synthetic) give you the most bang for the buck at between $12-$18 per gallon. The “true synthetic” diesel oils such as Mobil Delvac-1 and the Amsoil products have even better low temperature flow characteristics but cost more, $20- $28 per gallon.



Delo 400 is definitely the best convention 15W-40 oil for low temperature operation if you want to stick with that weight and use your block heater. Chevron uses hydrocracked base stocks that are almost meet Group III specs. Both the pour point and low temp pumpability ratings are significantly better than any other conventional oil of that weight.

 

[JStemann]

My owners manual shows an "arrow" in both directions for the 10w30. That makes me believe that i should be able to run it all year. Finding 10w30 is another story. After checking several places I tried a tractor shop( New Holland/Ford). They have 10w30 CG-4,CF-4, CF, CE and SG. Cost was $19 incl. tax for 2. 5 gal. The only questionable part is the "SG", the manual shows "SH" the text specifies only CG-4 or CH-4.



Maybe someone else in the know can explain the importance of the "SG" or "SH" when used in a diesel engine.



jeff s.

 

[DocStressor]

Jeff-- The C and S ratings are just progressive standards for cumbustion ignition (C) and spark ignition (S). CH-4 is the current standard for 4 stroke cumbustion ingnition engines like the Cummins. CH-4 has just been superceded by the new CI-4 rating that we will be seeing on diesel oils in the near future. Each higher rated oil is backwardly compatable with the lower rated oils. So you can use CI-4 rated oil in engines originally rated for CG-4 or CH-4 oils such as the 12 valve and 24 valve Cummins, respectively. The 24 valve engine specifies CH-4 oils which also have an SJ rating. The 12 valves specified SG or SH. These are gasoline engine oil standards that are required by diesel engines without roller bearings to protect the sliding lifter and camshaft surfaces.



If you use a CG-4 oil, it would be wise not to extend the drain interval beyond 3-4K. The biggest difference between CG-4 and CH-4 oils is greater soot holding capacity and higher TBN of the higher rated oil. CH-4 rated oils also must pass more stringent engine tests for wear resistance and deposit formation in the upper ring area. It’s really better to use one of the generally available CH-4 rated 5W-40 oils which can be run year round. The 10W-30 diesel oils still out there seem to be legacy products that are only still marketed because certain Japanese engines specify that weight and grade.

 

[Don M]

Lee,



I thought it was going to skip the "I" and go straight to the "J".



Don~

 

[JohnE]

<blockquote>Lee Weber wrote:

&quot;... The 10W-30 diesel oils still out there seem to be legacy products that are only still marketed because certain Japanese engines specify that weight and grade. &quot;</blockquote>



Lee;

10W-30 is not a leftover spec nor a Japanese spec. This oil is used year around in a lot of diesel powered equipment. There is just as much 10W-30 sold around here as the new fangled 15W-40.



<em>My opinion and experience</em>

I will never recommend using Delo 15W-40 in continuous cold weather operation. It may have pour point and gellation numbers that look good on paper, but try getting it to flow through your engine on a 0&deg; F morning even with the block heater plugged in for 4 hours. That is the longest 15 seconds of my life waiting for the oil pressure to register. Using 10W-30 it comes up in around 5 seconds even at -20&deg; F.



I'm switching to AMSOIL 5W-30 next oil change. If I hadn't gone that direction, then Rotella synthetic would be very tempting due to the price. Cannot find Delo synthetic around here.



If you travel around make sure to carry oil with you. Once you get off the beaten path, it gets hard to find some products.



Cheers;



-John

 

[DocStressor]

Got that information from a Mobil distrubutor. I don't know what else to say.

 

[JohnE]

Very little Mobil products sold up here for heavy duty usage outside of Delvac 5W-40. That's probably the reason.



I made an an error in my earlier posting.

<em>&quot;I will never recommend using <strike>Delo</strike> ANY 15W-40 in continuous cold weather operation. &quot;</em> This is especially if you truck has to cold soak outside. Once the temps drop below and <b>stay below</b> freezing you are in a different environment.



Answering the original question IMHO&E: If you're concerned on winter conditions, Rotella 5W-40, Delo 5W-40, or Delvac 5W-40, or AMSOIL 5W-30 will be great.



-John

 

[DocStressor]

That's what I said too. Guess I shouldn't have equivocated about the 15W-40.