Oil me up

Cabin_Guy

Cabin_Guy

New member
I think this is the only automotive forum that i belong to that doesn't have a thread about oil, oil filters and oil additives.
So i started this one :p

I currently use pennzoil snythetic 10w30 becuase
a) I researched synthetic oil and the opinions ranged from " it's amazing" to " shrug, no difference". Noone had anything BAD to say about it.
b) the local walmart had it on for a stupidly low price so i thought I'd try it.
So far my opinion is " shrug", my Jeep doesn't run worse but it also hasnt' developed magical powers.

In the past I used Valvoline because it seemed to perform better than
a) Castrol, which i found to foam a lot ( foam doesn't lubricate)
b) Quaker State and seemed to vanish on me, no smoke coming out the exhaust or anything , it would just vanish.

I use a Fram oil filter ... just because I do.
The one I have now is " specific for synthetic oil", i dont see how a filter can really be specific for synthetic oil, and a couple bucks more than a regular filter, probably a marketing gimmic.

I don't know if STP oil treatment is ok to use with synthetic. I used to use it with oil and it would give me better pressure for a week or 2. The no-name cheaper oil treatement gave me higher pressure for about a day.

I have used some gas additives ( ok, i know it's supposed ot be an oil thread , but it's my thread so i can wander off topic).
Water remover, gas line antifreeze, gas treatment... all seemed to make my Jeep run kinda crappy so i avoid them.
 

I'm using Castrol GTX 5w30. It's performing awesomely. My oil pressures range from ~20 psi at idle to ~40 psi at high RPM, which are dead-on perfect for the 2.5L.

On synthetic oils... a common misconception is that synthetic oils are pure magic and will fix or otherwise improve all kinds of things in your engine. This is not true. It is true that synthetics are cleaner and usually carry more detergents, meaning they WILL clean your engine better than conventional oils. But this isn't necessarily a good thing. As much as that carbon buildup may suck, it could actually be sealing a leak somewhere. This is why many people start getting lots of leaky seals right after they switch from conventional to synthetic. But I digress. Usually, the only reason you'd want to go to synthetic is to increase drain intervals. And that's about it.

EDIT: Speaking of oil filters, I was thinking about going to a bigger Fram filter. Larger oil filters raise your oil capacity as well as filtering more oil in the same amount of time at the same pressure. Fram makes some 3/4 and full-length filters that work out of the box for us. The filter that OEM calls for is actually a 1/2 length filter, aka a shortie. They are sufficient but cost the same as bigger filters, so why not upgrade?
 
Last edited:
I found that with my old Dodges as well, Fram made 2 filters, a long one and a short one. i agree with you, long is better.
I have wonded if there is a long one for my Jeep, there's definately enough room to put one on,
Any idea which long fram would fit a 2005 tj 4.0?
My parts place just lists the short one.
 
Cabin_Guy said:
I think this is the only automotive forum that i belong to that doesn't have a thread about oil, oil filters and oil additives.
So i started this one :p

I currently use pennzoil snythetic 10w30 becuase
a) I researched synthetic oil and the opinions ranged from " it's amazing" to " shrug, no difference". Noone had anything BAD to say about it.
b) the local walmart had it on for a stupidly low price so i thought I'd try it.
So far my opinion is " shrug", my Jeep doesn't run worse but it also hasnt' developed magical powers.

In the past I used Valvoline because it seemed to perform better than
a) Castrol, which i found to foam a lot ( foam doesn't lubricate)
b) Quaker State and seemed to vanish on me, no smoke coming out the exhaust or anything , it would just vanish.

I use a Fram oil filter ... just because I do.
The one I have now is " specific for synthetic oil", i dont see how a filter can really be specific for synthetic oil, and a couple bucks more than a regular filter, probably a marketing gimmic.

I don't know if STP oil treatment is ok to use with synthetic. I used to use it with oil and it would give me better pressure for a week or 2. The no-name cheaper oil treatement gave me higher pressure for about a day.

I have used some gas additives ( ok, i know it's supposed ot be an oil thread , but it's my thread so i can wander off topic).
Water remover, gas line antifreeze, gas treatment... all seemed to make my Jeep run kinda crappy so i avoid them.
Click to expand...

