Deuce oil.

[cranetruck]

Am I the only one who reads their LO? I don't understand all this talk of multi-grade oils, the LO says 30w, so I use 30w. The military could have spec'ed their equipment for multi-grade oils, but they did not. There is a reason.

Jon

This will back you up Jon, from the 1979 #321 PS magazine. Multigrade is available, but use only in POVs.

(Right click on image and open link in new window for best res)

 

[M725]

Again just use a good diesel 15w-40 oil. That is what the military uses. They never updated their 2 1/2 ton manuals, if fact they got rid of them (trucks). Some guard units have even began turning In the 800s (5 ton) .

 

[Gastrap]

I use rotella 15w40 but have contemplated trying our John Deere 50w that we have here that we run in all our farm tractors just cause we buy it in 55 gallon drums. But havent wanted to risk it yet. Besides still got get the trucks road worthy

You must mean 15W40 plus 50? The plus 50 indicates the additive package is supposed to run you 50% past a normal service interval. This is what I will use (no deuce till tomorrow), I work at a Deere dealership so Im a little biased.

http://www.deere.com/en_US/parts/partsinfo/oils_and_lubricants/oil_plus50_15w40.html

 

[mbwarner]

I paid $10.50 for a gallon jug of Rotella 15-40 at Walmart last Wednesday.

 

[det45]

After over 25 years as a professional mechanic, most of which was heavy equipment, I would have to back JDToumanian on the 2 stroke Detroits. It is common knowledge in the industry that anything but 40w is a BIG no-no for 2 stroke Detroits.

I would guess, and this is only a guess, that the military uses 15-40 as a universal oil in an effort to standardize things. If you just look at cars from one model year, different manufacturers specify different oils, for basically the same purpose. The logistics of providing a bunch of different oils for all the different brands, models and years of motors would be a nightmare. The fleet of 500+ vehicles that I currently administer, uses one oil for all cars and one oil for all trucks and equipment, except for the few 2 stroke Detroit's.

Personally, I'm going with the 30w, multweights do break down faster.

 

[JDToumanian]

Rotella 15-40, have used it in my dodge/cummins for years too. (even tru winter) Diesels are setup to handle the heavier oil.

This is exactly what I'm talking about..... 15w-40 is not a "heavier" oil. 15 is not heavier than 30.

Look at the PS Magazine article Bjorn posted above. If there was any confusion in your mind about what the military wanted used in these trucks, that should clear things up for you. READ YOUR TRUCK'S LO MANUAL!!!

Jon

 

[emr]

geez oil is not as diffucult as many make it out to be, holy smokes. the most basic rule is a low number for cool climates and or a tighter tolerance engine, and a higher number for a warmer climate and an older or just looser engine, and multi grades for having the brains to realize they are for a combination of climates.who knows what the W stands for in the multi rating,I do, and a few do here also, ... like batterys i have learned all i know from calling the 800 numbers on the backs of the products, one will find almost all tecs on almost all products say the same things, some can say it alittle easier than others though, one super important rule to remember ANY OIL is better than NO OIL, and ALL OILS MIX!!!!!!!!!!!! oh yes they do, geez this is a very very dead horse for sure, read the label what you think uis the right one for u is the right one,I live in northern NJ straight 30 is fine here, 15/40 is better , OH and a detergent oil is for motors with filters and NON detergent oils are for motors without filters, as long as we are on it, a filter can pic up the gunk broken free from a detergent oil , in a motor with no filter u do not want that gunk if any to break up, unless u are going to ghange it after each use, as important as this issue may be it sure can get silly.....Randy

 

[M725]

But when you say 15w-40 is.........

 

[cranetruck]

Several google hits show 20W50 as the better equivalent to SAE30......

 

[jimm1009]

oil index

Here is a little more information for anyone interested.
Took me a few evenings after work to find it again.

Jim

Edit: I wanted to add the 1999 and 2008 versions of this Guide to the existing 2006 version. Some very useful info, I think.

 

[JDToumanian]

Excellent. Thank you for that, Jim!

 

[Recovry4x4]

It's warm here, all the friggin time. I use SAE 30.

 

[jimm1009]

SAE 30 Oil

I'm not affliliated with any oil company but here is the label from Shell Rotella-T SAE-30 oil.
I too have been using the wrong stuff (Rotella 15W40) in my M1009 and M35A2C.
I posted API Oil Guide / codes in this thread and looks like this or actually the Texaco label also shown in this thread would be best in the non-synthetic line.

Jim

 

[BLKBRD]

Don’t like to argue M725...but you made the statement correcting another member.

“There is no such thing as 15w-30 synthetic, the equivalent in synthetic is 05w-30.” You might want to Google 15w-30 synthetic".

