The old diesel guy who called me out on my oil brand snobbery

Had a chat with a retired fleet mechanic named Jerry at a parts counter in Spokane last week. He overheard me bragging about running a specific synthetic blend and just started laughing - said in 50 years of turning wrenches he only ever used whatever cheap 15w40 was on sale. Made me realize I've been overthinking my oil choices for my F-250, honestly. Anybody else get humbled by an old-timer like that and change your mind on something basic?

3 comments

3 Comments

gibson.sarah2mo ago

My grandpa used to change oil in his farm trucks with whatever was cheapest at the feed store and those things ran forever, so I feel this. Now I just grab the store brand 5w30 and call it a day.

davis.ruby2mo ago

@gibson.sarah That store brand 5w30 you grab is probably fine for most daily drivers, but I've heard stories about guys using the really cheap stuff in high-mileage engines and ending up with noisy lifters after a while. My neighbor once put the bargain bin oil in his old Ford pickup and it started ticking like a sewing machine within a month. What kind of vehicle are you running that stuff in?

wadem892mo ago

Wait hold on @gibson.sarah - your grandpa was just pouring straight weight feed store oil into farm trucks? Those old straight 30 weight oils from the 70s were basically honey compared to modern 5w30 spec. Different chemical makeup completely. Ive seen guys run the cheap stuff in old small block Chevys and they sludge up the lifters within 20k miles. Farm trucks with 300k miles on them dont count as evidence that store brand is safe for a modern engine.