Motorcraft 15W40 CL-4 API Oil
Printed From: CorrectCraftFan.com
Category: Repairs and Maintenance
Forum Name: Boat Maintenance
Forum Discription: Discuss maintenance of your Correct Craft
URL: http://www.CorrectCraftFan.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=7397
Printed Date: January-18-2025 at 5:20am
Topic: Motorcraft 15W40 CL-4 API Oil
Posted By: M3Fan
Subject: Motorcraft 15W40 CL-4 API Oil
Date Posted: July-07-2007 at 6:39pm
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I've had 5 quarts of this stuff sitting in my garage for about a year and a half so I just did a low-hour oil change and used this oil in my engine. According to the label it's for the Powerstroke Diesel engines. Will this stuff be OK for my GT40? Apparently the CL-4 is a high rating for diesel oil but I just want to make sure it has what my petro engine needs. I just used it because I had it sitting around and figured I may as well use it. ------------- 2000 SN GT40 w/99 Graphics/Gel 2016 SN 200 OB 5.3L DI https://forum.fifteenoff.com |
Replies:
Posted By: racintj
Date Posted: July-08-2007 at 4:34am
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Its fine I guess, but a bit much. I assume you have a roller cam motor, in which case you don't need the extra zinc in the diesel oils. Flat tappet cam motors need the zinc to harden and lubricate the extreme pressure put on the lifter/cam patch. What I'm saying, it's overkill. I always like to use the minimum weight possible for the motor and environment. More oil weight equals less horsepower, but if it makes you feel good, run it. It won't hurt anything in the short term. ------------- Every day above ground is a Good day. Lakeland, FL |
Posted By: 81nautique
Date Posted: July-08-2007 at 10:19am
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I was told to run Valvoline 20w50 Racing oil because of the lead for the first 20 hours of my rebuild. It is definately too heavy and is coming out shortly. Any good suggestions on what to use? ------------- You can’t change the wind but you can adjust your sails |
Posted By: M3Fan
Date Posted: July-08-2007 at 10:41am
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It's a flat tappet motor. Do most diesel rated oils have zinc? The only reason I have the stuff is because I saw it at Wal-mart a while back and picked up 5 quarts to try out some day.
------------- 2000 SN GT40 w/99 Graphics/Gel 2016 SN 200 OB 5.3L DI https://forum.fifteenoff.com |
Posted By: TRBenj
Date Posted: July-08-2007 at 11:35am
Stick with Valvoline Racing or Rotella-T for the additives that our flat tappet motors need. I run 15w40. ------------- |
81nautique wrote:Posted By: boat dr
Date Posted: July-08-2007 at 11:38am
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M3, I am running the 15/40 Rotella for the same reason.The boys at Cam Research say the failure rate of flat tappet cams is directly related to the removal of the heavy metals in the new generation of oils,gasoline rated.
For this reason they suggest the diesel oils for added insurance against wipe out of the lobes...........boat dr ------------- boat dr /diaries/details.asp?ID=4631 - 1949 Dart /diaries/details.asp?ID=1533 - 1964 American Skier |
Posted By: boat dr
Date Posted: July-08-2007 at 11:41am
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Tim, you are up early, do you have all your stuff loaded.Karen and I will pack today and tomm. so we will leave La. on Tuesday nite going north.
Have you resolved all the issues related to your sled?????????? send me your cell #........boat dr ------------- boat dr /diaries/details.asp?ID=4631 - 1949 Dart /diaries/details.asp?ID=1533 - 1964 American Skier |
Posted By: racintj
Date Posted: July-08-2007 at 12:28pm
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boat dr, I agree with the rotella for flat tappets. the only thing better is the GM EOS oil additive available from any GM parts dept. I am running rotella 30 for my break-in, and first coyple of changes. ------------- Every day above ground is a Good day. Lakeland, FL |
Posted By: M3Fan
Date Posted: July-08-2007 at 4:05pm
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I've run 15-40 before, but it was the Penzoil stuff in the 1990. This is the first Motorcraft stuff I've run across, which is the main reason I was asking about. I see no reference to zinc on the label anywhere so I don't know if this MC stuff has it. ------------- 2000 SN GT40 w/99 Graphics/Gel 2016 SN 200 OB 5.3L DI https://forum.fifteenoff.com |
Posted By: boat dr
Date Posted: July-08-2007 at 4:12pm
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Oil is cheap , motors are not.Just passing on info,Rotella been around a long time and has a good track record, wish I could find a straight 40wt.
The multi-vis oil tend to drop oil pressure in mine after warm up.I am running a straight 40 Valvoline Racing oil now, holding 30@ idle,the multi's were dropping to 20,makes me gun shy..........boat dr ------------- boat dr /diaries/details.asp?ID=4631 - 1949 Dart /diaries/details.asp?ID=1533 - 1964 American Skier |
Posted By: racintj
Date Posted: July-08-2007 at 4:50pm
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The following is an excellent article explaining about New oils and flat tappet cam/lifter failures.
