Switched to Amsoil 5-30 Full Synthetic Motor and Diff

Justintoxicated · 05-22-2005, 01:45 PM

Motor Oil
Used Amsoil Full Synthetic 25,000 mile kind to match the 5-30 in the manual, their 35,000 mile 0-30 is supposed to be even better!

Well I fialay did it, I had another 400 miles till 3000 but since the truck is still new I figured I would change the oil again.

The quaker state I drained looked pretty good, it was a little dark but still had a good color and transparency to it. I think I could have left it in quite a while longer.

Anyways the 5-30 Synthetic amsoi can go for up to 25,000 miles with the proper equipment and filter changes., However I plan to change it every 6,500-7,000 miles. The cost of the oil was pretty good to as it is cheaper than Mobile 1 before shipping and not much more after, + you do not have to drive to go pick some up.

After Putting in the 5-30 I did not expect to see much difference but to my amazement the engine was considerably quieter! Especialy at idle! This oil is supposed to save my a mpg or 2 also. Using a synthetic such as this also cuts back on the costs for oil changes (although I'm going to do them myself from now on anyways. The titan is pretty easy to change the oil on. If I had not dropped the filter I could have done it with minimal mess, but it slipped out of my hand and spilled onthe street lol

Differential
I also changed the Diff oil, mostly for a piece of mind and so I do not have to think about it anymore; but also because I had noticed some clunk when shifting I thoguht might be diff related although I doubted it. The Factory Fill was 75-140 Synthetic on the 05's and it was pretty full I could reach it with my pinky finger from the fill hole. The drain plug had some shavings but not too much. My Truck has 4000 miles on it and I had alot less shavings than others who had changed the fluid on the diff. Also probably a good 2,000+ of those miles I was pulling a small trailer. All in all if you have an 05 and the diff is full I don't think it is necessary to change the oil I felt like I pretty much wasted $25 for fluid (but $25 saved for doing the motor oil change myself

). To make the change easier I used a funnel with a tube, so I could fill it up then lift it up high and let the really thick amsoil fill it up slowly. And I do mean this stuff is nasty thick, I spilled a few ounces down my arm and it was hard to remove! I think it was more dense than the oil I removed thats for sure! (both were 75-140 but the amsoil seemed thicker which is a good thing IMO)

On my ATV I used to use Golden Spectro which was quite expensive, I had to change it ever 2-3 trips. When I switched the Belray gear saver (same weight) I noticed it was considerable thicker and I have since noticed less shavings on the magnetic drain plug and I do not have to change the oil as often. (Clutch slips when the tranny oil is dirty on the ATV).

Anyways here are the pics.

The rounded top of the plug is all the metal shavings non of which were chunks all a real fine powder. (using Ni$$an diff oil, at 4000 miles)

I got mine from Talkinghorse it shipped fast and I have NO regrets! I have enough oil do another change. I also picked up the Interceptor oil for my ATV to try it out. It can be mixed 50 to 1 which is quite high especialy for a cheap synthetic! I was payng $10 more for MC1 50-1 synthetic for a gallon than the amsoil costs. And this is amsoils heaper oil, I believe they also make one that canbe mixed 100-1 and I know MANY people who mix the 100-1 type between 80-1 and 100-1 with no issues and swear by it's performance!

My Only concern was that the diff took just over 2 bottles and I thought it took 2 and a quarter to fill, and i know I spilled alot down my arm, But I drive it around and waited tehn removed the plug and it continued to oose out the filler hole so I know it could not be any more toppd off than it was.

*Squid* · 05-22-2005, 01:50 PM

Happy to hear you finally got everything you need to take care of your truck.

Justintoxicated · 05-22-2005, 01:59 PM

Yep, and thanks Squid for your help on the capacities!

TYTAIN · 05-22-2005, 02:16 PM

I see you change your front and rear diff's? Good deal on the Amsoil, I'm switching on my next change.

Justintoxicated · 05-22-2005, 02:24 PM

It is neither one! I believe it is their standard synthetic.

The 2000 series is 0-30 (which the manual does not call for exactly and my dealership is damn picky about specifics, 0-30 is in fact simply better than 5-30 but they told me it coudl void warranty! Too much protection I guess?, and these are the people who work on yor trucks when you take it in...)

I belive the XL series is not a true full synthetic (depending on your definition) and is transformed froma non-synthetic into a synthetic makeup (thus not a true synthetic to oil nuts; at least from what I read). The XL-7500 Series is the cheapest one and I hear it is still good stuff, but the recomended drain interval is 7,500 miles with that one not 25,000). The one I chose in their middle line, although the 7500 mile kind would probably be more than enough with my frequency of changes. If you want to try it and post your results that would be cool, I wonder if it will have the same affect on the engine noise.

