Oil for older JAG

therion · Feb 17, 2004

Hi, i just bought a 1997 Jaguar XJ6 w/ 93,000 miles on it. It has a 4.0L Straight 6 engine with aluminum block & heads. I do not know what the previous owner used in this car, but it had a Jaguar oil filter on there. Currently I put in 10W-40 Valvoline MaxLife. I will be taking it down to florida in about 3 weeks. Once the car gets to florida, where the temps will never be below 40*F, which would be the best mineral oil to run in here (HDD 15W-40 oils have had good reviews). This car has an 8.5 Qt. sump capacity and I plan on putting on a Motor Guard too. So i don't think synthetics will help that much especially with the motor guard on there keepin the oil clean. [Smile]

TR3-2001SE · Feb 17, 2004

I think you have two choices. Castrol GTX 20w-50 which is a great oil with 3000 mile changes or the HDD oils you mentioned. Delo 400 or Delvac 1300 15w-40 should go 5000 miles. UOA will tell you which is best. Oh and nice car! [Big Grin]

TC · Feb 17, 2004

Yes, nice ride. I had an '88 XJ6, but am unfamiliar with the newer models' oil requirements -- what does your manual say? The HDD 15w-40's you mentioned are all good (Rotella, Delo 400, etc.), and should be fine in that climate (once again, check the manual). Otherwise, Pennzoil and Chevron/Havoline have great spec sheet numbers and UOAs. Personally, I'm not big on routinely adding additives to "improve" a particular oil (HDD oils already have robust detergent/dispersant packages) unless I know they're fully compatible with that particular oil brand's formulation.

Losiho · Feb 17, 2004

My family has a 1995 XJ6 3.2L and I recently posed this question over at the Jag Lovers Forum. The Owner's manual recommends many oils according to climate, from 5w20 in extreme cold to 20w50 and 10w60 in extreme heat. The British mag Jaguar World Monthly recently had an article about the X300 and they recommend 10w40 semi synth. Our Jag Dealer filled our car with Castrol TXT Softec 5w30 at the last service, which imo is a little light for the AJ16 and this climate (although the car has only done 38,000 miles). You can continue to use the Valvoline you're using, or take your choice from the 10w30, 10w40, 10w50, 10w60, or 20w50 oils recommended from the manual. I know the older XK straight 6 required 20w50 no matter what the climate.

Jelly · Feb 17, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by therion: which would be the best mineral oil to run in here.

At least you make it easy for me... [Big Grin]

Delo 400 Delvac 1300 Pennzoil Long-Life All 15w-40's and available for $6/gallon. Take your pick from the three, but unless you're suffering from high consumption, I'd pick Delvac 1300 at the moment...best cold pump properties and the addition of a small dose of molybdenum.

Patman · Feb 17, 2004

My supervisor has that exact car too, same year. I looked through his owners manual when he brought it into work and was amazed at the amount of viscosities it recommends. Pretty much every single one ever available, based on temperature though.

Nosmo King · Feb 17, 2004

I worked for Jaguar in England at the factory and did my mechanical apprenticeship there. 20w-50 in warm /hot weather. 10w-40 in very cold climates.

therion · Feb 17, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by Jelly:
quote:
Originally posted by therion: which would be the best mineral oil to run in here.
At least you make it easy for me... Delo 400 Delvac 1300 Pennzoil Long-Life All 15w-40's and available for $6/gallon. Take your pick from the three, but unless you're suffering from high consumption, I'd pick Delvac 1300 at the moment...best cold pump properties and the addition of a small dose of molybdenum.

Thanks. I figured Delvac was the best. Hey can i mix Delvac 1 with this one to have a synthetic blend? This car has only 92,000 miles and i think i could use a blend safely without any harm.

therion · Feb 17, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by Nosmo King: I worked for Jaguar in England at the factory and did my mechanical apprenticeship there. 20w-50 in warm /hot weather. 10w-40 in very cold climates.

Are these for the newer 1997 4.0 I6's?? I think they changed the motor around alittle bit for 1997 becuase it looks different than my 1993. Right now I put in 10W-40 Valvoline MaxLife, it is pretty cold here so I guess it's okay. P.S. the 20W-50 i find is usually only labelled as a racing oil. (i.e. Amsoil s2k 20w-50, redline 20w-50).

