Which coolant/oil

[dventoza]

I just picked up a 1996 f-250 4x4 with the 7.3 powerstroke. Its got 119,000 miles on it and I want to swap all of the fuild out. I have done some searching and this is what I have came up with.
Oil - Rotella 15w-40 synethic and I will need 15 quarts.
Oil Filter- Motorcraft # FL-1995.
Does Wallmart still carry all of whats listed above? Are these good choices for my application?

As for the coolant I am stumped. I cant find any clear answers on what is good. I know that I need SCA addatives but Im not sure on how much coolant or SCA I will need. What coolant and SCA do you use and How do you go about changing you coolant?

Thanks for the help!

 

[Glenn]

What does it say in the owner's manual?

 

[zukkev]

Rotella 15w-40 Synth is a good oil, as long as it's rated for diesels....I have a 97 PSD, and use Mobil1 Delvac 15w-40HD with no issues at all...
As for coolant, this yr uses standard green ethylene glycol coolant (Prestone or equivalent)...Just be sure to add something like Pencool (a nitrate additive) to help with keeping cavitation at bay....basically conditions the system & makes the coolant more slippery! :redneck:
All pretty straight forward stuff...:awesomework:
EDIT: One thing to keep in mind---just because you use synth oil, doesn't mean you can extend your oil service intervals...the oil is basically the heart of the fuel system, and undergoes a tremendous amt of strain as a result. Running extended service intervals thins the oil/ loses it's lubricating qualities, potentially causing galling of the injectors... Keep your service intervals at 3-4K MAX, and you should be good.:;

 

[Lucky Jeff]

3-4k max?? Good god, why would you want to change your oil that often in a diesel? Or were you talking about something else? Oil analysis testing has proven many times over that there is no need to change that often. Especially with the extra capacity of a diesel.

Mobil here as well though..

Rotella 15w-40 Synth is a good oil, as long as it's rated for diesels....I have a 97 PSD, and use Mobil1 Delvac 15w-40HD with no issues at all...
As for coolant, this yr uses standard green ethylene glycol coolant (Prestone or equivalent)...Just be sure to add something like Pencool (a nitrate additive) to help with keeping cavitation at bay....basically conditions the system & makes the coolant more slippery! :redneck:
All pretty straight forward stuff...:awesomework:
EDIT: One thing to keep in mind---just because you use synth oil, doesn't mean you can extend your oil service intervals...the oil is basically the heart of the fuel system, and undergoes a tremendous amt of strain as a result. Running extended service intervals thins the oil/ loses it's lubricating qualities, potentially causing galling of the injectors... Keep your service intervals at 3-4K MAX, and you should be good.:;

 

[Glenn]

... Keep your service intervals at 3-4K MAX, and you should be good.:;

I can see that getting expen$ive if he uses synthetic oil.

 

[zukkev]

Well, sure an oil analysis may tell you that the oil is physically doing its job...for oiling the engine...
BUT, when you push the limits of oil in a PSD like I have seen our fleet customers do, and the injectors start failing around 100K, you start to wonder why....The oil is put under an EXTREME amt of pressure on the injector side of things, which breaks the oil down, causing galling of the injectors....Synthetic may help this to a degree, but I am not sold on it...from experience on working on these things.
On a personal note, when I extend my service intervals on my truck much beyond 4K (using dino oil mind you!), I notice a 'seat of pants' difference in idle smoothness---the oil is aerating!!! (Have run the oil aeration test to prove this!!!)....Change the oil, and my idle concerns are a thing of the past....and it passes the oil aeration test, confirming my suspitions! And I will add my rig has always had 3-4K service intervals since 20K (as far back as I can vouch....146K, and still on the original injectors, running good!!!!
Take it for what it's worth, it's just my .02 :;

 

[zukkev]

I can see that getting expen$ive if he uses synthetic oil.

Hell, it's already expensive! (15qts vs 5-7 on a gasser)!:haha:

 

[zukkev]

3-4k max?? Good god, why would you want to change your oil that often in a diesel? Or were you talking about something else? Oil analysis testing has proven many times over that there is no need to change that often. Especially with the extra capacity of a diesel.

Mobil here as well though..

It's not as critical on a do...dod....dodg......dodge! :redneck:
CTD's don't rely on having good, clean oil for the injection system to work properly...The oil's there soley for the engine lubrication.:awesomework:

 

[Lucky Jeff]

It's not as critical on a do...dod....dodg......dodge! :redneck:
CTD's don't rely on having good, clean oil for the injection system to work properly...The oil's there soley for the engine lubrication.:awesomework:

I figured your reasoning would be because of the injector driving. But damn, that's harsh.. I've thought many times on buying a Ford crew cab, came real close last month. But the reasons of why I shouldn't just constantly stack up.

