oil and filters, baldwin ok, what engine oil

[GMichaels]

Have read through the forum about oil and filters so far looks like Rotella synth in the getrag 5-40 is the choice. Filter choice appears to be fleetguard, do not use fram, are baldwin filters ok, i thought they were top of the line.



rear end, goup seems split on rotella and amsoil 2000 75/90

so which is it?



Engine oil, didn't find anything. . so what do you guys recomend, synth and standard. . weight, brand, ??



Greg

 

[bmoeller]

I use Rottela T dino oil. Using syn or dino oil, is more of a preference. Alot of good oils out there in either form. Plenty of oil wars here on that topic. One of the most importants things in coosing an oil, is to make sure it meets the requirements. If I was towing all the time, I'd probably switch to a synthetic. I would probably use Amsoil since I have a dealer about 2 miles from work. Have heard Royal Purple is another good synthetic.



The Baldwins are good filters. Should be the BT339 if I remember right. I ran them for a while on my truck. I use a lot of them on the farm where I work.



On my truck, after switching from the Balwins to the Fleetguard (3552 or 3894), the Fleetguards seem to filter better. My oil stays clearer, longer. I saw the same difference going to the Baldwin from Wix.



http://www.dodgeram.org/tech/dsl/FAQ/oil_change.htm

 

[dpuckett]

I agree, Baldwin are good filters, BUT the cellulose media is just that, cellulose. Microglass and stratopore are superior meida.



AS for oil, I think unless you have a bypass system, synthetics will get contaminated too quickly to be cost effective. These engines will go a million or more on dino oil and plain Jane filters. So why even go with a microsglass? ARRGHh. dont wanna go there. Any oil meeting the latest API ratings is sufficient in these old engines. CI-4/ SL is the latest, though some 15-40s still say CI-4/ SJ. You need the S rating for the tappets and cam, or something in that neighborhood.

 

[bgilbert]

Getrag lube can be 5w30, ATF, or some other thin engine oil. Although not everyone would agree on ATF in the getrag. I run Mobil1 syn 5w30 in my getrag. Factory fill is 3. 5 qts. I run 5qts in mine. Filled thru top bolt in PTO cover.

Rearend, would depend on what you intend to do with the truck, tow heavy most of the time, run in a tropical or very hot climate all the time. If yes to those, then a synthetic 85-140 if there is a syn up there. 85-140 for heavy and hot. Synthetic will not break down at extreme temps and conditions as fast as dino oil. I don't tow anything, haul heavy loads in the bed but I run Napa 80-90 dino gear oil in the rearend+ LSD additive- in an open diff.

Engine oil, I prefer Chevron Delo 400 15w40 dino. NO engine oil additives either. Bill

 

[DLewis]

if your gonna use the baldwin get a BT7339 they have a higher burst pressure. I own a oil and filter dist. and sell both baldwin and fleetguard. What most people dont know is that the Baldwin is a 12 micron filter where the LF3894 Stratopore is only a 25 micron. Stratopore would be better in my openion only if you are running extended drain intervals. The tighter Baldwin would reach capacity faster but should be fine for any normal interval. Same goes for the paper element. The only time there is problem is if the filter is left on the vehicle beyond its service life... . ie 5-6k on our trucks.

 

[GMichaels]

I am looking for Rotella synth , not at walmart here, will any synth do? like mobil one. Is it easy to tell a synth oil from a non-synth?



I have searched fo diff oil looks like gear oil is still the choice, right, do you know what the spec should be for gear oil?

 

[dpuckett]

GMichaels-

Stay away from the Castrol, Mobil1, et al, gasser synthetics. They are rated CD/S_. The CD spec was developed in 1952!! CE came along in the mid 80s, I think. ANyway, you are much better off with regular Rotella than Mobil1. DIesels produce acids and soot that "regular" (gas rated) oils cant handle. Hence Rotella and Delo are more costly than regular Havoline 5w30. Latest spec is CI-4/SL; some may still say CH-4/SJ or /SL -they will work just fine.



Gear oil- GL-5 rated. 75w90 or so if you arent towing; 85w140 if towing. The weight isnt quite as important as getting it all the same weight and rating



-DP

 

[GMichaels]

sorry i left this out, looing for fluid for the tranmission, I see a post where someone has used mobil one, but i will keep looking for rotella.

