Many diesel owners are using Shell Rotella T6 (5w40). It's a diesel oil and a very good product.

 

Is that the oil that you use? I see it’s not a match to doxos 2🤷🏻‍♂️

 

I use it. DieselDrax also uses it. IMHO, Dexos 2 is a mechanism for GM to collect royalties from oil companies to place the Dexos 2 label on their products. Might also be a reason for GM to deny warranty coverage if the owners admits using a non-Dexos 2 oil.

 

I just switched over to Shell Rotella T6 5w/40. My Chevy Colorado and my Chevy Cruze. Both Diesel engines.

 

DexosD is for the 3.0 Duramax and a different viscosity than the 2.8 calls for. Rotella T6 5w40 or another HDEO will do very well with these engines. dexos2 is a compromise oil and not great for diesels.

 

I’ve been seeing today when I read up on the Rotella T6. It is not real good for the particular filter and the emissions. That’s why supposedly this factory oil is real low ash. I don’t know enough about it. I’m just trying to figure it out. thanks.

 

Not sure what you read, but Rotella T6 is a DPF-friendly oil, it's a CK-4 oil which limits sulfated ash to no more than 1%. Says right on the bottle that it's for DPF-equipped diesels, there's zero risk using this or any other CK-4 HDEO with our trucks. Valvoline Premium Blue, Mobil Delvac 1 ESP 5w40, etc. All great oils, I use Rotella T6 5w40 as that's also what my wife's Jeep calls for and it meets the viscosity requirements of the 2.8 as well.

 

I've been running Amsoil 5w30 signature series diesel oil in my ZR2 ever since I clicked 7500 miles. Installed an Amsoil bypass filter @ 12k mi.

 

Went 20k mi before the next oil change. Tested the oil every 5k mi at blackstone labs. Tests show everything was in line, and showed I could go longer on the oil.
So now I'm 15k mi on the current fill. Tests show everything is solid, and good to keep going. So I'll probably push this batch out to 30k mi before I change it.
I can post all of the results to prove that I'm not bull sh!tting if need be.

 

Went 20k mi before the next oil change. Tested the oil every 5k mi at blackstone labs. Tests show everything was in line, and showed I could go longer on the oil.
So now I'm 15k mi on the current fill. Tests show everything is solid, and good to keep going. So I'll probably push this batch out to 30k mi before I change it.
I can post all of the results to prove that I'm not bull sh!tting if need be.

thats quite the adventure going that far. fuel dilution has been minimal with that many miles on it? impressive.

 

Been using Amsoil 5W-30 for the past 50K or so on my 120K mile ZR2. No issues. It is not DEXOS certified but claims to meet or exceed the DEXOS Specs. I use their 5W-40 or 15W40 in my 6.6.

 

Per past threads discussed here:

• pennzoil platinum euro L full synthetic 5w30 dexos2, typ from Walmart
• Napa Wix Gold from FleetFilter

I order enough in bulk for three changes so the cost per is lower. Other parts from local auto store.

 

Here are some engine internals from an engine that's run a LOT of Rotella T6 5w-40. This has 150k miles. I'll stand by Rotella.

 

What was the reasoning for tearing the engine down?

 

Big job. Thanks for sharing these photos. Looks pretty darn clean. Main bearing looks like it's new... Are those honing marks in the cylinder or a spiral shop towel wipe? Are you going to check/NDE your wrist pins? Have you found anything unexpected?

 

This marks on the cylinder walls are the original cross hatching. I ordered new pistons from Australia that came with wrist pins. The unexpected part of this teardown was how clean everything was. I was quite impressed, since this is an emissions intact diesel. Other than that, no surprises. Even the oil pump looked like it had never seen debris.

 

WOW. I agree. That Post #24 photo is amazing; sure supports your Rotella comment and good filtration. Is there a catch can on this engine? How clean was the turbo inlet? This gives me hope for longer engine life. Thanks for the update.

 

There's a ProVent 200 catch can on this engine, although it hasn't been installed all that long. Turbo inlet looked relatively clean, intake manifold - not so much. Also just a note, I've always run WIX filters on everything. Oil, fuel, air.

 

How can you tell if the intake is clean or plugged up without taking it off? Thank you.

A good indicator is to pull the MAP sensor in the intake. That is almost always dirty. Use MAF cleaner and a soft brush to clean. Do not use brake or carb cleaner. It would take quite a bit of soot to plug the intake completely. If you're doing some other major work, it's worth removing and cleaning the intake, EGR system, and throttle body.

My MAP sensor was nasty the first time I pulled it while running the stock tune, this was about 1.5 years after I bought the truck new so 20-25k miles.

I also opened the butterfly and took a pic inside my intake which is where the EGR dumps in, this was a couple of years ago.

 

Is that the oil that you use? I see it’s not a match to doxos 2🤷🏻‍♂️

Is that the oil that you use? I see it’s not a match to doxos 2🤷🏻‍♂️

dexos 2 ash content oil is .8% or lower. rotella ash content is 1.0%. its a little higher in ash which technically will clog your dpf filter sooner. but that also depends on if your truck burns no oil or a lot of oil. the rotella 5w-40 seems to protect the engine a little better than a 5w-30 oil. i myself use amsoil 5w-30 diesel oil. its not dexos certified but is within dexos approved ash levels. amsoil would have to pay for the dexos 2 label and release its oil formula to get the approved sticker to which they said nope.

 

I've been using Rotella-T6 0W/40 or 5W/40 for the last 3 years with no problems. In fact, I get a little better mileage, and the engine is much quieter, and just runs smoother. I also have a great CCV or catch can system on it as well as a low micron bypass filter system. Photos of my system can be found on this website.

 

Back in the early 2000's, my VW Jetta diesel OCI was 10,000 miles using full synthetic 505.01 spec oil. So, the Colorado/Canyon recommended OCI at 7,500 miles does not appear to be unusual.

 

even so. i change mine every 4,000 miles. the soot can be abrasive so i like an early oil change. at only 6 quarts its not that expensive.

 

actually Redline oil has shown to produce less build up on the engine. If the oil dioesnt evaporate as much then it doesnt get sucked into the intake either

 

i don't have much experience with redline. but looks like a quality oil. as always the most important step is to change oil sooner than the manufacturers recommendations as they are being pressured by the cafe standards to get the least amount of oil used per lifetime of vehicle.