Hey everyone! I know I'm gonna get a lot of "use the search" but the word "OIL" is too short to search.

I'm changing my oil in my jeep for the first time tomorrow. I noticed a small leak and I usually had goodyear or a similar shop do it... but I wanna find out what's with that leak.

I have no clue as to what oil to use. Thinking about going with the K&N filter, but as stated, no idea on oil. Lemme know what everyone is using so I can get a good feel of what to pick-up. Thanks!

Christian

 

this is what i've been using and its great in my xj.
royal purple 10w-40
royal purple oil filter 20-253
all royal purple fluids....
i recommend them.

 

Thanks for weighing in! Where can I get this? I live by all the auto parts store (Advances/Auto Zone/Pepboys)

 

x2 on some royal purple

When I first got my Jeep (this is my 2nd) in 2010
(its an 87 and bought it after it sat for a year in a lil old lady's big red barn, literally)


Because I didn't know the condition it would be in after sitting (the jeep came from Mountains of W.Va and I used it in Ga & Va for a short while), even though i heard it start and drove it, the first thing I did was give it a tune up with all new stuff.

Plugs, wires, cap, rotor, battery, gas cleaner, radiator flush & thermostat, O2, serp belt, air filter and Oil & filter. All in all cost me about $250 +/-.
Small price (piece of mind) for a jeep that costed me $500 and had 75000 miles on it with no rust.

So, I changed the Oil and it was pretty bad coming out, probably from sitting for so long, so for its first oil change, I gave it 5qts 10-30 oil & 1qt auto trans fluid & a Fram oil filter. Nothing special oil. (The auto trans fluid is for like washing parts, ever see how clean a transmission is after 10 years w/o a change?) I Drove it for about 300 miles than gave it another oil change. When I changed out the oil it made a huge difference of the stuff that came out 2nd time round, could see the extra dirt, and when I popped the oil cap, was pretty shiny in there...

Then I put in 5qts Rotella T and 1 qt Royal Purple & Bosch Oil Filter.
Now, there is some speculation between people that our engines dont like certain filters or some people have bad luck with certain brands.

I'll say this, My Jeep is used as a rescue & recovery jeep at night. And on a 270 acre hilly farm during the day. So, I am hard on it on a semi-regular basis. So, for now, Im saying the Oil & Filter combo I have is fine, for me and my use.

Rotella T has all the good stuff our engines like, but royal purple has some of it too and is good stuff, so I split the difference.

Now I drive it enough to give it about 4 oil changes a year. So I give it:
in the summer
5qt Rotella T 10-30 and 1qt Royal Purple 10-30 and a Bosch Oil Filter

in the winter
5qt Rotella T 5w-30 & 1qt Royal Purple 5w-30 and a Bosch Oil Filter

Just remember time of year and actual temps (location) will help determine what weight oil you use.
Hope this helps some with out confusion.

 

i got them at pepboys, but i think oreilly's or autozone sell Royal purple in Gallons, as for the price i'm not sure where is cheaper.


the filter i got it for 14.99
each oil qt. for 8.69

 

Wow! Thanks for the awesome response. I live in south Florida so it's basically summertime all year round. Our "cold"winter (50*) last for about a week or two.

 

No worries, sorry, I get long winded sometimes.
Harder for me to explain via computer than in person.

to give you an idea
Summer for me is 75-110
and winter is 2"-6' of snow for 2 or 3 weeks randomly

Anyways, being that its nice and warm 50 weeks out of the year you should be just fine with some 10-30 (SAE 30). Also your use of the vehicle, if you are harder on it than I am, then I suggest some thicker weight oil.
If your not then it should be fine as is.

I get my supply online usually, about $35-$40 for 4qts royal purple shipped & $35 10qts Rotella T Shipped

You can usually fine Royal Purple at Pepboys $10 qt and 5qt Rotella T is now being stocked in my local wal-mart for a crazy $13! Guess where Im getting my next batch?.?.?.

Oil Filter I usually just walk into AutoZone for like $8.

Sure it costs me $40 but i did it and I know whats in there. Besides I get this great feeling of accomplishment from doing it myself, and I also save about $20+ and know I have "premium" stuff in my Jeep. My g/f took her jeep to a "quick lube" place once, that all they do is oil change, we were done in like 20 mins which was nice, but it costed her$65, I had a cow... They didnt even use good stuff, im sure it was some store brand $5 for 5qt crap as well.

 

Down here, the oil change by goodyear is like $12. But I don't get that sense of accomplishment. But, Is it okay to run straight rotella? and is that cheap, $13?

