Pulled apart the 355 the other week and just wanted to let you guys know what I saw. No sludge. This engine was hot tanked 6 years ago and build by me,ran the **** out of for 130,000 miles by me, and when I tore it down the inside looked like it did 6 years ago.
A friend of mine told me the truck engine he just tore down was chock full of sludge,which is what reminded me to spread the word on Castrol.

 

That's why I've been using Castrol for at least 25 years! It's more money than the others, but there's a reason :yesnod:

 

It is good oil

 

I use the stuff in all my cars. The Volvo has almost 250,000 miles on it and it is still going strong.

 

Only stuff I have ever used just because of the same thing you described. A friend of mine had an engine with a little over 120,000 miles on a rebuild he did and all he ever used was Castrol GTX. When we pulled the engine apart it looked brand new. Changed the oil in all my cars the next day to Castrol.
John

 

I said something simular in a different thread. we could tell a pennzoil or Q state engine rather easily

 

I use Castrol is all of my vehicles as well. Have thought about switching to synthetic, but am very happy with it. Is good stuff! :yesnod:

1974 Stingray Coup L-82, 4-speed

http://www.villagephotos.com/pubgallery.asp?id_=31326


:chevy :chevy :chevy :chevy :chevy :chevy :chevy :chevy :chevy :chevy :chevy :chevy :chevy

:cheers: MY BABY!!!!!!!! :cheers:

 

:cheers: Another happy Castrol customer :yesnod:

 

I too have been using Castrol since 1965 first in motorcycles and then in cars. Still use it in cars, truck and motorcycle. I use the synthetic in all my vehicles. But was kinda hesitant to put in the Corvette as it being as old as it is. But it only has 3000+ on the new engine so I put in there anyway. Synthetics will tend to find a leak whereas regular oil won't. That was my concern. :seeya

 

I too am stuck on castrol, use it in everything from lawnmowers to work trucks, very satisfied.

 

does anyone NOT like castrol?

with a customer satisfaction report like this I might have to start spending the extra cash.

 

You can usually pick up Castrol GTX on sale. Right now, Sears has it for $1.29 a quart, and Advance has it for $1.38/qt. (Personally I use HD 30, which never goes on sale!)

 

Are you talking about full synthetic?

Mine was very clean too, although it was not castrol but Pennzoil. I recently switched to shell (they give it to me for free, use it in engine & tranny)




Marck

 

Personally I'm a Valvoline guy, Same as what you guys said seen engines with sludge in it from using pennzoil or Q-state, switched to Valvoline and no sludge buildup.

 

I use Castrol GTX 5W30 in my Cavalier and Valvoline 10W40 in my Vette. I have had very good luck with both. My Vette seems to like the Valvoline better. Castrol is good stuff. My 4 cylinder runs cooler with Castrol than with other oils. I know this because one time I took it to the local chevy dealer and they did a free oil change using some Chevy brand oil. The temperture gauge went above the center line for the first time. I put Castrol in it at the next oil change and the engine temp dropped back down below the center line like it always had been when I use Castrol. Proof enough for me.


[Modified by vettesite, 8:59 AM 7/9/2002]

 

If one was to study up on what has taken place in the oil industry over the past two years and is still undergoing changes they would find that Castrol of two years ago is not Castrol as it is now,Castrol gets it's group II base oil from Shell and has just recently changed its additive package again.3 times in two years if memory serves correct and second source of base oils.

Pennzoil gets a bad rap. It is a hydrocracked GROUP II+ and is a very high quality product and the base oil is extremely pure .Although Pennzoil owns Quaker State the forumalations are different.

The EPA is jacking with our oils to reduce the amount of Zinc"ZDDP" and Sulphated Ash in a effort to reduce ground water contamination and air. The new SL GF3 oils have less quanities of each of these and the oil companies met this GF3 requirement before the Mandated date of September,2002. Now the powers that be are already pushing for a GF4 rated oil so the future of Zinc in oils is bleak but it can still be found in some unusual bottles and brands in enough quanity to protect the performance cams most of us use.In fact many of these unusual oil would be the best bet for a vette that say only gets driven once a month for superior anti corrosion additives that are in these certain oils.There is also a very, very good additive available to put a bit extra ZDDP in a GF3 oil if one thinks he might need a bit extra cam protection

The wave of the future will come in the form of Moly as a replacement for Zinc but it must be soluable and there are two types generally used,a disulphate moly and a disulphide. One of those cannot be used for an extended period because of corrosion on the internal parts of the engine. Also an oil with moly will not show immediate benefits in terms of protection. It must have time to "plate up" usually the second oil change is when this effect takes place

When you see a bottle of Castrol Syntec
that says it is a "full Synthetic" you have just seen a Group III Highly Hydroisomerized "cracked" mineral oil. Castrol won it's case before the Federal Trade Commision in that this Group III base mineral oil is as pure a the basestock of a PAO or or other Group IV or V Synthetic base. Castrol is not the only Company that bottles a Group III base and calls it a Synthetic .

This is not aimed at anyone but it cracks me up when I here stories about sludge ect that were generated from mechanics that have tore engines apart not knowing what the prior usage of the vehicle was ect. An example of one guy I questioned was the oil was burnt up and coked everywhere inside the motor,I asked why the motor was tore down,the reply was well the water pump went out and the motor was drove until it seized. Another example I asked a guy was with a 260 ci V8 Ford with 38 K on the motor that was bought at and Estate sale. It was a 1963 model car that was driven to Church and the grocery store only for all those years never really heating the oil up enough to burn off contaminants from gas while the carb was overchoking ect,,the Pennzoil was blamed for it as well.

We have been through many clasifications of oil through the years,each a step for the better. Oils have never been better except for us with our high spring pressure motors that require a bit more to keep alive. A 30 year old motor tore down for the first time simply cannot be judged or compared to the modern Dino oil.Nor can a oil be judged buy grose neglect of change intervals or overheating with past owners if the car was purchased used all of this in my opinion of course. :)




[Modified by mountainmotor, 1:29 PM 7/9/2002]

 

Mark another one up for Castrol. I helped my dad rebuild his 318 in his 79 Dodge pick-up. When we tore the engine apart I was truly amazed. The truck had 280,000 hard earned miles on it , but you could never tell by the looks of the internals. He kept his oil changed with nothing but Castrol.

 

Hey mountainmotor, how about some recommendations? What would you use in a new engine? And what would you suggest for a 25-year-old engine (like mine)? :smash:

 

I use Mobil 10W-30, what do you guys think of that? I pulled apart the top end of the motor for my cam, etc. and it was fairly clean, not hard to cleanup, but god only knows what the previous owner used :crazy: .