A real dilema, what oil? please help

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Hello fellow members

I am coming up on my oil change real quick and I still havent decided on what I should I should use. I am aiming for a year round oil if possible. I have owend the truck since 43,000 Km and now its approaching 48,000 Km I dont know what maintenace oil/ change schedule it had before my possession but i lifted the oil filler cap and had a peak inside, not overly dirty but not as clean as I had thought either. I am debating using synthetic or sticking with dino. We saw some real cold temps here this winter as we always do -40C and with no block heater I know that the regular 5w-30 penz would have been thick like honey. I can get many of the favorite oils talked about on this forum. I would prefer to stick with one brand if I could. So here is what i have been thinking, please let me know what you guys think. I was thinking of running a HDEO diesel weight oil in my next weeks oil change a 15W40, like delvac 1300S, Castrol Super Rx. or Esso XD-3 (for us Canadians here) Think this is a good idea? From what i have gathered here is that these oils contain superior additive packages and it may "clean up" the internal workings of the engine some. With temps now on the rise as winter is leaving the coldest night may dip - 20C but then its all the way up to 30 C + for the hotter summer months. So this leads me to my other questions. The highly regarded german castrol is available here as well, and at $5.12 Canadian per litre I dont mind spending that amount at all, maybe I could just run that year round? and comments on that? Only thing is that I recently talked with 2 buddies who had run synthetic one gas, one in a diesel, they said all the evidence i needed was on the gargage floor, both leaked! and both were low km engines. Synth blends are only pennies cheaper although I saw a Quaker State 4x4 SUV 5 litre jug for only $15 Canadian
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(Yes thats right I said the Q word)
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I am just so confused as what to do, Can I run HDEO in the summer in a heavy weight and then switch to a syth blend or full syth in winter? Im scared sh*tless its going to leak. The truck (5.2L 4x4) burns very little oil, about 500ml makeup oil in 5000 Km's. I do lots of short trip, cold ideling in winter and some towing trailering in the summer, generally however the truck is not driven hard. Please help me out with this dilema, I may be reading to much into it but I want to hear all sides / comments / concerns and real life eperiences. Heyjay if you read this I have been following most of your postings and I believe that your truly know what type of environment we subject our automobiles to, as I am not that far from you, You have any recomendation. Ok thats all and sorry for the long winded post
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looking forward to some usefull responses, thanks in advance
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Sorry Forgot to post , I do not plan on extended OCI's even if i choose a full synthetic, 5000 Km and it will be drained. Dino is always cheap here and have access to all major brands, So another option is to jsut give it a steady diet of quality dino. Also what are some concerns/ pitfalls of switching back and forth from dino in the summer to synth or synth blend in the winter?

Thanks again
 
Given your questioning of the previous owner's maintenance habits, I think an Auto RX run/rinse with conventional oil should be the first order of business. After that, especially considering the cold weather/short trip/idling/trailer towing you describe, I'd be looking for some of the new Mobil 1 "Truck/SUV" 5W-40 (supposedly same formulation as Delvac 1). I'm sure you could also run German Castrol all year round with no problems. I think I'd be leery of running a "conventional" HDEO 15W-40 during a Canadian winter, although in summer you'd certainly be OK.
 
At the frequency you are talking you could do most anything. Honestly it probably won't matter much. Pennzoil 10W-30 in summer and 0W-30 is not a bad choice. You could even thicken it up a bit in the summer with a quart or two of the 40 wt.
 
Delvac 1 or Rotella T 5W40 changed every six months might do what you want. There is no real need to change the oil every 5000 kilometers. Time is more of a factor from all the info I have gathered here.
 
Just thought I'd bump this up so it will get noticed. Hmmm... don't know how much extreme cold might affect the seal phenomenon also???

Where's Heyjay when you need him??

I'm not a big Mobil supporter, but it seems that in your climate the 0W-30 would be hard to beat and the 5W-40 for the warmer weather hauling and towing.

Guess we can't convince you to run the oil a little longer in the warmer months????
 
Ok ok I'm here. Cripes, some of us DO have to work for a living!

Anyway, since Mr Ram does not appear willing to go beyond 5,000km OCI, I see no reason to push it.

