Diesel Oil in a Gas Engine?

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In general, is there any reason an oil formulated for a Diesel engine shouldn't be used in a gas engine?
 
If you mean "True" Diesel oils, meaning those that don't carry any gas engine specs at all, in an older engine without catalytic converters, sensors or any of that it would probably be fine, true Diesel oils typically have very high Sulphated ash contents because they tend to have very strong additive packages which at least in theory could poison catalytic converters, cause spark plug fouling etc.

Now if you mean a Diesel oil but one that has Gas engine specs too then that's nothing new at all, there are probably over a hundred threads on here about it and it's been done with all kinds of cars and not once have i heard about anyone having any kind of problem doing so, i've done it myself on both my cars without a problem.
 
if the diesel oil also carries the "S" category, then it's safe for gasoline engines. Otherwise iirc, at a minimum it can or may cause issues with the emission control system or damage the cat converter. Too much ZDDP.

I play with the viscosity a little and am kind of a thickie ... other than that, I don't venture much out of my comfort zone and knowledge i.e. using diesel oil in my gas engines ... That would require lots of research on my part without too much gain. :)
 
Well, according to hundreds of posts that I found on this website - there is no harm, as others have mentioned. In fact - there are many fleet vehicles that run purely on 15w40 oils (due to costs of actually servicing a fleet of vehicles) and hit 300k-500k miles or more and end up at junkyard due to rust or transmission issues, but with perfectly running engines.

On the other hand - there is a fella here that ran 0w5 (yes 0w5) racing oil in his Volkswagen Golf TDI (click here to read that thread)

And to throw a cherry on top of a pie - here is a thread with good UOA after running Supertech 5w30 conventional for 10k miles, and the same person ran it for 15k miles as well I believe.

Oil is oil? idk... I'll let everyone make their own decisions.
 
No issues whatsoever. As said, many are both gas and diesel approved. Also, many euro oils are gas and light duty diesel approved.

I must admit it used to bother me the popular Rotella oils didn’t have gas approvals, but not anymore. (The CJ-4 “formulation”/ bottles did.) Don’t expect it to cover any warranties though.
 
Vladiator, thanks for sharing the post using a 5 weight in the TDI! Too much lead in the analysis for me. I tried 0w20 in a piaggio scooter engine a few years ago, originally it called for 5w40. After around 200 miles it developed a knocking sound, I guess 0w20 was too thin. So using a 5 weight in a diesel usually calling for a 40 weight is really brave.
 
Thanks for all the responses. I passed them along to a friend who asked about it. (y)
 
I would think something like Rotella T5 10w30 is about as close to universal oil as you can get. At least if you don't deal with subzero temps on a regular basis. You could use it in everything from a Geo Metro 1.0L to a D9 Caterpillar.
 
The API, with the new SP rating, is sticking to its guns and not allowing a gasoline SP rating for any diesel oil with more than 800 PPM phosphorus due to catalytic convertor poisoning. In fact, xw40 diesels oils that have higher than 800 ppm phosphorus and we’re also granted a SN rating will not be getting the S rating starting next year. While some Bitoggers like to make their own rules that it’s OK to use high phosphorus oils if you do not consume oil, that is not the viewpoint of the API. So it’s more of a what’s good for mankind thing. Obviously you could also cut out your cats with a hacksaw as well if you thought you wouldn’t get caught. As for longevity, I have got 200,000 miles on a gasoline powered vehicle that never used diesel oil. By the way, it’s pretty hard to measure if the efficiency of your cats is going down unless they actually measure the NOX in a sniff test. With something like 200 million gasoline powered vehicles in the USA, the API has to deal with broader concepts than what individual Bittoggers do.
 
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Mobil Delvac 1300 Super is rated for mixed fleet use in both diesel and gasoline engines. It is SN rated. This is for grades 15w40 and 10w30. I use 15w40 in my Kubota tractor. None of my vehicles specifies either of those grades of oil so I won’t use it in anything I drive.
 
Still have a good supply of this stuff from Autozone/Walmart clearance
(y) 😎

Run it in my 01 Suburban or any of my "flip cars" from time to time (y)


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In fact, xw40 diesels oils that have higher than 800 ppm phosphorus and we’re also granted a SN rating will not be getting the S rating starting next year.
Do you know if API allows 800-plus PPM of phosphorus in XW-40 grade SP oils that don't carry a commercial rating?
 
Do you know if API allows 800-plus PPM of phosphorus in XW-40 grade SP oils that don't carry a commercial rating?

https://www.fuelsandlubes.com/fli-article/exemption-phosphorus-limits-longer-apply-2020/

"However, this is all set to change. Speaking with F+L Magazine in June, Arcy confirmed that with the introduction of API SP service category, effective 1 May 2020, this historical exemption for phosphorus will no longer apply. Even non-ILSAC grades XW-40s must now meet this requirement for API SP. “Going forward, anyone that is going to claim API SP on the bottle along with a diesel category is going to have to meet 800 ppm phosphorus,” says Arcy."

If the oil is not API licensed then you can do whatever you want.
 
Thanks. I should have done a better job asking the question. 😊
What I should have asked was are non-ILSAC API SP rated oils limited to 800 ppm of phosphorus? I found an Infineum paper that says they are not.
 
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