T6 5W-40 in a 1998 454 vortec?

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wtd

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Would this oil be good to use in a 1998 K3500 pickup truck with the 454 vortec in it? Truck only has 115,000 miles on it and I bought it 10 years ago with 94,000 miles on it. I'm currently using Citgo 5W-30 synthetic blend in it because I have a lot of it.

Owner's manual states to use 5W-30 or 10W30 in certain temps but to not use anything else. The engine has a little bit of lower noise in it and runs about 20 psi at a hot idle in gear. I was thinking of trying a thicker oil in it. I've run different oils in it over the years but always used 5W-30.

Would this Rotella be a good choice or should I look at something else and should I stay with 5W-30? I know that the new jugs of T6 doesn't say it can be used in gas engines but everything I've read says the specs on this oil are still the same. Thanks.

Wayne
 
So few miles per year...I am impressed! I drive my truck at least 3k a year currently and most of that is just trying to find excuses to drive it...

T6 seems to be a good choice for gas engines still...but if you have a bunch of the 5w30 I would continue to use that. Maybe give it 5w40 a shot and if it doesn't solve your minor issue I would just keep going with the 5w30
 
I think the best XW40 for your truck would be Castrol Edge 0W40 or Pennzoil Platinum Euro 0W40 which is available at some Was-Mart locations. Such oils that meet the Porsche A40 spec are hard to beat.
instant lubrication when you start the truck and it's thick at high operation temps.

A thicker full saps 5W30 as used in VW's which would have a HTHS of 3.5 or higher is thicker than the 5W30's your accustomed to and they will provide excellent protection.
In my opinion, Chevy never wanted the small and big block V8's to last forever and designed the engine as such. I don't care that several got 300K + out of one. The fact is that a lot of them wore out when properly maintained before hitting 200K.

I built up a SBC several years ago and love what you can do with a Chevy V8.
 
I think skyactiv has a good rec for an A40 rated 0w-40. Castrol, Pennzoil, and M1 have 0w-40 5-quart WalMart offerings that are excellent.

Bottom end noise is no bueno, but thicker oil can help those bearing journals last longer. The good news with those oils, is that they are year-round oils as well...no need for a "winter" option.

Stepping up in HTHS from those would open up Rotella T6, Delvac 1, and Delo 40 XLE 5w-40 oils....all of which are on the thicker side of the HTHS scale at 4 or above. The 0w-40's rec'd above are 3.5-3.7 HTHS.

As skyactiv alluded to, Penz Plat Euro L 5w-30 is a VW rated 5w-30 which has a 3.5HTHS IIRC and is on the thicker side of the 5w-30 spectrum.
 
Depending on starting temps Chevrolet V8 do good with Xw_40 oils. 0W40,5W-40, 15W-40 The proper XW-40 for the starting temps Mo gets brisk in the winters from what I remember.
 
T6 would be fine. If your oil pressure seems low, you may need to drop the pan and clean the oil pickup. It wouldn't hurt to check, anyway. Your bottom end noise may be due to oil starvation caused by an obstructed pickup.

Guy kept coming in to work to buy 20w50 for his Durango because the oil pressure was low. I kept telling him, every time, to drop the pan and clean his oil pickup. No, no, these old engines just need thick oil. (His "old" engine was a 4.7.) Eventually, he came and told me it finally burned up. The person rebuilding it dropped the oil pan and found the oil pickup was completely clogged. Boy, he sure wished someone had told him he needed to do that before his engine was ruined. I just nodded.
 
With a fresh or very healthy engine, very stout blend or full syn, and no real towing/hauling duty I might put 5w30 in a 454... otherwise, I see no particular benefit to it and it's certainly not going to help in your engine with low-ish oil pressure. It doesn't get terribly cold in MO and my '85 (carbed, flat-tappet 454) has survived its winters (moved from near Steelville, MO, 3 years ago) since 2007 with 15w40, and even one with 20w50, and is no worse for wear. Only about 18 months ago did I move down to 10w30, and that was Schaeffer's syn blend which has a good reputation and is proving it in holding consistent oil pressure for over 6,000 mi. at a time. The 5w40 should be a very good choice for your engine, as well as a stout 10w30 or '40.
 
Originally Posted By: wtd
Would this oil be good to use in a 1998 K3500 pickup truck with the 454 vortec in it? Truck only has 115,000 miles on it and I bought it 10 years ago with 94,000 miles on it. I'm currently using Citgo 5W-30 synthetic blend in it because I have a lot of it.

