Duramax oil options

[Basicgear]

Coming up on oil change time for my 2007 Lbz duramax. It seems like every thread or study I read different oils are ranked at the top. I'd prefer to run something I can buy local like Rotella t6 or Mobil 1 Turbo Diesel Truck but I'm willing to order Schaffers or Amsoil if the wear reduction increase is worth it, what do most people run here in their duramax diesels? Thanks.

 

[clinebarger]

I run Mobil 1 Turbo Diesel Truck only because I got a really good deal on it ($12.99 a gallon), I ran Mobil 1300 before that.

Duramax diesels are easy on oil & ANY good 15w40 conventional diesel rated oil with work fine while following the OLM.

 

[A_Harman]

The Duramax is easy on motor oil. Rotella T6 or Mobil 1 Turbo Diesel Truck would be fine. Many even say that 10w30 RT5 is fine for it.
Check out comments by member "dnewton3".

 

[Basicgear]

Its just I hear alot of bad things about rotella foaming, and Mobil 1 Turbo Diesel Truck not having enough zinc. I'm really just looking for the best oil I can get for the truck since it runs great for the mileage and I want to keep it that way for as long as I can.


I was thinking a 5w40 synthetic but how would that do in the hot Florida Summers?

Might help with a bit of info
220k Miles
Probably will drive ~10k miles a year of 80 city 20 highway driving,

 

[clinebarger]

Originally Posted By: Basicgear
Its just I hear alot of bad things about rotella foaming, and Mobil 1 Turbo Diesel Truck not having enough zinc. I'm really just looking for the best oil I can get for the truck since it runs great for the mileage and I want to keep it that way for as long as I can.


I was thinking a 5w40 synthetic but how would that do in the hot Florida Summers?

Might help with a bit of info
220k Miles
Probably will drive ~10k miles a year of 80 city 20 highway driving,


The Duramax has a roller cam, And I have never seen Rocker or Rocker Bridge wear on LB7's with a gallon of diesel in the sump from faulty injectors.

 

[jeepman3071]

My friend has two Duramax trucks. One is a 2003, the other is a 2007. Both have well over 200k miles, both are heavily tuned and beat on daily. He has gone through 3 transmissions because of the tuning, but the engines run perfect. He uses Rotella T6 5w40 with good results.

 

[Basicgear]

So you could say its a pretty stout engine with good tolerences then?

 

[umungus1122]

"Its just I hear alot of bad things about rotella foaming, and Mobil 1 Turbo Diesel Truck not having enough zinc."

If this were the case they wouldn't be certified. Any 15w40 with proper certifications will be fine.

 

[TiredTrucker]

Or 5w40 too. Depending on the use, even a 10w30 HDEO would be pretty good for general purpose use.

 

[jeepman3071]

Originally Posted By: Basicgear
So you could say its a pretty stout engine with good tolerences then?


The Duramax is a good engine. The only issues my friend's trucks have had were related to abuse (transmissions), and a few electrical problems with the truck itself. The 2003 needed injectors, but that is common for that year.

 

[Basicgear]

Pretty much what I've been hearing, haven't really seen anyone at reasonable power levels kill an engine yet.
Tons of people grenading their G80 and allison though.

 

[Lenny5160]

I broke a piston in my 2005 one year ago at 104,999 miles. Pretty sure it was an injector issue that started it but there was no warning before I had a loss of power and heavy oil and smoke out the exhaust.

Truck has a very mild tune but is almost exclusively used to tow a 53' trailer carrying two cars.

 

[dnewton3]

Welcome to the site, Basicgear.

I can assure you, after studying hundreds of Dmax used oil analysis, that it does not care about what lube is in the crankcase, as long as it's a properly certified API lube. Brand/grade just don't matter at all.

Now, to be fair, I've not studied a lot of highly-tuned 1000hp Dmax used oil analysis; the bulk of my data comes from normal folks using the truck as they were intended. Guys who drag race repeatedly, sled pull, or "roll coal" at every stoplight typically don't do used oil analysis and/or change oil so often the data would not be useful. If you fall into this category, I can only suggest to keep an eye on wear metals and Si.

But if you intend to do normal OCIs with traditional truck use (pulling heavy loads is fine), then the engine isn't going to care about what you use. Generally any CJ-4 rated lube is totally fine, and using more expensive fluids has shown absolutely no return on investment for normal duration.


P.S. - yes, the G-80 "Gov-Bomb" is not up to any form of punishment. The Alli is fine in stock form, but cannot take much abuse over +100hp without mods.

 

[Basicgear]

Out of the big three oils, both synthetic and conventional which would you suggest for ~10k miles a year with mostly short trips?

 

[64bawagon]

I just bought 5 gals of Delvac 1300 on sale for a net of $7.50 per gallon after rebate, running this oil at the OLM changes is one of the few things in life I can count on to not have to worry about.

 

[BoiseRob]

Originally Posted By: Basicgear
Out of the big three oils, both synthetic and conventional which would you suggest for ~10k miles a year with mostly short trips?


Whatever is on sale. In my 2007 LBZ 2500HD Classic, I run Schaeffer's 711 10w30 semi-syn but I have also run Delo 10w30....

 

[Balrog006]

Originally Posted By: 64bawagon
I just bought 5 gals of Delvac 1300 on sale for a net of $7.50 per gallon after rebate, running this oil at the OLM changes is one of the few things in life I can count on to not have to worry about.


This or see if you can find Mobil Delvac 1 5w40 in a 5 gal pail with the $60 rebate and don't look back.

 

[Basicgear]

What store offers that rebate?

 

[Basicgear]

Which delvac 1, LE or ESP?

 

[dnewton3]

Originally Posted By: Basicgear
Out of the big three oils, both synthetic and conventional which would you suggest for ~10k miles a year with mostly short trips?



Of the big three (Delo, Delvac, Rotella; both conventional and synthetic), I would suggest whatever is the cheapest. But you can apply that logic outside of those brand/base stock confines as well.

The LBZ does not suffer from regen issues; previous to that equipment. Therefore short trips really aren't a big thing. You're not going to have dilution issues unless you've got a leaking injector, and frankly no oil can stop the effects of that issue anyway ...

I encourage folks to test stuff. Don't get caught up in all the bench-racing of brands/grades here. Run something you find interesting and do a used oil analysis. Then change up the routine with another product and used oil analysis again. Do that several times. Eventually you'll discover it matters a lot more to your wallet than it does to your engine.


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