[T3] Oil weight once more

Jim Adney jadney at vwtype3.org
Tue Nov 19 19:41:22 PST 2013


On 19 Nov 2013 at 21:39, John L. Morgan IV wrote:

> He said I need a single viscosity oil. Now, I'm questioning it all
> over again. What oil do you use and why?  As soon as I read something,
> someone else contradicts it.

When our cars were new VW recommended single viscosity oils in most 
situations. The problem was that a 1970 10W-40 oil would turn into a 
SAE 10 over time at the higher operating temps of the VW air cooled 
engines. At that time multi-grade oils were in their infancy, so it's 
likely that they have improved since then.

Single weight oils are still good, and if you can find a good one, at 
an appropriate weight, it would still work well in your engine, but 
you're not likely to find many today.

There is another problem, however, with modern engine oils. Some of 
the oil additives that were particularly useful in the past, have now 
been banned (or perhaps just severely limited) because they poison 
modern catalytic converters. So these oils can sometimes lead to cam 
failures in our old engines.

The missing additive is ZDDP, which is a phosphorus compound. One way 
to get around the ban is to buy expensive racing oil. Another is to 
find an oil that doesn't meet the modern standards.

The oil I've found that seems to fill our need is a Diesel engine oil 
that meets all modern Diesel oil standards but not the latest gas oil 
standards. You have to acquaint yourself with the standard on modern 
oils: I think that is SM with the API seal on the front. The Diesel 
oil I've found lacks the API seal and meets all the Diesel standards 
plus SL. The really good news is that it's a 15W-40, which is a 
really nice multi-range spread, AND it's cheap: ~$18 for 2 gallons.

It's the house brand here at our local Farm & Fleet store. Don't look 
for it at your FLAPS. Look for a farm supply store, Tractor Supply, 
or Farmer's Co-op. Unless you live deep within a large metropolitan 
area, there will something near you.


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Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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