http://hotrod.com/techarticles/engine/flat_tappet_cam_tech/index.html - Cam failure and oil additives M3Fan, as the dr said, the best oil to use is Shell Rotella. DO NOT use the any oils with the newest standards, they eliminate the zinc and other additives for the lubrication and hardening. Newer motors have roller tappets that don't carry near the pressure at the lifter/cam than the flat tappets do. As I said before, the GM EOS additive is a great additive to add to any oil you want to use. All this is explained in the hyperlink above. boat dr, my local parts store carries the Rotella straight 40. Advance Auto Parts ------------- Every day above ground is a Good day. Lakeland, FL |
Posted By: M3Fan
Date Posted: July-08-2007 at 6:22pm
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Guys, I appreciate the feedback. Just to clarify- I'm not asking what the best oil is to run in the engine- I plan to run Valvoline 40W racing oil in the engine at all times, as I have so far. I switched to straight 30W for the spring and fall. This 15-40 stuff was sitting in my garage so I swapped it in just to use it up, so I'm specifically asking about this specific oil and this SAE rating CL-4. I'm not planning on running this oil again- I'll always stick to 40W Valvoline, I just want to make sure that this oil specific CL-4 15-40 is OK for the rest of the summer. Racintj, the article you linked to actually shows the logo for this CL-4 rating, which is exactly the same logo that is on this Motorcraft oil. Hopefully that means that the article endorses this rating for containing the zinc additives.
Could someone tell me what the rating is on the Rotella T 15-40? Or, does the CL-4 even have anything to do with zinc content? I guess that's more of what I'm looking for. ------------- 2000 SN GT40 w/99 Graphics/Gel 2016 SN 200 OB 5.3L DI https://forum.fifteenoff.com |
Posted By: boat dr
Date Posted: July-08-2007 at 6:48pm
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M3,had to go to the shop to look at a jug,it's gotta bunch a letters and numbers....
CJ4, CL4 PLUS, SL, SJ, CH4, CF4/SM Performance Requirements ACEA E7 Cummins,Caterpiller,Detriot Diesel,VW,and MB Don't say nuttin about runnin it in a Ford tho...........boat dr ------------- boat dr /diaries/details.asp?ID=4631 - 1949 Dart /diaries/details.asp?ID=1533 - 1964 American Skier |
Posted By: 79nautique
Date Posted: July-08-2007 at 7:09pm
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I would think that fining out what the different ratings mean might be a little more helpful as most oils have some of the same ratings as others so the SL or SJ might be related to the zinc additive or something else for that matter. So a better understanding of what property's a specific oil has could be understood. ------------- http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=756&sort=&pagenum=1&yrstart=1979&yrend=1979 - 79 nautique |
Posted By: racintj
Date Posted: July-08-2007 at 8:09pm
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M3, the oil should be fine if it has the rating for the zinc. The diesel oils still have these additives due to the fact of extreme pressures and temps that diesels run under. If you are still not comfortable, grab you a bottle of the EOS additive I earlier mentioned (mentioned in the article) and add it. Then you know you're ok. You are the one that turns the key and pushes the throttle, so if it bothers you that much...spend 10 more bucks and change the oil. I think you're alright though...just my opinion. ------------- Every day above ground is a Good day. Lakeland, FL |
Posted By: boat dr
Date Posted: July-08-2007 at 8:37pm
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Found a neat site while looking for the desination for the standards listed on each bottle of oil.Found this stsatement;
In recent years, the level of phosphorus has been reduced in motor oil because phosphorus can contaminant the catalytic converter if the engine is burning oil. Phosphorus is an anti-wear additive, so there is some concern that lower levels of this essential additive may increase wear in older engines that have flat tappet cams instead of roller cams. To help protect older engines with flat tappet cams against wear, using an aftermarket oil additive that contains phosphorus or other anti-wear additives may help prolong engine life. My understanding was they had removed the zinc and other Heavy Metals, so i guess phosphorus is one of them.........boat dr Does the GM additive have these H/Metals???? ------------- boat dr /diaries/details.asp?ID=4631 - 1949 Dart /diaries/details.asp?ID=1533 - 1964 American Skier |
Posted By: racintj
Date Posted: July-08-2007 at 8:51pm
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Yes, it does have those additives. That link I posted earlier talks exactly what you're talking about. On top of the oils changing, there are also less and less manufacturers producing flat tappets. I think there are only 2 US companies producing them. More and more coming from overseas, and metals not being equal to those of the past. It's funny how acutally small the cam/lifter industry is. Crane makes the large majority of cam blanks for just about every cam company, and TRW made a large majority of all the lifters/tappets for all the cam companys. ------------- Every day above ground is a Good day. Lakeland, FL |
Posted By: M3Fan
Date Posted: July-21-2007 at 1:00am
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Found a site with some info on the API ratings:
"In case you don't know what those letters mean, the American Petroleum Institute (API) comes out with new standards for motor oils every few years. Each time they come out with a new standard, the bar is raised. Fuel efficiency must be better, protection benefits must be increased, cold temperature performance must be improved, etc. So, the higher the second letter of the "code" the "better" the oil. In other words, you should expect an SH oil to be better than an SG oil, and an SJ oil is better than an SH oil, etc. As a side note, gasoline oils are always rated as an Sx, with the "x" being the level of the rating. Diesel oils are always rated with a Cx. Sometimes there will even be a number after the Cx, such as with a diesel CG-4 or CH-4 specification. Again, the higher the second letter, the better the oil. An oil that meets both the API gasoline specs and the diesel specs will likely carry both API ratings. Still no insight into zinc vs. non-zinc, but it's better than nothing." Found another forum chatting about zinc oils: http://www.y-blocksforever.com/forums/Topic4377-3-1.aspx - Y-block forum Edit- in this link these guys talk about not going higher than CI-4 rating, and the Motorcraft stuff is CL-4. They also mention Rotella-T oil lowering the amount of zinc additives in 2007. ------------- 2000 SN GT40 w/99 Graphics/Gel 2016 SN 200 OB 5.3L DI https://forum.fifteenoff.com |