Engine oil help 147 JTDm

[Southern75]

After hearing what are so called horror stories from people about the dangers of using commonly purchased oils I'm fearing the next oil change on my 147.

Firstly I'm very anal about my engine oil ... 5000k or 6 months whatever comes first.

I used Castrol edge 0W-40 and i thought it made the car feel and sound great (as far as a diesel engine can sound great).

However i have since been told of people who have worn lobes of cam shafts etc but i have only heard about this in the petrol engine variants.

I have questioned the service intervals but most people have just said 'use selenia'

Has anyone heard of this with the diesel engines?

Is this an urban myth?
Is there a better option (price not being a major consideration).
If so what would you use?

I'd buy selenia if i have to but I am vehemently opposed to buying from a dealership.

[John Hanslow]

I have a 147 TS and my mechanic uses Martini 10w 60.

He insists on it.

For top ups on a long trip he did suggest  Castrol Edge Sport and definitely not Mobile 1 as not suitable for an alfa ts or worn engines for that matter.

A few on the forum also recommend castrol.

Cheers

[Southern75]

Have always been a fan of castrol, mind you I use penrite in my 75 and am very happy with that.

[Craig_m67]

Every five thousand kilometers ... Why ??

Alfa recommends Selenia 5W-40 or TD10-40. What reasoning brought you to 0w-40?

Last time I changed the oil in mine I used shell helix ultra 5w-40. Correct weight, exceeds and meets all the same API standards (as Selenia). Why Shell, no reason other than if Ferrari recommend Shell it must be okay and it's easier to buy without being raped by Ateco/Alfa

I've always changed the oil as recommended (or even later if the car never gets a workout). Alfa (VW, whoever) has already put significant consideration and experience into these schedules, which include a measure of risk to cover warranty.  It will go black straight away regardless of which virgin pressed it, it's a strong hairy diesel after all.  

And... you could use the money saved for other things... Like the fuel filter or the aux belt, tensioner & idler (you can do those yourself). Or the dreaded cam belt.. The 16V JTD is an interference engine like the petrol TS so could squish valves, big ends and rockers if the cam belt snaps (think happy thoughts)

Or just splash out on yer GF/Mum/significant other.

Great engines btw, I'm addicted to mine.. Not a single problem in 176,000 Km (probably due an oil change)

[colcol]

Hello Southern, i looked up the Castrol website and it recomended 0-40 Castrol Edge, the worn camshaft lobes problems were only on the JTS motor on the 156, due to oil contamination, and the oil not being changed regulary, just look on the back of the oil container and see that it has all the specs to suit your Diesel engine, the general opinion on this Forum is that the Selena oil is good, but a bit pricey for what it is, sometimes double the price of similar spec Castrol, which means if you buy Selena and run it for 10,000klms, you could buy Castrol Edge for 5,000klms, for the same price, i know what i would be doing, and check for specials at Repco, sometimes i can buy Castrol Edge 10-60, 5 litres for $60, and i think i have seen the Edge oil 0-40 for $50 on special, i am old enough to remember when Alfa Romeo were not owned by Fiat and Alfa Romeo used to recomend AGIP, SHELL, IP, MOBIL, that was before Fiat took over and started pushing Selena oil, the oil company they own, conflict of interest, naaah, Colin.

[colcol]

The reason Ferrari recomend Shell is because they sponsor the Ferrari Formula 1 team, i have used Shell fully synthetic racing oil 10-60 in my 156 JTS, and it seemed to go allright, i have a picture on my wall of a formula 1 Ferrari, driven by the late Michael Alboretto, and the oil Ferrari are sponsored by is .... AGIP, when you get your Holden serviced at a Holden dealer, they use Mobil oils, because Mobil sponsors H.R.T., when you get your Ford serviced at a Ford dealer, you get Castrol, wait for it, because Castrol sponsors F.P.R., Castrol have always had a tieup with BMW and Mobil sponsors Mercedes, if Alfa Romeo recomends 10-40, you could use 10-40 Castrol Edge, the same as the Benzina twin sparks use, just as long as it has the correct diesel specs on the back of the bottle, you may need to change your oil at 5,000klms if it does a lot of city running and never warms up, and the oil could get contaminated with blowby and acids, Colin.

[Southern75]

Every one of my cars is changed at 5000k's max.

In fact my 75 usually manages only 3000k's and the sud even less.

Yep buying oil isn't a problem.

[Steve S]

I think once a year or 10K is enough if the oil is clean. I would only do 5K in a year anyway.

I use Selenia Racing in my Coupe but I don't pay dealer prices for it, If I had to I would use something else.

Castrol doesn't make a 10/40 edge full syn so they will recommend the 0/40 which is basically the same as a 5/40 so not much difference.

[colcol]

Alfa Romeo recomend fully Synthetic Racing oils for the newer models, for the older models, such as Suds and 75's, back in the day they recomended mineral oil, cause thats all that was available, but no matter what oil you run, it is useless if its dirty and contaminated, consider using a slightly downgraded oil, but change it more often, if money is a bit tight, i was at Repco the other day looking at Castrol Magnatec, and there is one for Benzina engines and one for Diesel's, just look to see if they have a Diesel rating, Colin.

[Southern75]

Yeah I usually do. ... i have a diesel Hilux too so i'm used to looking at that rating. I still think Edge was good ... and hey ... whilst it may be $70 for an oil change ... i save a lot of money on fuel.

It may sound like a truck but i think my little 147 is still all alfa ... great little machine

[colcol]

I looked on the Castrol website, and they have changed Edge oils, they now have some new magic additive, that i have never heard of, but it sounds good, and if my memory serves me correctly they used to have a 10-40 Edge, that you could use in twinsparks, but now there is 0-40 and 5-40 Edge, the diesel 147, great car, won its class at the Bathurst 12 hour several years in a row, due to less pit stops, than the Benzina fueled cars, and at last years 100 anniversary, at Phillip Island, it out qualified a lot of petrol powered race cars, at the EBC-RDA BRAKES 6 hour at Winton, it just runs all day, Colin.

[Southern75]

YeahI know David who owns it,

I was going to buy a GTA and after talking to him i decided to buy the diesel instead.

I have been on a couple of runs with the guys from the Aus alfa forum and most of them have gta's and believe me the diesel keeps em thinking