I plan to do an oil analysis at around 7,000 miles and see how it compares to squids with the mobile 1 extended drain. Thus we can help members decide which oil is best for them. If my results are bad (I doubt they will be) I could try the 35,000 mile 2000 series, that stuff is by far the best.

From the comparisons I saw they use the regular synthetic (the one I got) vs other standard ones like Mobile1 (prolly non extended kind). The 2000 series is in a league of it's own, but I could not justify the price unless I went all out with the oil bypass filter system etc, and I don't think that system is worth it unless you own a huge diesel with a huge oil capacity. (Just my opinion)

The bottle os 75-90 is for the front differential, which after changing the rear I'm not going to change yet as it has sceen little use, and won't see much more untill next desert season. I will probably change it at around 20,000 to 30,000 miles and swap it to synthetic 75-90. I do however believe the front diffential uses the same non synthetic they filled the rear with on the 04's

Talkinghorse · 05-22-2005, 07:41 PM

Different animal, but this drainplug came from the transaxle of a '94 Subaru Legacy. The gearbox and engine were converted to AMSOIL (75w-90 gear oil and 10w-30 motor oil) when the car reached 1,000 miles. The gear oil was changed again at 60K...These pictures were taken in ~2002 when the car hit ~130K (70K on the gear oil) and there was minimal wear metals/accumulation on the magnetic drain plug. The AMSOIL gear oils being sold today provide even better wear protection than the stuff this car had been run on.

virus · 05-23-2005, 05:58 AM

Justintoxicated, for future reference, the dealership cannot void your warranty for using 0w-30. They have to prove that the oil caused the problem. If they can't prove this, they have to honor Nissans warranty. Don't let them push you around. That's why the government created the Magnusson Moss act.

Justintoxicated · 05-23-2005, 09:44 AM

hey Talkinghorse, the amsoil says I can extend the drain interval on my diff correct? But the diff was already using a synthetic so would this be a wise idea? Not concerned with warranty since I will be out of warranty at 30k anyways.

Talkinghorse · 05-23-2005, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Justintoxicated

hey Talkinghorse, the amsoil says I can extend the drain interval on my diff correct? But the diff was already using a synthetic so would this be a wise idea? Not concerned with warranty since I will be out of warranty at 30k anyways.

Yes. Recommended service interval for AMSOIL Severe Gear is 100,000 mile normal service/50K severe service or IAW the OEM recommendations, whichever is longest. You can always take a sample at the factory recommended interval and base your decision on the results...

Justintoxicated · 05-23-2005, 08:31 PM

IAW OEM recomendations?

Talkinghorse · 05-24-2005, 06:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Justintoxicated

IAW OEM recomendations?

You can use AMSOIL Severe Gear for 100,000 mile normal service intervals/50K severe service intervals OR IAW the OEM recommendations, whichever is longest.

reds · 05-26-2005, 05:29 PM

racing engines use 30-50 syn...why use 5-30 to pull a trailer???

Justintoxicated · 05-26-2005, 05:45 PM

The Titan does not have a Racing engine. It is not only made to go one race before it is rebuilt. There is not as much stress on the engine parts as racing to extreamly high RPM's and temps either, I know I want to get 100's of thousands of miles out of my titan, not a few laps....

I am sticking with what is in the titans manual. Also the 30-50 does not provide as much protection in cold weather or cold starts, and would likely reduce gas mileage as the oil is a heavier weight.

So the real question is why would you use 30-50 what so ever? You do not need that tick of an oil, and it would provide less protection in cold temps and starts.

I mean thats like saying , My Dog likes Dog Food so why feed cat food to my cat?

BTW, the amsoil in the diff seems like it help the clunking problem I had in the other post where the dealership said it was normal. It does not Bang as hard when I change from Reverse to drive after the truck is up to temp! I thought it was my imagination but maybe this oil really is a bit thicker or better or whatever it may be as it seems to have stopped the problem. So maybe it was not so pointless to change the diff oil after all!

Talkinghorse · 05-28-2005, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reds

racing engines use 30-50 syn...why use 5-30 to pull a trailer???

Engines are designed and manufactured to be run with oil of a certain viscosity. To arbitrarily run an oil of much thicker viscosity in the engine could very well accelerate engine wear, damage your oil pump and increase fuel consumption. One of the many advantages of a quality synthetic is that they maintain their integrity and film strength when subjected to high-temp, high-stress operating conditions...so there's nothing to worry about while pulling that trailer