Rotella oil

[Jeffrey S.]

Just thought I would pass this along. Today I talked to the 3rd candidate for rebuilding my '69 small block and he told me he wouldn't build the engine without roller cam and rockers because of the lack of zinc in the oil. I told him that I use Rotella which has zinc and he told me that "...the government does not allow any zinc in any oil sold to the public. This includes Rotella." I just got off the phone with Shell tech support and was told that as long as I am using a multigrade Rotella, there are 1200 PPM of zinc. Needless to say I don't think I will be using this shop. As usual, Duke is right!
Jeff

[Jim D.]

Re: Rotella oil

Needless to say I don't think I will be using this shop. As usual, Duke is right!
Jeff

Wise choice. "In Duke we trust"!!!!!

[Michael J.]

Re: Rotella oil

I have lost faith in most engine rebuilding and machine shops after some bad experiences with my '70 AAR 'Cuda engine this year. That special limited production engine has a special rocker arm shaft, the rebuilder put a regular 340 shaft in when he rebuilt it to "original stock specs" and charged for such an exclusive rebuild with "rare" parts, he said. After 350 miles, the shaft and rockers and some push rods are toast, since they weren't getting oiled. You have to check and interrogate these new young types, many don't know what they are doing.

[Paul H.]

Re: Rotella oil

There are alot of uninformed people in the automotive industry. The more often they hear BS repeated the more they believe it. I've been using Rotella for years in all of my old cars with no issues whatsoever.

[Jeff P.]

Re: Rotella oil

We are lucky to have someone like Duke (and many others) that contribute to these discussions. Thanks to all of you.

[Thomas H.]

Re: Rotella oil

Just thought I would pass this along. Today I talked to the 3rd candidate for rebuilding my '69 small block and he told me he wouldn't build the engine without roller cam and rockers because of the lack of zinc in the oil. I told him that I use Rotella which has zinc and he told me that "...the government does not allow any zinc in any oil sold to the public. This includes Rotella." I just got off the phone with Shell tech support and was told that as long as I am using a multigrade Rotella, there are 1200 PPM of zinc. Needless to say I don't think I will be using this shop. As usual, Duke is right!
Jeff

Another reason I learned many years ago to let the machnine shops handle the machining and I do all of the part selection and assembly. This way if anything goes wrong (other then the machining) it falls on my shoulders and I learn from it.

Roller cams are great and give you that "no zinc peace of mind" but flat tappet cams work just fine if you follow the manufacturers assembly and break in procedures........ and use a CJ4 rated oil.

Thinking back, the only time I used a roler cam in was for our race car. All of the other engines I have done over the years have all been flat tappets and I have had (knock on wood) no problems with any of them.

Keep looking for a builder. Maybe someone from the TDB can recommend a builder in your area.

Tom