Mr Ram you mentioned Esso XD-3 and I think that would be a GREAT choice given 5,000km OCI. Check with your local Esso dealer, mine charges $2.25/litre for the 15W-40, around $4.50 a litre for the XD-3 0W-30 / 0W-40.

You will find in temps especially near -40 that Esso XD-3 0W-30 will provide superior cold starting performance. When you compare the price of Wally World, they have Mobil 1 5W-30 at over $7 a litre, and M1 5W-30 is thicker.

I agree that since the maintenance history of this truck is questionable, a quick rinse with Auto RX is called for.

Then use the XD-3. That oil will keep the motor spotless.

I have used Esso XD-3 in my commercial equipment and personal cars in the past, and would have NO problem doing so again. Friends of mine continue to use XD-3 and they have nothing but good things to say about the oil.

I have only slight benefits running Delvac 1 in my commercial equipment and Mobil 1 in my personal truck, compared to XD-3. The cost factor is quite a bit higher for Delvac 1 now.

Hope this helps.

Note: I don't think Mobil 1 Truck & SUV will be available in Canada.

Jerry
 
Mr. Ram my garage floor is completely dry. I had a very minor leak in my 87 Mitsu pickup. Always used 10W-40 dino. I went to Castrol Syntec 10W-30 @ 130,000 mi. There are now no leaks and neglibible consumption @ 165,000 mi. I run Mobil 1 10W-30 in my car with no leaks and no real consumption @ 73,000 mi. FWIW, neither Syntec nor Mobil 1 has caused me any leak issues.

Heyjay is of course going to have the best advice for you. I like his combinations anyway.

I think it is best for you to stay with synthetic year 'round.
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Hello again

Thank you very much guys for the replys. So the consensus seems to run a quality dino in the heavy weight format 15w40 in the summer months and then switch to a full blown synth for the winter? Heyjay I as well have heard nothing negative about the esso oil. Reasoning for 5,000 Km oil change is that my truck may only get 15,000 to 20,000 Km a year with most be easy kilometers. So for the usual 3 to 4 max oil changes a year I dont mind the spending some money for some decent oil to keep the engine happy. Does this change your outlook at all? Will switching back and forth from dino to synth have any ill effects? is the esso synth or GC in 0w-30 not suitable for year round use? I am going to price4 out the XD-3 today and also get a price from a friend who gets deals for Delo Oil as they are both HDEO oils I will price compare them just for fun. Any thoughts on running a synth blend all year round? I see Quaker state suv 4x4 for only $15 Can for 5 Litres. Syntec blend is cheap as well. Anyhow thanks for the input everyone. I will post back to let everyone know what i decided and more importantly to let everyone know what the ole Ram thought of my decision.
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At your Winter temp. any of the syn blends I'm familiar with probably would be solid or close to it. Heck, many of the so-called full syns won't work at your -40.

I wish I had some experience with the GC, but I don't. The XD-3 or M1, 0W-30 sounds like a good idea to me.
 
quote:

Originally posted by Dr. T:
Jerry, it already is....it's called Delvac 1
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The smallest container you can buy Delvac 1 in is a 4 litre jug. That is VERY inconvenient for most passenger cars and light trucks.

Mobil 1 Truck & SUV appears to be the same as Delvac 1, as far as formulation goes, but is in much handier 1 quart bottles, same as the other Mobil 1 motor oil products.

Jerry
 
quote:

Originally posted by Mr. Ram:
Hello again

Thank you very much guys for the replys. So the consensus seems to run a quality dino in the heavy weight format 15w40 in the summer months and then switch to a full blown synth for the winter? Heyjay I as well have heard nothing negative about the esso oil. Reasoning for 5,000 Km oil change is that my truck may only get 15,000 to 20,000 Km a year with most be easy kilometers. So for the usual 3 to 4 max oil changes a year I dont mind the spending some money for some decent oil to keep the engine happy. Does this change your outlook at all? Will switching back and forth from dino to synth have any ill effects? is the esso synth or GC in 0w-30 not suitable for year round use? I am going to price4 out the XD-3 today and also get a price from a friend who gets deals for Delo Oil as they are both HDEO oils I will price compare them just for fun. Any thoughts on running a synth blend all year round? I see Quaker state suv 4x4 for only $15 Can for 5 Litres. Syntec blend is cheap as well. Anyhow thanks for the input everyone. I will post back to let everyone know what i decided and more importantly to let everyone know what the ole Ram thought of my decision.
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First of all, the Esso XD-3 family of products are all tested to be fully compatible with each other. Switching from Esso XD-3 15W-40 to Esso XD-3 0W-30 is fine. Many of the truckers and loggers around here run the 15W-40 in summer and the 0W-30 or 0W-40 in winter.

