Engine Oil

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Sailfree

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I have 6 x 5ltr cans of Castrol Diesel 15W40 Oil.

I remember reading that you can damage engines by using a higher quality oil.

Can someone explain why please.
 
As long as its mineral oil and not synthetic or semi synthetic, Beta Marine advised me that I could use a standard car diesel oil. I specifically asked about the classification etc as advised on the Vyv Cox site but they still advised me that a 15w/40 was okay as long as it was mineral oil.
 
Synthetics and semi-synthetics have been developed to lubricate modern motor vehicle engines that run at high rpm and relatively high temperatures. Boat engines, particularly normally aspirated diesels based on plant engines, do not have such small clearances or such heavy duty cycles. I have been tempted in the past to add molyslip type additives to my mineral oil
but was convinced that were not advantageous. +1 for Vyv's website. He's clear and readable on any subject he cares to write about there.
 
Burnham Bob said:
As long as its mineral oil and not synthetic or semi synthetic, Beta Marine advised me that I could use a standard car diesel oil. I specifically asked about the classification etc as advised on the Vyv Cox site but they still advised me that a 15w/40 was okay as long as it was mineral oil.
Click to expand...

I think the reason is not so much that it is mineral rather than synthetic but more that unsuitable high spec oils will be synthetic whereas mineral oil is going to be one of the lower API service classifications.
 
Sailfree said:
I have 6 x 5ltr cans of Castrol Diesel 15W40 Oil.

I remember reading that you can damage engines by using a higher quality oil.

Can someone explain why please.
Click to expand...

I can't explain but you are right. That oil will ruin your engine. Let me have your address and I'll be straight round to remove the horrible stuff for you. No charge ;)
 
Thanks for the clarification.

I tried today to buy Mineral oil with a CD classification - it simply is not available as everywhere sells oil of the CF classification or even higher variants!!

Make me wonder whether mineral oil to CF classification is OK? What do others use.

Finally discovered that CD mineral oil is sold for agricultural purposes where engines run for long hours and same engine revs and not high temps. I was quoted for farms and site plant eg cement mixers.

So what do you use and where do you get it from??

I finally ordered 25ltrs of 10W40 Grainforce from Morris lubricants - 01743 232200. I thought expensive at £97 inc delivery but cheaper than a new engine!! Interested in other sources and clarification whether CF is OK providing it is mineral oil.

EDIT - After reading info and talking to tech depts. I changed this to CDX Fleet Mineral oil 15W40 got a small refund from Morris Lubricants
 
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Sailfree said:
Thanks for the clarification.

I tried today to buy Mineral oil with a CD classification - it simply is not available as everywhere sells oil of the CF classification or even higher variants!!

Make me wonder whether mineral oil to CF classification is OK? What do others use.

Finally discovered that CD mineral oil is sold for agricultural purposes where engines run for long hours and same engine revs and not high temps. I was quoted for farms and site plant eg cement mixers.

So what do you use and where do you get it from??

I finally ordered 25ltrs of 10W40 Grainforce from Morris lubricants - 01743 232200. I thought expensive at £97 inc delivery but cheaper than a new engine!! Interested in other sources and clarification whether CF is OK providing it is mineral oil.
Click to expand...

CF is the stuff to have. Widely avalable in all the best places such as Tesco, Asda, Halfords etc. Usually described as suitable for older diesel engines and cost less than £15 for 4l depending on offers on at the time.
 
Tranona said:
CF is the stuff to have. Widely avalable in all the best places such as Tesco, Asda, Halfords etc. Usually described as suitable for older diesel engines and cost less than £15 for 4l depending on offers on at the time.
Click to expand...

+1. Also appears at Lidl fairly regularly for around a tenner a gallon.
 
Tranona said:
CF is the stuff to have. Widely avalable in all the best places such as Tesco, Asda, Halfords etc. Usually described as suitable for older diesel engines and cost less than £15 for 4l depending on offers on at the time.
Click to expand...

