Motor oil

[ComancheLee]

What oil are you guys and gals running in your Comanches 4.0 liter preferred,

[DirtyComanche]

I use Mobil 1 high mileage synthetic 5w30.  At least while it's cold.  Plan to switch to the same 10w30 if we ever have a summer.

 

 

You could probably buy the cheapest oil possible and as long as you change it and the filter somewhat regularly you won't have an issue.

[dasbulliwagen]

SJ rated diesel 15w40. It has the zinc content our engines need to prevent cam wear.

[HOrnbrod]

^^  This. Shell Rotella or Chevron Delo 15W-40.

[Knucklehead97]

SJ rated diesel 15w40. It has the zinc content our engines need to prevent cam wear.

My Jeep is soon to be needing another oil change. Right now I use high mileage 10w30. What benefits come from the diesel oil? I've read up a little on it but everyone is back and forth with opinions. I take you guy's opinions much more seriously than other forums haha. I want to use whatever is best for the 4.0. I already run a bigger Ford filter.

[mikekaz1]

diesel oil has higher ZDDP (zinc) which helps promote longer life in our engines

[DirtyComanche]

Guys use the diesel oil because they believe it has a higher zinc content and that the zinc is good for the cam.

 

Most of the diesel oils score worse on actual shear pressure testing, I believe because of the additive package being tailored towards dealing with the diesel combustion byproducts and having to be DPF friendly.  Zinc (ZDDP) content is also all over the map with diesel oils (and gas oils).

 

Also, when zinc concentrations reach a certain point it will become massively corrosive.  This is quite possible to do with some of the break in/long life additives that are available if they are used excessively.

 

There's also some chlorine based additives that will result in spectacular shear pressure results, but again, they're probably going to do bad things in the long run regarding corrosion.

 

IMHO it isn't going to matter that much, there's millions of these engines running around with whatever the cheapest stuff the 10 minute oil change sells in them, with very few failures.

[tugalo]

Rotella T6 15W-40

[Eagle]

Castrol Syntec. I ran 5W-50 when they offered it. That seems to have disappeared from the shelves, so now I run 10W40.

[big66440]

Last oil change I poured in some NAPA Synthetic 10W-30 which is made by Valvoline.

[johnj92131]

I use what ever I have on hand.  Most of the time that is a diesel specific oil for my diesel Passat.  10-30 weight.  The Comanche is not a daily driver and I tend to change the oil about 1 time per year, due mostly to few miles driven.

[gogmorgo]

I run Rotella T6 (synthetic) 5w40 in the winter, and usually end up switching out to a conventional 15w40 diesel oil in the summer if my wallet's hurting.

Both my Jeeps and Lada call for 10w30, but I've noticed much quieter running in the Lada and more reasonable pressure in the MJ running the 40-weight. As far as the 5w vs 15w debate goes, the 5w40 starts up a hell of a lot better at -40 than the 15w, better cranking speed, less valvetrain noise on startup that goes away more quickly. I don't notice much difference in the summer between the two.

If you're burning a bit of oil and emissions are a concern, the zinc in a diesel oil will gradually coat the catalytic converter, slowly decreasing its effectiveness. This will still happen to a lesser degree with an engine that doesn't burn oil, which is partly why gasoline oils have moved away from higher ZDDP content. .

 

Ultimately though having clean oil of the proper weight is going to do more for your engine's longevity than which oil you run. Clean cheap oil running through a clean cheap filter is always going to be better than dirty old high-dollar oil through an old, clogged, bypassing, expensive filter. With regular maintenance the farmers out here get ridiculous age and mileage out of trucks running no-name oils and Fram filters, despite the abuse they sustain.

Running a higher-quality oil is definitely going to make a difference in something you plan on keeping forever, but you could still be looking at 700,000miles instead of 650,000.

[SVPete]

10W-30 with a dash of lucas oil stabilizer.

[Zambeezy]

Rotella T6 5W-40 Synthetic with a NAPA Platinum 41515 filter.

 

Zinc being the key reason I went with Rotella T6, as many have mentioned above

[ftpiercecracker1]

Everyone talking about this or that specific oil/weight, ZDDP, shear mechanics, etc and here I am dumping whatever I can find that's slippery into mine. Lol.

 

 

But seriously, I just use the very cheapest 10-40 I can find with a good quality Wix/Mobile 1/Napa gold filter.

 

 

Although, I have on several occasions just used whatever motor oil I have laying around to top it up when needed.