I got a 1988 chevy from a old man and he ran pennzoil when i rebuild it i had to take a pressure washer to it.. It took me 3 days to cleen the sluge off it. i herd some bad thing about pennzoil and had to cleen it.. I run rotila and Valvoline... and use lucas oil and gas treatment thay work great.. my oil pressure in my truck holds 50psi @ 55mph and 30psi @ idel
my jeep the same with lucas.. just my 2 cents
 

interesting.........
4.7 litre jug of Pennzoil Syn in a fancy bottle with a handle... $34 at walmart
4,3 litre jug of the same stuff in a boring bottle.... $19 at walmart
and extra $15 for .4 litres and a fancy jug. wtf?
 
I did a lot of reading about oil filters tonight, my mind is spinning, you read a good thing about one, then you read something trashing it.
Wix filters seem to have a real following, but also people who say its crap.
The one that everyone seems to agree is at least ok is Purolater. Fram is generally considered low quality.
 
I belong to several automotive boards and also BobIsTheOilGuy (Welcome), where people get UOA's and post them on the boards.

First off, a Used Oil Analysis (UOA) is the only way to know for sure what's going on with your oil. Costs $22.50 at Blackstone Labs. Blackstone Labs

On a couple of different vehicles I got better UOA's with Pennzoil Platinum than anything else I had tested. A UOA I got on my old Ranger with Mobil 1 Truck & SUV oil was utterly terrible but regular Mobil 1 tested fine.

Diesel-spec oil is perfectly fine to use in gas engines, in some cases better. The Jeep 4.0 and 4.2 engines throw off a lot of iron in the wear metals test, just a characteristic of the engine, but Shell Rotella will minimize that. Wally-Mart used to carry it in 10w-30 but I only see 15w-40 now, which is fine to run in a 10w-30 spec motor in the summer. Rotella T 5w-40 Synthetic is killer stuff for the money.

Fram filters get bashed a lot. I won't run them. They won't necessarily blow up your motor but you can get better filters for the same money (AC, Mopar, Wix, NAPA Gold) or less (Supertech). Less filter media inside and the construction is weak. Most filters have paper media and the porosity is kind of random, which is the nature of paper. Mobil 1 and K&N oil filters have synthetic media which has uniform porosity. They cost a lot more. I don't buy them, but it's your dollar, get what you want. I run Motorcraft on the family Fords, AC on my parents' Cadillacs, Wix on my Focus because you can never find the correct Motorcraft filter, and currently Supertech on the Jeep because I'm running Auto-RX in it right now.

Auto-RX engine cleaner is killer stuff. Used it in several vehicles, highly recommend it.

Can't test or list every oil, but based on hundreds of UOA's posted at BITOG:
The best conventional oils are Pennzoil and Havoline. They test nearly as good as full synthetics.
Possibly the best oil for the money is Motorcraft Synthetic Blend.
Valvoline Max Life is very good.
Mobil 1, Pennzoil Platinum, and Valvoline Synpower are very good synthetics. Some engines don't get along well with Mobil 1, I would advise getting UOA's comparing it with another oil or two before deciding. I've never got a bad UOA with Pennzoil Platinum in anything I've run it in.

I run Mobil 1 0w-30 Fuel Economy Formula in my Sport Trac (it needs all the help it can get), Motorcraft 5w-20 in my Focus and the wife's Taurus, Pennzoil Platinum in my dad's Caddy and my son's Mustang, Max Life in my mom's Caddy because it burns less oil with that (early Northstar engines are oil burners), and when I'm done with the Auto-RX cycle in the Jeep I'll use Max Life 10w-30 in the summer and 5w-30 in the winter unless I try Rotella T and it comes out good. It seems I change a lot of oil around here. Heh.

Sorry to run on.
 
Last edited:
I use only Wix, Mopar or AC Delco filters. Fram is a definite NO for me. At one point in time, the word Fram oil filter used along with a 5.9 Cummins diesel diagnostic worksheet on the older Dodge Ram pickups meant , Warranty is Void. What the engineers found was the silicone adhesive used in the filters was breaking up from the engine oil and eventually passes through the filter assembly and up to the oil galley on the cylinder head oil passage where they get stuck. I'll leave the rest of devastation up to your own imagination. I'm interested in finding out the compatibility of the newer 15W-40 low ash diesel oil required on these newer diesel engines as a gasoline engine oil substitute. As for the choice of engine oil's, i preffer Penzoil, Mopar or Mobil 1.
 
