Need advice for my rebuilt Engine

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In about 200 miles I'm changing out my break in oil and need a little guidance. I just installed a rebuilt AMC 4.0 straight six in my 2000 Cherokee which is a flat tappet cam. My warranty says that if I run SN/SM oil it will void my warranty and that I need to run conventional oil for the first 5000 miles. I'm looking for a 10w30 conventional oil high in ZDDP. It seems like the most recommended oils are Mobil 1, Amsoil, and Redline which are synthetics so I would like to switch to a synthetic high in ZDDP once I hit the 5000 mark. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
 
Rotella conventional 10w30 is a perfect fit.
I haven't seen a Mobil grade that wasn't SN/SM for quite some time. The only Amsoil oil that would fit is the z-rod.

Honestly once the cam is work hardened extra zddp is no longer needed,it at all. Is it running stock spring pressures. If so contact KCJeep. He's the man when it comes to this engine. He has uoa data and can help you decide on a permanent oil once break in is over.
Find conventional rotella 10w30. Its exactly what you need.
 
Rotella is popular in the jeep community and probably for good reason. I was having trouble finding a reliable source for the zinc content though. I'm unsure about the spring pressure but I don't think the guys at PER tried to hot rod it at all.
 
The additive packages on the 10w30 and 15w40 are identical. So if you find a voa of the 15w40 its the same as the 10w30.
Its more than adequate for break in on your engine. Contact pennzoil if your truly concerned but I personally wouldn't be.
I'd change the oil at 100 miles,1000 miles then at 5000 miles.
Then I'd add a can of cera-tec to a long drain oil such as ultra or Amsoil's SSO line to keep the cera-tec in as long as possible. Then I'd add mos2 forever.
 
I actually sent them a pretty thorough email with all of my questions and I got an email that said "did you read the notice about oil that came with the engine" but all it said was do not use sn or sm oil which is why I emailed to begin with, for a more specific recommendation. I'll have to ask them again, but I figure I'll get more help on BITOG
 
Originally Posted By: 2000NWXJ
What's the benifit of changing after the first 100 miles?


To wash out any fuzz.


Originally Posted By: ChevyBadger
How about QS Defy 10w30 thats SL rated isnt it?


It is rated SL however only zinc is elevated in that oil,not phos as well.
 
Take their advice and run what they suggest. They are the ones who will warranty engine if anything goes wrong, not anybody here on BITOG. Not saying anybody's advice is wrong, but we won't be paying any bills either.
 
I've had good results in the 4.0 with Valvoline conventional, both 10w30 and 5w30.
 
Your cam was broken into the tappits a long time ago. There's millions of jeeps running around on sm oils including mine and they are doing just fine.

There are other addatives being used now like boron that work very well at preventing cam wear. Your engine builder is correct about needing lots of anti wear stuff for the first 30 minutes or so but after that it will be fine on regular oil.
We are not dealin with a 396 chevy with 500 lbs of spring pressure here.
 
So what was rebuilt. Is it bored,new rings and bearings but re-used the cam. If so the only break in truly required is to seat the rings. The cam was wear hardened(work hardened) from already running previously.
So truthfully you don't even need the 1000 mile change. Just the 100 and 5000 mile change.
The non syn recommendation is just old school thinking. Today most engines are sent from the factory with synthetic,and many are sent with extremely high moly,so the old school ways of thinking are slowly evolving,and engines are lasting longer than they ever have,so just keep it simple.
Rotella t-5 is a syn blend. If you can find it in a 0w30 or 5w30 those would be my first picks. They ultimately will flow the quickest at start up. The straight conventional 10w30 is proving via used oil analysis to be a great oil at longer than average drains nd shows consistently low wear metals.
Any of the rotella lines will have more than enough zddp for you and your new engine.
Or buy a dedicated break in oil and simplify the entire issue.
Personally the whole recommendation of not using an SM/SN oil is just their way to cover their a$$ and shows their utter lack of evolution and not knowing what the vastly superior oils of today are capable of.
If you can find devlac elite 222 0w30 I would buy it by the 5 gallon pail and use it exclusively in that motor for life. Every 5 gallon pail is enough for 4 oil oil changes and that oil is easily good for 10000 miles.
And being an hdeo tells me zddp levels will be more than enough for the cam.
Today's oils are so complex that simply requiring an oil high in zddp isn't even really saying anything useful. Some oils may have slightly less zddp however they've got such high levels of friction modifiers they don't require the zddp.
So blanket statements really show a level of antiquation and lack of any real understanding when it comes to lubricants,the additive packages and the synergism when a final formulation is ready for use.
Zddp is a dinosaur in the lubrication world.
 
Originally Posted By: 2000NWXJ
My warranty says that if I run SN/SM oil it will void my warranty and that I need to run conventional oil for the first 5000 miles.

Your rebuilder should do some research and will see that there are plenty of SM and SN oils (notably HDEOs) that have plenty of ZDDP, and actually far more ZDDP than the oils of the day. Nonetheless, aside from other options already given in this thread, there also is Valvoline VR-1.
 
M1 SN and SM back specs to SL. It's on the bottle. Maybe whoever told you this doesn't know his oils. If your engine is still stock then SN will be fine.
 
Originally Posted By: ammolab
Valvoline VR-1 10w30 available in Dtno and Synthetic.


I like this suggestion best. Since your engine was built in 2000, it was designed to run with SJ oils, and SL oils have the same limits on zddp content. Valvoline VR1 conventional actually has zddp content that is above SJ and SL levels.

Synthetics you could use that are SL:
German Castrol (Syntec 0w30)
Mobil 1 High Mileage
Valvoline VR1 synthetic
 
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