7.3 powerstroke oil

[ChrisGuerrero]

Originally Posted By: Dan_G
I have a 1999 f-250 7.3 powerstroke. I only put on around 3000 miles a year. Is there a synthetic oil and good filter I can use year round? I live in Alberta, Canada so temperature can go from -32 F in winter to 90 F in summer.
I pull a 32' holiday trailer in the summer and use her mainly to clear snow down my driveway in the winter.
any suggestions?


Hi Dan_G, Shell Rotella T6 5W-40 Full Synthetic Diesel Motor Oil would be the best choice for your 7.3 Powerstroke. Shell Rotella T6 5W-40 Synthetic oil is based on a free flowing synthetic base oils that allow reliable pumping on start-up under cold climate conditions, yet it remain thick enough under high temperature operations to protect against wear. Hope this helps! - The Shell Rotella Team

 

[Garak]

Chris, what makes T6 5w-40 the best choice? Why would it be better than Rotella 0w-40 or 0w-30, and what makes it better than Delvac Elite 222 0w-30, Delvac 1 LE 5w-30, or Delvac 1 ESP 5w-40?

I'm not saying T6 5w-40 isn't a fantastic choice. It clearly is. But, you used the word "best," and here, that's clearly marketing talk, unless, of course, that you're able to show data that T6 provides less wear in the 7.3 L diesel than all your competition. Or, you could show that it's the best price, and that's not the case. Or, you could show that it has the best base stocks, and that's clearly not the case, either.

 

[bullwinkle]

Originally Posted By: ChrisGuerrero
Originally Posted By: Dan_G
I have a 1999 f-250 7.3 powerstroke. I only put on around 3000 miles a year. Is there a synthetic oil and good filter I can use year round? I live in Alberta, Canada so temperature can go from -32 F in winter to 90 F in summer.
I pull a 32' holiday trailer in the summer and use her mainly to clear snow down my driveway in the winter.
any suggestions?


Hi Dan_G, Shell Rotella T6 5W-40 Full Synthetic Diesel Motor Oil would be the best choice for your 7.3 Powerstroke. Shell Rotella T6 5W-40 Synthetic oil is based on a free flowing synthetic base oils that allow reliable pumping on start-up under cold climate conditions, yet it remain thick enough under high temperature operations to protect against wear. Hope this helps! - The Shell Rotella Team
Hi there, "ChrisGuerrero"-what would make the 5W40 T6 superior to YOUR 0W40 T5 or T6 at temps below -30F.? Also, tell your colleague "SuzanneClerkin" to quit ripping off we BITOG people on our rebates-so maybe we'll buy your Rotella syn oils again! At least you replied as "The Shell Rotella Team", so we know to be pretty skeptical of any (unbacked) claims you make. To the OP, seriously, in your situation, a 0W oil is going to be necessary to start a diesel engine reliably, below -30 Celsius (or Fahrenheit), unless you install an oil pan heater (like the Wolverine 1500W on the F-450 in my sig).

 

[sdude2k2000]

Originally Posted By: ChrisGuerrero

Hi Dan_G, Shell Rotella T6 5W-40 Full Synthetic Diesel Motor Oil would be the best choice for your 7.3 Powerstroke. Shell Rotella T6 5W-40 Synthetic oil is based on a free flowing synthetic base oils that allow reliable pumping on start-up under cold climate conditions, yet it remain thick enough under high temperature operations to protect against wear. Hope this helps! - The Shell Rotella Team


Nice marketing reply...

Unfortunately there's more to a HEUI injected 7.3L than what your reply appears to have considered. I'd advise the OP to listen to other feedback from other HEUI owners / operators and make a decision.

 

[dnewton3]

Originally Posted By: ChrisGuerrero
Hi Dan_G, Shell Rotella T6 5W-40 Full Synthetic Diesel Motor Oil would be the best choice (according to Shell) for your 7.3 Powerstroke. Shell Rotella T6 5W-40 Synthetic oil is based on a free flowing synthetic (loosely defined) base oils that allow reliable pumping on start-up under cold climate conditions, yet it remain thick (before it shears as T6 will do) enough under high temperature operations to protect against wear (it will protect well; it will also become a 30 grade quickly, so why not start there?). Hope this helps! - The Shell Rotella Team



Canned marketing hooey at it's finest. I have added my comments in red above ...

What is "best" for Shell isn't necessarily what is "best" for the OP.

T6 is a good product; I agree. But as noted by others, there are many good products out there. What makes this "best"? Their desire to sell it.

Stick with local lubes in the great white north; Garak will not steer you wrong.

