Engine oil prices...Can't find anything cheaper then $1.26 a quart

[Bug Out]

I just bought my first Cummins diesel P/U. Knowing i have to use 10-11 quarts per change, I have been shopping for cheaper price oil, but good brand. The best I can find is Shell Rotella t 15-40 in bulk, $5. 04 per gallon plus tax...

Any insight to where one can purchase oil at a discount? The above price I think is good, giving that I saw some going for $7. 00 a gallon!

Thanks in advance. Ed

 

[BNSF # 1]

I use Rotella T in my MBZ 300SD and I will start using it in my Cummins for my first oil change, which is about 2 weeks away. I buy my Rotella T at Wal Mart and they charge $5. 78 / gallon there. I have not found any other retailer that sells name brand engine oil cheaper than they do.

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CJ in RSM, CA
2001 Dodge Ram 2500 SLT Quad Cab, 6spd,ETH,4x2,4. 10 Limited Slip, Trailer tow hitch, long bed

 

[Forrest]

I'm just over the $5 mark with the Mobil 1 Delvac. I had to go thru the phone book to find a reseller of this liquid gold. It comes 4gal/case, min qty. Eats a $90 bill in 1 fell swoop.

I figure with the voluntary overstressing of internals caused by overfueling & boosting, synthetics win & win big. The extra $ will just have to come out of the budget. #ad
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Money Sink - 96, 5 speed, Injectors, 280/685 & AFC housing slid.
4" CAT back & CATless, 4" chrome turn down straight out back.
ISSPRO Pillar, Delvac 1 & Amsiol, K&N, Monicas silencer ring removed, Exhaust brake, Mag-Hytec, 3:54, 235s.
HX35s days are numbered, HX40-16 is here.
Un-Bombed = Boring

 

[TNHotshot]

Remember that oil doesn't go bad. If you do a lot of driving and change your oil often, I would recommend going to Sam's Club and getting a 55 gal drum. I run 2 or 3 diesel motors and use Shell Rotela 15-40 in all of them. It is a whole lot cheaper this way and saves you from having to go to the store every time you want to change your oil. Just buy a case of oil filters and put them on the shelf in the garage. Buy a drum of oil and you are set. BTW the price breaks down like this:
55 gal drum price: 209. 99
price per gal: $3. 82
price per qt: $0. 95
price per oil change (11 qts): $10. 50
Hope this helps.
At 11 qts per change a 55 gal drum will do 20 oil changes.

Per gal: $5. 04 (quoted earlier in thread)
2. 75 gal per change
Price per oil change: 13. 86
Price per 20 changes: 277. 20 (plus tax)
Per per 20 changes at Sam's: 209. 99 (plus tax)
Difference? $67. 22
Plus you don't have that quart left over... lol

 

[illflem]

Just bought a 55 gallon drum of Delo 400 15-40 last week $214 including tax($3. 89 gal)There would of also been a $25 drum deposit,but I paid that about twenty years ago. Good for eighteen Cummins oil changes @ $12 each,heck that only gets you 90,000 miles at a 5k change interval. A five gallon pail of Delo goes for $5. 20 a gallon,a 500 gallon minimum bulk fill delivered $3. 42 a gallon. So a Walmart oil change really only costs about $4. 50 more per oil change than the cheapest bulk oil price. Considering how far 5 bucks goes nowdays it's hardly worth the hassle,unless you go through a drum every 3-4 months like I do. And yes oil does go bad when water from condensation builds up over a long period of time. The owners manual for my trucks had an stapled in page that says 12 quarts per change so thats where my figures came from.

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95' 25004X4,AT,Driftwood,Banks,Warn fender flairs and running boards(Play truck)95 3500,5 speed,driftwood,Banks&phscotty,34,000 GVW apple and tractor hauler(work truck)


[This message has been edited by illflem (edited 08-26-2000). ]

 

[Archive]

Originally posted by TNHotshot:
Remember that oil doesn't go bad.

<font color=blue>Actually the oil will go bad due to water condensation if stored upright. It will last longer if the drum is stored horizontally.

