Georgia Fiero Club Forum
All Things Fiero => Expert Tech Advice => Topic started by: scottb on March 20, 2019, 06:28:09 pm
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Question for tje herd: what do yall recommend for engine lubtication in our antiquated v6s?
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Engine oil.
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I was thinking the oil of clubbed baby seals myself.....
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Were you thinking brand, weight, ...?
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Exactly
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Personal preference.
I use mobile 1 synthetic 5W30.
Synthetic isn't for all engines. Higher mileage engines may require heavier oil.
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I used to use Rotella T. 15W-40 in my 3.4. Or Castrol GTX.
Since most everything uses roller tappets, now, they've reduced the amount of zinc (ZDDP) in motor oil. (ZDDP tends to damage catalytic converters.)
Try to find something that has some ZDDP in it. Will help the cam lobes to last.
Otherwise, just use something thick enough to maintain oil pressure, when it's hot.
Personally, I try to stay away from Pennzoil or Quaker State, since they used to be paraffin-based, but there's probably not a heck of a lot of difference, these days.
Of course, you'll probably get as many different answers as there are people reading this.
Edit - Although this is a sales pitch, it will explain the ZDDP thing a lot better than I could.
https://www.amsoil.com/newsstand/classic-and-vintage/articles/reduced-zddp-and-wear-protection/
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I have been running Castrol GTX in all my vehicles since 88, but Don Hulse and some PFF discussions convinced me to change to the Rotella-T for the reasons Radar speaks of. Instead of adding ZDDP( I tend to over-do) I just get the oil with the right percentage. First time I used the 15 w 40 but then I found they also have 10 w 30 and I've changed to that.
I saw some videos where a man dissects a number of brands of oil filters, and I discontinued using my old favorite, Fram. Wix and Purolator were the superior filters in his analysis. NAPA Gold is made by one of those two. I forgot which.
I don't have a converter on the 87 and so far I haven't had any problems with the 86. If it kills the cat, I'll just remove it, too.
A side note about the Castrol GTX. I replaced the valve cover gaskets on Melanie's 93 Grand Am 3.3. It had somewhere around 160-170 K miles. There was absolutely no residue buildup on the valve train or in the covers. The rocker arms were a nice golden color. I do oil changes ever 5000 miles.
I might add that the Rotella or ZDDP additives should not be used in engines with roller lifters, like our L4's.
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Thanks yall. ...... I will grab some Rotella next time I go to Wally World..... with 150,000 on it I cant make it worse.
As an aside, I finally got a battery for it so I should be able to drive it again
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Wally World has a Discount Shelf in there Stores I found LOTS of Oils there And bought 4- 1 Gallon Jugs Of 15/40 Synthetic For ..Ta Da .4.00 dollars A Jug . Different Stuff at Different Stores But 'On Sale' Some Stores were Higher But Product was There. If I Had The Money I would have Found The Mgr. And Tried To Make a Deal
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Was it located in the auto parts section or elsewhere? I sometimes see shelves or bins of stuff on discount but they are nowhere near the department they should be in. If I was shopping for those items, I'd probably miss them.
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I use the oil recommended by John Callies (father of the Super Duty 4) in my Fieros -- Mobile 1. No oil-related problems.
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well your right, and Clearence isle may be the right wording, Canton is near the middle of the store Closer to Clothe's No where near Automotive.
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Corporate sends out these things called plan-o-grams that tell stores how to marchandise product. I'm sure the final say goes through the marketing department, because it is illogical, difficult to find, difficult to stock, and generally infuriating. It does, however, force you to go through the store in search of it. From my point of view, the marketing department is the enemy of the consumer.
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That's why Milk and Beer is in the Back of the Store.
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Beer was in the front of our store, until they quit blocking off the aisles on Sundays.
Actually, that originally had to do with refrigeration. The refrigeration units are unsightly, so they are at the back of the store. Milk is stocked from the back, unlike non-refrigerated goods that are stocked from the front. The entire room behind the milk is refrigerated. This also helps keep the temperature more constant.
Another reason is that refrigerated goods were added at later times. Everyone had a cow, then the milk man delivered. It wasn't until the last half of the 1900's that milk and beer were added to stores.
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HAHAHAHA....... yall crack me up...... only this bunch can turn a discussion of engine oil to milk and beer
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Well, you're right. Oil does not mix with milk OR beer.
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I can tell you have no kids, Scott. When you're changing the oil, the milk is for your kid that's handing you wrenches or holding the light The Beer is for you. :D
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but I dont have the prescription for beer Charlie
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My Fiero has no prescription for oil, yet it keeps taking more...
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Scott's comment was an inside joke. I gave him a coffee mug printed with a prescription label with his name. The prescription was for coffee with instructions for dosage, when to use, and frequency of refills.
But, Scott, I know someone who has a recipe for homebrew.
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I could not find Rotella locally. Looking it up online got me...not very far. Maybe I'm looking for the wrong thing?
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https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/shell-rotella-t4-triple-protection-10w-30-conventional-heavy-duty-diesel-engine-oil-1-gallon-550045144/11461093-p?c3ch=PLA&c3nid=11461093-P&adtype=pla_with_promotion&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-NWHoPm54QIVjoKzCh0zmAjFEAQYAyABEgJlLvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
https://rotella.shell.com/en_us/products/conventional-motor-oil/rotella-triple-protection.html
There's a PDF in this one.
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Every parys store around here has it..... originally formulated for diesels I believe
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Yes, the link above shows diesel.
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The Shell Rotella T has been reformulated and is now know as Rotella T4. I bought a bottle last week and noticed they have dropped the "S " ratings for spark ignition engines. I don't know what they changed that caused them to drop the rating. I returned it and used some Valvoline that I had around the shop.
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Hey Mike, Charlie just told me yesterday you are moving ,Still some good shop's around here but call me if in BG.
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Just saw Rotella HD Gas truck oil at Napa. I would guess that was why they dropped the spark ratting from the T4.
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So, no longer for the Fiero?
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That is outside my relm of experience. I went ahead and did Mobil 1 and called it a day.
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Me, too. I'm trying to see what those who have been using the Rotella have done.
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I have to do an oil change soon. I'll check to see if the new oil has the ZDDP. May also do a search through Shell Oil.
What is the S rating?
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The gas truck version is a synthetic and the maximum viscosity is 5 w 30. Personally, I don't feel comfortable using that on a high mileage engine.
I read lots of reviews of the T4 and it's well thought of in the Jeep Inline Six 4.0 liter crowd. Some reported the internals of the engine was still clean after considerable mileage. The general consensus was that the older engines benefitted from the zinc in the oil to reduce wear.