Hello, first post

[wadedog]

First I would like to say Hello and it's great to be part of this site.
I have been doing alot of reading with the search function and i have enjoyed it all and recomended this site to all my friends.

There seems to be alot of opinions and personal choices so it's hard to figure out whats best for my engines.
Can i get some recomendations for what i should use in my gas engines.

I have a 2000 olds valero,v6 that is a pain to change filters and oil that has around 80k miles.

Also a new 2005 1/2 ton4x4 chevy truck with the 327 HO engine , i switched at the first oil change to M1 5w30 but it seems like my engine is alot more noisy now with alot of valve clatter.

And my last car is a hotrod i'm building with over 400HP a 355 chevy engine that will only get driven in the summer and not everyday.
I want to make sure it gets all the oil additives to protect the cam and moving parts.

If this is asking too much, please be considerate that i'm new and i'll learn .

thank you.

 

[wadedog]

Thanks for the replys and the welcome.
I am enjoying myself learning all this new stuff.

1) In the olds i use any major brand regular oil not synthetic.
2)My hotrod will have a engine built by me and a friend.
3)As for the reply from Rod, I like the idea of breaking in the engine that way sounds good.
I don't understand about "building it for diesel synthetic" can you explain that some more.
Is Rotella T a synthetic ?
What diesel oil is synthetic ?
Is there oil consumption to be expected from using Rotella T ?
4) what synthetic oil should i use after all the consumtion is stable.
5)Is Penzoil platinium better than all the talk about castrol german gold? I started looking for gc green and i can't find it anywhere.

 

[Rodbuckler]

You would build the engine oiling system for a 40 weight oil. Consult with others to get this right. The heavy-duty engine oils (diesel oils) are an economical source of good basestock, and an anti-wear additive package that is suitable for street high-performance with the more aggressive flat tappet cam profiles. If you build the engine to run a 30 weight you will get a little more power, but you will need to go to more expensive performance-type oils to be safe.

Examples of HDEO's:
Shell Rotella T
Chevron Delo 400
Mobil Delvac
Castrol Tection
and many others...

The conventional HDEO's are generally 15W-40.
The synthetic HDEO's are generally 5W-40.

Use the Rotella T for economy during the break-in period, then switch to something like Mobil Delvac 1 5W-40 synthetic for the long haul. If it ends up too thick, you can tune it down with some Mobil 1 5W-20 for some extra power without seriously diluting the anti-wear additive package.

 

[Rodbuckler]

quote:

---

Originally posted by wadedog:
Is Penzoil platinium better than all the talk about castrol german gold? I started looking for gc green and i can't find it anywhere.

---

Pennzoil Platinum 5W-30 and 10W-30 are typical modern 30 weight viscosity oils (medium-thin). The PP tends to give a very smooth feel to the engine compared to M1. I am loving the 5W-20/5W-30 PP blend in my Ford Modular Motor (9.5cSt at 100C). I've got power and smoothness both.

Don't worry about finding the green GC. The gold is excellent. GC is much thicker than the 30 weight PP, so you really can't compare the two oils directly. GC has an excellent basestock and formidable additive package designed to meet the Mercedes specification. It runs great in an engine that can use a thick 30 weight, but runs poorly in 5W-20 engines (according to my miserable experience).

 

[Al]

Is the Olds a 3.1? If so have you had the manifold gask replaced? If not there is 100% chance that it is leaking.

 

[michaelc80]

First of all,

For the Olds, are you using a synthetic as well (like the pickup with M1?)

M1 seems to be louder than others in some engines. If you want to stick with synthetic you might try Pennzoil Platinum. It seems to get pretty good reviews so far. Amsoil is another possibility. For a weight make sure you follow the owners manual-especially with the pickup since it's probably still under warranty.

For the hotrod-are you building the engine yourself or having it built. If you're having it built then consider what the builder recommends first.

 

[Rodbuckler]

Welcome to site!

For the truck, you might move to a stickier full synthetic like Pennzoil Platinum 5W-30. If that doesn't do the trick then go to a stickier and thicker 30 weight like Castrol Syntec 0W-30 from AutoZone.

For your street performance engine I would specifically build it to run on the 5W-40 synthetic diesel oils. Break the engine in on dino plus GM Engine Oil Supplement. Then switch to Rotella T 15W-40 and run it hard until oil consumption is stable. Then go to the synthetic for the long haul. There are other more expensive oiling options as well.

 

[wadedog]

Al, my olds is a 3.1 but it has been serviced pretty regular at the dealer since it had a 5 year warrenty, i'm not sure that the manifold is leaking, it runs very good and never had it changed yet.
it doesn't use any oil and antifreeze stays pretty normal in color.

