engine oil

[mikeyt1689]

i know it's probably a obvious answer for some people but i dont know it so please excuse my ignorance. i have a 1988 surf with a 2lt that's done nearly 300,000k and usually use 15w30 can would it ruin my engine if i put 10w40 in ?
any opinions would be appreciated as i'd like to look after the old girl she's been good to me

[tweake]

what oils are you looking at using?

15w30 and 10w40 are a little hard to get for a diesel oil.
going to a 40 will be fine. a 10w will make it a bit better on cold starts.

[mikeyt1689]

elf performance harmony fe 10w 40 can get it through work

[mikeyt1689]

oops thats 10w30

[tweake]

elf performance harmony looks to be 15w40 but its CJ-4. AVOID

elf turbo diesel 10w40 is a better one. CF grade which is ok.

[mikeyt1689]

no definatly 10w30

[tweake]

either way if its CJ rated avoid it.
CF to CH or CI is ok. just avoid anything that is for DPF fitted engines.

standard spec for 2lt is 10w40 for summer, 10w30 for winter. so a 15w40 will be fine for summer but for winter you might want a 5w30, 5w40 or 10w30.
a 5w will be far better for starting in cold weather.

i've been running penrite 5w40 hpr diesel which is great for cold starts and ok for hotish days. but oil pressure is starting to drop when hot, which suggests the oil is breaking down and thinning out.
so looking at gulfwestern j-power which is a high ash jap spec oil.

[Cameron]

what happens if you run a lowsaps oil in an engine that doesn't require it?

[tweake]

in the short term not much.
but low saps they removed some additives and lessened others to stop the blocking of the DPF's. basically replaced good cheap additives with lesser and more expensive ones.
TBN is generally lower with low saps. on older dirtier indirect injection motors that can be an issue.
the CH oils are generally cheaper and work better than the low saps CJ oil.

then theres the theory that the engines oils are meant to back would compatible. thats not always the case.

[Cameron]

^ same kinda thing like they've been doing with petrol oils.
Lowering the zinc content (primarily to make coatylic converters last longer) which is a problem on flat tappet style engines (wearing of cam lobes/followers etc)... look at all the rover v8s with fooked cams because people with discos thought they should be running a more 'modern' type of oil.
even oils meant for 'older' engines are different. castrol gtx and the like. then again an 'old' vehicle is anything pre 2000 these days apparently.

[tweake]

yeah much the same.
tho oils are meant to be back would compatible which is why its hard to buy old spec oils. the news ones are meant to be suitable but thats not always the case. some engines just won't run right on some oils.

[Dirtydog]

not trying to jack the thread, but what should i be running in my 3vz-fe?

i was running 10w-40 but went to 15w-40 cause its over 200,000 ks.

i pretty sure its castrol magnatec, car is a 1995