Then again it all depends on how quickly you use up the drum.

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[This message has been edited by KatDiesel (edited 08-26-2000). ]

 

[Wirenut]

Another good brand is Gaurdol 15W-40. I got it at union 76. I dont remember, but I think it was around the same price as the Delo 400 for a 55-gal. drum. I know a lot of truckers that use either one of these oils so they must be a decent oil.

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Mine: '93 250 LE 4x4 5spd 4:10 Pwr win/loc/mir,cruise,strait piped,diamond plate tool box, CB, 16x10" AR rims, 285/75/16 Bf goodrich, US Gear E-Brake,Fuller Roadranger shifter, PW injectors, K&N. "wirenut_21529" on Yahoo Messenger
Moms:'96 Ford B-Series school bus (5. 9 Cummins!)I'm gonna Bomb it!
Dads:'94 GMC 2500 6. 5L Turbo

 

[Briar Hopper]

The smart guys go with synthetic. It lasts longer, up to 25,000 miles between oil changes, as it is not subject to the carbon breakdown that petroleum derived oil is...
It protects your engine much better in winter, as it flows to the top of the engine faster than conventional oils. For that reason alone, I use synthetic. I don't care what it costs. If you can afford the truck, you can afford the oil. Since you don't have to change synthetic as often, it's actually cheaper.
Filtration systems are readily available at reasonable cost, that can virtually eliminate oil changes. I have a friend with an older Dodge Cummins, he has over 250,000 miles on his truck on the same oil change. He only changes the filters at regular intervals and has a sample analyzed on a regular basis.
The reports always come back the same, his oil remains nearly the same as when he first put it in, the filters are that good, and remember, it's not subject to breakdown like petroleum is.
Don't buy a race horse and feed him at the same trough as the hogs.

 

[HC]

The idea of an oil change for $11 worth of oil sounds great, and I would LOVE to go with really frequent oil changes so that I could spend less time worrying about whether or not my K&N air filter was letting the dust get by. BUT I JUST CAN'T DO IT!
Someone has already mentioned that the synthetics get to the engine faster, especially in cold weather. But the straw that broke THIS camel's back was thinking about my turbo - synthetics give me an extra measure of protection there, and replacing that baby won't be cheap. And for those RARE occassions when I am forced to let someone else drive without me there to supervise, the synthetic gives me an extra measure of protection against them shutting it down without proper cooldown. You KNOW they're going to do it!
The Cummins will already outlast the rest of the truck, but if I get some extra miles out of my turbo, then the $$$ spent on synthetic will prove to be a wise investment over the long run.

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2001 ETH, QC, LWB, 4WD, 3. 54, SPA Pyro & Boost, Leer Cab-high shell, Rear ARB locker, Psychotty Air

 

[Sled Puller]

This ones for you bargain basement shoppers!
I'll sell you my used Synthetic for 75 cents a Quart!!!!!!!!!!! And it will still be better than your new buck a Quart Wal-Mart trash!
I saw a picture of a billboard once that said,
DISCOUNT OIL: . 99/QUART
NEW ENGINES FOR SALE
Take that however you like!
BRIAR: Hogs are smarter than horses!

Gene

 

[QRTRHRS]

Hogs may be smarter but chicks don't bring them around to board.

 

[Sled Puller]

QRTRHRS,

Point well taken!
Briar! Start boarding horses.

 

[rhoads]

The old saying holds here pay my now -or- pay me later. When in doubt use cummins /valovine (the mfg of cummins) if you get it at bloomingdales or joe's discount makes no diff.
Lube is the cheapest preventive maintance item you buy.

 

[Briar Hopper]

Beg to differ with you on that Valvoline/Cummins Premium Blue... it's actually nearly the worst oil you can run in your Cummins, and standardized independent laboratory tests have proven it. Don't ask me why Cummins would put their name on it. Maybe they don't care how fast your engine wears out so you'll come back and buy another one...
Do your research on this subject, take the time to find out all you can. This is as controversial an issue as the one on air filters, with as many opinions out there, so there is no substitute for doing your own research, rather than relying on other people's word for it...
MGM, I got better used oil than yours, the neighbor's cat took a wiz in my oil pan, so mine has an additive now, and I'll sell it for 75 cents a quart !

