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Oil is Killing our Cars
By
Keith Ansell, President Foreign Parts Positively, Inc. www.ForeignPartsPositively.com 360-882-3596 Oil is
Killing our cars Part I
About
a year ago I read about the reduction of zinc dithiophosphate (ZDDP) in
the oils supplied with API approval that could affect sliding and high
pressure (EP) friction in our cars. The reduction of these chemicals in
supplied oil was based on the fact that zinc, manganese and/or
phosphates reduce the effectiveness and eventually damage catalytic
converters and introduce minute amounts of pollutants into our
atmosphere.
A month or
so ago I had a member of the Columbia Gorge MG Club bring a totally
failed camshaft and lifters back to me that had only 900 miles on
them!! I immediately contacted the camshaft re-grinder and asked how
this could happen. They were well aware of this problem as they were
starting to have many failures of this type. In the past, the lack of a
molybdenum disulfide camshaft assembly lubricant, at assembly, was
about the only thing that could create this type of problem. My
customer has assembled many engines and had lubricated the camshaft
properly and followed correct break in procedures.
This
got me on the phone to Delta Camshaft, one of our major suppliers. Then
the bad news came out: It’s today’s “modern” API (American Petroleum
Industry) approved oils that are killing our engines.
Next call:
To another major camshaft supplier, both stock and performance (Crane).
They now have an additive for whatever oil you are using during
break-in so that the camshaft and lifters won’t fail in an unreasonably
short period of time. They also suggest using a diesel rated oil on
flat tappet engines.
Next call:
To a racing oil manufacturer that we use for the race cars (Redline).
Their response: “We are well aware of the problem and we still use the
correct amounts of those additives in our products”. They continued to
tell me they are not producing API approved oils so they don’t have to
test and comply. Their oils were NOT the “new, improved and approved”
ones that destroy flat tappet engines! “We just build the best
lubricants possible”. Sounds stupid, doesn’t it, New-Approved but
inferior products, but it seems to be true for our cars.
To top this off:
Our representative from a major supplier of performance and street
engine parts (EPWI) stopped by to “warn us” of the problem of the NEW
oils on flat tappet engines. This was a call that the representative
was making only because of this problem to warn their engine builders!
“The reduction of the zinc, manganese and phosphates are causing very
early destruction of cams and followers”. They are recommending that,
for now at least, there must be a proper oil additive put in the first
oil used on new engines, beyond the liberal use of molydisulfide
assembly lube. They have been told that the first oil is the time the
additives are needed but remain skeptical that the first change is all
that is necessary. Their statement: Use diesel rated oils such as Delo
or Rotella that are usually available at auto stores and gas stations.
This
problem is BIG! American Engine Rebuilder's Association (AERA) Bulletin
#TB2333 directly addresses this problem. I had a short discussion with
their engineer and he agreed with all that I had been finding.
Next
phone call was to a retired engineer from Clevite, a major bearing and
component manufacturer. First surprise was that he restored older
British Motor bikes. The second surprise was that he was “VERY” aware
of this problem because many of the old bikes had rectangular tappets
that couldn’t rotate and are having a very large problem with the new
oils. He has written an article for the British Bike community that
verify all the “bad news” we have been finding.
Comp
Cams put out “#225 Tech Bulletin: Flat Tappet Camshafts”. They have
both an assembly lube and an oil additive. The telling sentence in the
bulletin was “While this additive was originally developed specifically
for break-in protection, subsequent testing has proven the durability
benefits of its long term use. This special blend of additives promotes
proper break-in and protects against premature cam and lifter failure
by replacing some of the beneficial ingredients that the oil companies
have been required to remove from the off the–shelf oil”.
Next question: Now what
do we do?
From the camshaft
re-grinders (DeltaCam):
“Use oils rated for diesel use”, Delo (Standard Oil product) was named.
About the same price as other quality petroleum based oils. They are
not API formulated and have the zinc dithiophosphate we need in weights
we are familiar with. From the camshaft manufacturer (Crane): “use our
additive” for at least the first 500 miles.
From General Motors
(Chevrolet):
add EOS, their oil fortifier, to your oil, it’s only about $12.00 for
each oil change for an 8 ounce can (This problem seems to be something
GM has known about for some time!).
From Redline Oil: Use
our street formulated synthetics. They have what we need!
From our major oil
distributor:
Distributing Castro, Redline, Valvoline and Industrial oils: “After
over a week of contacts we have verified that the major oil companies
are aware of the problem”. “The representatives of the oil companies
today are only aware of marketing programs and have no knowledge of
formulation”. The only major oil companies they were aware of for doing
anything to address this are Valvoline that is offering an “Off Road
20W-50” and Redline.
From Castrol: We are
beginning to see a pattern emerging on older cars. It may be
advantageous to use a non-approved lubricant, such as oils that are
Diesel rated, 4 Cycle Motorcycle oils and other specified diesel oils.
