Oil for Motorhome

[Gokhan]

Originally Posted By: Cause4Alarm
If it's in a motor home it has a hyd cam......DO NOT try to adjust the valves

I don't know anything about the detailed specifics and behavior of the Chevy V8 engine, but as long as the valve clearance (lash) is not automatically adjusting like in new cars, I don't see why it would make a difference what type of cam it is. Do you have the maintenance schedule for your engine? Does it say anything about valve-clearance adjustment?

These are some instructions for the 454 hydraulic and mechanic cam adjustments.

 

[Cause4Alarm]

You need to learn about cams and lifters......'Self adj valves' have been widely used by chevy since the 60's and in fact the trend is going back to mech cams in lots of new cars because advances in metallurgy have advanced to the point where adjustment is required between 50-100k miles if ever now.....example: honda has never sent us a hyd cam engine

 

[Cause4Alarm]

On a side not....you set valve lash with a mechanical setup and lifter preload on a hyd setup, no they are not the same

 

[Gokhan]

Originally Posted By: Cause4Alarm
You need to learn about cams and lifters......'Self adj valves' have been widely used by chevy since the 60's and in fact the trend is going back to mech cams in lots of new cars because advances in metallurgy have advanced to the point where adjustment is required between 50-100k miles if ever now.....example: honda has never sent us a hyd cam engine

Originally Posted By: Cause4Alarm
On a side not....you set valve lash with a mechanical setup and lifter preload on a hyd setup, no they are not the same

What are you talking about? I adjust the valve clearance myself on my engine all the time.

Did I ever say that the valve-adjustment procedure is the same for hydraulic and mechanical cams? Is the information I posted in the link above for the 454 engine for both types of cams is wrong? So, are you saying that the original poster has automatic valve-lash adjusters? If that's not what you're saying, what is your point then? It sounds like you are only posting for the sake of posting and arguing, without even reading other people's posts and giving it some thought. I'm only trying to help the original poster but you are following up with irrelevant, false, or misleading posts.

 

[Gokhan]

Originally Posted By: ftv37
Just took a 1000 mile trip in our 28ft Chevy p30 chassis motorhome, it has a 454.Current fill is Rotella T6 and it seem
to sound clacky like more valvetrain noise than on the previous
fill of delo 400le 10w30.Stop at O'reilly's on our way back and
picked up some Delo 400le 5w40 synthetic. My question is should I change the current fill to the delo or wait

Well, without actually hearing the sound, it's hard to say too much. Valves are supposed to make some ticking sound; in other words, they are supposed to have some clearance -- precisely as specified -- for the best engine durability and performance. Some people will set the clearances too tight to reduce valve noise but this is not good for the engine. Conversely, if the valve clearance is too much, it will sound like a loud sewing machine, which could also lead to engine damage.

Rotella T6 5W-40 is a good oil as most people will agree. So is Delo 5W-40. Since they are both quality CJ-4 synthetics with the same viscosity, chances are that you won't see a difference when you switch to Delo.

The only thing I can think of is perhaps the dino Delo 10W-30 had more ZDPP, moly, and, boron. But, usually, as long as you don't try something drastic, any oil with decent quality shouldn't lead to a huge increase in valve noise, except perhaps in some VVT-i systems where using incorrect viscosity could cause problems.

Since it's almost summer, I would also recommend a good dino 15W-40 instead of the synthetic 5W-40, such as the fantastic Delvac Super 1300 or other quality 15W-40 dinos like Delo or Rotella. Since you were doing better with the Delo 10W-30 dino, it might work better in your engine if you like experimenting with different types of oils. Of course, you could also go back to Delo 10W-30. You can return or exchange the unopened jug at O'Reilly.

 

[Bambam]

Aren't both oils 40 weights at operating temperature?

 

[Gokhan]

Originally Posted By: Bambam
Aren't both oils 40 weights at operating temperature?

Yes, although, 15W-40 would usually have a tad higher viscosity than 5W-40 at 100 C (such as 15.0 vs. 14.2) and a more significantly higher HTHS viscosity at 150 C (such as 4.3 vs. 3.8). I was thinking perhaps he was benefiting from the different additive package in the dino (possibly more ZDDP, moly, and boron in the dino) -- that's why I suggested 15W-40, not because of viscosity. Although, it probably won't make a difference. That's why I suggested to him to have the valve clearance inspected first.

