What oil for 97 jeep 4.0 ?

[440Magnum]

Originally Posted By: Huie83
It must just be a Jeep thing

I had a 88 cherokee Laredo with almost 200K that I sold a few years back, I have missed it ever since.

It's the simplicity and rugidness of the truck that I like. They don't ride or look the best but something about them...

Even with 200K+ miles they still run and drive great. Hard to say about most high mileage SUV/trucks.


It is a Jeep thing, and I do understand.

You did get a *screaming* deal, I picked my '99 up last summer for $3k with 118,000 miles. It is a 2-door 5-speed 4x4 (rare combination) but its a stripper- no power windows, locks, no cruise, just A/C. It even had the cheap instrument cluster with nothing but a gas gauge, speedometer and a bunch of idiot lights, but I swapped in a full gauge set within a week of buying it. I bought it with the idea I'd drive it a while then give it to my daughter... but now I may have trouble letting it go!

People have mentioned the crank sensor- I haven't had to do that yet but I did have to replace a throttle-position sensor and the MAP sensor. Very easy car to work on, though. I think it'll last a l-o-n-g time with a little TLC.

 

[440Magnum]

Originally Posted By: HawkeyeScott

Also, Jeep seals can leak a lot anyway. You've heard the dino to synthetic rumors about leaks. Some say it happens, others say it's B.S.


Its B.S., at least with Rotella synthetic 5w40. Mine's still leak-free after nearly a year on synthetic and with just short of 125,000 miles. I actually started it out on Mobil 1 10w30 for one interval, but its quieter and shows a much more consistent oil pressure with Rotella 5w40- cold pressure at speed is 60 with Rotella and M1, but only drops to 55 at speed, 40 at idle with Rotella and compared to to 50 at speed / 25 at idle with M1. All those pressures are with the longer type filter- PureOne PL3001.

 

[Huie83]

Well, I pick it up tomorrow @ 1!

This week is going to be filled with a bunch of fun stuff for the new Jeep. It needs a brake job as the rears are grinding pretty bad while braking.

Then comes all the fluid swaps, oil, tranny, diffs etc.

She does have 159K on her, do I change the tranny fluid as long as it looks ok. I have heard that if its dirty just leave it be..?

It also has the well known 4.0 valve cover leak, that will be sometime this week too. along with a full tune up.

Over all it looks like the previous owners took pretty good care of her. Lots of little stuff to do such as fluid changes, tune up etc, that will give me peace of mind that it has been done and done right.

The biggest issue is the brakes, havent done a drum set in a while.

 

[Huie83]

Wow guys,

I have been reading about HDEO oils like rotella 5w-40 etc and am more torn now than ever on which oil to use.

Was thinking a good 10W30 but now I am considering rotella 5W40 or a similar heavier weight.

Nice thing about the 5W-40 is it's light enough to use all year round but heavy enough(40wt)to protect in the summer. Its also a full synthetic to aide in the nasty -20 MN winter starts.

It would be nice not having to worry about switching weights during the winter months.

Opinions??

 

[Zaedock]

Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
Its B.S., at least with Rotella synthetic 5w40. Mine's still leak-free after nearly a year on synthetic and with just short of 125,000 miles.


Then you're lucky. I've changed two rear mains on 4.0L's for friends because of Mobil 1. Not a big deal, as the early 4.0L rear mains last anywhere from 100-150K anyway. Plus, it's only about 3 hours to change all the gaskets, including the head.

I used syn in my old 1.6L Tracker once and it started to leak like a sieve. Valve cover, etc. Heck, even the oil pressure sender seeped. It was wierd. I ended up going to Maxlife and it eventually stopped.


Originally Posted By: Huie83
Wow guys,

I have been reading about HDEO oils like rotella 5w-40 etc and am more torn now than ever on which oil to use.

Was thinking a good 10W30 but now I am considering rotella 5W40 or a similar heavier weight.

Nice thing about the 5W-40 is it's light enough to use all year round but heavy enough(40wt)to protect in the summer. Its also a full synthetic to aide in the nasty -20 MN winter starts.

It would be nice not having to worry about switching weights during the winter months.

Opinions??


I think 5W30 would be fine for winter. Quaker State Q-Horsepower is on rollback at Walmart right now. It's pour point is -45*. Torquepower is also on clearance and is $15 a jug!
FWIW, I did a couple of snow runs this season with my Jeep running GTX 5W30. It did fine. In a couple of months, I'll be changing to Delo SAE30 with a qt of 15W40 (both HDEOs). My buggy is somewhat of a 2000 Wrangler, but it's 4.0L will get good old Supertech 10W40.

