so its time for an oil change. living in southern ontario, its been cold lately. and the diesel oil i have used for years just doesnt seem to hold up in the winter the same with this truck. ive thought about going synthetic thinking it would help with starting up the truck, which is where ive noticed my issues.... any suggestions would be great.. thanx

96 ram v6 2wd

 

AMSOIL was superior in testings. Might want to try that out.




-Matt-

 

I HAVE ALWAYS USED CASTROL GTX. I NEVER HAD A PROBLEM. WE USED CASTROL GTX AT MY OLD SHOP AS WELL. WE RAN A FLEET OF 57 DIESEL TRUCKS AND 9 GASOLINE SERVICE TRUCKS. WE HAD SOME DIESELS WITH OVER A MILLION MILES ON THEM. THE ONLY ONE THAT LOST A BEARING IN THE FOUR YEARS I WORKED THERE WAS A F350 WITH LESS THAN 50,000 ON IT. LEAVE IT TO FORD. ALSO CHECK ALL OF YOUR GLOW PLUGS AND MAKE SURE THEY ARE WORKING TO THERE OPTIMUM ABILITY.OR CYCLE THEM A FEW TIMES BEFORE YOU START YOUR VEHICLE IN THE COLD. 911 MAKES AN ANTI-GELLING AGENT FOR DIESELS. THIS CRAP WILL MAKE ANY DIESEL START. WE USED TO MIX IT WITH EVERY DIEDEL SHIPPMENT WE GOT. ABOUT 5,000 GALLONS.

 

go full synthetics...

 

mobil 1, available almost everywhere and is reasonably priced.

 

FULL SYNTHETIC IS GREAT. THE ONLY DOWNFALL IS THAT A SYNTHETIC OILS VISCOSITY BREAKS DOWN 10 TIMES FASTER THAN A NON-SYNTHETIC OIL. CHANGING A SYNTHETIC OIL ON SCHEDULE IS MUCH MORE IMPORTANT.

 

Can you provide proof or documentation of this? I've used synthetic for years and never heard of any such thing nor have I ever witnessed or read of this.

 

The DISADVANTAGE of "synthetics" is that they are not as good as holding the products of combustion in suspension. The engines of the past had much lower compression ratios than today, and as a result, were not as "clean burning".

Think of the products of combustion, as simply "ash" left over from a fire. This "ash" (carbon) has to go somewhere. In the old days, before modern additives, this "ash" would "link up" its carbon particles, and become sludge, sticking to engine parts, and causing all manner of mischief. Modern oils (both petrol. based and synthetics) will keep the "ash" in suspension, where it can be filtered out.

It is not likely that an ordinary water cooled automotive engine, even under extremes of speed and outside air temp, is capable of raising its oil temp. to levels that would warrant the expense (and possible risk of "over sludging" ) of synthetics. Remember, ANY modern "approved" engine oil is going to be vastly superior to ANYTHING you could buy back in the classic era.
Synthetic oils are used whenever mineral oils have reached their performance limit and can no longer meet the application requirements; for example, at very low or high temperatures, extremely high loads, extraordinary ambient conditions, or if they fail to meet special requirements such as flammability.
Even though additives can improve many properties of mineral oils, it is not possible to exert an unlimited influence on all their properties.
This applies especially to physical properties like: thermal resistance; low temperature properties (fluidity, pour point); flashpoint; and evaporation losses.
Synthetic oils provide a number of advantages.
However, they do not necessarily outperform mineral oils in all respects and may even result in some drawbacks despite their advantages.
The advantages of synthetic lubricating oils (depending on the base oil) include: improved thermal and oxidation resistance; improved viscosity-temperature behaviour, high viscosity index (in most cases); improved low temperature properties; lower evaporation losses; reduced flammability (in some cases); improved lubricity (in some cases); lower tendency to form residues; and improved resistance to ambient media.
Possible disadvantages include: higher price; reactions in the presence of water (hydrolysis, corrosion); material compatibility problems ( elastomers, certain metals); and limited miscibility with mineral oils. When a synthetic is presented to these conditions its viscosity and ability to lubricate better than a conventional oil will be greatly reduced. When gearboxes, engines or pumps are exposed to a different ambeint temperature they have the tendency to sweat. The breathers on most applications will evacuate the water that resides after it reaches temps higher than the ambient.(the synthetic has already gone through a state of hydrolysis).

 

^^^ Bull

 

mobil 1, available almost everywhere and is reasonably priced.

I've been using synths for years and have never had 1 mechanical failure using them. And when I 1st switched over my motor which was in a '85 honda prelude was full of dark brown deposits... I know because I did a valve adjustment at the same time... 40k miles later when I did the timing belt, those deposits were gone and the motor internals were pretty darn clean for a 160K motor...

Say what you want, I'm sticking with Mobil 1...