 

[Gokhan]

Originally Posted By: Cause4Alarm
If it's in a motor home it has a hyd cam......DO NOT try to adjust the valves

Another thing has occurred to me. If it has a hydraulic cam, it's also possible that it's not liking thicker viscosities, perhaps due to some blockage in oil passages. If this is the case, it might be wise to switch back to the thinner 10W-30 for better operation of the hydraulic valve tappets.

Cause4Alarm, I think we've been misunderstanding our posts.

So, what do you think about the oil viscosity? Do you think that his hydraulic tappets are failing because of oil-flow problems and he might benefit from switching back from 5W-40 to 10W-30?

 

[Gokhan]

It sounds like no more comments are coming in on this one.

I'm now more inclined to think that your hydraulic tappets (assuming this is what you have) are having problem with the thicker xW-40 (possibly due to restricted oil flow). Since you seem to be doing fine with it, I will recommend to switch back to 10W-30. Even better, switch to a GM dexos1 5W-30 (= synthetic GF-5 5W-30), such as Pennzoil Platinum or Mobil 1. They are currently both on sale at O'Reilly, with M1 selling for $4.99 a quart and 5 qts of PP + Wix filter combo is selling for $25.99. PP might be better since it claims to be the best cleaning oil in the market (as you might have a sludge problem). You don't really need an HDEO since you have a gas engine and also are OK with typical PCMO xW-30 grades. Again, you can exchange your unopened jug of Delo 5W-40.

 

[Brons2]

Originally Posted By: Gokhan

I don't know anything about the detailed specifics and behavior of the Chevy V8 engine,


Then why are you posting so much in this thread?

The other poster is correct, it is not necessary to periodically do valve adjustments on a Chevrolet V8 with a hydraulic cam. Lifter preload is set at engine assembly and not normally adjusted again.

 

[Brons2]

Originally Posted By: Gokhan

Well, without actually hearing the sound, it's hard to say too much. Valves are supposed to make some ticking sound; in other words, they are supposed to have some clearance -- precisely as specified -- for the best engine durability and performance.


You are a fountain of misinformation. What you say is not true for the vehicle in question. Hydraulic lifters are usually adjusted with zero lash(clearance). Really! Look at the very link you posted about adjusting the valves on a 454. Basically says to adjust it to zero clearance and then go another full turn on the nut! (when I was working on domestic V8s in a machine shop, I would only go half a turn beyond zero lash, but that's just a personal preference).

This is possible because the hydraulic lifter has a plunger inside. This plunger is compressible, because it displaces some of the oil in the lifter - it pushes the oil up the hollow pushrod and out onto the rocker arm, lubricating the valvetrain in the process.

The action available in the plunger in the lifter takes the place of the lash on mechanical lifter systems such as those on many Asian 4 cylinder engines.

 

[Gokhan]

I had already figured that out and corrected myself on the valve lash in the Chevy big block, Brons2, if you read my later posts.

That's why I suggested that there might be an oil blockage in the hydraulic valve-tappet system and use of 5W-30 (such as Pennzoil Platinum, which is GM dexos1 approved) might alleviate the problem if this is the case. This suggestion was based on the fact that he was doing better with 10W-30 than 5W-40. Of course, he might also have worn parts in his hydraulic valve-tappet system and might need a repair.

 

[jmac]

Originally Posted By: Cause4Alarm
.....example: honda has never sent us a hyd cam engine


They say never say never.. you should learn about the Honda C series engines, V6's in early Honda/Accura Legends and Honda Accords up to '97. All had HLA's

 

[Steve S]

15w-40 Delo would be a wonderful oil for the big block . It would be the oil of choice in any Big block Chev I owned that was expected to work.

 

[ftv37]

Steve S, what about 15-40 delo 400le synthetic. I picked some
up while traveling because I liked the dino version alot.So now
I have another choice to make for the next oil change.

 

[Steve S]

Would the oil be a 5w-40? It would be better for below 15*f starts.

 

[ftv37]

My mistake it is 5w40

 

[BMWR1150GS]

Well, those old 454s (Likely a Mark IV) didn't have enough power to pull a sick [censored] out of bed on a Sunday. Very lazy engines...just big dump truck motors. I ran Castrol 10W-30 in mine all its life. It used no oil and remained very quiet all of its life. I got about 8 MPG in my RV, about 15,000 lbs.

My Dodge M400 chassis coach was better...the 440 made more power and a bit easier on gas but, the coach was only 10,000 lbs. I ran the same oil in that engine as well. The Dodge Thermoquad carburetor was junk however.

 

[ftv37]

12,500 pound rig pulling a 7% grade with a jeep on the back, and never downshifting into 2nd I hardly call that lazy