 

[Dan_G]

Thanks everyone for the ideas. I was back and forth as to which way to go,until I happen to have a conversation with a retired local rancher about oil. Turned out he had 3 unopened buckets of rotella T6 5w 40 left. He had sold his JD 4440 so I got all 3 for $120 Can. ( approx $100 U.S.)!!!
I figure that will last a while

How about filters- FleetGuard bypass filter or Donaldson DBL7405????
Others?
Thanks

 

[Garak]

I'd be interested to know where in Alberta the OP actually is, too. Shell yanked a bunch of bulk distributors from western Canada many years ago, which can, on occasion, make things a little difficult. On the other hand, Petro-Canada and the Co-op can be found in just about every small town, and they, too, both make modern CJ-4 lubes, including 0w-XX if so desired or required. And I wonder if Shell Canada can provide Rotella 0w-30 for the same under $6 a litre price that Imperial Oil can provide Delvac Elite 222 0w-30. Their distributors might, but with their reliance on other retailers over the past number of years (thanks to closing distributorships), I highly doubt it.

Basically, to the OP, shop around if you can. There are plenty of great options, but also a lot of price spread depending upon the supplier, and sometimes not a great range of options if there are few suppliers in your neck of the woods.

 

[bullwinkle]

Originally Posted By: Dan_G
Thanks everyone for the ideas. I was back and forth as to which way to go,until I happen to have a conversation with a retired local rancher about oil. Turned out he had 3 unopened buckets of rotella T6 5w 40 left. He had sold his JD 4440 so I got all 3 for $120 Can. ( approx $100 U.S.)!!!
I figure that will last a while

How about filters- FleetGuard bypass filter or Donaldson DBL7405????
Others?
Thanks
I run the Fleetguard Venturi bypass style on my 5.9 Cummins-but in your case, I would see how long the T6 can go without shearing (via UOA) to see if spending big $ on a filter is worthwhile. There are (at least here in the USA) premium syn filters available for the 7.3 for a decent price-Fram Ultra, Royal Purple, and Donaldson Endurance come to mind.

 

[userfriendly]

Shell yanked the Shell bulk dealer in my town
and gave it to the Caterpillar dealer, who found
it too much trouble.

In the oil patch, it's not uncommon to see machinery
or trucks idling all night, otherwise they won't
start in severe cold.

In the last 10 years empty pails of 5W40, 0W40 and 0W30
can be found, along with used filters and big black
patches where the oil was drained onto the ground,
not just in the oil patch, but also in the forests
of British Columbia.

That way we learn which engine oil grades to use
when the machines cannot be left running or plugged in.

 

[fpracha]

Originally Posted By: dnewton3

Your other alternative is to get a good syn and then run longer (multi-year) OCIs. Perhaps run 6k miles or maybe 9k miles (up to three years) on an expensive syn?


Hi Dave, are you suggesting that multi-year OCIs are safe although we all know that the manufacturers limit OCI to xxx miles or 1 year at max ?

Under what conditions must an owner stick to the maximum 1 year OCIs ?

Originally Posted By: dnewton3
Yes - we all would agree that damaging an engine is a huge waste of money. But so is throwing good oil down the drain.

Definitely agree to this!

Dave, by the same token would a 5w-20 be most shear-stable even more so than a 10w-30 simply because the viscosity spread from 40C to 100C is the smallest ?

 

[Hessam]

Originally Posted By: bullwinkle
Hi there, "ChrisGuerrero"-what would make the 5W40 T6 superior to YOUR 0W40 T5 or T6 at temps below -30F.? Also, tell your colleague "SuzanneClerkin" to quit ripping off we BITOG people on our rebates-so maybe we'll buy your Rotella syn oils again! At least you replied as "The Shell Rotella Team", so we know to be pretty skeptical of any (unbacked) claims you make. To the OP, seriously, in your situation, a 0W oil is going to be necessary to start a diesel engine reliably, below -30 Celsius (or Fahrenheit), unless you install an oil pan heater (like the Wolverine 1500W on the F-450 in my sig).


+1 Shell needs to stop ripping people off on their rebates. They have good product, but why run a rebate if you're not going to handle the processing right??? still waiting on my $10 rebate for 2 gallons of T5 I bought at Walmart in May. I submitted my rebates online on 5/30, and it shows that they received them on 6/2 and were declined. Process the rebates correctly or don't offer them.. that's bait and switch... making me want to switch to Delvac 1300, and M1 HM 5-30 in my cars that are running Rotella now. My rigs would probably be better off anyways.

