<VV> Diesel Oil in Corvair
Dale Dewald
dkdewald at pasty.net
Thu Mar 10 23:43:33 EST 2011
At 17:59 3/10/2011 -0500, J R Read wrote:
>>snip<<
>What I was trying to get at was the ZDP levels in various Mobil 1 products.
>The 15w50 is 1200ppmPhosphorus and 1300ppm Zinc and is recommended for flat
>tappet applications. The "Turbo Diesel Truck" version is 1100ppm
>Phosphorous and 1200ppm Zinc. This is the one I have been using but have
>recently found it hard to find.
The P and Zn levels in the Mobile 1 "TDT" 5W-40 should still be adequate
for a properly broken-in, well maintained engine. If you can still find
this formulation, I see no reason not to continue using it.
>This caused me to re-think about whether or not I should even be using an
>oil indicated for diesel engines at all. The viscosity level of the
>"diesel" version is closer to the 10w30 I would like to be using than the
>15w50, so that is another consideration.
To my mind the viscosity issue is more significant than the enhanced
additive package found in a diesel rated oil. For the most part gasoline
engines do not need as much of these additives to meet the service life of
the oil, so it is somewhat a case of overkill. I have never found a diesel
rated oil that does not also have an API S-rating for use in gasoline
engines. However, most of the oils sold for use in gasoline engines do not
have an API rating for use in diesel engines.
>So, my question is... are there harmful effects to a gas engine when using
>"diesel" oil?
As far as your gas engine is concerned, no. However, there might be some
minor harm to your pocketbook for higher price of the diesel rated oil. I
believe that the extra price is well justified if the diesel oil you
purchase contains sufficient P and Zn.
Dale Dewald
Hancock, MI
More information about the VirtualVairs
mailing list