Why do Yanmar ONLY specify CD and not CF providing its mineral oil??

Not trying to be argumentative - just trying to get my head round the problem having had one Volvo engine at 521hrs seize on me at 13months!! Out of warrantee for charter use!!
 
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Our engine is supposed to run a straight 30 grade CC or CD. No idea what the previous owner used in it (seawater for a short wile when the boat sank, briefly) but we've used a 15/40 mineral oil for the last 20 years with (as far as I can tell) no ill effects. Certainly the bottom end has been fine. It was burning oil last season but I think that might be because when it was laid up in the garden these last 8 years, it froze one winter and split the water jacket, so I had to swap the barrel. I honed the bore on the replacement one but then used it as a bilge pump (just put the inlet into the bilge to suck up rainwater and ran it from time to time, under no load). I've honed it again this winter and replaced the rings so I'll see if it burns any this coming season.
 
Perhaps I should have mentioned that the engine is a Yanmar4JH3- TE that's a turbocharged engine that produces 75HP.

Not a modern high tech turbocharged car engine but more than an agricultural engine!!
 
Sailfree said:
Why do Yanmar ONLY specify CD and not CF providing its mineral oil??

Not trying to be argumentative - just trying to get my head round the problem having had one Volvo engine at 521hrs seize on me at 13months!! Out of warrantee for charter use!!
Click to expand...

Depends on the engine. Yanmar Service Manual specifies CH-4 or higher for my 4JH4AE but CD or higher for 3JH4E, 4JH4-TE and 4JH4-HTE.

However, they include "or higher" so that would indicate that CH-4 would be fine for 3JH4-TE. Synthetic or mineral oil not mentioned at all. Oddly, the Owner's Manual is slightly different for the 4JH4AE as it says "API Service Category CH-4 only". No mention of "or higher" but line above for other engines does include the "or higher". That's a 2006 document so CI-4 would have been around and possibly CJ-4, so not left out because there wasn't a higher spec. (unless it was written years earlier and they forgot to update in that revision).

Where did you see the reference to "providing it's mineral oil" and which engine? The reference source I've been using is the JH4 Service Manual, July 2007 Rev2. I'd be interested to find the source, thanks.

EDIT: Just refreshed the page and see that you have a 4JH3- TE. I usually try to grab extra CH-4 when I come across some as I usually can't find it when I need it.
 
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Sailfree said:
Why do Yanmar ONLY specify CD and not CF providing its mineral oil??
Click to expand...

The specification of Yanmar branded oil is

Meets performance criteria for API CI-4 classification, meets or exceeds API CH-4, CG-4, CF-4, CF/SJ, the Global DHD-1 specification and all major diesel engine manufacturers.​
 
I've been using 'Castrol Tection 15W-40', which I was told was more or less the same as 'Castrol Agri Power Plus' but easier to get hold of, recommended for off road engines and agricultural engines with extended oil drain intervals.
 
Surely you don't want to 'exceed' a spec?
As I understand it, the spec covers many things and one of them is pH, so that the oil can help neutralise the combustion byproducts, the pH of which depend on the sort of running the engine does.

Anyway, I just bought a batch of 18l of fairly straightforward sounding API CD, 15w40, mineral oil, for about £50 delivered, from eBay. Cheaper than picking up stuff from Halfords, who were out of stock anyway.
 
Kelpie said:
Surely you don't want to 'exceed' a spec?
As I understand it, the spec covers many things and one of them is pH, so that the oil can help neutralise the combustion byproducts, the pH of which depend on the sort of running the engine does.

Anyway, I just bought a batch of 18l of fairly straightforward sounding API CD, 15w40, mineral oil, for about £50 delivered, from eBay. Cheaper than picking up stuff from Halfords, who were out of stock anyway.
Click to expand...
I always buy after checking the API spec, mainly from factors but the last lot was from Lidl
 
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