Last question:
So what are we at Foreign Parts Positively going to do? After much
research we are switching to Redline Street rated oils and stocking the
Castrol products that are diesel rated. Castrol, owned by British
Petroleum, is now just a brand name. This is a difficult decision as we
have been a dealer and great believer in all Castrol Products for over
40 years. We have been using Castrol Syntech oil in new engines for
about 3 years so the cost difference in changing to Redline is minimal.
The actual cost in operation is also less as the additive package in
Redline makes a 1-year or up to 18,000 mile change recommended! Yes, it
is a long change interval but with lowered sulfur levels and the
elimination of lead and many other chemicals in the fuels there are
less contaminants in our oil from the fuel, which is the major
contributor to oil degradation. We will continue to offer the Castrol
products but will now only stock the suggested diesel oils that they
produce.
Too
many things are starting to show up on this subject and it has cost us
money and time. Be aware that “New and Improved”, or even products we
have been using for many years, are destroying our cars as it isn’t the
same stuff we were getting even a year ago.
For
the cars that use “engine oil” in their gearboxes this may even pose a
problem as these additives that have been removed could be very
critical in gear wear. We will be using oil specifically formulated for
Manual Gearboxes with Brass Synchronizers. The only oils we are aware
of that fit the criteria are from General Motors and Redline.
If
you have any additional input let us know. We need to let every flat
tappet engine owner, i.e.: every British Car owner know that things are
changing and we MUST meet the challenge.
Oil is
Killing our cars Part II
Last
month’s report on this subject is turning out to be just the tip of the
iceberg! Many publications have had this subject of
zinc-dialkyl-dithiophosphate (ZDDP) covered in varying depths over the
last few months. Some publications have even had conflicting stories
when you compare one month’s article with their next month’s article!
They are all ending up supporting our report.
I
have had the good fortune to have the ear of quite a few leaders in the
industry including some wonderful input from Castrol. We have been very
reluctant to “dump” Castrol, as it has been such a great supporter of
our cars and industry over the years. Castrol hasn’t really abandoned
our cars, just shifted to a more mass marketing mode. Many Castrol
products are not appropriate for our cars today, some still are.
Now for the latest report:
#1
Castrol GTX 20W-50 is still good for our cars after break-in! 10W-40,
10W-30 and other grades are NOT good. Absolute NOT GOOD for any oil
(Any Brand) that is marked “Energy Conserving” in the API “Donut” on
the bottle, these oils are so low with ZDDP or other additives that
they will destroy our cams. Virtually all “Diesel” rated oils are
acceptable.
#2
Castrol HD 30 is a very good oil for break-in of new motors. This oil
has one of the largest concentrations of ZDDP and Moly to conserve our
cams and tappets.
#3
Only an unusual Castrol Syntec 20W-50 approaches the levels of
protection we need when we look to the better synthetic lubricants. We
are attempting to get this oil but will be using Redline 10W-40 or
10W-30 as these are lighter weights for better performance, flow
volume, less drag and has the additive package we need.
#4
The trend today is to lighter weight oils to decrease drag, which
increases mileage. Most of these seem to be the “Energy Conservation”
oils that we cannot use.
#5
Redline oil and others are suggesting a 3,000-mile break-in for new
engines! Proper seating of rings, with today’s lubricants is taking
that long to properly seal. Shifting to synthetics before that time
will just burn a lot of oil and not run as well as hoped.
#6
The “Energy Conservation“ trend was first lead by automakers to
increase mileage numbers and secondly because the ZDDP and other
chemicals degrade the catalytic converter after extended miles,
increasing pollution. We don’t have catalytic converters and the
mileage gains are not that significant for most of us.
For
you science buffs: ZDDP is a single polar molecule that is attracted to
Iron based metals. The one polar end tends to “Stand” the molecule up
on the metal surface that it is bonded to by heat and friction. This
forms a sacrificial layer to protect the base metal of the cam and
tappet from contacting each other. Only at very high pressures on a
flat tappet cam is this necessary because the oil is squeezed/wiped
from the surface. This high pressure is also present on the gudgeon pin
(wrist pin) in diesel engines, therefore the need for ZDDP in diesel
engines.
Second
part of the equation is Molybdenum disulfide (Moly). The moly bonds to
the zinc adding an additional, very slippery, sacrificial layer to the
metal. I found out that too much of the moly will create problems; lack
of this material reduces the effectiveness of the ZDDP. The percentage,
by weight is from .01 to .02%, not much, but necessary.
Latest conclusions:
Running our older, broken in engines on Castrol 20W-50 GTX is ok. Break
in a new engine for 3,000 miles on HD 30 Castrol.
New engines (after break-in)
and fairly low mileage engines will do best with the Redline 10W- 40 or
10W-30 synthetic.
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