 

I am currently researching ways of adding oil capacity. Since I use such cheap oil and rarely change it. Current oil must have around 11k on it. I did change the filter somewhere in between. She leaks/burns enough oil that its hard to justify changing it at regular intervals.

 

 

Even so, she still has great oil pressure at 250k and she just keeps on purring.

[DirtyComanche]

Everyone talking about this or that specific oil/weight, ZDDP, shear mechanics, etc and here I am dumping whatever I can find that's slippery into mine. Lol.

 

 

But seriously, I just use the very cheapest 10-40 I can find with a good quality Wix/Mobile 1/Napa gold filter.

 

 

Although, I have on several occasions just used whatever motor oil I have laying around to top it up when needed.

 

I am currently researching ways of adding oil capacity. Since I use such cheap oil and rarely change it. Current oil must have around 11k on it. I did change the filter somewhere in between. She leaks/burns enough oil that its hard to justify changing it at regular intervals.

 

 

Even so, she still has great oil pressure at 250k and she just keeps on purring.

 

Good news, the chances are those cheap oils you are using are fine, and actually are possibly better than some of the more expensive oils that people throw in the 4L.

 

Also, by topping up the oil and changing the filter, you effectively refresh the additive package, which does mean you can eek some more miles out of it before the oil has noticeably degraded.

 

And you're in Florida, you don't even know what a cold start is, so no need for fancy stuff there.

[FrankTheDog]

Change mine once a year with castrol syntec 10-30.

I run either the motorcraft F1 filter or napa/wix equivalent.

I average between 11,000 and 15,000 between changes.

Gets about 3 or 4 quarts added during that time.

Have used the castrol syntec eurocar 0-40 weight too with no noted differences.

[75sv1]

I have used Rotella 15-40 in the MJ. I have used in my XJs too. I use NAPA Gold filters. In the past few years, I went with Rotella 10W-30 in the XJs. I used this oil in my MB 240D for winter use. It helped with that car for early morning starting. It is diesel rated. Again with a NAPA Gold filter. This past year I went with Rotella T6 in the XJ. I used the NAPA Platinum Filter. I went with a larger size. Just about any of todays oils should do good, synthetic, semi synthetic or even conventional. I would guess you are in a warmer climate. SO a 15W-40 would not hurt you. Still, I do prefer a synthetic oil. I will run conventional oils to 5K and synthetics to at least 8K. I have run them to 12K or a bit more. Depends on the condition of the engine. Also, don't cheap out on the filter. I prefer NAPA/WIX. CARQUEST is WIX also. There are other good filters. Baldwin is one.

[cruiser54]

Just as important, or maybe more so, is which filter you choose. 

There's some real junk out there. Orange and other colors. 

Wix only for me. 

[HOrnbrod]

I like Baldwin filters because they are red. Oh, and they filter quite well too. 

 

[mikekaz1]

11k without a flush..... yall are crazy. :nuts:

[big66440]

Everyone talking about this or that specific oil/weight, ZDDP, shear mechanics, etc and here I am dumping whatever I can find that's slippery into mine. Lol.

 

 

But seriously, I just use the very cheapest 10-40 I can find with a good quality Wix/Mobile 1/Napa gold filter.

 

 

Although, I have on several occasions just used whatever motor oil I have laying around to top it up when needed.

 

I am currently researching ways of adding oil capacity. Since I use such cheap oil and rarely change it. Current oil must have around 11k on it. I did change the filter somewhere in between. She leaks/burns enough oil that its hard to justify changing it at regular intervals.

 

 

Even so, she still has great oil pressure at 250k and she just keeps on purring.

I'm using the Moroso oil pan  https://www.summitracing.com/parts/mor-27862 ( I wrote that review :) ) and with a K&N oil filter my system holds exactly 8 1/2 quarts of oil. I've been thinking of adding an oil cooler as well, may be overkill but I drive the crap out of my truck.

[Zambeezy]

 

Everyone talking about this or that specific oil/weight, ZDDP, shear mechanics, etc and here I am dumping whatever I can find that's slippery into mine. Lol.

 

 

But seriously, I just use the very cheapest 10-40 I can find with a good quality Wix/Mobile 1/Napa gold filter.

 

 

Although, I have on several occasions just used whatever motor oil I have laying around to top it up when needed.

 

I am currently researching ways of adding oil capacity. Since I use such cheap oil and rarely change it. Current oil must have around 11k on it. I did change the filter somewhere in between. She leaks/burns enough oil that its hard to justify changing it at regular intervals.

 

 

Even so, she still has great oil pressure at 250k and she just keeps on purring.

