Zinc oil

Could anyone tell me if she'll rotella oil is safe to run in Big Red (86 f150 300 i6) I usually run Brad Penn 10w40 since I've rebuilt the engine for the zzdp but since my engine builder passed away and his sons closed down the doors on the place two years ago.  

 I was wondering if rotella was safe to run I've done a little bit of reading up on it.   I know it has the zinc but I dont want to use it if its gonna ruin my engine.  I just wanted to try something different this year.

I only change the oil once a year because it only comes out in the spring, summer and a little bit in fall.

The T4 formulas have 1100 to 1300 PPM of Zinc & 1100 Phosphorus and are recommended by Shell for flat tappet applications.

I last checked with them in autumn of 2018.

I use it in my bull in the signature and my Blackstone reports come back "clean" twice a year.  I put on around 10k in that period.

I don't see any reason why it would hurt the engine. I run it in my motor with no problems. Rotella has three types T4 is conventional, T5 is a synthetic blend and T6 is full synthetic. I run the T4 as I prefer the conventional oil over the synthetic.

Great!  I'm gonna give a go this year see how big red likes it.

Yeah, I've been running diesel oil in my truck for decades.
The newer CI oil specs call for less ZDDP since newer diesels have Cats now...
But if you've been running Brad Penn you probably don't have a catalytic converter to clog up.

Any of these diesel oils will have a better detergent package that a Spark Ignition oil, and spark oils are getting harder to find in 10-40 or 30 anyhow.
All the new stuff calls for 20-5 or even 20-0 to minimize pumping losses.
... well that, and newer engines are machined to tighter tolerances so they need a lighter oil.

Don't worry, be happy!  

Dyn Blin wrote

The T4 formulas have 1100 to 1300 PPM of Zinc & 1100 Phosphorus and are recommended by Shell for flat tappet applications.

I ran VW diesels for years and was lucky enough to have had the one year wonder 2006 camshaft eating Jetta TDI lol. Anyway, a bunch of guys on the TDI pages did a lot of oil testing as this particular flat tappet application was very hard on cams and lifters, and the two top oils that performed the best in all of the tests were the Shell Rotella T4 and Mobil 1 TDT (Turbo Diesel Truck) 5-40. I haven't used Rotella myself, but it is a good oil for sure. I'm running the TDT 5-40 in my flat tappet 302.

Been running Delo 400 or Shell Rotella in mine sence I have had it

Forgive my ignorance, but from what I've read, ZDDP is only really needed for breaking in flat tappets... once everything is broken in (and work hardened as a result), it's not needed.

As a result, in my 300, since I rebuilt it (and broke it in, albeit with a reused valvetrain), I've been running 5W-30 Pennsoil Platinum (changed seasonally). But I'm not running it hard/heavy (stock rebuild and usage).

My other understanding is Rotella no longer has ZDDP... some regulation changed, IIRC. Both "understandings" came from research I did when I bought my bullnose a year and a half ago (specifically what oil I needed to run in it).

Oils still have ZDDP, just at reduced levels.
It is not regulation, it is API and JASO specifications.
I think the latest are SP & CK4

I said above that now that diesels also have Cats, diesel oils have to reduce ZDDP to keep from poisoning them.
Standard CJ4 (in 2006) called for reduced phosphorus compounds among other things.
So, there's a regulation for an emissions device, but not against the compound.

During break-in the case hardened cam shaft and lifters burnish each other and "get married".
But there is still tremendous pressure at that linear cam/lifter interface, and it is not like a bearing shell where the surfaces are essentially floating on a cushion.

No, the lobe drags across the lifter face, which is covered on an atomic level with ZDDP hanging onto microscopic features and providing a sacrificial layer.
This layer needs to be constantly renewed, and it can't do that without something in the oil.

I'm planning to use Rotella T4 10w30 in my rebuilt 351W (rebuild still in progress) which is the same as I run in my tractor. Will be nice to not have to keep so many different kinds of oil around.
I was thinking for the break-in of adding some Lucas brand heavy-duty oil stabilizer and their break-in additive. The stabilizer because the short block will be sitting for some months before it gets swapped in, and the additive because I'm thinking there's not enough ZDDP without it to break-in the cam. Does this sound reasonable?

I'm no expert on oils, but I've come to really like the oil stabilizer I mentioned. It's really helped extend the useful life of my existing high-mileage HO motor, and it's so sticky I'm using it as assembly lube in its replacement.

I used to use STP as assembly lube.
Then they had to take the ZDDP out....
So now I use the strawberry jelly everyone sells for cam and lifters.
I think the bottle I have now is Permatex.

Why would your engine sit months between break in and installation?
Just pull the distributor and prime the oiling system before startup.

Were it me, I would run Brad Penn  for the first 600 miles and then go straight to Rotella.

But do whatever you're comfortable with.  

Personally I recommend VR1, it has higher zinc content and can get around the regulations by labeling it as a racing oil.  It also has lower detergent so it wont overly clean your engine and cause oil leaks.

ArdWrknTrk wrote

I used to use STP as assembly lube.
Then they had to take the ZDDP out....
So now I use the strawberry jelly everyone sells for cam and lifters.
I think the bottle I have now is Permatex.

Why would your engine sit months between break in and installation?
Just pull the distributor and prime the oiling system before startup.

Were it me, I would run Brad Penn  for the first 600 miles and then go straight to Rotella.

But do whatever you're comfortable with.  

what im going to do with my engine build, im going to use assembly lube then prime the system before final assembly make sure everything is oiling properly then it should be good to go even if the engine sits a month before installation the assembly lube shouldnt fully wash off from a simple prime and check of the oil system.

I respectfully disagree with "overly clean an engine"
This is a new build.
There is no sludge in there now, and a good detergent package will keep it from getting that way.

I've used nothing but diesel oil since I installed this engine and it is clean as a whistle inside.
The oil pan gasket is leaking because it has cracked. I should have used a better one than the rebuilder supplied.

Rusty, he said "break in"...

I'm assuming that means 20 minutes at 2k for the cam and then a few dyno pulls until the rings seat and the bearings loosen up?

That's certainly enough to wash the assembly lube.

I get priming, just to see oil flowing out the pushrods.
But I don't think that is the situation here.

Jim - do you use T4 15w40 or T4 10W30? Year around?

Just did an oil change on the original 1973 Bronco 302 Used high mileage Valvoline and a bottle of ZDDP

Not high mileage* but I like Valvoline Conventional (with Lucas ZDDP). The last year I've had a hard time finding Valvoline Conventional 10w-30 locally. Either no longer carried or rarely in stock. Would also like to settle on something I don't have to add anything to.

*Meaning I just haven't used it, not that I don't like it

I use all kind of diesel oil Scott.
Delo, Delvac, Rotella, Supertech, whatever...

I got on the diesel kick when they actually had high levels of ZDDP and used  T-6 exclusively in my Exes Isuzu 3.2 V6 which were notorious for coking up their compression rings.

Reminds me it's time for a spring change.
I use 15-40 in summer.

Thanks Jim
Once I use up the remaining 10w-30/Lucas bottles I like the simplicity of T4 10w30 for the fall change and T4 15w40 for the spring.