You really can't go wrong with whatever you choose. The Rotella will work absolutely great all year in your XJ. You'll only have to buy 1 oil. The problem I have is, I like to try all the oils I can. That's why I have such a diverse stash! I just went nuts on QuaCker State Q oils from Walmart.

Anyway, you will not find a cheaper vehicle to do brakes on than a Jeep. You can do all the brakes yourself for less than $150. Cheap, simple, tough. It doesn't get any better. Oh, one word of advice though, if you decide to start going off road and have a Dana 35 rear axle; please pick up a spare set of axleshafts. It will save you and your buds a heck of a time. I carry a set in my rigs and I don't even have a Dana35.

PM if you want any details.

 

[[email protected]]

I just replaced a radiator on a friends 99 Jeep Cherokee. Ive always enjoyed the 4.0l engine, very reliable.

I also changed the oil and replaced a trans cooling line for him. I dont know what oil was in there, but he was 3 quarts low and it looked like molasses on the dipstick. He had gone 9,000 miles since his last oil change.

I let it drain for a few hours, put in Valvoline semi-syn max-life and sent him on his way!

Even the way he mis-maintains that 4.0l, it still sounded great. No engine noise, great oil psi.

 

[mstrjon32]

Originally Posted By: Huie83
It also has the well known 4.0 valve cover leak, that will be sometime this week too. along with a full tune up.


Don't be surprised if you're oil filter adapter o-ring is leaking too, and your rear main. My '99 with 175K is leaking from all three places, but not severely enough to motivate me to change them yet. One lazy Saturday maybe I'll get motivated enough...

 

[MNgopher]

I ran Rotella 5w40 for over a year in our climate in my '88 Cherokee and I ended up going back to my 5w30 / 10w30 routine for a few reasons:

-Cold starts- the 5w40 worked fine, but still felt more sluggish and harder starting than a good 5w30 did on those really cold days. May just have been perception.
-Oil Pressure- I liked that the 5w40 held a higher oil pressure on long hot runs in the summer, but conversely, it was obvious that it resulted in high oil pressure (60+ psi) for a long time, even at a "warm" idle on the below zero days. That seemed excessive to me. Combined with a fair amount of short trip driving, it was not the right choice for winter.
-The only place I could regularly source the Rotella Syn 5w40 at a decent price was Wal-Mart, and that was literally the only reason I was setting foot in the place. Mills Fleet Farm carries it now too, but I can't comment on the price.
-The evidence from so many of these motors that run only 10w30 oils their whole lives that keep running and running. Why bust my but to source a different oil for my Jeep that will run fine on nearly any oil when I can simplify my supplies to oils that work in all three of my vehicles (My '88 Cherokee, '97 Explorer 4.0 SOHC, and '99 F150 with the 4.6l V8). A 5w30/10w30 oil works great in all three.

Have fun!

 

[afoulk]

I had an 05 Rubicon I got rid of with 23,000miles on it. I ran nothing but dino 10w-30 in it, and I still had oil leak problems with it. The rear main got replaced around 9,000miles a I think, and when I got rid of it, the timing cover was starting to leak. I think its just the nature of the beast. I have a new 08 wrangler unlimited now, and even though I like the extra room and the ride of my new one, I still miss the old one. Even for an 05, it was so much simpler than the one I have now. And the 4.0 I6 blows my 3.8 minivan motor away any day. Cept maybe in fuel mileage

 

[440Magnum]

Originally Posted By: Huie83
Wow guys,

I have been reading about HDEO oils like rotella 5w-40 etc and am more torn now than ever on which oil to use.

Was thinking a good 10W30 but now I am considering rotella 5W40 or a similar heavier weight.

Nice thing about the 5W-40 is it's light enough to use all year round but heavy enough(40wt)to protect in the summer. Its also a full synthetic to aide in the nasty -20 MN winter starts.

It would be nice not having to worry about switching weights during the winter months.

Opinions??


Well, I don't honestly know if the Rotella Synthetic is truly light enough to make you happy in a Minnesota winter. Its certainly fine for Austin, Texas... but that's like comparing horse shoes and hockey pucks. It rarely dips into the teens here. Just judging by my oil pressure gauges on the engines that run Rotella, its a little on the thick side on cold startup compared to M1 5w30, so it might prove a bit sluggish. But it *sure* makes the 4.0 happy when fully warmed up, though. I can imagine that choosing an oil for year-round operation would be really tough for you in that part of the country. You might try a fill of rotella, and if you don't like it try one of the 0w40 oils and see how that works. But I fear you'd lose the strong TBN of the HDEO.

 

[Huie83]

I ended up picking up a case of Chevron 10W-40 dino, it was on sale at Orileys, and a Wix filter. After I finished the tune up/oil change and fired it up, it really seemed to like it.

