Winter Oil for a high mileage flat tappet engine?

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New here, been lurking for a while. I got into DIY with my 2002 Land Rover Discovery (111,000 miles V-8 flat tappet engine) this year and among other things have taken over the maintenance. Land Rover recommends 5W-30 oil for the truck so for years I was using whatever synthetic my shop had in stock in that weight. The truck was always a bit rough running and ticked a lot. I just figured this was the Land Rover way, the Land Rover Guy shop did not think much of it.

Besides the regular maintenance I've also recently done the head gaskets and as part of that process I did an engine oil flush as I had a bit of sludge and to get rid of the coolant that dripped down there during the job. For the first flush I used 10W-40 (cheap Autozone Dino) with seafoam. One thing that struck me was that the truck ran much quieter and smoother right out of the gate with the 10W-40. After that flush I decided to give Mobile 1 15W-50 a try because of the high Zinc conc. which is good for flat tappet engines (plus was recommended on the LR forums). The oil was on sale and my plan was to see how it performed and flush it if the performance was bad or keep it until fall if it ran well. Suffice to say my truck runs really well (probably a combination of many factors) so I think I am keeping this oil in.

Long story short I am contemplating my winter oil and was thinking of going with a 0W-40 or 5W-40 diesel oil with a high zinc conc. I'm not really worried about Cat damage as my whole exhaust system is aged and if it goes oh well, I'm more interested in cleaning and protecting the engine at this point. I was looking at the redline, mobile 1 or amsoil which are overkill but I figure if I only change my oil a few times a year who cares plus I have a lot of time and money put in and I really like this truck. So any suggestions on a winter oil even though it's the middle of August?
grin2.gif
I live in Buffalo, NY so our winters are cold but the Disco has an all aluminum engine and runs hot. I appreciate any advice.
 
Your plan sounds like a good one. An inexpensive option is Rotella T 5W-40 syn. Great oil at a great price, and relatively easy to find.
 
Originally Posted By: addyguy
Your plan sounds like a good one. An inexpensive option is Rotella T 5W-40 syn. Great oil at a great price, and relatively easy to find.


Yes many Discovery owners like the Rotella syn. oils especially the 15W-40. Their 5W-40 is definitely on the short list.
 
Your engine is broken in at over 100,000 miles, and special high additive levels are not necessary.
Just get a modern oil with the viscosity you want.
 
Originally Posted By: lipadj46
Originally Posted By: addyguy
Your plan sounds like a good one. An inexpensive option is Rotella T 5W-40 syn. Great oil at a great price, and relatively easy to find.


Yes many Discovery owners like the Rotella syn. oils especially the 15W-40. Their 5W-40 is definitely on the short list.


DITTO
 
Originally Posted By: lipadj46
New here, been lurking for a while. I got into DIY with my 2002 Land Rover Discovery (111,000 miles V-8 flat tappet engine) this year and among other things have taken over the maintenance. Land Rover recommends 5W-30 oil for the truck so for years I was using whatever synthetic my shop had in stock in that weight. The truck was always a bit rough running and ticked a lot. I just figured this was the Land Rover way, the Land Rover Guy shop did not think much of it.

Besides the regular maintenance I've also recently done the head gaskets and as part of that process I did an engine oil flush as I had a bit of sludge and to get rid of the coolant that dripped down there during the job. For the first flush I used 10W-40 (cheap Autozone Dino) with seafoam. One thing that struck me was that the truck ran much quieter and smoother right out of the gate with the 10W-40. After that flush I decided to give Mobile 1 15W-50 a try because of the high Zinc conc. which is good for flat tappet engines (plus was recommended on the LR forums). The oil was on sale and my plan was to see how it performed and flush it if the performance was bad or keep it until fall if it ran well. Suffice to say my truck runs really well (probably a combination of many factors) so I think I am keeping this oil in.

Long story short I am contemplating my winter oil and was thinking of going with a 0W-40 or 5W-40 diesel oil with a high zinc conc. I'm not really worried about Cat damage as my whole exhaust system is aged and if it goes oh well, I'm more interested in cleaning and protecting the engine at this point. I was looking at the redline, mobile 1 or amsoil which are overkill but I figure if I only change my oil a few times a year who cares plus I have a lot of time and money put in and I really like this truck. So any suggestions on a winter oil even though it's the middle of August?
grin2.gif
I live in Buffalo, NY so our winters are cold but the Disco has an all aluminum engine and runs hot. I appreciate any advice.


Hey, I'm Jupiter Rover on the land rover forums. Good choice on the Mobil 15w50 during summer. I would use the Rotella 5w40 or Redline 5w40 during winter. Big price difference. I would not use the 0w40 because they shear to a 0w30 weight in no time. At least Mobil's 0w40 does, not sure about Redline's.

If you have any more questions just PM me. I've done hours upon hours of research to find out what is best for our rovers.
 
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Great thanks for the replies guys. Yeah I'm not really that keen on the 0W oils. The Rotella sounds like a winner even though the Redline has the exotic expensive overkill vibe and I admit I'm a sucker for overkill sometimes.
 
My apologies for picking on the new guy (welcome), but you should be aware that:

1) Mobile (with an e on the end) is a mid-sized city on the Alabama gulf coast.

2) Mobil-1 (with no e on the end) is the top line synthetic oil made by Exxon-Mobil.

cheers3.gif
 
Originally Posted By: ekpolk
My apologies for picking on the new guy (welcome), but you should be aware that:

1) Mobile (with an e on the end) is a mid-sized city on the Alabama gulf coast.

2) Mobil-1 (with no e on the end) is the top line synthetic oil made by Exxon-Mobil.

cheers3.gif



Thanks for that useful bit of knowlege
 
Originally Posted By: lipadj46
Originally Posted By: ekpolk
My apologies for picking on the new guy (welcome), but you should be aware that:
1) Mobile (with an e on the end) is a mid-sized city on the Alabama gulf coast.
2) Mobil-1 (with no e on the end) is the top line synthetic oil made by Exxon-Mobil.
cheers3.gif



Thanks for that useful bit of knowlege


LOL!!
LOL.gif
 
Im in the same boat: Discovery with 120k miles in rather cold winters.

My recipe for land rover oil goodness is M1 10w-40 high mileage in the summer and rotella 5w-40 in the winter. It works well for me...last winter we were down to -15F some mornings.

Ive also thought about using M1 0w-40 in the winter instead as Ive had good luck with this oil in my Audi A4. But the Roteela is always cheaper.
 
Is rover still installing a FI version of the ancient aluminum block 215 V8 Buick/Olds motor? Jeepers! I would run 10w-40 Dino in it w/ 4k OCI.
 
Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
Is rover still installing a FI version of the ancient aluminum block 215 V8 Buick/Olds motor? Jeepers! I would run 10w-40 Dino in it w/ 4k OCI.


Ended in 2004 when Discovery II was phased out and replaced by Disco III/ LR3.

I ran Rotella T 5w-40 in my '95 Range Rover in the winter with no problems. Engine ran really nice and smooth.
 
Originally Posted By: lipadj46
Originally Posted By: ekpolk
My apologies for picking on the new guy (welcome), but you should be aware that:

1) Mobile (with an e on the end) is a mid-sized city on the Alabama gulf coast.

2) Mobil-1 (with no e on the end) is the top line synthetic oil made by Exxon-Mobil.

cheers3.gif



Thanks for that useful bit of knowlege


Well, if you intend to participate on a board that takes motor oil (and all things automotive) seriously, and want to be taken seriously yourself, you just might want to manage to spell the name of one of the largest players in the field correctly. . .
 
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