As you prefer 5,000km OCI's, I would try to stagger the time interval - if you can estimate that fairly close - so you will only have to pay for the more expensive 0W-30 in true winter conditions.

I suppose you could try to run the XD-3 0W-30 all year round, but I don't think you will have any added benefit in summer and with 5,000km OCI it will cost a lot more.

I don't have any experience with blend oils or with Syntec. As Haley10 mentioned, at -40 or colder, the blends may also be frozen solid. Anybody have MRV data on blends??

My local Esso Bulk dealer has the following prices, hopefully yours will be in line:

Esso XD-3 15W-40: $2.49 a litre
Esso XD-3 0W-30: $4.25 a litre

Hope this helps

Jerry
 
Ok heres my update. I went to the local Esso bulk dealer today and was pleasntly surprised
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I got my 5 Litres of 15w-40 Esso Xd-3 xtra for $12.08 Canadian incl taxes
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Only $2.12 a litre. So needless to say this oil is very cheap to purchase and lets just hope it lives up to all its good comments. I also saw the 0w-30 full synth for $4.25 a litre and I am definately going to give that a shot this winter
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Will post back later on how this oil worked out for my application and summer months driving. Thanks again for the posts and comments its nice to have people here to share knowledge with.

Many thanks.
 
quote:

Originally posted by Mr. Ram:
Ok heres my update. I went to the local Esso bulk dealer today and was pleasntly surprised
smile.gif
I got my 5 Litres of 15w-40 Esso Xd-3 xtra for $12.08 Canadian incl taxes
smile.gif
Only $2.12 a litre. So needless to say this oil is very cheap to purchase and lets just hope it lives up to all its good comments. I also saw the 0w-30 full synth for $4.25 a litre and I am definately going to give that a shot this winter
smile.gif
Will post back later on how this oil worked out for my application and summer months driving. Thanks again for the posts and comments its nice to have people here to share knowledge with.

Many thanks.


Wow that IS a good price!

Next time I'm shopping for Esso XD-3, will have to pay you a visit.

Good luck, let us know how it works out.

Jerry
 
where are you guys going to get these 0W30 esso xd3 synthetics? I can't find them anywhere.

GTA, that is.
 
quote:

Originally posted by berge:
where are you guys going to get these 0W30 esso xd3 synthetics? I can't find them anywhere.

GTA, that is.


You can get the entire Esso XD-3 line at any commercial Esso Bulk dealer. Call :

1-800-268-3183 or
1-416-218-7000

Jerry

[ February 28, 2004, 12:00 PM: Message edited by: heyjay ]
 
I'm always hearing about how outrageous oil prices are in Canada. This seems cheap to me.

A real syn 0W-30 at 4.25 is dirt cheap.

This sounds like a decent deal.
 
quote:

Originally posted by heyjay:

quote:

Originally posted by berge:
where are you guys going to get these 0W30 esso xd3 synthetics? I can't find them anywhere.

GTA, that is.


You can get the entire Esso XD-3 line at any commercial Esso Bulk dealer. Call :

1-800-268-3183 or
1-416-218-7000

Jerry


thank you.
 
quote:

Originally posted by haley10:
I'm always hearing about how outrageous oil prices are in Canada. This seems cheap to me.

A real syn 0W-30 at 4.25 is dirt cheap.

This sounds like a decent deal.


Some oils are insane, such as Redline at $20 per quart from some places (although it's been seen as low as $13) but overall our prices aren't too bad. Just recently there have been sales on 4L jugs of M1 at Walmart for just $20, which is like $15 US! I've also seen Pennzoil 5w30 in a 4 quart jug for just $5.69 CDN recently.
 
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