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MG MGA - diesel oil in an MGA?

Hi,

I've read the whole thing about ZDDP and how it's better for our engines, but recently I heard about using diesel oil in an MG engine. Anyone know anything about this?

Sorry if this has been talked about before, I just wanted to see if there was any new info about it.

Thanks,

Darian
Darian Henderson

Yes, there are oils for gasoline engines that are still formulated with ZDDP. If you search the MGA Archives for "ZDDP" you'll turn up several threads. Following is an excerpt of some info related to your specific question from within the thread "oil".

In a recent issue of NAMGAR's MGA it was noted that Castrol's GTX 20W-50 no longer contains ZDDP. The same MGA article mentioned that two oils that still contained ZDDP are Valvoline VR1 20W-50 Racing Oil and Pennzoil LongLife Gold 15W-40. Both are available from Advance Auto Parts. On the Valvoline label the list of features states, "Ashless anti-wear additives and ZDDP provide ulimate wear protection." On the Pennzoil label the list of features doesn't explicitly list ZDDP, but it does state, "Protection for Diesel and Gasoline Engines" and "- Excellent Wear Protection Helps Extend Engine Life." On another BB a Castrol representative indicated that this past October Castrol was scheduled to launch a new synthetic oil for classic cars with high levels of ZDDP. Here's the link to the Castrol website that describes their new 20W-50 product for classic cars.

http://www.castrol.com/castrol/genericarticle.do?categoryId=82915470&contentId=7032644

Steve K

I use the Diesel oil from the local supermarket, and change every 6 months
dominic clancy

I think I remember from another thread that one problem with synthetic oils is that because of their "slipperyness" they don't cause the pushrods to rotate and thus can cause problems independent of the zinc (ZDDP) amounts.

Can anyone put this one to rest one way or another?

Thanks

Larry
58A
72BGT daily driver
Larry Hallanger

Actually it's the lifters that need to rotate, from what Keith Ansell writes. The zinc apparently aids in lifter rotation whether the oil is petroleum or synthetic.

Ken
k v morton

OK, so people do use diesel oil. Good to know that there are a couple of options out there.

Thanks,

Darian
Darian Henderson

I run diesel in my 1500 coupe and have since the engine rebuild. Ever since this zinc question arose I have also switched my Jeep to diesel. I see or feel no problems with diesel oil and just follow the regualr filter and oil change schedule. Besides the savings in price I feel more comfortable with a zinc based oil in my MGA. Gordon
Gordon Harrison

Ken

Thanks for the correction.


Steve

Just looked at the Castrol web site for their CASTROL SYNTEC 20W-50 and they state "SYNTEC 20W–50 does not meet the catalyst compatibility requirements of vehicles manufactured since 1993." They do not say anything about API requirements. A look at their Synetc 5w-30 specs gives "Exceeds API SM". From this I assume that any oil that meets API SM/SL requirements will have the lower zinc levels.

Also looked at the Mobil 1 web site. Their Mobil 1 15W-50 meets API SM/SL requirements while their Mobil 1 High Mileage 10w-40 meets API SL,SJ,CF requirements. From this I would expect that the Mobil 1 High Mileage 10w-40 also sthe zinc levels we need to keep the lifters rotating.

Next time I am in my local auto parts store I plan on checking on prices for both.

Larry
58A
72BGT daily driver
Larry Hallanger

Any idea if STP Blue additive has a sufficient amount of ZDDP?
J Bries

Here in the States diesel oil is also going to or already has been lowered of ZDDP.Many high performance boat sites have already covered all this.Believe it or not,Marine engines work harder than our average MG engine,it's like going forever up hill.Here is what I've changed over to in my boat and MG-

http://www.valvoline.com/pages/products/product_detail.asp?Product=94

I don't think it can get any more clear than this,but there are some Shell Rotella single weights that have not changed,but I however don't want to use a single weight in my MG.
gary starr

I think if you check out
http://www.lnengineering.com/oil.html a lot of your questions will be answered. I did call Castrol on Monday and they told me that GTX 20w-50 still contains ZDDP. They would not tell the exact amount of ZDDP nor would they coment on any zinc additives(STP Red,EOS,etc) that can be added to their oil.
Tony
Tony Shoviak

Not to flog this issue to death, but as I understand it, even after Rotella 15W40 (and similar) oils get their ZDDP levels forced down, they will still have higher levels than current SM gasoline engine oils. I laid in a stock of Rotella a year ago, but a check of the containers in Walmart showed the same markings as my stash. Synthetic oils have no antiwear claim to fame with respect to cam / tappet wear, unless they also have ZDDP, so given the cost and the amount of it most us drip onto the road (or burn), they are a waste of money.
R. Bailey

This thread was discussed between 19/12/2007 and 23/12/2007

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