Rod, i'm not sure how you mean to build a engine for a certain oil weight but maybe someone else can explaint hat more like you said.
So you are saying to use Shell Rotella T
Chevron Delo 400
Mobil Delvac
Castrol Tection
just after the engine breakin to support the new more aggresive cam and then go to a synthetic?
I'm confused i thought those listed are synthetics.
I Understand the use of pp for my truck thats used all year.
I'm really confused about what my choices are for my hotrod after i use the Rotella T ( what grade ? )
couldn't i continue to use rotella t in 0w40 weight ?
or switch to pp ?
10w40.
thanks for all the help to me a being a newbie.

 

[Rodbuckler]

You could use the conventional Rotella T 15W-40 for the engine's entire life. But after the engine is broken in, you have the option of switching to a different brand conventional 15W-40 (like Delo 400), or to a synthetic 5W-40.

Here are some product pages:
http://www.rotella.com/products/index.php
http://www.delvac.com/usa-english/lubes/products_services/lubricants/Delvac_products.asp
http://www.chevrontexacodelo.com/en/deloworldwide/uscanadamexico/default.asp

There are many other options as well.

 

[wadedog]

thanks rod

 

[wadedog]

What recomendations do you have for my olds alero.

My son also has a 82 Ta with a 305 with around 70k original miles, it hasn't been drove much in it's life and it seems to burn a little oil maybe past the valve seals.
It doesn't have a convertor so smog test worries are gone for here.

 

[m2200b]

Do a UOA on the Olds. Run dino and use the saving to test as it will leak and you need to catch it. Any drop in coolant is suspect and no you won't see oil in your coolant.

 

[Al]

quote:

---

Originally posted by wadedog:
Al, my olds is a 3.1 but it has been serviced pretty regular at the dealer since it had a 5 year warrenty, i'm not sure that the manifold is leaking, it runs very good and never had it changed yet.

---

Doesn't meana a thing. I can 95%+ guarantee that your engine is leaking coolant. You need to do a used oil analysis yesterday. I have not heard of a 3.1 not leaking after say 50K miles

 

[wadedog]

thanks, i'll have to check into that.

 

[jc1990]

MY 96 GRAND AM HAS A 3.1 103000 MILES AS FAR AS I KNOW IT,S NEVER HAD THAT PROBLEM THAT I CAN TELL ALTHOUGH THE CAR IS A ***

 

[kkreit01]

I'm real confused on which Olds you have? I assumed it is an Alero? In that case, the V6 is a 3.4L. The 3.1 never came in the Alero.

 

[wadedog]

My mistake it does have the 3.4L engine.

 

[wadedog]

What engines would the gc green be best in ?

i'm not sure what the newer engines like my 2005 chevy truck have as far as lifters and cam (roller or not) but i still want a very good additive to protect for longer engine parts life.

Is Rotella T, or delo 400 as good a engine wear product as the german green or gold ?

 

[Steelhead]

if the Alero is driven mainly longer trips of over 20 miles before turnoff and sees at least 50% highway miles and since it is difficult to change the filter, I would go with one of the top synthetics and 10k OCI's, Mobil 1, Penz Plat, Amsoil, GC or Redline in a 5w30 for your cold winters...
If the Alero is driven short distance trips and not reaching operating temp most of the time, use a top name brand conventional oil such as Chevron Supreme, Havoline, Penz, Wally's Super Tech or Phillips TropArtic in a 5w30 and 3k OCI's...these all come on sale and have good engine protective add packages

is the 5.3L Chev V8 still on warr? if so stick with Chev recommended viscosity, try the Mobil 1 Trk& SUV...extra AW and EP additives may quiet down the engine...is the "valve clatter" at start up or warm idle? the 5.3L and 6L Chev V8's have roller lifters

on the rebuild 355ci, follow the cam manufacturer's breakin instructions to the T....roller cam or flat tappet? if flat tappet, use liberal quanitites of the cam manuf's recommended cam lube on lobes and journals
use a top quality 5w30 conventional oil as listed above along with cam manufacturer's and block honer's recommended additive's...do you know if block was rebored and diamond micro crosshatched honed? usually only race shops, top rebuild shops and car manuf's have this equip

if cam and block suppliers have no oil additive recommendations, put in full bottle of the GM rebuild additive or full bottle of Valvo VSOT
run rebuild oil for 500-1000 miles and change to one of the top 5w30 synthetics....change every fall before putting away for winter along with gas stabilizer in the tank ran for 20 miles and then Marvel Mystery oil fogging down the carb

 

[wadedog]

Thanks for the input steelhead.

To answer a couple of your questions, the Alero is mostly driven around town with occasional highway trips.
The 5.3 truck is still under warranty.
As far as the 355 it hasn't been bored yet that stage of the build will coming up soon on this car.
Sounds like some good advice thanks alot.
I thought all the oil makers lowered the aditives to a almost nothing level except for oils made for diesels, like Rotella T etc..
15w40 is the most common oil found around here in the rotella, I have seen some straight 30 weight before though.
So do the brands you mentioned above have good additive packages and have not been lowered ?
How do you "fog" the mystery oil, does it come in a spray ?