Thread: Shell Rotella Oil Zink content

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Hello everyone,
On a post I made earlier on the 429/460 post, an entry was made that said that it was believed that Zink had been removed from Shell Rotella engine oils. I was really torqued about that so I went to Shell and ask about the issue. They say that that rumor is completely untrue. Zink has not been removed from Shell Rotella motor oil. So we are good to go using Shell Rotella on our flat tappet engines.
Two lane

Originally Posted by twolaneblacktop

Hello everyone,
On a post I made earlier on the 429/460 post, an entry was made that said that it was believed that Zink had been removed from Shell Rotella engine oils. I was really torqued about that so I went to Shell and ask about the issue. They say that that rumor is completely untrue. Zink has not been removed from Shell Rotella motor oil. So we are good to go using Shell Rotella on our flat tappet engines.
Two lane

It's not a matter that the Zinc was removed, but that the amount of Zinc has been reduced. The question is the PPM of Zinc/Phosphorus that's currently remaining after their reformulation.

And, I believe the re-formulation was mandated by law to meet the Federal requirements. Currently, to my understanding there are only a few exemptions to the requirements, one being oils designed for special purposes such as racing. Most of the oils that meet the flat tappet requirements are under this category. To my knowledge, Rottela is not one of these. I believe there are several different types of Rottela and some of them have higher zinc formulas. However, the new zinc formulas are not the same as it used to be and not as beneficial as the old. While the numbers are high, the effectiveness may be low.

The Truth About Zinc & Motor Oil | Driven Racing Oil

Well the folks at Shell clearly stated that Rotella's Zink content was unaltered. Period. Guess they were not telling this old guy the truth?

Originally Posted by twolaneblacktop

Well the folks at Shell clearly stated that Rotella's Zink content was unaltered. Period. Guess they were not telling this old guy the truth?

Unaltered from what base? Ask them what the PPM of ZDDP is in their Rotella oils today, compared to five years ago.

I may have miss led you,
https://www.hagerty.com/articles-vid...07/classic-oil

the old rottellaT is the same. lot of old diesel engines out there . true there are newer oils for the new diesels but the old ones still need maintained . i run it in everything with no additives. last time i checked the zinc level was 1250 ppm . been a while but they have to produce oil for old engines.
i believe the majority of the cam failures were not due to the oil . bad start up has killed many a cam. water leak, fuel leak etc causing shut downs. i also suspect some failure were caused by some mfr problems.
hopefully i have done my last carb flat tappet build.

yep, i dont really think it was oil in all cases. seems comp had a big problem. i've just used rotella since i first heard of the reformulated oils. i use it in equipment here so i just use it for all of them.

Originally Posted by DennyW

A
.
4. This from the Brad Penn Oil Company:
There is such a thing as too much ZDDP. ZDDP is surface aggressive, and too much can be a detriment. ZDDP fights for the surface, blocking other additive performance. Acids generated due to excessive ZDDP contact will “tie-up” detergents thus encouraging corrosive wear. ZDDP effectiveness plateaus, more does NOT translate into more protection. Only so much is utilized. We don’t need to saturate our oil with ZDDP.

And there you have it...I still use Havoline for the older engines, and seems to work just like the old days.

I have used Castrol GTX 20-50 in my 429 for as long as I can remember (40+ years) but also use Havoline 20-40 in my other cars.
So far all good.

Having said that our 'newest' car is a 1988 model!

I need to find the current specs on Rotella t but I can tell you it does not have the same zinc content it once did. I buy zddp by the large bottle and add it to all my diesels with flat tappets. I've seen too many severely worn tappets the last 4-5yrs not to add the additive.

that's what i remember hearing from them years ago. the rotella t is unchanged but the newer oil is for the new engines. 1200 ppm is plenty . they also warned of adding additives to it .

I have to tell you, you all are terrific. Still don't know what is wrong with my Ford 460 tow truck. I have been so busy with work that I haven't even had it towed yet. Gotta make hay while the sun shines. It is going to be 60 degrees tomorrow and I'll shoot some photos and post them. Great discussion. everyone should read this!

Rotella is about 1000ppm now. Used to be higher. Had a 64 VW with a Stroker motor. Ran 3 different cams so swapped twice. First cam was broke in, in 1997 and when I pulled the cam it had normal wear. Zinc was higher apparantly in all oils then? Put in the same Mahle lifters and different size Engle Cam. Broke it in with Rotella on suggestion from the Bug community. This was about 2005. I did find out after that, actually right after and switched to Brad Penn. But the Damage was done.... When I pulled that cam (Maybe 3000 Miles) for the 3rd ( Even larger Lift and Duration) all the lifters had pitted. You can make your own conclusion. Brad Penn is what I would use. They also have a break in oil. Joe Gibbs Break In oil said to be good and I use it on the 3rd cam and went to Brad Penn after. Mobil 1 has 15-40 that has high Zinc as well.

Found these oils online when looking for classic engine oils
Hot Rod & Classic Car 20W-50 Motor Oil
Classic Engine Oils - Classic Car Oil Products | Castrol United Kingdom | Classic Oils - Car | Motor Oil & Lubricants | Castrol United Kingdom | Car - Motor Oil & Lubricants | Castrol United Kingdom | Products | Castrol United Kingdom | Castrol - Mot
Classic Car Motor Oil already mentioned above
https://www.bpnorthwest.com/kendall-...10_a_7c5277138

where did you get the info on rotella being 1000 ppm ?