Towing with GM Light Duty 3.0L diesel

I was really suprised when my friend told me hes running Castrol edge 0w-30 A5 oil in hes volvo v70 diesel with dpf. I told him hows your dpf? he told me that same oil have been since new and he have over 400k km on the car. Hows this even possible🤷

Back when Peugeot started fitting dpf's to diesels, low saps add packs didn't exist and they got Total Quartz 9000 5w-40 from most dealers and that was also the recommended oil. Those cars didn't have issues either. The maintenance shedule said to take the dpf off and have it cleaned at 250k km, but that wasn't necessary either.

Low ash formulations got pushed when 1 of the additive companies developped a low ash formulation and basically owned that (non-existent) market. Butthey got their product sold to OEM and here we are. Now every additive company has those formulations.
 
My brain hurts. My next line of thinking of jumping up to a 30wt and hths of 3.0+ is that of course would correlate to higher pressures internally in the oil journals and such. So how does higher pressures from a a hths of 3.2 or 3.5 vs 2.6/2.8 effect the spray of oil from the piston cooling Jets? I know a few threads have specifically covered this topic and I believe user @Shannow covered this a few times in depth a few years ago. Maybe he can chime in with his opinion for the 3.0l duramax.
I would assume a slightly higher hths would be beneficial for wear but would it hurt cooling efficiency for the oil and pistons? Considering this truck runs a minimum 225 operating temp for the oil and for example today on my 6hr drive at 70-77mph empty it help a consistent 240-245 for oil. And it would have been more if I had the boat or trailer.

Ultimately time and consistent UOAS from the 3.0 duramax community will show us what really will keep these oil burners on the road.
I guess I would like to think they designed the engine to live a happy life with 0w20 (200k plus) but I really feel they went full send on the efficiency and not the long term. I mean how many other engines are living long lives with every UOA pumping out 60-100ppm on 5k-7k of oil use.
 
I saw on another Duramax owners site that some were recommending 3,000 mile OCI to deal with the excess iron particles, but as I recall they were using the recommended 0w20 Dexos D. I used to change oil that frequently with my old pre-computer cars. I think the only oil that makes sense specs and cost-wise if you are going to change every 3K miles is the Castrol 5w30 LL that you can get from Walmart for $23/5 quarts delivered. I'll do that if my OA comes back with excessive iron content at 5K miles (after I burn thru my Mobil 1 ESP 0w30 that I picked up for $8.14/qt). Thank God for Castrol.
 
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No where is the word "acceptable" used in the Schaeffer TDS... The correct verbaige is "meets, exceeds and is suitable for use for the following specifications"...
 
No where is the word "acceptable" used in the Schaeffer TDS... The correct verbaige is "meets, exceeds and is suitable for use for the following specifications"...
Okay “suitable” then. The problem is they it can’t be suitable for all of those at once as some are incompatible with the others. That’s the fantasy part that I was driving at in my post.

Oh and it actually has none of those licenses or approvals but I figured everyone could figure out that bit of the puzzle.
 
Yup... just like Amsoil or LE...
But at least with the Amsoil PDS they don’t conflate incompatible approvals in their list. The PDS you linked reminds me of some of the ones from Triax where it’s an impossible combination. AFAIK LE doesn’t have this problem either.

I don’t have nearly the issue with “suitable for” or “recommended” as I do with it being a list that cannot be accurate.
 
Schaeffer Manufacturing is the OLDEST petroleum lubrication company in the United States founded in 1839 before #2, Standard Oil of Ohio.

Here ends your history lesson...
 
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For those who care, I did my second oil change on the 3.0L Duramax today, at 950 miles (first change was done at 200 miles). Oil was GM's 0w20 Dexos-D. It came out black as coal--very dirty. Looked like I had done the change at several thousand miles rather than 750 miles. I'm putting in Mobil 1 ESP now. Updated: The 3.0L sounds noticeably quieter after putting in the 30 weight oil in--not even like a diesel.
 
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For those who care, I did my second oil change on the 3.0L Duramax today, at 950 miles (first change was done at 200 miles). Oil was GM's 0w20 Dexos-D. It came out black as coal--very dirty. Looked like I had done the change at several thousand miles rather than 750 miles. I'm putting in Mobil 1 ESP now.
Sounds normal for a diesel.
 
It came out black as coal--very dirty.
The diesel soot that gets in your oil is like carbon-black. It takes a very small amount to blacken your engine oil. There is a limit to how much soot is allowed in the oil and this is where a used oil analysis comes in handy. You can't tell how much soot is in the oil without an analysis that correctly measures soot. If we were to change oil in a diesel when it turns black, we would be changing it every 250 miles.
 
The diesel soot that gets in your oil is like carbon-black. It takes a very small amount to blacken your engine oil. There is a limit to how much soot is allowed in the oil and this is where a used oil analysis comes in handy. You can't tell how much soot is in the oil without an analysis that correctly measures soot. If we were to change oil in a diesel when it turns black, we would be changing it every 250 miles.
Thanks--I drove a diesel in Germany for a couple of years, but always had the oil changed for me. Where should I get the oil analysis done--I'm also looking for excess iron and fuel dilution.
 
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