Logo

Engine oil amp CamTappet wear

rayglenn

Member
"Fellow participants,
It has


"Fellow participants,
It has come to my attention through a discussion with my machine shop personnel that older engine designs that use flat tappets, such as Interceptor Y blocks, could see increased cam and tappet wear with modern oils.

From the Castrol web page, Ask an expert:
"Older engines that use flat tappets could be sensitive to reduced levels of phosphorous in oil formulations. It appears that 0.1% is about the cut off point, so oils for flat tappets should contain more than 0.1%. Phosphorous has been steadily going down as the amount of ZDDP (Zinc Dialkyl DithioPhosphate) has been reduced to ensure compatibility with exhaust after treatment (read Catalytic converters)."

From Shell Ask Our Expert:
"Older vehicles, especially like those you mention with the flat tappet cams, seem to experience less cam wear when using oils with higher levels of the zinc antiwear additive (ZDDP). For those vehicles, we recommend using Shell Rotella T oils, which do have the higher ZDDP content. Rotella T 30 has ~1200 ppm of ZDDP."
(note: 1200 ppm equates to .12% ZDDP)

So there you have it.
Ray"
 
"Ray,

You are totally corre


"Ray,

You are totally correct.

AVOID any of the new fuel effiency oils like the 0W-30, 5W30, like the plague. Most of the high end racing oils, or standards like the Castrol GTX 20W50 seem to be good.

I have been using Mobil-1 15W50 for quite some time, but that formula is changing too, so we all have to beware. I understand the Mobil-1 "Extended Service" oil has a higher level of anti wear ingredients, but I'll need to verify.

Good post,

Paul"
 
Latest From Castrol:

"P


Latest From Castrol:

"Product Recommendations for Flat Tappet (Solid Lifter) Cam Engines:

Castrol Syntec 5W-40 (min Zn = 0.10 wt % = 1000 ppm)(full synthetic)

Castrol Syntec 20W-50 (Recent reformulation identified by "Recommended for Classic Cars" text on back label) (min Zn = 0.12 = 1200 ppm)(full synthetic) PREFERRED

Castrol TWS Motorsport 10W-60 (BMW dealerships) (min Zn = 0.10 = 1000 ppm)(full synthetic)

BMW Long Life 5W-30 (BMW dealerships)(min Zn = 0.095 = 950 ppm)(full synthetic)"
 
"See Mobil 1 Reference below

"See Mobil 1 Reference below

From:
http://www.carbibles.com/engineoil_bible.html

The question of phosphorus.

Phosphorus is the key component for valve train protection in an engine, and 1600ppm (parts per million) used to be the standard for phosphorus in engine oil. In 1996 that was dropped to 800ppm and then more recently to 400ppm - a quarter of the original spec. Valvetrains and their components are not especially cheap to replace and this drop in phosphorus content has been a problem for many engines. So why was the level dropped? Money. Next to lead, it's the second most destructive substance to shove through a catalytic converter. The US government mandated a 150,000 mile liftime on catalytic converters and the quickest way to do that was to drop phosphorous levels and bugger the valvetrain problem. Literally.

In the US, Mobil 1 originally came out with the 0W40 as a 'European Formula' as it was always above 1000 ppm. This initially got them out of the 1996 800ppm jam and knowledgeable consumers sought it out for obvious reasons. Their 15W50 has also maintained a very high level of phosphorus and all of the extended life Mobil synthetics now have at least 1000ppm. How do they get away with this? They're not classified as energy/fuel conserving oils and thus do not interfere with the precious government CAFE (corporate average fuel economy) ratings. (See my section on the EPA and fuel economy in the Fuel and Engine Bible for more info on this). This also means that they don't get the coveted ratings of other oils but they do protect your valvetrain."
 
Back
Top