This will be a summer only oil though, 10W-40 is way too heavy for winters here. It was 50+ degrees today and should stay that way from here on out.The cold pour/flow was not too bad refilling the engine. Engine sure seemed quieter.

Winter I will probably run a good 5W-30 just for cold start sake.

The rear main, valve cover gasket and tranny pan gasket are all leaking already. Hopefully the heavier oil will slow it down a bit until i get around to replacing all the gaskets.

It needs major brake work first, thats my next "to do" on the list.

 

[addyguy]

Sounds like a good choice - Chevron makes good oil.

For the summer, there is no problem running the 10W-40 grade.

 

[Huie83]

well,

2 months and 2 oil changes on the 10w-40, and I don't know if I like it.

It seems like the engine has gotten louder over the past 2 months. When I first got it it was pretty quiet for a Jeep 4.0, now it seems to have more valve and lower end clatter.

Should I switch to a 10w-30, Rotella 5w-40 or what? I am trying to find a oil with higher ZDDP like rotella but don't know if the 40wt is good for the lower end bearings, would a 30 wt lube them better....?

so confused...

 

[Chris142]

My 4.0 hates Chevron oil. The valvetrain gets noisey @ 1800 miles like clockwork.

The oils that made to to 3k or more w/o the clicking were Pennzoil dino 10w-30, QS green bottle 10w-30, Shell dino 10w-30 and Peak SAE30.

Valvoline max life 10w-30 made it to 1300 then got noisey.

 

[Zaedock]

Originally Posted By: Huie83
I am trying to find a oil with higher ZDDP like rotella but don't know if the 40wt is good for the lower end bearings, would a 30 wt lube them better....?


A 40wt will work perfectly fine for your 4.0L bearings. FWIW, a 50wt would work too. I like to run SAE30 and 10W40 in mine. If you don't wheel it, you'd be fine with a 10W30 too.

 

[Huie83]

Yeah, I don't wheel it hard core. It will see mild off road conditions during hunting season.

I think I am going to go with a Wix filter and Rotella 5w-40 on a once yearly change schedule.

The Cherokee gets driven maybe a couple hundred miles a month, 10 months out of the year. 2 months during hunting season, I drive probably 600 a month, I would say MAX 4-5000 miles a year.

Forgot to add, the truck has 159K on it, just broken in for a 4.0

Is Rotella OK for the super cold MN winters?

 

[Greaser]

I use 0W-40 HDEO all year around here with great results.The oil I use now can only be had in Canada. Before I started using the Esso XD-3 oil I was using Delvac 1 5W-40 HDEO IN MY 4.0's and was very happy with that all year... hot or cold.

 

[440Magnum]

Originally Posted By: Huie83

Should I switch to a 10w-30, Rotella 5w-40 or what? I am trying to find a oil with higher ZDDP like rotella but don't know if the 40wt is good for the lower end bearings, would a 30 wt lube them better....?

so confused...



4.0s are tough as nails, you could wait for the sun to go nova before that thing will have an oil-related problem. They're noisy- no material wasted on sound damping in that engine. I've been using Rotella T Syn 5w40 for a year in mine, and it turned in a great UOA last month. It makes different noises when the mood strikes it, but obviously nothing is suffering in there. When I first got it I ran a couple of changes of M1 10w30 and noticed nothing different. Previous owner let Jiffy Gloop fill it with whatever monkey whiz was in their bulk drums, and it was fine on that too. They just aren't picky about oil.

As for using a 40 wt, Jeep 4.0s seem to do great on it even though they were spec'd for Xw30. Mine's a 5-speed stick and gets lugged a lot more than an automatic, so that's another reason I prefer sticking with an HDEO. If RTS was easy to find in an 5w30 or 0w30 I might try it, but I've got no reason to ditch the 5w40.

 

[Gary Allan]

That just about says it all. Having an engine more suited for a farm implement has its advantages.

 

[MNgopher]

Look back a few pages. I used to run Rotella 5w40 in my Jeep, year around, here in MN. It worked fine, and the oil analysis while I was doing them was marginally better than using 5w30 or 10w30. No impact on fuel mileage. Plan on watching the oil pressure guage staying pegged at 60+ psi for a long time in the cold weather. Seriously - my guage never went any higher than when I had 5w40 in there, and it stayed there a long time at -20F temperatures (not windchill, but you already know that Huie!)

Between sourcing it (Wal-Mart or Fleet Farm are the only two places I see it regularly and its expensive at Fleet Farm) and the oil pressure issues in cold weather (along with it just feeling like it cranked harder - may be just my perception), I went back to running 10w30 in the summer, 5w30 the rest of the time. Currently have Penzoil 10w30 in there (Old SL stock from the cabin being used up!).