 

[ted kidd]

Instead of buying cheap oil and changing it all the time, why not buy GOOD stuff and only change what you loose when you change filters or syphon off for testing?

seems more eco-friendly AND you get baselines on all sorts of things. Anybody read the new tdr? lots of talk of getting baselines.

got 10k on my oil, just installed my bypass kit, took a sample after 200 miles then left on a trip. I and just got off the phone with the guys at blackstone (i'm in Nova Scotia and was wondering about the results) they said it looks great for continued use.

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tedstruck 2500qc, no leather or abs
bigfoot & other travel pics 1500 bigfoot, no auto waterheater or microwave.
Cool Summit Pass Pics, & Alaska Journal
AMSOIL Battery Mounted Dual Remote

 

[Sled Puller]

Merry Christmas! Back to the top for old times sake!
Gene

 

[Hootguy]

To the guy who said Cummins oil is no good.
Funny,,i used it from day one in my 93 4X4,,
pulled 10,000 lbs almost every day in the summer and plowed snow all winter,,to the tune of 940,000 kilometers,,,the engine never needed anything other than oil changes at 7,000 miles. . Oh,,i did break one input shaft,,my fault though.
So if you think that`s junk oil,,,well you`re the expert.
I still use it in my 97,,3500 that tows heavy too,,it only has 200,000 trouble free kilometers,,,,
You might try that Amsoil stuff, not .
Just an another opinion. just like @#$%^*& everyone has one.

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blacked out,96 3500,black,ext cab,KMC Slam,chrome aluminum wheels,continuous wheel balancers,Diesel Dynamics fuel plate and AFC kit,16cm housing,Dunnrite torque converter,Trans-go diesel shift kit,K&N filter,60 gallon transfer tank,Rld topper,

 

[RAPID RICK]

Boy are you guys right! Petrolium based oil
is really inferior to syhthetic oil. I only
got 750,000 miles on the original rod & main
bearings in my 3406B cat motor. OH, did I
mention that the only oil I ever used in it
was Rotella T 15/40. I probably would have gotten more miles on the bearings but we sold
the truck. Changed the oil every 15,000 miles,
which was every 5 weeks.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY
Rick

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99 3500 4x4 QC,5spd,3. 55 posi,turn over ball goose neck hitch,Putnam class V reciever hitch,Alcoa alum. wheels,275 hp inj. home built boost module,4 in. straight exhaust(built it in my shop)Pac brake,4 leaf overload springs,all options execpt leather & keyless entry,2000 Artic Fox 10 ft. camper,with slide out 2horse tongue pull trlr. ,24 ft flat bed that I haul my 6200# modified alcohol burning Ford 4x4
pull truck on.

 

[Briar Hopper]

Once again... I did not say Premium Blue was junk oil. I merely stated that tests have shown it does not protect to the level of certain synthetic oils.
I prefer synthetic because:
1)it flows much faster and easier in very cold temperatures, offering me more protection at start-up.
2)It is cheaper to use, due to extended drain intervals, when used with special high quality filters.
3)All the long haul truckers in my family use it (some use Mobil, some use Amsoil) and are very pleased with it. They own their own trucks, Peterbilts,Kenworths, Freightliners. Some have CAT's, some have Cummins. The last engine teardown my cousin did, pretty much showed him he needn't have bothered.
If it protects their engines, it'll protect mine.

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Tom
GLTDR B. A. D. Boys
www.lubedealers.com/meers.html

 

[merryman]

SSSSShhhhhhhssss!!!

Don't tell all those engines out there with several hundred thousand miles or a million or more miles on plain old dinosaur oil that they are inadequately lubed,, why, they might throw a fit and swallow a valve or something... .

Vaughn