 

[zukkev]

I figured your reasoning would be because of the injector driving. But damn, that's harsh.. I've thought many times on buying a Ford crew cab, came real close last month. But the excuses of why I shouldn't just constantly stack up.

Fixed! :fawkdancesmiley::haha:

 

[Lucky Jeff]

Fixed! :fawkdancesmiley::haha:

As long as it keeps me out of a Ford, I'll accept any variation :haha:

 

[ain'tstuckjustresting]

I was at a school put on by one of Chevrons engineers and the topic of running synthetic oil in diesels was brought up. They Tested standard Delo 400LE 15w40 against Delo synthetic and only showed minor improvement. Certainly not enough to justify the cost.

The only way I'd run synthetic in a diesel is if I ran a PSD (which I never will) and was in very cold weather. It seems to keep the advertised viscosity longer which is very important on the Powerstrokes in cold climates.

 

[tjmp111]

I run my PSD at 7-9k between oil changes. Just ask anyone that rebuild injectors and they will tell you that the life on a psd injector is 100k.
With that being said my truck has 200k on it with the injectors it came with and it runs just fine. But I guess the Chovitorleave is better because I replaced the ones in my work truck with a Duraturd at 130k.

I would run delo in it, You can follow the crowd that puts 30w in it during the winter but they are also the ones that pull the outside dual off in the snow cause it get better traction that snow:looser:

I run 15-40 all year, and have had no probs, so does my dad, and every trucker on the planet. 3-4k oil changes are a thing of the past, because oil has come along way.

Oh an put RED coolant in it, this has all the chems in it that keep the motor from electrolysis and NOT cavitation. Cavitation is caused by air in the system not allowing it to keep pumping.

 

[Lucky Jeff]

I hate, hate, HATE the red/long life coolant! I wouldn't recommend anyone putting that crap in. Corrosive

Delo isn't the same since the new ultra low sulfur oils, either. It use to be what I ran, but not anymore.

 

[zukkev]

I hate, hate, HATE the red/long life coolant! I wouldn't recommend anyone putting that crap in. Corrosive

Delo isn't the same since the new ultra low sulfur oils, either. It use to be what I ran, but not anymore.

This.....agreed 100%.
I too used to run Delo, until I saw independant test results from the difference in the quality between Delo, and Delvac HD.

 

[skinny_pedal]

Are we talking dex-cool here? If it came with it, its going back in. The cooling system was built around that coolant.

 

[Lucky Jeff]

Are we talking dex-cool here? If it came with it, its going back in. The cooling system was built around that coolant.

Roger had a Chevy dealership that worked with him on a regular basis. Any vehicle that came with red coolant was sent to Roger and flushed. Filled with something other then dex-cool. It kills all sorts of stuff because of how corrosive it is. Kenworth had to redesign the reservoir and how the sensors were installed because of how corrosive it was. It was eating up everything. Including pumps. Luckily, his Ford didn't come with it.

Of course, I also took a lot of baths in that crap. So I have a special hate for it.. :haha:

 

[zukkev]

back on track here....OBS PSD's did not come with any sort of long life coolant...:awesomework:

 

[dventoza]

Thanks for the info guys!! I changed the oil with Castrol 15w-40 and it took 15 quarts. my next oil change will be with mobil 1 delvac 15w-40HD because I can get it from a buddy who gets a deal from them.

As for the coolant I will be flushing the system. draining the rad, filling it back up with tap water, running to operating temp, drain rad and lower heater hose then filling up with new coolant and check level. So should I run a 2 gals of concentrate then 2 gals of water or should I get the 50/50 mix? Is it important to be using distilled water or will tap water be just as good?

 

[Lucky Jeff]

Thanks for the info guys!! I changed the oil with Castrol 15w-40 and it took 15 quarts. my next oil change will be with mobil 1 delvac 15w-40HD because I can get it from a buddy who gets a deal from them.

As for the coolant I will be flushing the system. draining the rad, filling it back up with tap water, running to operating temp, drain rad and lower heater hose then filling up with new coolant and check level. So should I run a 2 gals of concentrate then 2 gals of water or should I get the 50/50 mix? Is it important to be using distilled water or will tap water be just as good?

in this case, I'd be more inclined to run distilled water based on the tests I've seen lately.