2001 7.3 Powerstroke Lube **Canadian Opinions**

[AlbertaBoy]

Hey guys,

I am fairly new around here and VERY new to the huge amount of info that is available concerning lubrication...

The information on this site is overwhelming to say the least, but I am slowly mucking through it.

I am wondering what the best bang for my buck is as far as lube options for my 2001 F350 diesel... I recently purchased the truck and it is currently running 0w40 Esso XD3 Synthetic. I plan to switch back to a 15w40 Dino when summer comes.

My dad just runs the Wal-mart 15w40 year round, but I am hoping to become a little more enlightened than that.

This truck will see about 20,000 to 30,000 kms per year. If I can, I would love to be able to get away with only changing the oil twice a year. How long of OCI's can I run?

Is the 0w40 a good synthetic for this motor? It has been -30 to -40 several times this winter already...

What's the best bang for the buck 15w40 for summer time? Is it worth it to run a Synth or just stick with dino?

Thanks for any help you can be. If you need more info, just ask. If I just need to search more and keep wading through the info, I can do that as well!

 

[m37charlie]

The XD3 0W40 is a CJ4 lower ash oil and only has a TBN of 7.8.
Co-Op DMO SL 0W40 has a TBN of 11.2 and therefore will be good for many more km. How many I can't say without you doing used oil analysis.
But i'd guess about 50% more km.
If you do a UOA (used oil analysis) at the change, you might get a whole year out of the DMO!


Charlie

 

[AlbertaBoy]

I've just been doing a little more reading about the injection systems on the 7.3... I have heard that a 0w40 oil is not good for these motors. I am assuming that's not the case, but I want to be sure.

Even if I can get all year out of the co-op DMO, should I be running a 0w40 in the 7.3 in the summer? We top out at about 30*C (86*F)... so it gets decently warm.

Is there a good all 'round oil I can just run? This truck is so new to me that I don't even know what the recommended OCI's are.

If I can get away with just running a 15w40 or even a 5w40 dino year round, I would do that. I almost always have the block heater plugged in, and am considering a pan heater...

If I could buy it by the pail I would be much happier...

Can anyone from Alberta recommend a good lab to get UOA's done at? What's the average cost I can expect?

 

[Joseph_S37]

I'm not sure where in Alberta you are exactly, but if you are looking for a local lab for UOA then I would say Metro Tech would be your best bet. It is located in Calgary. I unfortunately do not have prices for you though, but I'm sure if you gave them a call you could find out

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: AlbertaBoy
Even if I can get all year out of the co-op DMO, should I be running a 0w40 in the 7.3 in the summer? We top out at about 30*C (86*F)... so it gets decently warm.

Is there a good all 'round oil I can just run? This truck is so new to me that I don't even know what the recommended OCI's are.


I don't think you'll find a conventional 5w-40 HDEO. If you wish to run something all year, my recommendation would be Mobil Delvac 1 ESP 5w-40. You'll be able to get it at your local Imperial Oil distributor. You'll only be able to get it in gallon jugs, however; it's not available in five gallon pails. You can get it in a box of four jugs, however.

If you prefer pails, you can get Chevron Delo 400 LE in 5w-40 in the give gallon pails. I have no idea where you can get it in Alberta, however.

 

[m37charlie]

You also can get Petro Canada Duron 5W40.
I don't think there's anything wrong with using the 0W40 in the summer. Its' 100C. viscosity is 15.1, pretty high.

Charlie

 

[scotth324]

I live in NW Ontario and we get about the same temps as you guys in Alberta do. I've got a smaller motor but none the less it is a diesel and has to start. In the summer I run Delvac 1300 15W40 and in the winter I have run various 5W40 synthetics. The Petro Can 5W40 worked very well and started fairly easily at -40. Right now I am running the Mobil Delvac 1 ESP 0W40 but would not reccommend that oil. After not long it began using some oil which it doesn't do with the Delvac 15W40 or the other 5w40s I've run. I'm going to running the Rotella T6 5w40 next round as it is the cheapest I can get around here. My UOAs come back great with the 15w40 and the 5w40s I've used. Just make sure to get a good 5w40 in for the winter or you will have hard starts or possibly no starts. And if your going for the Rotella get it from a bulk distributer. At the Piston Ring here it is $30/4L but at the bulk distributer it is $24/4L.

 

[-SyN-]

JMHO: Stick with the 5W-40 yr round... I thought I would be smart and I poured in T5 10W-30 for this winters oil change... I figured I would check my oil today, after our last snow storm... I was almost 3qts low, after just changing the oil 2 months ago... My 7.3L really likes this oil... lol...Startups are fast-idle is nice and quiet and smooth... but the 10W-30 is just to thin for my 283K miles... I'm sure if my 7.3L only had 50K to 100K miles it would have performed better... Anyway... Good Luck with your selection.

 

[sdan27]

I hear you on that. This winter, I'm using a Delo 400 10w-30 in my 7.3L with 422,000 miles and it seems to go through it a little faster than the 15w-40 I usually used. I wonder how the Shell T5 10w-40 would have worked.

 

[Dick in Falls Church]

Running that kind of mileage, and with that truck, you can easily run AMSOIL 15W-40 with an AMSOIL oil filter and change yearly.

 

[m37charlie]

Originally Posted By: **** in Falls Church
you can easily run AMSOIL 15W-40


In Alberta? In the winter?
This is why he asked for Canadian opinions; I at least live in Alaska and know what cold is.

Charlie

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: m37charlie
In Alberta? In the winter?
This is why he asked for Canadian opinions; I at least live in Alaska and know what cold is.


I'm sure the 15w-40 would have worked just fine in the -36 C that we and Alberta had over the past number of days.

 

[m37charlie]

oils tend to be pretty thick only 6C above their pour point.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: m37charlie
oils tend to be pretty thick only 6C above their pour point.


Oh yes. Years back, I had to do a 5w-30 top up in around -35, just a few ticks above the pour point. It wasn't a rapid procedure.