Synthetic = Wax = Bad > IMHO. Wax leads to build-up. Build-up leads to sludge. The only advantage is that it clogs up small leaks. Fram is CRAP. I remember back in the day when my auto-shop teacher cut filters open and showed us the difference. So, in the least amount of words... Valvoline + Wix = :)
 

after finding this some years back digging thru mc stuff, I switched from fram to purolator pure one.

Motorcycle Oil Filter Comparison

I've been a castrol user for decades and tore the jeep 2.5 down to find it ain't pristine either after 122K and 15 years.
 
No one has mentioned oil change frequency. I believe that the whole "every 3000 miles" thing was created by the oil companies to sell more oil. I have always changed mine every 5000 running regular non synthetic oil. I have done this for my last 4-5 cars and never had a problem. It is also easier to remember when to change it. At 5000, 10000, 15000...
 
southtj said:
No one has mentioned oil change frequency. I believe that the whole "every 3000 miles" thing was created by the oil companies to sell more oil. I have always changed mine every 5000 running regular non synthetic oil. I have done this for my last 4-5 cars and never had a problem. It is also easier to remember when to change it. At 5000, 10000, 15000...
Click to expand...
On my personal vehicles I change every 5000 miles. My parents' Cadillacs have Oil Life Monitors which show the percentage of oil life left. On my dad's Caddy I change the oil about every 10,000 miles, one time we ran the OLM down to 4% and 12,000 miles just for kicks, got a UOA on the Pennzoil Platinum and it was fine. :lol: My mother's Caddy I change the oil once a year with Max Life after they go to Florida for the winter, pump the tires up to 40, dump a bottle of Sta-Bil in the gas tank, and it sits in their garage here. It only gets about 6000 miles on it a year. I should point out that Cadillac Northstar engines hold 7.5 quarts of oil.

Changing the oil regularly is a lot more important than what oil you use.
 

I run Mobil 1 Synthetic with a Mobil 1 oil filter in everything. change both every 5k miles.
 

I have heard that royal purple it the best. I have actually seen a test done and it really does cause a lot less wear.
 
gtx is what i use. in my 2.5L 97 tj . it has always performed well but i recently switched to gtx high mileage 5w30 and with the same result. good pressure and doesnt burn up or just vanish. i also use a puralator pure one filter i have since i have been driving, in every car, truck, and jeep i have owned. i have alot of mechanic friends that tell me thats a good filter. All the mechanics i know tell me the cars that come in with engine damage have fram filters: sooooo i stay away from them.
 
Last edited:
I've run Amsoil in my Jeep since new (Pop's an Amsoil dealer). I'll just throw my .02 in here without trying to be a fan boy.

Honestly? Synthetic vs. Conventional? meh. I've never really felt any difference between mine and my buddy's (he runs conventional Castrol).

More detergents in synthetics- I do like this. I also switched everything over to synthetic- gear, trans, xfer case. Can't really tell if it's helping but it sure isn't hurting.

Although I like to think synthetic oils make my Jeep magical....
 

drinkslinger said:
I've run Amsoil in my Jeep since new (Pop's an Amsoil dealer). I'll just throw my .02 in here without trying to be a fan boy.

Honestly? Synthetic vs. Conventional? meh. I've never really felt any difference between mine and my buddy's (he runs conventional Castrol).

More detergents in synthetics- I do like this. I also switched everything over to synthetic- gear, trans, xfer case. Can't really tell if it's helping but it sure isn't hurting.

Although I like to think synthetic oils make my Jeep magical....
Click to expand...

fly little jeep fly. :lol:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

J
07 wrangler engine swap questions
Replies
4
Views
703
Joesmith
J
T
97 4.0 knock popped up out of no where.
Replies
8
Views
1K
TJS27
T
LocoJoe
83 CJ7 knock
Replies
7
Views
7K
superj
superj
bradleyheathhays
No start on the old 96er, with clues
Replies
4
Views
551
superj
superj
M
Getting through the emissions test
3 4 5
Replies
86
Views
45K
Jadetrost
J
Back
Top