Baystate Jeepers

thanks for the input Joe. there's a large debate over on jeepforum about whether higher ZDDP is necessary. supposedly the lifters in my jeep are fine (just got off the phone with the dealer). any downside to using a higher ZDDP oil besides shorter cat lifetime? i change it pretty regularly so i'd rather stick with the cheaper dino oil versus synthetic.

Baseshakers wrote:thanks for the input Joe. there's a large debate over on jeepforum about whether higher ZDDP is necessary. supposedly the lifters in my jeep are fine (just got off the phone with the dealer). any downside to using a higher ZDDP oil besides shorter cat lifetime? i change it pretty regularly so i'd rather stick with the cheaper dino oil versus synthetic.

I read some of that debate over on JF. Jeebus, those guys are all over the place. There are other additives besides ZDDP, like Molybdenum disulfide (anti-wear), Boron (EP additive), etc. The cat issue (which really isn't an issue IMO - just to the gov'ment), only occurs if your engine burns oil. I don't see any other issues, unless you over add, which can upset the additive package and cause corrosion of the wear surfaces in extreme amounts.

I usually run SOPUS oils (Pennzoil/Quaker State) because they often have mail in rebates making their 5qt synthetic jugs virtually free. I've found other cool deals too, like the Valvoline NexGen jugs on closeout at Walmart. I could post up a list of decent ZDDP oils if you'd like. I have access to decent ZDDP addtives as well (NOT that thick STP doo dee).

Glad to hear she's almost better.

I got it back!!!!!!!!!! 3 weeks later. what a giant PIA. now i have to put everything back in i took out and do the fogmod. gonna be a busy weekend.

good news is they charged me only $120 to put in the new exhaust manifolds, and no charge for the gasket. jeep sounds eerily quiet now.

joe, any recommendations would be appreciated. does the "racing" stuff i linked to in a previous post look reasonable?

one thing i found very surprising is they said there was no need for a break in period or early oil change. this seems very surprising given the brand new cam. what do you guys think?

Glad you have it back! I would assume they broke the cam in prior to giving it back to you (a couple thousand RPM for 20-30 minutes). They may have added some assembly or break in additive to your existing oil too. Either way, I think you're all set. The valve spring pressures on this design are very mild.

Valvoline VR1 is a really nice racing oil, but I don't believe it has the additives and disspersants needed for lengthy street use. Rotella 10W30 HDEO (dual rated diesel and gas oil) is highly regarded in a 4.0L application on Bob Is The Oil Guy. The site is currently down for maint. but I'll get on later tonight and do some digging. Modern conventionals can easily be run out to 5000 mile change intervals and save you some coin. I run my truck to 8K on syn and Angie's car to the OLM (oil life monitor). Every engine I own is factory new clean inside.

Rotella 10W30 conventional is highly regarded for the 4.0L.

Quaker State Defy, Valvoline Maxlife, and pretty much any HDEO diesel/gas rated oil like Rotella, Chevron Delo, & Mobil Delvac would work well.
Pennzoil conventional has a nice amount of moly and many have had good results with Valvoline.