I would use 15W40 diesel oil.

 

Amsoil is high quality oil I'd run it in everything but its too rich for my blood so I stick with 15-40 rotella. I think 5-30 is a little thin.

 

We run Chevron 15W40 in all our diesel equipment at work, year round. 5W-30 is a bit thin. I'd suggest going as high as you possibly can (within cold temperature limits).

 

The problem is it runs cold and the oil pressure is real high with the thick oil. Can you imagine. The aircooled diesel runs cold on 100 degree days it takes a long time to register heat on the Ford coolant temperature guage. When you shut it down it cools off fast.

 

I could see the 5W30 in the dead of winter, but since our winter here in CA gets down to about 30F on the worst days, I run 15W-40 in everything. Both Mobilgard 1 SHC for the Cummins motors and Chevron DELO for the Benzomatic. It's pointless to run Hi dollar oil in a high bypass engine because the oil gets filled with soot long before you would normally change it. The old bypass filters that Amsoil used to sell back when, might be a solution on something like a Cummins motor which is pretty tight, but it couldn't begin to keep up with the soot made by The Benz motors.

If the Duetz is a fast running engine, IE 3000rpms and above, Then it probably bypasses alot of soot. I'd say just use the DELO or Rotella from Walmart and change it every 5K.

As far as the cool running,,,,, the engine should run at at least 180*and usually air cooled engines run a little hotter than that. The only reliable place to take temp readings would be from the oil, and then that result would be modified to determine the actual running temp of the metal. The other option is to use a temp sensor like the ones that are put under a spark plug, or under an injector, or maybe a head bolt.

Another thought would be to get yourself an infared temp gun and shoot the temp from many places on the engine and average it out, and then calibrate your existing guage by the results of that experience.

Randy

 

does it have some kind of oil cooler with a thermostat?

 

I have the Ford Coolant temp readout on the dash hooked up to the coolant temp sensor mounted on the oil filter. THe only problem is the maroons put the work "NORMAL" there instead of numbers so I have to guess that if the needle is in the middle "RM" then it's at about 190. The only thing is its only gotten there twice - once after 20 miles of towing the 18 ft frame the shop and once when I let it idle in the heat after running. It runs cold.

Randy the Deutz tops out at 2800. Farmers around here run Schaeffer Synthetic 15-40. I imagine with synthetic I'll get no heat in winter.

 

I wouldn't assume the middle of NORMAL is operating temp (~190). My Explorer stayed at about the 1/3 mark at op temp. You may be running warmer than you think, you need a real gauge.

 

Synthetic oils are excellent for any engine. One great property is that they can be cleaned and reused. Many of the truck fleet users have cleaning stations. As long as the acid level in the oil isn't high you can keep reusing this stuff almost indefinitely. I've seen displays at Amsoil shows where they take oil from a diesel which has a lot of carbon in it and when cleaned it looks just like new. The one main drawback is cost and there are a lot of quarts in most diesel engines. I agree with the other guys that 15w40 would be the better choice. I use 10w40 Castrol in my 1990 F250 diesel which has 288k on it. Just change the oil and filter on a regular basis and all will be OK.

 

you should be using diesel oil for you diesel engine.They suspend the soot so it doesn't interfere with the lubrication.Id never run gasser oil even if its synth.

 

Here's a good oil temp gauge...

http://www.isspro.com/proddetail.php?prod=R8635

 

I have seen duetz engines not run when the oil gets too thin. I dont think 5- 30 would be good to run. Injectors run on oil pressure and too thin oil wont pop the injector. I found this problen when a bad lift pump was filling the crank case with fuel and thinning out the oil.

 

First thing I notice is DS you are worrying about a non calibrated gauge. AFAIK none of the stock gauges used in domestic cars and light trucks are calibrated, they are glorified idiot lights, that is exactly why the word normal is on the gauge and not any sort of temperature degree. So truly you have no idea what temp you are running until you get a proper gauge and sender. In air cooled engines it is common to use oil temp or cyl head temp, but these temps run different than coolant temps, so you will need to find out what is the "normal" operating range for which ever method you choose to use for engine temp, Deutz can help with that, or send me a PM I have a lot of experience with Deutz.
As far as 5/30 oil regardless of synth or crude based it is too thin, especially for an air cooled engine, and even more so for anywhere in CA. As for running high oil pressure, until you blow oil filters apart you really don't have an issue, you have good bearing tolerances and a good oil pump.

 

I'm concerned with cold weather starts and high OP. I'm sorely tempted to use a new heater core and JIC oil lines to connect the special oil filter housing to my heater. THe housing out let only opens a narrow slit so the pressure cannot be that out of hand.

