API CJ-4 Diesel Motor Oils - A Must For 2007 & 2008 "On-Road" Heavy Duty & Pick-up Diesel Engines
If you or your company owns 2007 or 2008 diesel pick-ups or "on-road" heavy-duty diesel trucks, you may be wondering why the truck manufacturer is so adamant about using motor oil that meets the American Petroleum Institute (API) "CJ-4" specification in the engine. You may be wondering if you can "get by" with a motor oil that does not show this designation on the label. The answer is NO! You cannot "get by" with a diesel engine oil meeting the older API "CI-4" or "CI-4 PLUS" specifications in these engines. There is a high probability that expensive damage will be the result if you try.
How did all of this start? A few years back, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) decided that starting in the 2007 model year, strict new limits were going to be placed on the emissions of on-road diesel engines in heavy duty and pick-up applications. This would limit the amount of nitrogen oxide and particulate matter emitted by the exhaust pipe. The EPA determined that through a combination of engine redesign, ultra-low-sulfur diesel (ULSD) fuel and new engine oil technology, these new vehicles would cut harmful pollution by 95 percent.
The most important of these engine changes are the addition of exhaust after-treatment devices and increased exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) rates. Both of these changes demanded a dramatically different approach to formulating a diesel engine oil.
The exhaust after-treatment devices being used are "diesel particulate filters". These particulate filters remove soot from the exhaust allowing for much cleaner emissions. Collected particulate matter is cleared from the filter by burning it off at elevated operating temperatures. Older generations of diesel engine oils contained additives which can plug or damage particulate filters. The new CJ-4 engine oils have strict limits on sulfur, sulfated ash and phosphorus content. A plugged or damaged particulate filter is not only very expensive to clean or replace, it can cause severe drops in fuel economy due to increased back pressure.
Another important change mandated by the EPA was to lower the sulfur content of diesel fuel by a whopping 97%. Beginning in September 2006, the sulfur levels in diesel fuel (for on-road use) were limited to 15 parts per million (ppm) from 500 ppm. This was done so that the fuel would not damage the new exhaust after-treatment devices. This was a concern to many as sulfur was a vital additive that provided lubrication to fuel pumps and injectors. The fuel companies were not mandated to replace the sulfur with another component to provide pump and injector lubrication. It is a good idea to add an aftermarket fuel additive to your diesel fuel to prevent premature pump and injector wear. This is a good idea for all diesel engines using ULSD fuel. Make sure that the additive is designed to provide fuel system lubrication and that it is compatible with exhaust particulate filters and ULSD fuel.
With the exhaust filter removing the particulate matter from the emission, the task of removing nitrogen oxide is accomplished by increasing exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) rates by as much as 35%. EGR devices redirect some of the exhaust gases normally emitted through the exhaust pipe, back into the engine. This rate increase generates more soot and acids as well as increasing operating temperatures. This was another reason for the radical changes in the design of the CJ-4 specification. These new hostile operating conditions require that the engine oil have a greater resistance to heat, a greater dispersant package to handle the higher levels of soot and a greater ability to prevent depositing and oxidation. CJ-4 oils are also less volatile which means that they are more resistant to consumption.
CJ-4 oils will offer the ultimate in performance and protection for post-2007 diesel engines. To remove the nuisance of fleets having to stock different diesel motor oils for trucks built before and after the 2007 model year, CJ-4 oils are designed to be "backwards compatible" with pre-2007 diesel engines. Fleet owners can stock only one CJ-4 diesel motor oil to service all of their diesel trucks.
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