Owner's manual states to use 5W-30 or 10W30 in certain temps but to not use anything else. The engine has a little bit of lower noise in it and runs about 20 psi at a hot idle in gear. I was thinking of trying a thicker oil in it. I've run different oils in it over the years but always used 5W-30.

Would this Rotella be a good choice or should I look at something else and should I stay with 5W-30? I know that the new jugs of T6 doesn't say it can be used in gas engines but everything I've read says the specs on this oil are still the same. Thanks.

Wayne



Wayne -
You've been here nearly since the beginning, and should understand by now that asking for advice from a bunch of "suppose-rs" really isn't going to get you an agreement by any stretch.

Why not "know" (gain knowledge) about your situation?
Continue to run your Citgo lube, and take a few UOAs.
Then switch to a lube you're interested in, and take a few more UOAs.
Then compare/contrast those results to macro data and see if either lube excels past the norms in a statistically significant manner.

Yes, it will take time and money and effort to find out. That's the cost of knowledge.

Or, just listen to a bunch of mythology and hype and pick the advice that most matches your preconceived notions.
 
Originally Posted By: leje0306
Considering the t6 no longer has gasoline specs, no.

That really doesn't make a huge difference. It didn't become a marine lube or a two stroke diesel lube, and this vehicle is long out of warranty. It's still an ACEA E7, E9 lubricant like it always was.
 
Originally Posted By: leje0306
Considering the t6 no longer has gasoline specs, no.
It's got JASO MA/MA2; how many motorcycles do you know with diesel engines?

I think the lack of SN ratings has to do with viscosity and additives. (Does any 5W40 meet SN specs?)
 
Originally Posted By: dnewton3
Originally Posted By: wtd
Would this oil be good to use in a 1998 K3500 pickup truck with the 454 vortec in it? Truck only has 115,000 miles on it and I bought it 10 years ago with 94,000 miles on it. I'm currently using Citgo 5W-30 synthetic blend in it because I have a lot of it.

Owner's manual states to use 5W-30 or 10W30 in certain temps but to not use anything else. The engine has a little bit of lower noise in it and runs about 20 psi at a hot idle in gear. I was thinking of trying a thicker oil in it. I've run different oils in it over the years but always used 5W-30.

Would this Rotella be a good choice or should I look at something else and should I stay with 5W-30? I know that the new jugs of T6 doesn't say it can be used in gas engines but everything I've read says the specs on this oil are still the same. Thanks.

Wayne



Wayne -
You've been here nearly since the beginning, and should understand by now that asking for advice from a bunch of "suppose-rs" really isn't going to get you an agreement by any stretch.

Why not "know" (gain knowledge) about your situation?
Continue to run your Citgo lube, and take a few UOAs.
Then switch to a lube you're interested in, and take a few more UOAs.
Then compare/contrast those results to macro data and see if either lube excels past the norms in a statistically significant manner.

Yes, it will take time and money and effort to find out. That's the cost of knowledge.

Or, just listen to a bunch of mythology and hype and pick the advice that most matches your preconceived notions.

Yes, I do know that proper way is to have oil analysis done and I used to have it done on my 98 K1500 for several years. I guess one of the main reasons I asked this question was whether or not running a heavier weight oil would hurt this engine and if anyone else has had experience running this viscosity in a newer model 454 without problems. I have been told my several people that I should run a heavier oil than the recommended 5W-30 in this engine, especially since it has over 100,000 miles.
 
Originally Posted By: George Bynum
I think the lack of SN ratings has to do with viscosity and additives. (Does any 5W40 meet SN specs?)

Lots do, but Shell isn't even bothering right now. For one, they probably want you to buy Pennzoil Platinum 5w-40 over Rotella for a gasser. Secondly, Shell is banking on more troubles with the API phosphorus waiver, so they're preempting that.
 
You've got a 454 with over 100K and a some rod noise. I would not put T6 in it (and I use a lot of T6 in other applications). I'd put 15W-40 HDEO like Delo 400 or Delvac in it. Use a Wix filter (more open media, easier pumping), oversized if it'll fit.

It'll be a lot quieter on start-up and idling, and it will run as long as it's going to
smile.gif
 
Originally Posted By: BrocLuno
You've got a 454 with over 100K and a some rod noise. I would not put T6 in it (and I use a lot of T6 in other applications). I'd put 15W-40 HDEO like Delo 400 or Delvac in it. Use a Wix filter (more open media, easier pumping), oversized if it'll fit.

It'll be a lot quieter on start-up and idling, and it will run as long as it's going to
smile.gif



Thanks.
 
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