Nosmo King · Feb 18, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by therion:
quote:
Originally posted by Nosmo King: I worked for Jaguar in England at the factory and did my mechanical apprenticeship there. 20w-50 in warm /hot weather. 10w-40 in very cold climates.
Are these for the newer 1997 4.0 I6's?? I think they changed the motor around alittle bit for 1997 becuase it looks different than my 1993. Right now I put in 10W-40 Valvoline MaxLife, it is pretty cold here so I guess it's okay. P.S. the 20W-50 i find is usually only labelled as a racing oil. (i.e. Amsoil s2k 20w-50, redline 20w-50).

Any of the older straight six motors. Jaguar ceased being Jaguar when Ford bought them. The six cylinder motors had lots of crank flex and needed larger than normal main and rod clearances. Huge oil pump to handle the oil leakage at the shells. Rings always had a difficult time in controlling burning. 20w-50 was the only oil that seemed to perfectly match the idiosyncrasies of these magnificent engines.

therion · Feb 18, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by Nosmo King:
quote:
Originally posted by therion:
quote:
Originally posted by Nosmo King: I worked for Jaguar in England at the factory and did my mechanical apprenticeship there. 20w-50 in warm /hot weather. 10w-40 in very cold climates.
Are these for the newer 1997 4.0 I6's?? I think they changed the motor around alittle bit for 1997 becuase it looks different than my 1993. Right now I put in 10W-40 Valvoline MaxLife, it is pretty cold here so I guess it's okay. P.S. the 20W-50 i find is usually only labelled as a racing oil. (i.e. Amsoil s2k 20w-50, redline 20w-50).
Any of the older straight six motors. Jaguar ceased being Jaguar when Ford bought them. The six cylinder motors had lots of crank flex and needed larger than normal main and rod clearances. Huge oil pump to handle the oil leakage at the shells. Rings always had a difficult time in controlling burning. 20w-50 was the only oil that seemed to perfectly match the idiosyncrasies of these magnificent engines.

Ok thanks for the summary. I will dump this 10W-40 at 3,000 miles and put it something more heavy duty. (taking an OA of the maxlife too)

TC · Feb 18, 2004

10,000 opinions on what oil to put in a '97 Jaguar, and evidently 10,001 opinions from Jaguar themselves about what weights to use in their cars (that was a funny post, Patman -- evidently Jaguar is covering their bases by recommending every oil weight that ever existed). Therion: What does the owner's manual recommend for the specific climates/temperatures you'll be driving in?

Oil Monkey · Feb 18, 2004

I have a 1996 Jaguar XJ6 with 65,000 miles equipped with the identical 4.0L AJ16 engine. After much deliberation on my part and previous regular use of Castrol GTX 5w30 (winter) and 10W30 (summer)weights, I have decided to switch to Castrol High Mileage oil as the best compromise between cost, performance and precaution. Since our choice of brand is more limited in Canada vs. the U.S., I thought that Castrol's British heritage was in keeping with the vehicles roots (besides the fact that Jaguar recommends Castrol and I have never had oil-related problems using Castrol) . If I were to reside in mild climate of Florida, I would choose 10W40 as the best compromise between protection and fuel economy. The ester-based seal conditioners will keep the major oil gallery o-ring seal located within the head gasket near the right front side of the head happy. This is the one and only weak spot in the head gasket and basically the sole source of any significant engine oil seeps apart from the odd camshaft cover gasket. Of note to Ontarians, Castrol HM is on sale this week at Canadian Tire for $2.99 per litre. [QUOTE]Originally posted by therion: [QB] Hi, i just bought a 1997 Jaguar XJ6 w/ 93,000 miles on it. It has a 4.0L Straight 6 engine with aluminum block & heads. I do not know what the previous owner used in this car, but it had a Jaguar oil filter on there. Currently I put in 10W-40 Valvoline MaxLife. I will be taking it down to florida in about 3 weeks.

Jelly · Feb 18, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by therion:
quote:
Originally posted by Jelly:
quote:
Originally posted by therion: which would be the best mineral oil to run in here.
At least you make it easy for me... Delo 400 Delvac 1300 Pennzoil Long-Life All 15w-40's and available for $6/gallon. Take your pick from the three, but unless you're suffering from high consumption, I'd pick Delvac 1300 at the moment...best cold pump properties and the addition of a small dose of molybdenum.
Thanks. I figured Delvac was the best. Hey can i mix Delvac 1 with this one to have a synthetic blend? This car has only 92,000 miles and i think i could use a blend safely without any harm.