On the first page of my search several companies came up that sale 15w30 synthetic. Just a few are Moble1, Yamalube and AME sales it specifically for Diesel and Marine engines. The "w" in the multi-weight oils stands for weight as in 15w30. The base componit is 15 weight oil.

 

[Jinx]

As a noob to these trucks, let me state that this thread is totally confusing. Do I use rotella 15w40 or SAE30? I'm more confused now than when I started reading this thread.

 

[jimm1009]

Oil Choice

If you are in a hurry to service or change your engine oil, you can not go wrong by using the oil specified in the L.O. (lube order).
If you have time to research, then you may choose something else.
I am going to go back to 100% SAE30 myself because that is the most mentioned oil in the L.O. and it meets the API spec CF-2 which is the one for the M35 engine which is current.
Depending on where you live and the most common temperature, you may want something else but SAE30 is the center of the chart (see attachement).

Let us know if you find other research to point towards another, better choice.

Jim
PS: If I understand the API chart correctly, our multifuel engines should have desinged with CD rated oil originally.
CD is now obsolete but CF and CF-4 replace CD so I beleive htat as long as you have a CF rated oil or higher, you should be just fine. The Texaco label and the Shell label both show the CF label which appears to be the current spec oil manufactured that meets our needs.
I hope others will chime in again. The API charts are interesting for us non-engineer types to read, I think.

 

[roscoe]

"As a noob to these trucks, let me state that this thread is totally confusing. Do I use rotella 15w40 or SAE30? I'm more confused now than when I started reading this thread. "

I'm with ya. I think the moral of the story is "it depends". I just bought three 5 gallon buckets of rotella 15w-40 so thats whats going in mine for now when I get it. thats what I put in my diesel Cat and powerstroke. Now just have to try and follow the filter threads.

 

[JDToumanian]

The "w" in the multi-weight oils stands for weight as in 15w30.

No, that is incorrect. The "W" stands for "Winter". Here's a pretty good article that will teach you some of the basics of motor oil.

Motor oil - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[bassetdeuce]

I agree with jim1009, in that you cant go wrong with the SAE30 stuff which happens to be an older spec. I just can't stand the new CJ4 15w40 spec for the 2007+ emission diesels. That stuff seems too watered down as far as anti wear additives. Does it really matter? Probably not in the usage we put our trucks through. Therefore I also agree with roscoe, in that if it works well for your other diesels, run it. Jinx, don't be confused man. Buy what gives you the warm fuzzies, and be done with it

 

[BLKBRD]

Well JD let me give you a little lesion in oil and Wikipedia. I’ll start with Wikipedia; in their own words “its policy favors consensus over credentials in its editorial process”. So you need to take what they say as a starting point and do some more research.

Now lets get to your “WINTER”… The SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) sets the standards for the testing in automotive industry and here is an excerpt on how oil is tested to determine the viscosity or “weight” of specific oils.

“The viscosity of an oil is its ability to flow. In referring to a fluid's viscosity, centistroke, is a commonly used measurement which is a misnomer. The true viscosity of fluid is its resistance to the relative motion of its components. Often measured in poise and centipoise. Poise is normalized to the viscosity of water. When this value is divided by the specific gravity of the fluid in question the resulting value is considered the Kinematic Viscosity, calculated in centistroke. This value can then be converted to a Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) weight designation. The SAE has the following weight designations 0W, 5W, 10W, 15W, 20W, 25W, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60. The "W" refers to low-temperature (40°C) performance while numbers lacking this designation are designed for high temperature operation (100°C).”

If you will notice that the low-temperature test is performed at 40 degrees Celsius that’s 104 degrees Fahrenheit. The only place I know that might have that as a winter temperature has a man in a red suite, with horns and a pitch fork.

However this is a common mistake among people that are not knowledgeable in the automotive or aviation maintenance industries, but try to correlate something they know little or nothing about to try and impress their buds.

As far as you teaching me the basics that’s a laugh. I’ve been a A&P Mechanic working on aircraft weighing over 500,000 pounds for over 20 years and playing with trucks for over 40 and I admit I learn something new almost every day. Unlike you; that thinks he knows it all. It’s this attitude that is not only a danger to ones self but also to everyone else. JD it’s time to admit to your self that you don’t know everything and drop the condescending attitude.

I always try to point people that are just getting into the MV family to SS because overall it’s a good site with lots of helpful people, who have vast knowledge and are willing to help and educate those just starting out. However, lately I have had a couple of people that I have told about SS come back to me and talk about reading a post where someone just starting out asks a questions and instead of getting that help they have someone like you jump down their throat because “that has already been talked about.”

SS stands for Steel Solders not a bunch on men in black wearing hobnail boots, goose stepping down the street. But it’s a free country do as you wish and before long it will only be you and a few of your buds slapping each other on the back telling each other how much you know about MV’s and the next time you step up to the parts counter be sure to tell the guy you want some of that 30 winter oil.