3116 Oil change

[nwarner2010]

Hello,

Does any one know how much or which type of oil would be used for a 1991 Thomas with a cat 3116? Would the rotella T 15w40 from sams club work?

Thanks

Nate

[somewhereinusa]

Check the oil classifications on the container. Basic explanation is here.
https://www.dieselnet.com/tech/lube_classifications.php

There are two different oil pans, the shallow one which I'm guessing you have capacity is 20qts. Don't know the other one but it's a lot more. Specs are easily available with a quick google.

[wunderhut]

Yes, Rotella T meets the CAT specs ECF1a ECF2 and ECF3.

Cat recommends:
10w30 in temps of 0F to 104F
15w40 in temps of 15F to 122F

The 10w30 will get you slightly better fuel economy. Its what I run in my big CAT truck.

[nwarner2010]

Are these engines the exact same as the marine 3116? I found a publication from cat saying that multi-weight oil is not recommended for the cat 3116 marine engine?

Cat publication # SEBU-6251-12

[wunderhut]

The marine variant has a different injection pump and needs a single grade oil.

[nwarner2010]

Originally Posted by wunderhut

The marine variant has a different injection pump and needs a single grade oil.

Ok Thanks. I'll look for some 10w-30.

[somewhereinusa]

People obsess over oil WAY too much. Use a good brand of engine oil that meets the specs for your engine.

I just dug out my Cat 3116 engine manual that came with my 1991 bus. If you really want to get anal about it the manual recommends that you use only Cat oil that you can buy at your friendly local Cat dealer. Probably at a price nearing the price of a gallon of Starbucks coffee


The next paragraph states that if you must be an idiot against all of their well thought out marketing recommendations you can use API specification CD,CE/SF or CE/SG

I personally for years, have been using what ever diesel oil was the cheapest diesel oil at the local farm store with no ill effects. Last semi had 1.5 million miles on it when I retired. We did pull the pan at 900,000 to have a look see at the bottom end and put the bearings back in.


I'll sit back now and enjoy the show.

Dick

[Brad_SwiftFur]

I run 15W40 in my diesel engines. Rotella, Delvac, Sam's Choice (or whatever WalMart carries) ... it's all the same to me. I even run the same thing in my Suburban (5.7 gas engine, 150K miles). The shop I use for all my service ... I have no idea what brand of oil they use, but it is a 15W40 oil.

[milkmania]

Originally Posted by somewhereinusa

People obsess over oil WAY too much.

Dick

Tru dat!!!

I've seen forums ban members over engine oil, name calling and people getting butt hurt because they cannot debate properly!

Read the specs, find reputable product & seller, pop the top and pour!

[EastCoastCB]

If you have a Rural King they have oil for cheap!

[nwarner2010]

Thanks for all the help guys, I'll probably just get some of the rotella t 15w40 from Sam's club since it's fairly cheap and readily available. I'll have a look in tractor supply too before I buy from Sam's club. Don't go in there enough to know what they have. I'll probably do the transmission fluid and fuel filter while I'm doing the oil, might as well, no idea when either was last done.

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[GreyCoyote]

Yup, the days of oil related failures are pretty much gone. If you are changing the oil at the specified intervals, and using a quality oil, you should be good to go. These days even a cheap oil is better than many "premium" oils of yesteryear. The chemistry has come a long, long way.

[nwarner2010]

I stopped by tractor supply today and saw they had traveller brand oil pretty cheap. Does anyone have an experience with it? Almost half the price of rotella. Leaning towards just buying the cheapest oil.





Kind of unrelated but has anyone used the universal tractor trans/hydraulic fluid for the Allison transmissions? Looks like it meets specs. Also not badly priced.





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[GreyCoyote]

Do NOT use the universal tractor fluid in an allison. The c-spec is ancient. Totally inappropriate for any tranny today. The only reason TSC carries that stuff is because there are a lot of old tractors out there that can run on it. These tractors are low speed engines with high clearance pumps. They use the same sump for both transmission and hydraulic feeds. You want a Dexron3 or better, minimum, for a Allison 545/643, and ideally a TES-295. Note that the fluid says it is "recommended" but does not say it actually meets any spec. In other words, it has no official approval for that use.

The 15w40 motor oil is ok. Not great, but if you change it frequently it will do alright. But for about 3 bucks a gallon more you can get Delvac or Delo on sale at WallyMart.

[nwarner2010]

Thanks for the input. I'll stick with finding some dexron 3. I'll have a look at Walmart for oil, Sam's club has rotella 15w40 for about $73 for 6 gallons. Doesn't seem too bad

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