 

[dnewton3]

Originally Posted By: fpracha
Originally Posted By: dnewton3

Your other alternative is to get a good syn and then run longer (multi-year) OCIs. Perhaps run 6k miles or maybe 9k miles (up to three years) on an expensive syn?


Hi Dave, are you suggesting that multi-year OCIs are safe although we all know that the manufacturers limit OCI to xxx miles or 1 year at max ?

Under what conditions must an owner stick to the maximum 1 year OCIs ?

Originally Posted By: dnewton3
Yes - we all would agree that damaging an engine is a huge waste of money. But so is throwing good oil down the drain.

Definitely agree to this!

Dave, by the same token would a 5w-20 be most shear-stable even more so than a 10w-30 simply because the viscosity spread from 40C to 100C is the smallest ?



Yes - multiple year OCIs are perfectly safe, presuming the equipment is in good condition. The OP stated he's going about 3k miles a year IIRC. That's a pittance to a quality lube. The OEMs limit their OCIs to miles and/or time in lieu of better information as a means to protect their warranty exposure. UOAs show us that extension is practical and safe under the right conditions. In fact, I run 3-year OCIs in my Scag, Kubota, Duramax and classic 1966 Mustang, because the annual accumulation of run-time is low contrasted to the calendar. I've run plenty of UOAs to prove my point time and time again. Oil and filters have zero idea how old they are. If you looked at some of my UOAs, and I didn't tell you how "old" the OCI was, you'd never have any idea.


Any lube with a lot of VIIs is going to be subject to shear at some point; the more VIIs, the more the propensity for shearing as the add-pack breaks down. However, do not make the presumption that shearing automatically means more wear; the data does not back that up.

 

[Garak]

My dad had a Powerstroke of the same vintage, and did about the same mileage. He didn't let the time aspect bother him in the least. When he used the vehicle, it was on a highway trip, so there was no short tripping concerns about the oil never getting up to temperature. He had the thing for maybe two or three years, and I don't think it got more than one oil change.

 

[Dan_G]

I'm located near Waterton National park.
My 7.3 has a block heater. In the winter she is plugged in at least 6-10 hrs before use if it's real cold. I would have gone with 0w40 if I had not got 15 gallons of 5w40 for so cheap.
What causes oil to shear?
As for Yearly OCI I always assumed they said yearly as many city vehicles will spend almost as much time idling ( traffic lights ect.) as they do driving.
Probably why farm tractors go by hours not mileage.

 

[Garak]

Mechanical stress and fuel dilution are the usual causes for shear. The 5w-40 will certainly work well, and your plugin time is sufficient. One year oil changes would be more than enough, honestly.

 

[bullwinkle]

Originally Posted By: Dan_G
I'm located near Waterton National park.
My 7.3 has a block heater. In the winter she is plugged in at least 6-10 hrs before use if it's real cold. I would have gone with 0w40 if I had not got 15 gallons of 5w40 for so cheap.
What causes oil to shear?
As for Yearly OCI I always assumed they said yearly as many city vehicles will spend almost as much time idling ( traffic lights ect.) as they do driving.
Probably why farm tractors go by hours not mileage.
Your 7.3 Powerstroke has the HEUI injection system, which uses engine oil, via the HPOP pump, to raise the fuel pressure to the 20,000 PSI to fire off the injectors. Which will shear the 40 into a 30 in 5K miles or so, and eventually down to a 20 weight. UOAs are the only way to determine how long the oil is still in grade. A CR diesel (like my Cummins) has a high pressure fuel pump (CP pump) to raise the fuel pressure, and the older IDI diesels (like my IDI 7.3 & 6.2) use a mechanical IP to raise pressure to fire off the injectors (& they usually max out at 4,000 PSI or so). They won't shear oil like a HEUI system will.

 

[Festiva_Man]

hey, my father has a 1995 7.3L with over 600,000km in central alberta. he used to use 15w40 conventional. the glow plugs quit working which is typical for those trucks and then it wouldnt start below +5c without being plugged it. he fixed the glow plugs and switched to the cheapest 0w40 synthetic he could find. it cranks super fast when cold and starts much easier! the glow plugs on one or maybe both banks quit and it still starts down to -5c without being plugged in! he doesnt drive it much anymore and just changes the oil once a year. i think that would be cheapest and safest, once per year oci on the cheapest 0w40 syn after your done with the rotella. if you want to go multi year i would reccomend oil analysis. those trucks do shear the oil like the last guy said and trucks see road salt that tracters dont. the road salt makes the oil more acidic and oil oxidises over time. water mixes in even when it sits not being used.
i dont know a lot about diesels, thats just what my father experienced. if you start with a 30 weight it will shear into an unacceptable range sooner than a 40 weight.