Holy cow! I didn't think a simple, easy to answer, question about engine oil would bring on a tirade of responses. I will be more careful in the future. Now, settle down everyone.

 

Oil seems to prompt those who have strong beliefs to push them. Not your fault!

 

Yep... they come about twice a year now... like Christmas and Easter.

For us "long timer" members they used to come every couple of weeks.

All I know is my owners manual states 5W30 Dino oil. Back about 3 years ago, around the last time I went to a Jag dealer they were adamant about not using synth oil, they did not even stock it. Don't know if that has changed.

I have switched to synthetic for preventative reasons. The flow will hopefully keep the VVT system on my STR moving freely. Dino tends to clog the passages on higher mileage vehicles. This was advice given to me by a Jag tech. Synth can cause more oil leaks, I will take the chance.
BTW. I prefer craft brew over big production beer any day. I think it makes me feel good faster than the other stuff. Studies show I am right.

Carry on.

 

MyBlackCat,

Regarding synthetic oil "causing" more oil leaks, it does not. But synthetic oil is indeed capable of seeping through old gaskets and seals that are still able to retain conventional oil without leaking....

Owners of older cars are often surprised at the oil leaks that quickly show up when they switch to synthetic oil after many years of running conventional oil. In most cases, the fix is simply to go back to using conventional oil....

 

Exactly....lol. Just what I was trying to say but with less explanation. Thanks.

 

Well, here's some interesting data. Remembering that my own car had 'free' maintenance while under new car warranty, which included oil and filter changes, I called my servicing dealer. While they didn't remember me or my car- it has been 8-9 years since I've been there, the tech was quite clear:

-While under the free maintenance plan where Jag was paying the bills, non-synthetic oil (Castrol GTX) was used. Jag would not pay extra for synthetic. If a customer insisted, they were billed for the difference.

- As far as the tech knew, no Jag of the era arrived with synthetic oil from the factory. He remembered quite clearly one model (X-type?) where synthetics were not approved at all.

- To this day, Jag has not issued any sort of tech bulletin suggesting that these cars now be serviced with synthetic instead of conventional.

- If a person were to send their S-type to them for an oil change, they would service it with GTX unless instructed otherwise.

-They view the engines as being pretty much bulletproof although they don't see many older Jags, understandably given the labour rates compared to an indy.

At this point, the tech asked why all the questions- perhaps thinking I was going to make some sort of half baked complaint. Without mentioning the name of forum, he made a guess that it was BITOG. Apparently some of the service guys lurk over there for pure entertainment. He enjoyed my analogy of beer advertising and supermodels.

 

No harm done. There's enough turnover of members that the old dead horse regularly gets dragged out for another beating.

I guess you can see that some believe such questions are not actually simple or easy to answer. Unless you really want to see fireworks, best not ask questions about E10 fuel, octane ratings, air filters or nitrogen in the tires.

 

D'oh. That's ruined a few threads that were brewing!!

 

Poking around a little more for factory specs and recommendations, I found the following in publication JJM 10 34 99/40, which is the 'Jaguar Vehicle Specifications', and was issued in Sep. 2003, (after my car was built).

On the pages giving the oil specs for each model of Jag, there is the note:

Note: Refer to the end of this section for important information.

The note itself (page 33) states

" Caution: The use of supplementary oil or fuel additives is not approved unless specified by Jaguar Cars in the form of a service communication or directive.

V6 gasoline engine oil specification (NAS): Synthetic oil meeting the following specification may be used API SL and ILSAC GF–3.

V6 gasoline engine oil specification (ROW): Synthetic oil meeting the following specification may be used API SJ / EC and ACEA A1 or A3.

SAE Viscosity Rating: For climates ranging from –30°C (–22°F) and +50°C (+122°F), the following oil viscosities may be used:
0W–30 5W–30 (preferred)
0W–40 5W–40"

Note the phrase 'synthetic oil may be used'.......

While this is the factory blessing for such oils, it also confirms that they were not considered to be standard issue or mandatory.

 

Nothing like a little extra searching to unearth a few more facts!

 

"May be' and 'must be' are different things..........

 

That's an older one than the ones I posted about earlier.

(Their refs are JJM 10 34 99 501 Vehicle Specifications 07/2004 and JJM 10 34 99 103... 09/2009.)

The part about synthetic oil is absent from both.

 

Any oil that is 0w-anything cannot be produced by conventional oils. It requires synthetics.

 

Vaguely interesting, though essentially irrelevant since 0w was not factory fill for any region I'm aware of.

 

Ever been in an assembly line facility? Even watched engine prep? Ever toured Castle Bromwich? Do you even know when fluids are placed in the engine/transmission assembly? Is it before the marriage? Is there special fills for Europe/row in contrast to NA for other fluids like differential, or maybe power steering or antifreeze? Have you yet contacted a Zone rep to see what their recommendations are?

I think what you will find during the assembly process, the same bulk fluids are used no matter the destination. And I think you will find for the 2004 model year, Ford's WSS-M2C913-B spec was used as to meet the requirements of European/ROW markets. Just as Motorcraft plugs were used, and the variety of other Ford parts throughout the vehicle.

 

I've said that spec multiple times and they did not use a synthetic oil. They used 5W30 too, not a 0wAnything.

 

Ford WSS-M2C-913-B is the spec for synthetic 5w-30. Whom at Jaguar did you get your information from concerning your assertion that new car fills for the 2004 model year wasn't this spec? Again I'll ask, what is your experience in the assembly line process?

 

Is now or was in the years we're talking about?

As I said, 0w was not factory fill.

 

In 2004. I never asserted 0w was factory fill. The use of 0w oils was specified as an alternate weight and, as stated before, requires synthetics to even accomplish. Again I'll ask, what is your exposure, working knowledge or direct experience with automotive assembly lines. If none, simply state, I have none. If you have no direct information from Jaguar, simply state, I have none.

 

And I'll ask again about the proof you have for the oils your pushing making a demonstrably significant long-term improvement for the AJV8 engine.

BTW is this the 5 minute argument or the full half hour? (Not that it matters because as I keep saying you use what you like and I'm going to do what I like.)

As we both seem happy with the spec that's been posted over and over then maybe people should indeed just stick to... wait for it... the Jaguar (Ford) spec and buy whatever oil they like.

Which has been posted A LOT. Time to stop beating this oil thread to death.