Safe to idle for 15-20 minutes at a time?

[valv1961]

I use my truck daily towing all over the country. At night it idles for 10 hours (DOT logbook) to keep cab temp constant while I sleep. This is my 16th Ram truck, and I never, ever had an issue with prolonged idling on any of my trucks. Currently this is a 2017 and has 137,000 miles and 1120 hours of idle.
I use Rotella T6 synthetic every 12k to 15k miles. Cold weather ? Below 45deg the truck automatically high idles. Regen ? No problem it does it 4 to 5 times every night.
I use 6 gallons of fuel since it's not deleted, and 3/3.5 gallons after a delete.

 

[Tuesdak]

I didn’t ignore the oil minder on the 2014, I drove for awhile before I quit. My boss believed in that crap. But I don’t care with my own vehicles if it has a oil minder. It’s only a algoretheum based function and does not have a sensor sampling the oil.

It’s an EPA based function to convince you not change your oil sooner. My Vehicles get the oil changed every 5K, even when Toyota recommends at 10K miles. So for years, 7.5K miles was the light duty schedule. Back in the day, before synthetic was introduced through the OEM recommended intervals, it was 3K miles. Regular duty with synthetic oil now in my opinion is 5K miles.

Now if you do a oil sample through Blackstone or equivalent, then I would extend the mileage based on that report.

Most Oil Minders, oil change lights, etc. are spot on. Some have been revised due to timing chain failures *Cough* GM *Cough*. I will be the first to remind folks that oil sludge is still a problem today.

We put over 100K on a 2008 Duramax going by the oil change light aka just under 10,000 miles per oil change.

Related to idle: Only trouble we had with the 2008 was a "Low oil pressure stop engine" after hot idle in 121 degree weather while we dropped the cargo trailer off. The momentary shift into drive dropped oil pressure under the minimum. GM's solution was to make a "buffer" to ignore the oil pressure drop for a moment longer as we were not the only ones with that problem. Root cause for us was oil viscosity failure due to regen biodiesel contamination. Others in colder weather had the same problem on #2 diesel. If it wasn't for idling the truck we wouldn't have noticed the oil problem till the next oil change/sample. Hot idle thins out oil and the idiot light decoration of an oil pressure gauge Dodge/FCA/Cummins has isn't helping you see this. (Dodge is not alone in gauges that are just a decoration and lie.)

In a fleet of 200 GM 1999 model year+ 1/2 ton pickups the oil change light was just confirming the 5000 mile oil change service interval that was in place. The V6 engines ran a lot of off road oil patch and most engines made 250K before the trucks were completely shot. Also UOA confirmed this interval. UOA in that fleet also helped track down a cracked valve cover letting excessive silicon (dirt) into a 'yellow iron' engine. Not only warranty but the valvecovers were revised by the OEM due to this.

At the end of the day excessive oil changes come off the bottom line. FWIW I pay around $11.00 per oil sample and buy them in a box of 8 from a local lab. Excessive $100 oil changes will NOT let you know about and correct a problem like a $11.00 UOA will. So back up the oil change minder with UOA's and still be $ ahead.

 

[Newsa]

I will be the first to remind folks that oil sludge is still a problem today.

If I'm not mistaken, i believe sludge is a result of oil oxidation. It is more likely that oxidation will occur if the TBN gets low. And is more common to conventional oils than synthetics. Conventional oils tend to oxidize and thicken more readily than the slicker synthetics.

 

[Newsa]

Root cause for us was oil viscosity failure due to regen biodiesel contamination.

Do you remember if you had a significant increase in wear metals when this happened (as seen on your UOA's?) Or do the bargain $11 UOA's only test some parameters and leave other oil conditions unreported?

Thanks for your reply. This was an interesting post and I wanted to break it up for my own digestion.

 

[JR]

All depends on duty cycle and length of time. You could easily run a 30w indefinitely if your truck doesnt get worked.

 

[Tuesdak]

Do you remember if you had a significant increase in wear metals when this happened (as seen on your UOA's?) Or do the bargain $11 UOA's only test some parameters and leave other oil conditions unreported?

Thanks for your reply. This was an interesting post and I wanted to break it up for my own digestion.