 

[MRickard]

The transmission does not make acids or soot like the engine so I would say you would not need the more expensive rotella. Mostly need something thinner than gear oil so it wets everything more. Lucas makes a nice additive that makes it more "stringy" and may work good in it.

 

[JApplegate]

i just want to clear i couple things up... . manily inform you guys if you didn't know. oil really never breaks down... oil most people drain out of their cars is still good. oil in huge diesel ships never gets changed. they just run the oil through a really good filter. (centro-fuse) that take the dirt, water and metal out of it. oil has three jobs: cool, clean and remove dirt. black oil in diesel trucks is fine, the black is just the detergents cleaning the truck. to test if oil is still good. get your hands covered in greese then get that old oil and run your hands in it. . if your hands are still covered in greese (that i dout will happen) the oil is bad, if your hands are clean and oily then the oil is still good. the only thing is make sure the oil is rated for diesel enyens and is a little thicker. reamber the only time oil needs to get changed is when the oil filter gets full or water gets in the oil. i'm not gonna start toi tell you what oil to buy cause it is all you to prefence. my best advice is too get diesel oil and try some different trypes and find out what typ you like the best. i'm not too sure about synthetic oils. [mainly cause my dad told me all this information... he knows a lot about engyens (cummins). in the costa guard that is all they had in thier boats (bad choice for costa guard boats) they feel apart... he could time those picky cummins in minutes not hours or days like it takes most people... in his free time he would pull th engyen apart and rebuilt in a day (hope your boat didn't have a problem that day)]

 

[bgilbert]

Hey Jimmy, did your dad tell ya ATF is a good injector cleaner too?



Bill

 

[MRickard]

Heh heh heh - Oil also does one major other thing - lubricate! I usually change my oil by look, feel, and smell. If you do not do short trips that never warm it up (that puts acids in the oil that never boil out) then usually the first thing that makes it need to change is that it would be "saturated" with soot. You can easily tell if it is by smearring a little on you finger and looking at the edge of it, and in the ridges of your skin - if it is clean and 'clear' , ie, no soot, than it is still fine. The soot will settle out in to the valleys of your skin on your finger, and if the rest is clean your oil is fine. Diesel engines need oil that disperses soot - something gas engines do not make as much so do not need as much. Also, this is exactly why mileage-based changes are not the best, but more for people who need a 'schedule' or they will forget. There are so many variables that come to the oil's sooting that are different - like a lot of idleing, especially when cold, will make you need to change your oil way quicker, but you are putting zero miles on it, so you are in essence 'not doing anything to it'



As to which brand of oil - that makes no difference. What matters is the rating. The attitives. That is what is keeping the engines going. The reason early engines never made it past 100K was because the oil attitives, not the oil, were not as good. One of the best prices is super-tech 15-40 diesel oil at Walmart that comes in 2 gallon containers. That is if you would give walmart business. And of course there are other oils that have even more additives in it, making it even better. Kindof funny seeing people fighting for these oils and regular oils are will wear your engine out quicker, and then watch them drive away, petal to the metal with the engine cold... heh heh



As to synthetic - the only main advantage it provides is stability under thermal variablitie - ie - wide viscosity range. If you do not need that, then you do not need a synth.



Just my . 02



As for the ATF as an injecter lube, I just go to yellowstone fumeroll's from time to time and throw in a little sulfur. Just kiddin - that sulfur is horible - yeah good lube, but when cold idle w/ wet cyl walls, gets in oil, and turns into a nasty nasty acid H2S04 - sulfuric acid - that is what is in your BATTERY! Think about THAT when you complain about no sulfur!

 

[REldridge]

Amsoil 15W40 is a great synthetic oil. Unlike the others that are based on Group II or III petroleum oil. Amsoil uses pure 100% synthetic base stock. They also have a 5W-30 diesel now. Truckers use both with great success. Amsoil 15W-40 for a perfered customer is $4. 00 a qt. Their filters are great. Filter way down there in microns, and designed for extended drain intervals.

I run 6,000 on filter change and 12,000 miles on oil/filter change.

I have a 1991 1/2 and have been using Amsoil for many years. It also runs cooler and less wear.

Bob Eldridge