A can of oil? (or is it a can of worms?)
I put some serious effort into sourcing non-detergent engine oil, but it tuned out fruitless. I got bombarded with questions of why I want THAT oil and then reasons why I shouldn't be using it - all of them uneducated opinions of course. The product is simply not available any longer off the shelve. Apparently engine oil additive packages that exclude detergent is not produced any longer. We have two companies in town who blend their own products from base oils, and the one really tried to help me out, but I'm not tooo sure if I can trust his advice. As the head of the R&D department he had to go research way to many questions I threw at him...
These are my options at this point in time:
They have a low end Petrol / Diesel oil. API SF/CF. (This is the only product they have with viscosity SAE 30)
The additive package consists of: Extreme Pressure, Anti Wear, Corrosion Inhibitor, Anti-Oxidant and Detergent (low detergent).
To get away from the detergent I can use an oil blended for certain hydraulic systems. It is also a blend of Base 1 oils.
The additive package consists of: Corrosion Inhibitor, Anti-Oxidant and some Anti-Wear.
Viscosity is ISO 100 which is closely equivalent to SAE 30.
I walked away with the detergent oil... I wish I could determine what the API grade of the non-engine oil was. I'm afraid to sacrifice anti-wear properties for the sake of losing the detergent. At first I'll do frequent oil changes and maybe then look into adding an oil filter?
There is also a gear oil with EP that should perform quite well, but I'm afraid that the sulfur and phosphorous EP additives will eat away at the brass oil pump and camshaft bush. The other problem with non-engine oils are the lack of, or low concentration of CI and AO...
Am I worrying about the oil specification too much? In theory it is quite clear what the lubricant requirements and reasons therefore are, but can anyone testify of actual experience (good or bad)?