UOA's include everything. Better deals sometimes can be found esp. if you buy more than 1 at a time. Here is a hot rod IDI running clean (soot=0) due soley to Gapless rings. Less soot blowby from this dirty running engine means less soot in the oil. FWIW "Stock engines" Heavy Duty use oil change interval is 2500 miles and they mean it as 3000 miles is dealing with more than used up oil. Clearly mine is not stock... (TBN was negotiated back in thus the missing 0. Long debate about it no longer being relevant with the 2007+ changes.)

Sludge is a catch all for failure of engine oil that leaves sludge around esp. that clogs the oil passages/pickup screen or otherwise starves the engine of oil to the point of failure in some way. IDI diesels are famous for lots of soot sludge coating the internals. Gasoline engines from Toyota and Dodge still die from sludge. So oil failures from overheating (oxidizing) the oil, soot, or other contaminates exceeding the additive package's ability. Toyota is said to be extreme hot spots in the engine and Dodge is intake leaks thus running lean and hot. Both examples turn the oil into sludge.

I don't recall anything too far out of line from the biodiesel contamination other than low viscosity. We changed the oil early that time and had an additional 2 quart oil to air cooler on that engine. Additional factor: biodiesel has more lube ability than #2 ULSD in engine oil. #2 diesel evaporates back out of the oil where Biodiesel doesn't.

 

[Newsa]

UOA's include everything. Better deals sometimes can be found esp. if you buy more than 1 at a time.

Better deals on quality oil can also be had from some suppliers by buying more than 3 gallons at a time. In fact shipping from some suppliers of 6-9 gallons of oil can be found at about the same price as shipping for 3 gallons. It decreases a buyers per unit cost to save a few gallons for 5-10 months in the shed or garage. I buy only oil that has good reputation and from a reliable producer with excellent quality control. Sometimes I'll buy off brand if I can trace it to a known oil producer like Warren Oil or one of the other more known producers. Sometimes it's easily researched on your phone. Sometimes it's on the label on the back.

I can't get anything hardly in Miami, FL for $11 (except for a few packs of chewing gum) as costs (living costs and consumer indexes/indeces) here are high. I did notice, though that oil analyzers has a $20 value Oil Analysis kit (I pay $30 for all the tests) where they don't do all the tests. I guess you would call that a value Oil analysis (VOA) instead of a universal oil analysis. (UOA)??? It is nice you have that local option that reduces your cost.

I could save an insignificant amount on UOA's buy buying 12 at a time. But it only makes sense in my mind to do that if you have more than one truck. I don't do oil analysis on my girlfriend's 12 year old Mazda-rati. Her 12 year old car has 2000 fewer miles than my 2013 truck that turned 5 years old yesterday.

 

[Newsa]

All depends on duty cycle and length of time. You could easily run a 30w indefinitely if your truck doesnt get worked.

Yeah. My 8+% fuel dilution was probably making my 15w-40 closer to a 10w-30.
So it was still lubricating adequately and hence my wear metals were low. Iron was 11 ppm which is the lowest I've seen on any posted UOA. Some of the other wear metals were zero. Granted it was only 3600 miles vs 5000-15,000 that have been posted. My cold starts are 50°F-90°F, tho. Unlike some of you that have subzero starts part of the year. This will likely affect wear metal presence in oil analysis??

I changed it out for fresh 15w-40 just because to be safe.

 

[Newsa]

Besides my shed is full enough without having to stockpile cases of motor oil.

I might be stockpiling this oil next. If you buy 5 of them, you save $20 per 5 gal pail!

But not right now. I've already got enough to last a year.... since I just changed 2 weeks ago

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/263909819020

 

[Learjet]

Newsa...Rotella T6 is the same price per gallon at Walmart before the rebate...with the rebate you can get $7 back per gallon on T6...just saying.

https://rotella.shell.com/en_us/cou...=L0RJWS9OYXRpb25hbDE4L3N0b3JlbG9jYXRvci5jZm0=

 

[Newsa]

Newsa...Rotella T6 is the same price per gallon at Walmart before the rebate...with the rebate you can get $7 back per gallon on T6...just saying.

https://rotella.shell.com/en_us/cou...=L0RJWS9OYXRpb25hbDE4L3N0b3JlbG9jYXRvci5jZm0=

Yeah. But I prefer 15w 40 to 5w 40.

Just personal preference.

Also, Not convinced that RT6 is really the best oil for that price.

