Hey Shipmate,
I think VA176 moved over to INDY in 77-78; I was on INDY Dec 1977 to Nov 1980; OZ Div/CVIC. Howdy! I spent 24 years in the Navy, retired as in Intelligence LDO. The Navy was very good to me! :thumbs:
Back to the oil.
I have the Castrol Edge Titanium in my H3 right now. I received a case and a Wix filter for free to evaluate. I'll pull an oil sample for analysis (UOA) at 5000 miles. Previously, my "best" oil was the Penzoil Platinum (PP). I was almost ready to have a UOA in June 2010 with the PP when a kid blew a stop sign and totaled my Tahoe. Anyway, so the H3 was purchased. Then I had to clean the engine with Shell Rotella T5. That took a few months. Then a cleaning with M1 for 5000 miles. I pulled a sample of the M1 to get a baseline. In a few months I'll sample the Edge Titanium and we'll see a report on the effectiveness.
The M1 (in my Tahoe 5.3L) was breaking down quickly and suffering from fuel dilution.
As a side note, the H3 was run on standard, non-synthetic, GM Goodwrench 5W30 for the first 125K miles. The previous owner worked at the dealership and drove A LOT of highway miles. So he got free oil changes, and got them frequently.
That was a really good thing for me! I was fortunate to be able to get this H3 for a good price. Very well maintained, I am happy with it. I just turned over 135K miles this past week!
Right after I purchased the H3 I pulled a sample of the transmission fluid for testing. That fluid was really used up and I changed the fluid ASAP. The funny thing was that the previous fill was probably performed as just a drain and fill since the UOA identified additives in the used transmission fluid found in Dexron III and not in Dexron IV or Dexron VI. I don't think there was any damage, but if I had gone by mileage alone, I would not have changed the fluid.
The four-ball test is IMHO a really misleading test standard. One expert, who's opinion I value, has said that paraffinated chlorine blended into a 10 cSt straight mineral oil will result in wear scars of 1mm or less. But the long term effects may be catastrophic.
Motor Oil is a multi-BILLION dollar (if not Trillion) industry. If one blend or even three blends did everything, think of how much money would be lost.
My bottom line is that any of the top tier oils, in a weight approved for your engine, will protect, lubricate, cool and remove dirt from your engine. Change oil regularly. If you are hard on your engine, change it more frequently, like every 3K miles. If you are really easy on the gas pedal, never go off road and the environment (temperature) is a constant 72 degrees, you could probably change your oil every 10K miles.
Most of us are somewhere between those two standards; I am, so I change oil between 5K and 6K; use a high quality oil filter and also change the air filter with each oil change.
My tribologist is also a former squid. He makes his living from oil formulation.
I am preparing to change the F&R diff's and the transfer case fluid. ... but that is another thread, and we don't need to go there....:bl9: again.
IMHO, the best gear lube for the F&R diff's would be... Schaeffer Oil EP 75w-90 E/A (#741). The smallest package for that is 40lb pail. That is a LOT. I will be ordering some Bio-Syn GL-5 75W90 LS Gear Oil. This is made from plants. After the Castrol "test" I'll be using bio-syn 5W30 motor oil.
Renewable Lubricants[SUP]TM[/SUP], Inc. (RLI[SUP]TM[/SUP]) manufactures ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE lubricant products that are formulated from renewable agricultural plant and animal resources. RLI's full-line of proven biobased lubricants gives our customers enhanced vegetable lubricant performance from soy, corn, canola, sunflower and other bio-materials for BioPreferred[SUP]SM [/SUP]purchasing. The patented biobased technology transforms these oils into high performance green lubricants that can endure the harshest, hottest engines and the cruelest, coldest winters. Biodegradable lubricant products eliminates the potential for hazardous leaks and spills. This is really great on the trails and near water sources.
That's what I am doing with my fluids in my H3!:am1:
..Right after putting it in the car, it started burning about a quart of oil per tank full...Back then on E5 pay, I couldn't affort 4 to 5 extra qts of Mobil 1 every month..So I quit using it and went back to Castrol GTX and the car stopped burning any oil from then on.