The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop shell rotella oil

A friend was looking for straight 30w oil for a 235, all that could be found was rotella. It says for diesel engines, can this be used in a 235? Freind said he has used it before .

any good oil can be used, but there's no reason to use straight 30w, 10w30 is fine and what most use

Bill

Rotella 30W was highly recommended to me for break-in by the machine shop which rebuilt my 235. I am now running Valvoline 5w30 which my hydraulic lifters seem to like (less clacking when cold).
Carl

I've been running Rotella-T 15w40 in my stock '50, 215 since
I brought it home 10,000 miles ago. I rebuilt the engine
about 5,000 miles ago and continued to use it for and thru
the break-in.
This isn't a laboratory study that's going to be put under
the microscope, these are just old trucks, which will run
just fine with just about anything that will lubricate them.
Don't be so dang particular about what kind of oil your
pouring into them, just keep them full.

dg

Ok guys thanks for that info, will tell him it's ok to use rotella 30w.

My main gripe about using the ultra-thin oils like 5 or 10 weight is the fact that these engines were not built with the hair-splitting super close tolerances of modern engines and they need the cushioning effect of thicker oils. No matter what the upper weight rating happens to be, a cold engine is getting pounded apart when it's trying to lube itself with oil the consistency of water. I use 15W-40 in everything I own, from lawn mowers, to cars, to motorcycles, to tractors. It's a good compromise between cold start flow and cushioning, and hot, high speed lubrication capability. The engines run quieter, and wear less.
Jerry

Hey DG, did you de-stroke your '50 216 to get that 215, or do you also have sausage fingers?
Your Pal,
Carl

Little bitty fingers ----

or----1 cu.in. of carbon build up.
dg

Factory manuals recommend 20/20W and 5W for less than freezing temps For multi viscosity they do recommend 10W-30

http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/shop/1949_53/00lube/0_2.HTM
http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/shop/1955truck2/55ctsm0002.htm

Oil viscosity is determined at 100C (boiling point of water).. not 'cold'. So thinner oil will always flow better at start up.

My preference is 5W-20 or 5W-30 dino oil. Wally World brand (supertech) is highly rated and inexpensive.

Jerry What brand of 15W40 do you use? Is Rotella OK? Dave V

The Rotella Fleet Diesel 30w oil is formulated for 1993 and older engines, so it says on the label. I use it in all my old engines, lawn mowers, tractors, etc. I also use it my Model A and the 39 Chevy truck with a 216. I've had no problems with it, so far.

Rotella is great- - - -I used it for many years on a fleet of over the road diesel trucks, and backhoes, dump trucks, etc. Now I use "Traveler" brand oil sold by Tractor Supply Co. or whatever generic 15W 40 Walmart sells in their store brand containers. I strongly suspect that's whatever major brand gets the low bid contract for a particular batch.
Jerry

Rotella is popular but it is a diesel rated oil.. that basically means that it has more aggressive additives for diesel motors.

It will work fine in a carburetor gasoline motor. I rarely see Rotella in anything other than 15W40.

Funny thing is that Rotella meets an obsolete API spec, CF/CF-2. But that is a good thing... that means it has lots of that magical ZDP that people go nuts over.

Only the 10W and 30 meet Allison C-4 spec. And lo and behold that Allison C-4 sped is dead:

"Allison C4 fluids are no longer approved for Commercial On-Highway products"
(http://www.allisontransmission.com/service/autoapp/172/viewpage.jsp?ThisPage=12

Only the synthetic Rotella oil meets any current spec.

But for an old 235... its really good stuff.

I either run Rotella 15w40 (preferred) or Travelers 15w40 in my 49 216 dependent upon which is on sale. When compared side by side the Travelers is alittle darker but otherwise I've not noticed any adverse effects on the old 216.

With the 15w40 I get the following readings:
In warm weather cold engine psi = 15, warm engine psi = 13 @ any rpm above idle.
In cold weather cold engine psi = 30, warm engine psi = 15 @ any rpm above idle.

20w50 didn't raise any of those above readings noticably and I couldn't find 20w50 anywhere as inexpensive as the 15w40 so thats my oil of choice.

btw, I just picked up a Gal of Travelers 15w40 at my local TSC for $10. It's on sale here for the remainder of the month. I'll be picking up a couple more Gals for the upcoming oil change.

Dave

TSC has a sale $10 off 5 Gal of Rotella. Got it in the mail.