1988 Cadillac brougham - 307 c.u. olds - Rotella

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Hi all,

I am wondering if I can use Rotella 10w30 dino or synthetic in 307 olds which has flat tappet cam?

Over here, the weather gets so cold in the winter season (-21C to -30C). What do you think of running 10w30 for cold starts? Since I usually drive the car once a week and would like to get the ZDDP additive in Rotella and I am bit worry about putting also synthetic t6?

Any advice will be appreciated.
 
Originally Posted By: umungus1122
The stock 307 has mild springs. Regular SN oil is fine.


no need for extra ZDDP?
 
Originally Posted By: CT8
0W-40 maybe.


Are you referring to Castrol euro?
 
Are you sure your Olds 307 has flat tappet lifters? Late 307's had a roller cam.

Edit....According to my manual, Your car takes lifter GM part#5234680 that IS roller.
 
Your engine spec'd SF oil with about 1,000 ppm zinc. Mobil 1 0w40 FS fits the bill nicely with 1100 ppm zinc and 1000 ppm Phos being a 0w40 it provides easy cold weather starting, its a thin xw40.
Even with lower rate springs low zinc levels can cause lobe wear on a flat tappet cam.

Edit: If its a roller cam disregard the post.
 
Last edited:
The Olds 307 of that model year used roller lifters. Some of the early GM engines that used roller lifters didn't take advantage
of using modern roller lifter cam profiles. Your in Canada, you don't need anything 10 or 15 W whatever in this engine.
 
Originally Posted By: Kuato
How about 5w40 Rotella?


Synthetic can cause leaks
 
BTW, the engine is original and has 73k miles on it.

I also noticed that the oil turned black in the first 1000 miles and so, I think it needs short OCI since the car used very rarely (2-3k miles a year)?

Would that be a good route to take?
 
Originally Posted By: momo
I also noticed that the oil turned black in the first 1000 miles and so, I think it needs short OCI since the car used very rarely (2-3k miles a year)?

Would that be a good route to take?

Rotella 10w-30 is a good choice.

Yes, it has a roller cam but it's still a pushrod V8 than can benefit from the higher ZDDP and detergents in an HDEO like Rotella.

Most PCMO synthetics today are going to be SN grade and way down on ZDDP levels.
 
Rotella T6 will be fine. It's North American synthetic, not PAO so don't worry about leaks
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Well broken in motor with mild OEM valve springs is not especially hard on surfaces or oil. You are not making 5,500 RPM passes at the drag strip (?). Modern base oils are better than back in the day, and that partially offsets the loss of ZDDP.

But all the good HDEO's like T6 have at least 1,000 PPM. T6 is 1,300 and Delo is 1,270. Just run one of those
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Originally Posted By: momo
ZDDP lvl is ~800 which is lower than what 307 olds needs

An old 307 doesn't "need" more. BrocLuno pretty much covered it. You're not running a demanding application. As you mentioned elsewhere, with the number of miles you're putting on it, you'll be dead and buried before there's a concern over accelerated wear. The real elephant in the room is the GM cam.
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Run Rotella T6 5W40 and dont worry, T6 is pretty gentle to old seals.
Or run the 10W-30 and get a block heater! My dad ran 10W-40 in -35C temperatures in Northern Finland but left the car plugged in overnight and never had a problem starting it.
 
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