Synthetic Motor Oil Poll 2017

[HEMIMANN]

Basically it is a Moly treatment, just not as much as we are used to. So moly helps diesel stiction as well it appears.

A notable development - Cummins adopted hydraulic roller valve lifters for the first time several years ago. All of a sudden they're ok after railing against them since their beginning. Huh?

 

[Burn2k12Ram]

2012 Dodge Ram Outdoorsman 5.7. Bought with 250k miles on it. However has a Jasper reman engine that was installed 120k miles ago. Got all the paperwork that shows all the oil changes had used Castrol Edge Synthetic oil. So I just did an oil change and decided to keep the oil the same and went with Castrol Edge Synthetic 5w20. Engine seems in tip top shape so no reason to change what has been working.

 

[knightjp]

2012 Dodge Ram Outdoorsman 5.7. Bought with 250k miles on it. However has a Jasper reman engine that was installed 120k miles ago. Got all the paperwork that shows all the oil changes had used Castrol Edge Synthetic oil. So I just did an oil change and decided to keep the oil the same and went with Castrol Edge Synthetic 5w20. Engine seems in tip top shape so no reason to change what has been working.

The fact that its has already had an engine replacement done at 130k, should give you a hint that the maintenance strategy was not all there.
My engine sounded smooth and sweet when I started it up that fateful morning, however after just 30 minutes of driving on a highway, it just started ticking. The tick doesn't come gradually. It just comes.

My suggestion is that you switch to 5w30 and see how that goes. Stick with Castrol as its a great engine oil.

 

[Burn2k12Ram]

The fact that its has already had an engine replacement done at 130k, should give you a hint that the maintenance strategy was not all there.
My engine sounded smooth and sweet when I started it up that fateful morning, however after just 30 minutes of driving on a highway, it just started ticking. The tick doesn't come gradually. It just comes.

My suggestion is that you switch to 5w30 and see how that goes. Stick with Castrol as its a great engine oil.

Does not show the maintenance strategy prior to the engine swap. Only shows what oil has been used since the new Jasper Reman. Should of been more clear about that detail.

 

[Burn2k12Ram]

The fact that its has already had an engine replacement done at 130k, should give you a hint that the maintenance strategy was not all there.
My engine sounded smooth and sweet when I started it up that fateful morning, however after just 30 minutes of driving on a highway, it just started ticking. The tick doesn't come gradually. It just comes.

My suggestion is that you switch to 5w30 and see how that goes. Stick with Castrol as its a great engine oil.

Also the Jasper remans address the common lifter issue that the stock engine had. I mean if there is important proven data that I should absolutely switch to 5w30 I am all for it.

 

[knightjp]

Also the Jasper remans address the common lifter issue that the stock engine had. I mean if there is important proven data that I should absolutely switch to 5w30 I am all for it.

Interesting. Then they should be able to tell us exactly what causes the tick. There's been quite a bit of talk here and there, but nothing really to point the issue. All this time, I was thinking that it was using the wrong kind of oil and weight in terms of environment and climate it is operating in. In my case it 5w20 was not good for the heat we experience here.

 

[HEMIMANN]

Changing engine oils and filters having audible changes in the valve lifter ticking means the lubrication is involved somehow.

However, I caution that the oil studies of the past (see: Burla) indicated non-MDS engine also failed lifters and cams. My view is that the oil supply to the lifters isn't sufficient. One of the members suggested the camshaft centerline was moved up higher than the Gen II Hemi 426 in order to fit the VVT cam phaser mechanism, and this affects the rate of oil flow back from the heads, being a shallower angle.

I'm unclear about this due to fluid flow mechanics. Did they reduce flow to the valve rockers to accommodate the slower drainback angle? If so, the root cause of all this would be adding a cam phaser to a Hemi valve train. I question the value of all these engine trick gizmos - VVT, MDS, GDI, etc. Spending 90% going after the last 10% of fuel economy is just dumb, mandated by EPA that's run out of things to regulate.

 

[Burn2k12Ram]

Interesting. Then they should be able to tell us exactly what causes the tick. There's been quite a bit of talk here and there, but nothing really to point the issue. All this time, I was thinking that it was using the wrong kind of oil and weight in terms of environment and climate it is operating in. In my case it 5w20 was not good for the heat we experience here.

Or just make the lifter more durable/stronger which is what they did.
"NEW (15-needle) roller bearing assemblies. The pin is improved with a through-hardening process followed by a case-hardening procedure for maximum lifer durability and longevity." In addition there is new "nitrided engine valves for improved heat resistance and reduced valve guide wear"

 

[Burla]

Rollers are not the common issue with cam fails, but some cam fails you see the roller damage. Just look at the cam lob, if it is smooth like most of them it wasnt the roller, if it is pitted, then the roller is the most likely culprit. Having said that, we don't know why the roller failed in those engines, it is very possible the lifter wasnt lifting correctly causing stress on those rollers. Even after they beefed up the rollers, we still get hemi tick. Maybe not as much as 4 gens, but you still see this issue in the 5 gen section. As the mileage increases in these 5 gens, we should get some idea at how bad the issue is, or if the issue is still as bad as it was in 4 gens.

 

[Burn2k12Ram]

Rollers are not the common issue with cam fails, but some cam fails you see the roller damage. Just look at the cam lob, if it is smooth like most of them it wasnt the roller, if it is pitted, then the roller is the most likely culprit. Having said that, we don't know why the roller failed in those engines, it is very possible the lifter wasnt lifting correctly causing stress on those rollers. Even after they beefed up the rollers, we still get hemi tick. Maybe not as much as 4 gens, but you still see this issue in the 5 gen section. As the mileage increases in these 5 gens, we should get some idea at how bad the issue is, or if the issue is still as bad as it was in 4 gens.