Buying 25 gallons only saves $4 per gallon. So I may pay the $119 for a 5 gallon pail (Triax fleet supreme). It comes on eBay wholesale direct from the source.

I have 3 gallons of T6 in the shed for this winter. But refuse to buy any more Rotella.
When I buy Rotella, I feel like I'm paying for their radio & TV commercials.

 

[JR]

Newsa...Rotella T6 is the same price per gallon at Walmart before the rebate...with the rebate you can get $7 back per gallon on T6...just saying.

https://rotella.shell.com/en_us/cou...=L0RJWS9OYXRpb25hbDE4L3N0b3JlbG9jYXRvci5jZm0=

Is Walmart on Shells approved list for the rebate?

Mobil also has a rebate which I've used but Walmart is not on their list, probably because their prices are always so cheap to begin with. So I generally watch for sales from one of the approved stores and stock up then .

 

[Learjet]

Is Walmart on Shells approved list for the rebate?

Mobil also has a rebate which I've used but Walmart is not on their list, probably because their prices are always so cheap to begin with. So I generally watch for sales from one of the approved stores and stock up then .

yes for Walmart, I have used it three times for 3 gallons each time already

 

[Learjet]

Yeah. But I prefer 15w 40 to 5w 40.

Just personal preference.

Also, Not convinced that RT6 is really the best oil for that price.

Buying 25 gallons only saves $4 per gallon. So I may pay the $119 for a 5 gallon pail.

I have 3 gallons of T6 in the shed for this winter. But refuse to buy any more Rotella.
When I buy Rotella, I feel like I'm paying for their radio & TV commercials.

I hear you...I'm using the T5 which is syn-blend and 15w40 since I'm in the south. It's a $5 rebate for the T5 which comes out to $10.97 per gallon after the rebate and before taxes.

 

[Newsa]

I hear you...I'm using the T5 which is syn-blend and 15w40 since I'm in the south. It's a $5 rebate for the T5 which comes out to $10.97 after the rebate before taxes.

I do like some syn blends. Kendall Super D is my pick for syn blend. I like the fact that the additive packages tend to stay dissolved in the dino part of the blend. And yet when you shut down a fairly hot turbo, there is lower percent of dino in the hot turbo than with conventional.
Less chance of sludge and coking in a fairly hot turbo even if you do a turbo cool down/count down. I prefer synthetics or syn blends. But realize that dino is adequate for my use.

Rotella T6 has a cold pour point at -32 °F

Kendall Super D 15w 40 and (IMHO) better quality/better engineered oils have Cold Pour points of - 42-- to -50°F. 15w 40 flowing better in cold temps than 5w 40? I really have no reason to buy a 5w 40. Even if I move to MN.

 

[JR]

When I buy Rotella, I feel like I'm paying for their radio & TV commercials.

Coming from someone who believes in and promotes boutique oils so strongly, this is a very contradictive statement.

 

[Newsa]

Coming from someone who believes in and promotes boutique oils so strongly, this is a very contradictive statement.

I don't remember promoting oils that I see radio and TV commercials on.

I have used some expensive oils. But I feel.i am.paying for the quality of the oil. Not the radio and TV spots.

But I am going to start opting for this lesser-known and cheaper priced synthetic.

 

[Cummins12V98]

Newsa, how would you know if an oil is good or bad as you seem to use many different oils???

 

[Newsa]

Newsa, how would you know if an oil is good or bad as you seem to use many different oils???

I don't have to know what is a good oil or bad oil. I just have to read the amsoil website and catch up on all their videos.

And as for "knowing".... It is all pretty much opinion. Just because you like your UOA analysis from one oil, doesn't mean it is really any better than another. I am on my third crankcase of 100% (no added oil from other brands) Kendall Super D XA 15w 40. I liked what I saw from the KSDXA in terms of wear metals on my UOA. I did not like what I saw in terms of fuel dilution. But even though the viscosity was coming closer to a 10w 30, the wear netals tested low. I plan on testing again this fall. (Same oil)

 

[JR]

I don't remember promoting oils that I see radio and TV commercials on.

I have used some expensive oils. But I feel.i am.paying for the quality of the oil. Not the radio and TV spots.

But I am going to start opting for this lesser-known and cheaper priced synthetic.

You promote expensive boutique oils which is your choice, maybe they don't do commercials but you are absolutely paying for the name one way or another.