Diesel oils. Mineral and Synthetic

Phil,
now the real league grand final is over I will answer, Ha Ha.

What your mate is saying is freightliners are an average truck that only requires average oil. If it is powered by a detroit then it won't even need oil as they are as tough as the foreskin on a 20 foot croc.

Yes! What I read into it is that you can over spec what oil you require and pay heaps more than is required. Then some of the oils don't seem to stand up when used in diesel engines.

It is good reading though.

RA.

Yes I read the bit about the diesel particulate filters but not sure why that makes such a big difference to the rating

They specify different oil because the qualities required are different depending on whether a particulate filter is fitted or not. If the diesel particulates are not filtered out the oil has a bigger job to do to carry that in suspension in between oil changes.
The main thing is to use the grade and specification of oil that the engine manufacturer recommends and a recognised brand. A higher spec oil is not necessarily better if it is the wrong spec oil. e.g. You cannot use fully synthetic oil in a ZD30 Patrol engine.

AFAIK diesel particulate filters are fitted to the exhaust system to remove soot particles so that they are not released into the atmosphere. I am wondering if something has been removed from the non LE oil so as not to contaminate the filter.

blown4by

pop2jocem is correct, the engine oil which has an element of diesel particulate control means the burnt crap going down the exhaust is less likely to block the DPF in the exhaust.Mobil Delvac MX ESP is one.
It has absolutely nothing to do with filtering particles out of the oil. Not even remotely about the soot in oil.
So only applies to the oil which makes it above the rings on the cylinder wall and gets burnt with the diesel and goes out the exhaust.
Kinder to the CAT not sure about the dog.
PS.
Why can't you use full synth in a ZD30, what is the reason? I know some engines may not perform well on full synthetic. What is the ZD30's reason?

Ross,

The zd30 appears to have a proclivity for self destruction, well the earlier ones did with monotonous regularity. One of the reasons put forward for this unfortunate tendency was the O2 sensor in the exhaust getting clogged up causing the fuel pump to dump more and more fuel into the engine which caused a piston melt down and I wonder if the use of full synthetic lube oil contributed to this happening a lot sooner????

pop2,
I also have been using Delo for years. The main problem is they keep changing it.
I have gone from delo 500 to delo silver to delo gold and now delo gold ultra. Reason is because that is the way it is they tell me and they closed the local refinery so no more silver.

Next thing is I would like the delo gold ultra to turn into delo gold solid so I can cash it in at the perth mint.

Funny thing is the up spec delo le is synthetic so you don't have anything to worry about.

RA.

RA
Yeah mate, the way the price of this stuff is going up you would think it was solid gold...lol. I guess oil is still cheaper than engine parts and a lot less hastle to change.
So if Delo 400 is mineral based (or semi synthetic whatever the hell that means) and the Delo 400 LE is full synthetic I wonder why he gave the non LE a big thumbs up and relegated the LE to the Ho-Hum basket.

pop2,
The oil you and I are using is old dino mineral oil, if you look at the specs he is talking about for the delo syn oil you will see the problem.

RA.

pop2jocem
I would be surprised if the full synthetics made the emission more than normal oil. I can't see it being the synthetic as they usually seal the rings better and creates less oil usage and the quantity of crap going down the exhaust would be the normal diesel burn and less oil related particulates than normal. So better for the oxy sensor unless the oxy sensor doesn't like the synthetic make up.

RA

Yeah I guess that old saying about "oils 'ain't oils" wasn't too far off the mark. Maybe I'll just leave it to the experts and give my old beast a birthday now and then.

Ross,

Mate I don't own one of them "grenades" and never will so only going on what I have heard around the traps, maybe they were another example of "it seemed like a good idea at the time"....lol.
Maybe the full synthetic was too good an oil and the rings polished the bores letting a bit too much blowby happen. Beats me (;-))

Cheers guys
Pop

Ross M: Not sure of the technical reason other than that is what Nissan say in their Tech Bulletin re oil recommendations. I know on some diesels the methodology is that the lubricating qualities of the fully synth oils are so good that the rings never 'bed in' and they will then go on to become 'oil burners'. Some engine makers also recommend against using fully synth oils during the running in period for the same reason. I just err on the safe side and use what the engine makers recommend firstly due to warranty considerations and also because I reckon with all their 'smarts' and research dollars they know a bit more about what oil to use than me and others who think they know better. At least that way if I ever did have a warranty claim I know I followed their recommendations to the letter otherwise I would have to take some personal responsibility for a failure.