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WJ + XJ Rotella T5 10w-30 vs. Mobil 1 high mileage vs. Castrol high mileage.

53K views 117 replies 28 participants last post by  Jeepsmsc2 
#1 ·
02 grand 4.0l
99 xj 4.0l

beside the oil question are both these engines the same or do they have different heads or other different parts? the only noticable thing i see is one has a manaul belt tensioner and one is automatic.

it looks like mobil 1 and Rotella seem to have the most zinc that we look for according to what i have been reading but does the Rotella T5 synthetic "blend" (not full) have more or less than the regular T or T3 and does the mobil 1 high mileage have more or less than both of those?? all in 10w-30. I use to use the Mobil 1 high mileage and switched to the castrol high mileage. I use a wix filter also . when i bought this about 2 years ago I had the flappy, ticking slappy noise that was on start up and was trying a few didnt brands to see if it changed it . the castrol high mileage i rarely hear it now with the cold weather or cold start ups. this rotella id like to try. what do you guys know about the zinc levels and have you had any experience with the Rotella vs the mobil 1 HM even the castrol HM????????? thanks
 
#71 ·
Valvoline and Castrol are excellent, that's about the only thing you've said that has made much sense. Just so you don't think I'm skewed I'm running Castrol High Mileage right now and plan to do so for some time. You're clearly not open to any new ideas so we'll just agree to disagree and be done. We both have JEEPS right?:thumbsup:

FYI Pennzoil doesn't sponsor BITOG anymore, hasn't in quite a while it's doing just fine. Valvoline, Castrol and Mobil are the big oil sponsors there.
 
#73 ·
I live in Canada where the temps are right now at - 16 celsius......brrrr but soon tye temps will get even lower to -30 and sometimes to -40. I just bought 5 liter of castrol hm 5w30 i still have the receipt so i can still change my mind....
Question is, my 99 wj laredo 4.0 has the comfort of a private garage over night but has to sit outside during the day when at work (i have block heater). The jeep has 238000 km (148000 miles) on it and bought it 6 months ago with 230000km. I have since changed the oil once at 232000km. The daily trip to work is 20km one way.
Is the castrol hm 5w30 the correct choice or should i be using a 10w30 or even something else?

Cheers
 
#77 ·
I live in Canada where the temps are right now at - 16 celsius......brrrr but soon tye temps will get even lower to -30 and sometimes to -40. Is the castrol hm 5w30 the correct choice or should i be using a 10w30 or even something else?

Cheers
I'm running it right now, love the stuff my Jeep runs fantastic on it and it cleans very, very well also. But IMO no it's definitely not what you want for a Canadian winter, Castrol HM is the thickest HM oil you can buy and the 5w30 version is thicker than many ordinary 10w30's. The "5w30" on the bottle is just a start, there is still tremendous variation between oils all in that grade, it's just a "range" not a specific number that has to be hit.

For your winters I'd suggest Valvoline Maxlife 5w30, it's thinner, and flows much better than the Castrol at cold start up, it's absolutely great stuff I consider the pair of them the best two "High Mileage" oils made by far. Maxlife is the most popular HM oil for a reason.

For reference as I said I'm running the Castrol HM 5w30 right now and I don't even plan to run it through our Missouri winter which is a farce compared to yours in Canada. I'll be changing in a few hundred miles and will be blending the Castrol HM 5w30 with 5w20 to thin it down for the winter months. If I was running Maxlife I wouldn't have to do that but I'm sticking with the Castrol for a good while yet, I like it that much.
 
#75 ·
5w-30 will work fine in it. I run 10w-30 in mine but, if it was to get into the single digits I would switch to a 5w-30. I know Canada has harsh winters so I would not worry about it. In fact if you don't have an engine heater running the 5w-30 would be better for it.
 
#80 ·
KayCeeJeep said:
Good choice for the 4.0.:thumbsup: Like the Castrol the Mobil HM is thick, you won't need anything more than the 5w30.
Idk I have 193k on my 4.0 ran Valvoline h'm forever just switched to rotella t5 and wow instant difference engine is whispered quite and runs better that's in the first 100 miles from making the change. Plus its cheaper!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using JeepForum
 
#82 ·
JeepIsKing said:
I was under the impression that Shell ROTELLA was designed for heavy duty commercial vehicles such as 18 wheelers and so on??? How come our WJ engines like it???
Do the research on here and all over the web the 4.0 loves the oil and you can use it in gasoline engines has the same certs.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using JeepForum
 
#83 ·
Up until very recently the label on the Rotella bottle said "heavy duty engine oil" they changed it to "diesel engine oil". The formula is the same as before and the name was changed to keep the alloted amount of zinc additive in the oil because its "for diesel engines". Gotta love loopholes!