 

I've run Valvoline MaxLife 10W-30 for the past few years in my jeep since I acquired it. I've been using Fram oil filters and recently switched to Wix. After 200k miles, my engine is petty darned clean. You can get the valvoline (red bottle) in 5 quart jugs at wal-mart for $18 max. Wix oil filter at O'Reilly for $6. I also put in a quart of Lucas oil stabilizer with every oil change. I change my oil every 3k-4k miles, keeping a close eye on the color and smell of the oil. Last batch was only slightly discolored at 3800 on the clock, subjected to short drives a lot. Manufactuer's suggested OCI is 7,500 miles when driven properly in ideal conditions. If I wanted to spend the money, I would start using Pennzoil Ultra ($26/5 qts @ wal mart) in my jeep's engine.

 

I also suggest Bosch and Purolator oil filters. Can't say I've used K&N yet, but I know the three best I've always heard about are the ones I've listed.

Rob

 

As for your engine oil leak, find it by using an engine degreaser on the block. Search for it on the forums, as there's a process to cleaning the engine bay. Once the block is clean, it will be easy to trace the oil leak to its origin.

 

Well, again, if they give you the bargain $5 stuff then their making theirs...
Plus they can buy oil & filters in such large bulk (tank truck back up and fill up a 1000+ gal at a time) and get them dirt cheap. And you dont truly know what they are putting in your engine, it comes out of a hose, not a 5 qt jug. They can tell you its Valvoline Max Full Synthetic but really be the no name not synthetic, skim every 100th car save some money....
Then we go back to, pride about working on your own vehicle...
sorry, another one of my rants, Anyways, im not debating car places and how they operate. This is a bout oil.

Im not bashing any oil brand, cause ive used other stuff in my other vehicles before and havent had problems. Everyone uses something different and has their on opinions and has great / different results. I just know its good for the Jeep engine and used it my last and without running her hard and reg oil changes she made it to 450K. Im hoping i can do the same even with getting some fun out of this one this time.

There is no harm in running straight Rotella, might even be better for it, to tell you the truth, lol.

Basically, Rotella T contains ZDDP, which is better for lubrication & has about 1200 ppm of zinc, great stuff for our engines. Zinc (which has been phased out of passenger car oils for emissions purposes) along with other extreme pressure additives, help to keep a flat tappet cam from destroying itself, is the basic idea behind using it. All that extra stuff, is great for engines over 150K. Granted mine is not there yet, but Im hard on her and want to keep her around since im playing harder than last time.

Normally when you buy Rotella, at least around here, its about $20-$25
So, 1/2 off is pretty good. Since I know Im going to do 4 oil changes a year, I usually buy bulk, which is why i normally just buy off line, save those couple dollars. But ive seen it for as cheap as 5qt for $9 in Ga. Oh and you use 6qts of oil not 5. so make sure you buy enough.


Sorry, i didnt touch on the leak. x2 on clean engine, makes it easy to find where its coming from.
there is also special dye you can put in, ive never done it - knock on wood i dont leak either, and after it runs for like 10 mins or something you can put on the special goggles and wave a light over it and bam, got it... something like $15 for the kit. really just black light yellow goggles and the fluorescent dye.

 

I live in the high rockies, so our winters are extreme and they last for 7 months with 600 inches of snow this past winter. In the winter, I use 6qts Royal Purple 5w30. In the summer, I migrate it to Royal Purple 10w-30.

Oil filters are a favorite topic of mine. Take a saw and cut a Fram filter in half. It is the cheapest damn thing you will ever see. I run Wix filters in my XJ, and I have noticed a huge difference. The oil is visibly cleaner when I drain it. It is simply a much better product.

I love Royal Purple products, but I won't put them in my AX-15 anymore. The problem is that Royal Purple 75w90 is GL-4/5. They contain an additive that will eat away at the soft metals in your gear box, which is a problem for anyone with an AX-15 due to the brass synchros. I use Amsoil Severe Gear 75w90 straight GL-5. It runs great in both my XJ and TJ. Make sure you get the GL-5. The transfer case gets Amsoil ATF. My Dana 30 and 35 both get Royal Purple 75w90.

Soon I am going to switch my engine to Amsoil with the double bypass filtration system. Expensive upgrade, but well worth it.

 

X2 on using just dino oil in the trans. It was made for dino oil, not synthetic.

 

Top oil brands in terms of performance/longevity/lubricity:

Mobil 1, Royal Purple, AMSOil
all full synthetic