 

Good news, the chances are those cheap oils you are using are fine, and actually are possibly better than some of the more expensive oils that people throw in the 4L.

Any source on this? I find it hard to believe cheaper oils are better than more expensive. Maybe not worse, but why would they be better?

[DirtyComanche]

 

 

Everyone talking about this or that specific oil/weight, ZDDP, shear mechanics, etc and here I am dumping whatever I can find that's slippery into mine. Lol.

 

 

But seriously, I just use the very cheapest 10-40 I can find with a good quality Wix/Mobile 1/Napa gold filter.

 

 

Although, I have on several occasions just used whatever motor oil I have laying around to top it up when needed.

 

I am currently researching ways of adding oil capacity. Since I use such cheap oil and rarely change it. Current oil must have around 11k on it. I did change the filter somewhere in between. She leaks/burns enough oil that its hard to justify changing it at regular intervals.

 

 

Even so, she still has great oil pressure at 250k and she just keeps on purring.

 

Good news, the chances are those cheap oils you are using are fine, and actually are possibly better than some of the more expensive oils that people throw in the 4L.

Any source on this? I find it hard to believe cheaper oils are better than more expensive. Maybe not worse, but why would they be better?

 

Because guys use all sorts of weird stuff that isn't for a gas engine, or isn't the right weight (or even close), or race oils that aren't designed for long life, or has way too much zinc in it, or they throw crap additives in that are at best not helping anything.

 

https://540ratblog.wordpress.com/2013/06/20/motor-oil-wear-test-ranking/

 

Shell Rotella T6 ranks #162 on the list, yet guys love running it.

 

Spend a day reading that if you want.  I stand by my first comment that cheap oil is totally fine.  He should probably be changing it more often, but the economics are totally up to him, and if his leak/burn/filter change rate is high enough will be fairly new anyways.

[ftpiercecracker1]

 

 

 

Everyone talking about this or that specific oil/weight, ZDDP, shear mechanics, etc and here I am dumping whatever I can find that's slippery into mine. Lol.

 

 

But seriously, I just use the very cheapest 10-40 I can find with a good quality Wix/Mobile 1/Napa gold filter.

 

 

Although, I have on several occasions just used whatever motor oil I have laying around to top it up when needed.

 

I am currently researching ways of adding oil capacity. Since I use such cheap oil and rarely change it. Current oil must have around 11k on it. I did change the filter somewhere in between. She leaks/burns enough oil that its hard to justify changing it at regular intervals.

 

 

Even so, she still has great oil pressure at 250k and she just keeps on purring.

 

Good news, the chances are those cheap oils you are using are fine, and actually are possibly better than some of the more expensive oils that people throw in the 4L.

Any source on this? I find it hard to believe cheaper oils are better than more expensive. Maybe not worse, but why would they be better?

 

Because guys use all sorts of weird stuff that isn't for a gas engine, or isn't the right weight (or even close), or race oils that aren't designed for long life, or has way too much zinc in it, or they throw crap additives in that are at best not helping anything.

 

https://540ratblog.wordpress.com/2013/06/20/motor-oil-wear-test-ranking/

 

Shell Rotella T6 ranks #162 on the list, yet guys love running it.

 

Spend a day reading that if you want.  I stand by my first comment that cheap oil is totally fine.  He should probably be changing it more often, but the economics are totally up to him, and if his leak/burn/filter change rate is high enough will be fairly new anyways.

 

 

 

To build on what DirtyComanche said, I think that the cheaper oils are better in the sense that they are better for the 4.0 specifically, not that they are of overall superior quality than the more expensive oils. Every oil is engineered for a specific environment, run what is called for and don't fall for the pretty advertisements and sales gimmicks. The 4.0 is one of the most abuse tolerant engines made, so long as your close and its topped up it won't matter. 

 

They same argument is commonly made pertaining to spark plugs. The conciseness around here seems to be that the cheap Champion brand copper core plugs are what 4.0s like best and its been that way for me. Just because it costs more doesnt mean its better for your particular application. 

 

I will say this, that if you do run cheap oil you should always keep it topped up and change at more regular intervals/less mileage . . . . . . . . . . .  yes I'm aware of the irony/hypocrisy. Like my momma always said "Do as i say, not as i do" 

 

As someone already said always, always run a good filter. This i feel should be stressed. Fram had a serious problem with filter media/pleats collapsing starving engines for oil and causing catastrophic engine failures. I imagine this problem has been solved, but it was enough to scare me away permenatly and to be highly suspicious of any engine outfitted with one.  

 

 

FPC.