Hi to all,

Just bought my first Jaguar and ready to change the engine oil but don't know what kind of oil it takes. Find information online it is 5w50? It is not too thick?
Nobody has 5w50 oil. Now I put 10w30 synthetic blend. It is OK? Car has 65k miles.

___________________
1996 XJ6 Vanden Plas 4.0L

 

It's ok. They seem to like the thicker stuff, tho. I put 10w30 syn in mine first time i changed it but had to add a bunch of make-up oil to get to the next change at 5k miles. Y'know what they say about feces and a goose? No visible smoke and no leaks, either...just...something happened to it. Tried 10W50 Valvoline VR-1 Racing oil (Edit: Oops! just saw a leftover bottle in the shop - it was 20w50) after that in the dead of winter...maybe not my best move....lots of rattle on first start, have now settled on Shell Rotella T-6 5W-40 synthetic like I use in my diesel (meets the required petrol eng specs, too)

The 10W30 surely won't hurt anything..is in the chart of recommended oils by the manufacturer...just keep an eye on your level even though you see no smoke nor leaks.

btw: Welcome to the forum! Glad you've joined. Make sure you intro yourself on the new members page if you haven't yet. If you did..sorry for missing it.

 

Your "vehicle maintenance manual" should have a few words on this.

It is highly doubtful that 5W-50 was a factory recommendation as it was just introduced in the last few years. Certainly not before 1996.

10W-40 would be a good compromise and is easily available in all major brands.

The Shell Rotella is available in a 15W-40 conventional formulation, or as mentioned by aholbro1, 5W-40 synthetic.

Castrol makes a 15W-40 conventional diesel.

 

Ok thanks
We don't have winter in the florida, and I don't want to use diesel oil.

 

Today's 'car oils' no longer have enough zinc to properly lubricate the valve trains on older design engines like yours. This is a huge problem in the older car hobby with worn out cams and lifters. The solutio is to use the equivalent diesel engine oil which still has an adequate additive package. Rotella T 15W40 is a perfect choice and is commonly available.

Read here starting on page 3:

http://www.westcoastwillys.com/WCW_Sept08_small.pdf

 

You'll get all sorts of advice, but here is what Jaguar had to say about it.

Cheers,

 

This a key sentence:

"the oil meets API SH/CF and CCMC G5 specifications."

API SH is a very old, superseded spec and oil is no longer manufactured to this, unfortunately. The current spec oil (SM) does not contain the correct additive package to meet spec SH. It is not backwards compatible.

As noted above and in the article I linked, diesel oil carrying the spec CJ-4 like Rotella or Delo does meet the additive package requirements.

 

The manual P32 lists loads of oils how do you work out which one is for your car.

Even the 3.2 / 4.0 normally aspirated

The top line on the chart has 4 oils

15w 40
15w 50
20w 40
20w 50

Its like a lucky dip for us home ammetuer mechanics

Would anyone care to elaborate on you choose the write oil for your
car even if the manual lists more that one.

I look forward to more senior mechanics replies

 

Evaluate what temperature range your car operates in year round and compare it to the chart. In my case, we have temps from -35C in winter to +35C in the summer. The best single selection year round would be 5W40 or alternatively, changing oil viscosity to suit winter or summer.

In your case with a much milder climate, there is much broader choice.

There are those that will argue benefits of one suitable viscosity over another but there are those who enjoy arguing over beer preferences too.

 

Mickey, laughing, good one on the Beer, made my day, well guys i live in Arizona, so it can get down to 28 degrees F, if we are having an end to world climate warming, and now and then a nice warm 120 degrees F, if the north and south pole are breaking up, so i've been using castrol 10w30 for the last 5 yrs, now you all think i should switch to the rotella or Delo, can get them both i work at NAPA auto parts, i've got 185k on my machine, 1995xj6, have notice a small oil leak right about AC compressor, side of block towards front, alittle scared to lossent the 2 bolts, holding a flat plate, do i dare??????Gasket maybe?????? will take all advise.
Geno

 

Yes, its what I was looking for
Thanks

Ok I will continue use valvoline 10w30, I run all my cars on it and never had the problems, let see what jaguar tell my about these oil

 

Mikey, I seem to recall reading on the internet (and we all know it therefore MUST be true) that in order to meet the latest spec, an oil had to demonstrate compliance to all previous specs as well. Sounded a bit fishy, but I'm not an oil-guy. Unfortunately, I have no idea where I read that, but when I last did oil research, I recall looking at the sites of Valvoline, Castrol, Shell and Bobistheoilguy. FWIW, the T6 meets API CJ-4, CI-4, CI-4 PLUS, CH-4, and CG-4/SM. On the other hand, the Castrol 5w-30 Edge I use in the S-Types claims compliance with SN, SM, SL.

Guess that should've given me the answer...why list compliance with previous specs if it is assumed in qualification to current?

 

What API spec is it certified to? If it's this one:

http://www.valvoline.com/pdf/All-Climate.pdf

It does not meet Jaguar spec SH.

 

Pan mentioned synthetic blend in the initial post then Valvoline 10w-30 most recently, so I'd guess he's on Durablend:

http://www.valvoline.com/pdf/Durablend.pdf

API service SN/SM.

 

Saving only that the Rotella T5/T6 are newer formulations that are updated to a newer spec due to regulatory requirements with regard to diesel particulate equipment. The older formulations were better in terms of the additive package. The people who concern themselves with reduced ZDP levels do not like it as much, but it is at least better than most in this regard.

 

Rotella T 15W40 still has, of today's' writing, ~1200ppm of zinc. I have it writing from them, confirmed by independent analysis from Blackstone labs.

 

That's not quite true. It just happened to be the case that each incremental spec was better than the previous one in all cases ... until ... SM. That's where the rule broke down.

Here is a trick for looking at oil bottles if you are seeking something other than SM:

Look for the bottles that do *not* have the API circle on the front. Only oils meeting the latest current API rating can show the circle on the front. Then look at the back for the API rating that the oil actually carries.

 

The point is that it used to be higher than 1200ppm in the previous formulation.

That's why it was carefully stated as:

The older formulations were better in terms of the additive package. The people who concern themselves with reduced ZDP levels do not like it as much, but it is at least better than most in this regard.

 

Yes I am on durablend, but It does not meet Jaguar spec too

 

Well everyone has given their veiws on which oil they believe to best for there climate etc.

If anyone knows off the top their head how much oil should be put in, it might help the original poster out as well

Another Update

Just had a quick google on this and fell upon a lesser superior Jaguar site

Some one on there had spoken to Jaguar and alledgely the said up to 100k miles 10w 40

Then someone quoted after that 20w 50 after 100K miles

Another interesting link is

Car Bibles : The Engine Oil Bible