Blend question: Rotella 10W30 CJ4 + Redline?

[chucky2]

We gave our old van (1992 Ford Aerostar 4.0L OHV 4spd automatic) to my cousin and her husband, and it mainly sees short trips around town (south side Chicago area), although once in a while it does get a highway workout.

I ended up running the engine a while a few years ago on about 1.5 quarts of oil for an unknown amount of miles at 65mph...suffice to say the engine now has an intermittant knock - suspect damaged rod(s) and/or bearing(s). Also, it tends to leak at the valve covers although don't know how much now that they've been driving it on the short trips vs. the long ones it used to get.

My question (finally): I'm wondering, given the leaking and the damage (who knows what really) in the engine, plus the short trips and the cold weather they'll see here this winter, if running maybe something like 4 Qts. Shell Rotella 10w30 CJ-4 + 1 Qt. Redline 5W-20 or 5w30 would be a good mix for them?

Using the viscosity calculator for that mix w/ the 5W-20 Redline, I get 76.4 cSt @ 40C and 11.4 cSt at 100C for the mix...plus all the benefits of the HDEO and the Redline.

What do you all think?

Chuck

 

[427Z06]

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...plus all the benefits of the HDEO and the Redline.

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I'd say it's a big unknown whether you'll get the benefits of either. You can call the Tech lines at either and see what they say.

I personally, would just stick with the 10w30 HDEO.

 

[JohnBrowning]

Chucky2, I do not even know if we could used oil analysis to tell us anything in this case. Since the engine has an unknown amount of internal damage already any used oil analysis would be suspect. I say that because the damage that was done initialy by running low on oil is going to continue at an unknown rate until something breaks. We have no way of gaugeing or predicting that at this point! So you might benifitt or you might not and none of us would be able to tell you one way or the other. Usualy I would say try it and do a used oil analysis and lets see what we see but inthis case I think you would be better just running the Rotella-T 10W30 and acalling it good. No sense tossing good money after bad!

 

[chucky2]

Yeah, I hear what both of you are saying...

...my thoughts though were that Redline being so polar, and having such a high additive content, would enhance the benefits the HDEO would bring...and drop to some extent it's higher than PCMO cSt @ 40C vis.

I guess another thing I should consider is that this thing leaks out the valve covers pretty good...wasting Redline on that is sort of a waste, and the esters in the Redline may end up making that work.

Maybe what I'll do is throw in a gallon of the 10w30 HDEO, and like a quart of 5W-20, along with a bottle of one of the popular add boosters here. That ought to get them by...at that point, whatever happens, happens.

Chuck

P.S. I will have a used oil analysis of Rotella T "Synthetic" 5W-40 in a week or so...although with the truck having sat so long (like 2 years) and the oil that was in it having some of it been the 1.5 quarts that was most like torched on my little low oil run, I'm not sure how valuable it'll be. Still though, it'll be interesting...

 

[ibewman1141]

Where can you buy rotella 10w30? Does HDEO stand for Heavy Duty Engine Oil?

 

[Gary Allan]

Many Farm/Tractor supply type places ..also local distributors. Most times in 5 gallon pails.

Yes.

 

[Steve S]

I wouldn't spend the $$$ for the Redline oil to blend.

 

[427Z06]

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Maybe what I'll do is throw in a gallon of the 10w30 HDEO, and like a quart of 5W-20, along with a bottle of one of the popular add boosters here.

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Don't even waste the money on the HDEO if you're going to do that. Get the least expensive 10w40 API oil you can find.

 

[JohnBrowning]

Walmart now carrier Rotella-T 10W30 in gallon jugs.

 

[chucky2]

ibewman1141- The only place I've seen the 10w30 around here is at Menards, which is like a Home Debot or Lowes. They almost always only have the gallon jugs...only once early this past summer did I see actual quarts...and they were quite dusty.

Steve S- Yeah, that is starting to get up there in price...but if they can just keep this thing running reliably for a year or two, I think that'll keep them out of the woods. They really don't have money to spend on another vehicle or costly repairs...

427Z06- You're saying go with a PCMO 10W-40 and then just add in the add pack booster? Interesting, I'll have to look at their cold weather performance vs. the HDEO... Thanks!

Chuck