Yep, in engines with low-consumption, Delvac is my favorite HDEO 15w-40 at the moment (they seem to always be changing!). Sure, you can mix them together, but I see no reason why you'd want to do that...you'd really not be gaining any real benefits, at least not any that would nearly justify the much higher price.

Jelly · Feb 18, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by Oil Monkey: If I were to reside in mild climate of Florida, I would choose 10W40 as the best compromise between protection and fuel economy.

Hey monkey...you really feel that a 10w-40 would be a better choice than a HDEO 15w-40? Could you please let me in on your reasoning as to why?

Doug Hillary · Feb 18, 2004

Hi, In Australia ( where the climate is not unlike Florida and Jaguar has always had a great presence )they recommended the following oils for this car; For normal use; Castrol's mineral 15w-40 Castrol's mineral 15w-50 For "track days"; Castrol's synthetic SLX 0w-30 ( your GC 0w-30 ) Castrol's synthetic "R" 10w-60 ( an excellent oil ) Personally for a mineral oil I would use a HDEO chosen from those listed earlier If you choose a synthetic I would recommend either of the following; Shell's Rotella T 5w-40 or, Delvac 1 5w-40 The large sump capacity and the lubricants recommended suggest that these engines are easy on their oil For many years Jaguar carried out their high temperature durabilty testing close to where I lived here. They used a number of cars and configurations and had a number of dedicated test circuits on demanding roads Regards [ February 19, 2004, 01:24 AM: Message edited by: Doug Hillary ]

Losiho · Feb 18, 2004

As I said in my previous post (if anyone bothered to read it) Jaguar recommend a variety of viscosities according to the climate. The following is taken directly from the X300 Vehicle Car Handbook, page 32 : 20 degrees F and below : 5w20 50 degrees F and below : 5w30 104 degrees F and below : 5w40 104 + degrees F : 5w/50 -10 - 104 degrees F : 10w30 10w40 10w50 -10 - 104+ degrees F : 10w60 30 degrees F and above: 15w40 15w50 20w40 20w50 You can choose any of the oils above, but quite frankly I would not use 20w50 in the AJ16 (but I would in the XK straight 6 or a high mileage AJ6). Nismo King - Jaguar ceased being "Jaguar" when Ford took over ? That's debatable. There is a school of thought which suggests that "real" Jags died when the old series 3 XJ was replaced with the XJ40. There's another school of thought which thinks "real" Jags have a straight 6 engine (which eliminates any post-1997 V6 or V8 engined Jag).

Doug Hillary · Feb 18, 2004

Hi, Losiho - good one! Doug

therion · Feb 18, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by TC: 10,000 opinions on what oil to put in a '97 Jaguar, and evidently 10,001 opinions from Jaguar themselves about what weights to use in their cars (that was a funny post, Patman -- evidently Jaguar is covering their bases by recommending every oil weight that ever existed). Therion: What does the owner's manual recommend for the specific climates/temperatures you'll be driving in?

I don't have the owners manual, it is lost.

therion · Feb 18, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by Losiho: As I said in my previous post (if anyone bothered to read it) Jaguar recommend a variety of viscosities according to the climate. The following is taken directly from the X300 Vehicle Car Handbook, page 32 : 20 degrees F and below : 5w20 50 degrees F and below : 5w30 104 degrees F and below : 5w40 104 + degrees F : 5w/50 -10 - 104 degrees F : 10w30 10w40 10w50 -10 - 104+ degrees F : 10w60 30 degrees F and above: 15w40 15w50 20w40 20w50 You can choose any of the oils above, but quite frankly I would not use 20w50 in the AJ16 (but I would in the XK straight 6 or a high mileage AJ6). Nismo King - Jaguar ceased being "Jaguar" when Ford took over ? That's debatable. There is a school of thought which suggests that "real" Jags died when the old series 3 XJ was replaced with the XJ40. There's another school of thought which thinks "real" Jags have a straight 6 engine (which eliminates any post-1997 V6 or V8 engined Jag).

Thanks, 15W-40 will oviously be the best oil for the florida weather conditions. Now I wanted to use a synthetic blend for the excellent startup wear protection and extended service life. I want to go extended drains. A bypass filter is in the works too. Looking from Amsoil's prices there is only a 2$ difference in price per gallon between the 15W-40 Synthetic (15$)and 15W-40 Synthetic blend. (13$). According to the Amsoil fact sheet the 100% synthetic 15W-40 excells in kinematic viscosity, VI, NOACK, and flash point. [Smile]

Oil for older JAG

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