Interesting. Thanks for that specific feedback. I know in the GM trucks there was also a tick/lifter issue. That was caused by the extremely small hole that would clog over time not allowing oil to flow through. For that there was/still is an ongoing class action lawsuit.

 

[HEMIMANN]

Maybe time to go back to solids? lol
I guess this discussion is akin to discussing buggy harnesses with EV's coming on, but still interesting.

 

[XBrav]

2009 Ram 1500 5.7 4x4 264,000km.

Changed out the ACDelco 0w20 Synthetic my ex's dad insisted would be fine for the hemi this past weekend. I've had no Hemi tick, so I opted to switch to the Royal Purple 5w30 with a FRAM XG2 filter. I drove about 450km since then, and the vehicle feels smoother. I previously had a P0521 popping up that has seemingly vanished.

I also ran a bottle of RP Max-Clean and RP Max Atomizer about 20km after the oil change. The combination of the above has seemingly done wonders for the truck.

 

[Kenduro]

In the 70's through 90's, before sysnthetics took hold, I would avoid using Pennzoil or Castrol, and my dad made me swear off Shell petrol entirely. A lithium based oil like Valvoline was a much better product. I had seen the results on engine tear downs. I have even gotten good results on older engines by using Delo 400 in the lighter weight, due to its higher detergent content, but wouldn't recommend that now because of the tighter tolerances. But I have though about running it 50/50 with a synthetic to help prevent the issues i'm hearing about in my 03 Hemi. But I'm not an engineer or lubrication ****. Anyone know of any chemistry issues with mixing the two? My 1500 GenIII has gotten nearly 160K with no tick, but it is developing a good (bad) exhaust leak on the usual pass. side mani. Other than that, no compliants other than the trans front pump needed to be replaced at about 90K due to due a faulty pressure relief valve or spring. At that time I also replaced the converter with a slightly higher stall (not a **** one) for fear of the lock-up clutch being the next issue. Maybe the higher stall has spared me from the Tick due to more RPM when leaving stops. Its just a daily driver with a shell that's otherwise all stock. I've actually lately been using the Kirkland synthetic from Costco that costs about a third of Mobil 1. Anyone have any good or bad to report on it?

I was reading the above after posting and noticed a couple of blanked out (redacted?) words from it. Are 4 letter words just randomly blocked without cause? Replacements for the 2 words could be: 1)brain and the second one could be 2)racie . . . sheesh!

 

[Burla]

Anyone have any good or bad to report on it?

It is very good oil, it's another warren oil. Best deal on the highest quality oil, kirkland is the way to go. Look into oil filters, there is a thread around here.

 

[Kenduro]

Boy that was quick - thank you. I wonder if that might help the folks overseas who seem to be spending a big amount on syn. oils. Costco will ship the oil if you buy it online, but I don't know about overseas. Only thing bothers me is they only have 2 weights in the store, the one I want is only online and naturally it costs more that way.
So what is with the word censoring? I see on someone else's post that they apparently also don't like the word for a popular long running Toyota SUV, the (I guess) 4runner.

 

[06 Dodge]

In the 70's through 90's, before sysnthetics took hold, I would avoid using Pennzoil or Castrol, and my dad made me swear off Shell petrol entirely. A lithium based oil like Valvoline was a much better product. I had seen the results on engine tear downs. I have even gotten good results on older engines by using Delo 400 in the lighter weight, due to its higher detergent content, but wouldn't recommend that now because of the tighter tolerances. But I have though about running it 50/50 with a synthetic to help prevent the issues i'm hearing about in my 03 Hemi. But I'm not an engineer or lubrication ****. Anyone know of any chemistry issues with mixing the two? My 1500 GenIII has gotten nearly 160K with no tick, but it is developing a good (bad) exhaust leak on the usual pass. side mani. Other than that, no compliants other than the trans front pump needed to be replaced at about 90K due to due a faulty pressure relief valve or spring. At that time I also replaced the converter with a slightly higher stall (not a **** one) for fear of the lock-up clutch being the next issue. Maybe the higher stall has spared me from the Tick due to more RPM when leaving stops. Its just a daily driver with a shell that's otherwise all stock. I've actually lately been using the Kirkland synthetic from Costco that costs about a third of Mobil 1. Anyone have any good or bad to report on it?

I was reading the above after posting and noticed a couple of blanked out (redacted?) words from it. Are 4 letter words just randomly blocked without cause? Replacements for the 2 words could be: 1)brain and the second one could be 2)racie . . . sheesh!

Until they went to 5w20 oil all of my V6 & V8 dodge engines got filled with Rotella T6 5w40, never had any problems from using it, now they have Rotella T6 in 5w30 that needs to be investigated...

 

[Pjc87]

If everything is running fine on both I wouldn't change a thing. I'm not a huge Valvoline guy simply because their oils have 0 moly but hey if your wifes Pentastar is happy on it, run it. For the truck, I would lean towards QSUD. Readily available and priced well. Also still contains 130 ppm of moly.

Valvoline oils most certainly do have moly and lots of it.

 

[Hootbro]

Valvoline oils most certainly do have moly and lots of it.

To be fair, Valvoline only within the last year or so reformulated their oils to be heavy moly content. Prior and for many years at that, they were very low to almost zero moly content oil that leaned on a higher boron and sodium content.

 

[Pjc87]

To be fair, Valvoline only within the last year or so reformulated their oils to be heavy moly content. Prior and for many years at that, they were very low to almost zero moly content oil that leaned on a higher boron content.

Ok, just sharing my most recent uoa, I was shocked at how much moly that oil had in it.

 

[Hemi395]

Valvoline oils most certainly do have moly and lots of it.

Correct, they do now. But in 2017 when I posted this they did not.