Just had a phone call from my son who lives 80 mls away from me. He's got a 1994 1.4 Astra 5 dr hatch (petrol)97000 miles. He's just bought a gallon of 15/40 oil for a oil change but just noticed it is marked for diesel engines. He's asking me if he can use this for a petrol engine.
Would this be ok for the Astra cos to return it to where he bought it means a 50 mile journey and ferry ride.
Thanks
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Many oils will be good for both. What are the oil details, and any API or ACEA specifications?
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Diesel oils usually have more detergent in them but I wouldn't have thought that would be an issue? May even be a good thing.
On some oils, the diesel version is just a marketing exercise - I'm informed that Mobil-1 and Mobil-1 Turbo Diesel are the actually the same thing in different containers.
Can your son advise exactly what it says on the tin and then it can be looked up on the internet, or hope an expert answers.
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Any oil is better than no oil, but it should be alright anyway. Is it being used for topping up or is he intending to do an oil change? If its only for topping up then I can't see it doing any harm at all. The car in question is a 1994 Astra, so its engine should be pretty tolerant towards most oils. Its not like its a brand new high performance engine that has a specific requirement.
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Check the API and ACEA performance ratings on the bottle or oil mfrs website, and see if they match or excede those in the owner's/Haynes manual or the 'owners' section of vauxhall website. If they do, the oil is fine.
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Thanks for all the replies gents, as with a lot of young folk patience is not a virtue LOL. By the time I phoned him back with your replies he had done the oil change and replaced filter etc. Apparently the old oil was very thin and looked like it had'nt been changed since 19oatcake. He said he'll just run around with it for a few days then change it again using it as a flushing out sort of stuff.
The cars a old banger he got a couple of months ago for work which can be mucky but apparently engine runs sweetly and full years mot
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I have used Morris oils for the last 15 years and very impressed with it. Their specific diesel engine oil is stated not to be used in petrol engines.
tinyurl.co.uk/ao9u
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If most 10-40w oils are good for petrol and diesel engines, why do the same companies do a specific oil for diesels only?
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They know the consumer will respond better to packaging with bright colours and buzzwords (magnatec, high mileage, multivalve, petrol, diesel etc...) rather than API and ACEA specs.
So if brand A does one superior oil that suits all applications, and brand B does serveral inferior ones, most people will buy the brand B whose packaging claims to cross most of their mental checkboxes, whereas the trade would rationalise and buy brand A.
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