 

A long time ago i went thru the syn V dino oil questions. Fot the last 25 years at least, in all my engines,(6bt,briggs,Cat,Detoits,Hemi's,yamaha,Kia,ALL) i run a 1/3 blend of 20w40. One gallon syn,two gallons dino. But for a 425 Olds at 7,500rpm I have yet to have an oil caused failure.(or was it the 7,500) The better the brand, the longer it holds it,s pressures. Last series60 i had i put 495,000 on in 20 months and after the initial change all i did was the filters and their oil every 10,000. Like Frankie sez,I did it my way.. MM

 

The 5w30 is not as thin as you think. Conventional oils are not shear stable and usually shear down about 10 points anyway, so the 40 weight oil you use is more than likely shearing down to around 30 weight. Synthetics don't do this, they are shear stable. The 5 or 15w is just the winter rating. You aren't talking about much thinner oil at all especially when you take the shear factor into account. Amsoil is higher than most of it's competitors but are you figuring in the extended drains? Instead of 3-5+ changes a year you should be closer to 1-2. About half the oil usage. I can also say from my own experience that the oil stays visibly cleaner much longer, months even. I believe this must be a function of their filters.

 

That's what I think. Amzoil's diesel 30 weight also tests out to 10w 30. I think the superior lube will make up for weight loss and I think the literature bears this out. I ran 5w 20 semisyn Motercraft in my 96 Honda Accord F22B1 which is an extrodinarily tough motor and it runs quieter and gets better mileage. I'm not afraid to try 0W 20!

THen there is the full synthetic vs. semi debate. Most say that semi synthetic is just as good as full synthetic. Don't see how it would flow so well at low temps.

 

I promise it's not opinion, testing has proven the shearing down of dino oils.

I use 0w30 in my 4cyl ranger and my wifes honda civic. I used 5w30 diesel oil in my powerstroke. Most of the issue with oil is that most people are not trained in the field. Everybody hears the 0w and gets all worried and says ooooooo that's too light of an oil why do you use such light oil isn't that going to be less protections? Well, the answer is the 0w is simply the winter rating, it flows like a 0 weight oil in the winter. It's still and always will be a true 30 weight oil though it just has excellent cold weather performance.

I will be honest I'm an Amsoil Dealer before anybody tries to call me out on it. I find that there is an internet cult hatred of Amsoil. A small group of people absolutely deplore it and it seems they use the internet alot. Just my experience. Personally I haven't run across anybody who has had a problem with it. When I set up a booth to do a show, hundreds of people walk by and point and say that amsoil is good s(tuff).

 

Appreciate your input. I'm a dealer too, at least I have my number, but I don't do much with it. AMZOIL is a very good oil - people are irrational about what they like and dislike and tend to get crazy about things that don't matter and ignore those that do.

 

I strongly agree on the bad reputation Amsoil is getting on the internet. I strongly suspect that much of the bad press is poured out by competitors! Duhhh, who woulda thunk it...?

I run it in my NV4500 after being guaranteed it would thoroughly trash my carbon fiber sychros and turn them into silly putty within weeks. 4-5 years now and no complaints yet from the gearbox! Shifts just fine with excellent synchromesh.

Tempted to run Amsoil in my engine, but currently using Cummins Specified Valvoline Diesel Formula. Been great so far.

Regarding bypass filtration it can be staged, with one separator handling 20 micron, another using finer micron. My system when installed soon will have only a .5 micron filter and take a sample of oil from gallery, filter it to .5 micron and send to that oil return on lower left of block. It uses an AC Delco Military Senior cannister assembly.

According to very knowledgeable sources it can more than double the lifetime on an engine, and easily keeps up with the soot in diesel applications. Independent research and testing has verified such claims.

A friend has done dozens of 4BT conversions over maybe 30 years and whenever possible uses bypass filtration, unless his customer is dead set against it for some reason. He claims it keeps the oil as clean as if you just poured it in, mile after thousand upon thousands of miles. With his level of direct experience and his character which demands complete honesty, I'm SOLD!

One other addition coming soon to an engine near me is a pre-oiler accumulator. This is also guaranteed to double the lifetime of an engine, by pre-oiling all galleries with oil pressurized at running pressure, during the critical cold startup period. Every bearing is fully protected by pressurized oil, and for the most part it's the pressure that protects, at least as much as the viscosity and relative lubricity. Startup is the real engine killer, when particulate is no longer in suspension but has fallen out to bearing surfaces etc. and when there's no oil pressure-suspension to cause running clearance between moving parts.

 

Here's a take on Bob appropos of your observations: http://www.ripoffreport.com/Oil-Com....com/Oil-Companies/Bobistheoilguy-com-B/bobistheoilguy-bob-is-the-oil-58bfj.htm The oil business has always been like that.

Want to find out more on bypass filtration and pre oiler accumulators. Have done a little looking into these in the past.