Why does the 4.0 like it? Well most older diesel engines still run solid lifters (cat 3204, 3208, 3304, 3306) so these engines need lots of zinc. Our engines run flat tappet hydraulic lifters so there's the common ground, the only difference is we don't have very high valve spring pressure.

Sent from inside my 4.0.
 
#84 ·
Rotella is great stuff and still one of my favorites, it's API SM rated so it can safely be used in gassers like Jeeps too.:thumbsup:

Heck once all 4 of our vehicles had Rotella in them at the same time. Kind of like a high mileage oil on steroids.:laugh:
 
#85 ·
Cirruslydakota said:
Up until very recently the label on the Rotella bottle said "heavy duty engine oil" they changed it to "diesel engine oil". The formula is the same as before and the name was changed to keep the alloted amount of zinc additive in the oil because its "for diesel engines". Gotta love loopholes!

Why does the 4.0 like it? Well most older diesel engines still run solid lifters (cat 3204, 3208, 3304, 3306) so these engines need lots of zinc. Our engines run flat tappet hydraulic lifters so there's the common ground, the only difference is we don't have very high valve spring pressure.

Sent from inside my 4.0.
Thank you very much for the explanation. I won't be switching to ROTELLA just because I've used Mobil1 Full Synthetic for past 12 years and never had problems with it.
 
#86 ·
I ren Mobil one in everything until I bought my mustang. The cam phasers used oil pressure and were very picky on what oil you used and would throw an error code. So I put motorcraft full synthetic in it and never had an issue. I switched to Rotella on my jeep for the added protection after viewing many UOA. Then after buying my speed3 Mazda changed the spec from 5w-30 to 5w-40 because of turbo drain issues and the direct injection being hard on the oil. Again, UOA showed that Rotella didn't shear its weight down compared to anything else. Heavy duty engine oil indeed. Is use Mobil 1 again in a heartbeat if I had anything that could use it.

Sent from inside my 4.0.
 
#89 ·
below 80' what''' Iam useing rottella T6 for winter, You got an problem with
your oil pressure senser.
 
#93 ·
I refilled with the Quaker State Defy. Added another can of MoS2 since it was my last one but I'm probably done with that. I'll be fiddling with some proven low cost performers in the future, Rotella, Maxlife, PYB, and Quaker State. I have some expensive Edge I bought on BOGO but that's the only way I'd run something like that.

I agree it's not a "terrible" UOA but I've seen plenty better so I have something to work toward. It appears the engine is healthy but this oil was clearly not optimal. My Jeep buddy on BITOG ran Pennzoil Yellow bottle 5w30 simultaneously for the same miles and he had less shear and wear numbers that were only 1/3 to 1/2 of what I got. I believe a lot of the wear numbers here were because the oil dropped to a 20 grade, so a heavier Castrol HM would likely do better but I'm out of it and not buying anymore, they changed the formula anyway so I'd be starting over again.
 
#95 ·
Have you thought about the Rotella T6?

I run it all year round in the 4.2l in the CJ. And their all but the same engine.
T6 is very popular for good reason I know, never tried it I've run the 10w30 versions of Rotella, the T6 seems a little rich for my blood. Delo has a full syn 5w40 now that is a couple bucks cheaper though.

I'd have it on my "someday" list but I've probably got at least 2 years worth of oil as I type this that I need to get through.:laugh:
 
#99 ·
You are right you can't tell the difference between dino Rotella and T5 from a UOA/VOA, base stock is the only difference add packs are clones.

Wally's has T5 reasonable, $16 bucks a jug, I usually run Rotella T dino 10w30 though which I can get here from AAP or O'Reilly's on sale for about $13 bucks a jug. Napa has it too but never on sale and they want more for it than Wally's does for T5.
 
#97 ·
billzcat1 said:
The add packs and TBNs between Rotella (base), T5, and T6 are pretty much identical. The difference is dino\semi-syn\syn. The only one I've seen locally in the 10W-30 weight is the T5.
Walmart sells the T6. And TSC (tractor supply center) sometimes has it on sale for 19 dollars.

I use the T6 in everything but the 4.7l
 
#98 ·
I feel like this has come up before and I may have been proven incorrect but isn't the T6 only offered in 5W-40?
 
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