Next Diesel Oil Up?

[Bandit12]

Originally Posted by madmaxmutt

I have used Rotella T6 (5-40) for the several years. My last oil change it just wasn't available anywhere. I had to change oil before a trip, so I bit the bullet ($240) for a Motorcraft super duty filter and full synthetic oil. No idea how much the dealership charges for an oil change now, but man is it expensive for the materials. Most places here have completely empty sections of diesel oil. I tried to order T6, and no dice.

Since, it seems T6 isn't a thing anymore and Motorcraft likes their oil way too much for my wallet, what is the next choice for a PowerStroke?

Check with your friendly neighborhood Napa parts man. There have and are still shortages in several petroleum products. ATF+4 comes immediately to mind. That said, if your counterman is worth his weight in beer, he should be able to dive into the catalogs and find you a suitable oil for your needs. I will say prices have skyrocketed over the past year. We used to sell Chevron Delo 15W40 for $12.99/gal all day. As of yesterday, the price is $21.99/gal. As I went to look, discovered Napa brand oil has a 5W40 diesel oil in the system. We don't stock it in our particular store, but it is available. We do have in stock Chevron and Mobil 1. We can order others, but as you found out, Shell Rotella T6 is currently unavailable. If you're interested, the Napa branded oil is made by Valvoline and the part # for the gallon is 891939. Price is $35.97/gal.

[CAG]

Originally Posted by TWP723

Red Line and Royal Purple aren't bad either.

Take a look at Royal Purple's wear tests.

[DIYJunkie]

Mobile one for Turbo Diesel.

[mjc29]

I have been getting my oil (shell or chevron) from Orielys shipped. I get emails with between 10 and 20% off 100 or more shipped about twice a month and use them waaaay ahead of time now to get what I need for oil changes.
My Napa store sells almost all their diesel oil to the Dodge dealer, they come in and check every day and buy it all when it comes in.

The orielly code good until until 2/15 is PRES20 for 20% off a few more days.

[gymracer]

A friend with an auto parts store told me diesel oil was hard to get. He did have Motorcraft. I went straight and bought all Rotella they had but a gallon or two. Enough for 2 changes. Mine takes 14 qts.

[Festor]

I have a friend who works for a national auto parts store and they bought up all the Rotella they could get at Home Depot and Tractor Supply then marked it up and put it on their shelves. The law of supply and demand at its finest.

[TWP723]

Originally Posted by CAG

Take a look at Royal Purple's wear tests.

They aren't BAD, others are better.

My son's had good luck with it in his Cummins.

[kirkelli]

Originally Posted by madmaxmutt

Amsoil price per gallon for 5-40 seems to be close to Motorcraft. I thought there was some benefit to Amsoil in pricing?

back in the day, i registered as a dealer and just networked with my friends. Didn't have to keep an inventory or buy certain quantities and got a pretty good price break..

[Hazman65]

Second vote for Mobil 1 for Turbo Diesels. Switched over to that 4 years ago after the dealer started charging over $200 for n oil change on my little 3 liter turbo diesel! Started doing the oil changes myself after that and after the dealer failed to secure the air hose back up and it blew off going down the road. Will do it myself from. Didn’t realize how dirty the oil got in diesels though. Holy crap is that stuff dirty.

[AKRUEBBE]

Originally Posted by Hazman65

Second vote for Mobil 1 for Turbo Diesels. Switched over to that 4 years ago after the dealer started charging over $200 for n oil change on my little 3 liter turbo diesel! Started doing the oil changes myself after that and after the dealer failed to secure the air hose back up and it blew off going down the road. Will do it myself from. Didn’t realize how dirty the oil got in diesels though. Holy crap is that stuff dirty.

Synthetic oil tends to turn black very quickly. You really can't go by it's looks.

[madmaxmutt]

Well, I ended up buying the only one that I could find locally. Nothing but empty shelves, incorrect viscosities or certificatations, for my purpose.

I found a single 5 gallon jug of Mobile 1 Full Synthetic 5W-40 CK-4, at Tractor Supply. It was not even listed on their website, but was in the store. $162 (tax included) is steep, but still only half of what Motorcraft wants for the red jugs.




I still have no idea why T6 Rotella really isn't available. IMO, I only heard one
plausible reason. The additives may not be available to Shell, for them to manufacture it.

[CAG]

Originally Posted by AKRUEBBE

Synthetic oil tends to turn black very quickly. You really can't go by it's looks.

Not really in gas engines but the high compression in Diesel engines causes more soot blow by so oil in diesels gets sooty much faster. Short story for a more involved process.

[CAG]

Originally Posted by kirkelli

back in the day, i registered as a dealer and just networked with my friends. Didn't have to keep an inventory or buy certain quantities and got a pretty good price break..

Me too! You now can get the same pricing as a preferred customer and not pay the higher dealer fee.

[Lake Huron]

Originally Posted by Hazman65

Second vote for Mobil 1 for Turbo Diesels. Switched over to that 4 years ago after the dealer started charging over $200 for n oil change on my little 3 liter turbo diesel! Started doing the oil changes myself after that and after the dealer failed to secure the air hose back up and it blew off going down the road. Will do it myself from. Didn’t realize how dirty the oil got in diesels though. Holy crap is that stuff dirty.

My last truck I was supposed to get 4 free oil changes on it. My uncle had year older truck than mine and went to one of our local dealers. They missed greasing upper ball joints and the tech said theres no grease fittings there. Silverado Duramax, look over the top of the tire and you can see them clear as day. Strike one. Next day it hit him to check the oil and make sure everything is good. Oil was toward the top of the max fill mark but black as coal. Got him wondering if they even changed it. I took mine to the same dealer not knowing what happened to him. Same happened to me, but I didnt realize it until I got home. I didnt say anything to the dealer. I later found out what happened to my uncle and I handled it differently. Next oil change, back to the same dealer, except this time I marked the top of the filter with a red paint pen mark. Oil change, before i left I checked the oil on the dipstick, filthy black. Spoke with the service manager and showed her the dipstick. Excuse, diesel oil gets dirty fast. Before it leaves the dealer?? Strike 2. Showed her the upper ball joints that were missed, lame excuse for that one. Then I insisted on taking the truck back to a service bay, not the oil change bay, and put it up on a hoist and let's see the rest of the joints. Easy, obvious ones were done, and I pointed out the oil was never changed. Drain plug was never pulled but wiped clean, same with the filter, to make it look new. Another lame excuse. Then came the final nail in the coffin. I told them I marked the top of the oil filter with a red mark just above the Delco sticker on the side, and had the filter been replaced there would be oil dripped all over the torsion bar just below it and that wasn't wiped clean. I reached up in there bare handed and spun that filter off myself. Oil spilling out all over the torsion bar below it and i let it spill out all over their floor. I got it out of there and showed them that nice red mark right EXACTLY where I said it was. Strike three. They had the service tech, instead of the lube tech, change the oil and install a new filter right there on the spot. Never went back. I should have called GM, but word of mouth travels fast around here. Lol!
I've since got rid of that truck and bought my current truck brand new and I switched the engine oil/filter, trans/t-case fluid/filters, and front and rear diff's at 1000 miles all to Amsoil on my own. No more going back to the dealers, or any oil change place, anymore. I dont care how much more it cost me to do it myself.

[CAG]

I took my Duramax in for a small problem and asked the service advisor about getting the oil changed while I was there. His comment was I would not let those guys change the oil in my mother-in-laws car. Pretty low standard for those they hire for that job.