oilman Posted June 27, 2006 Share Posted June 27, 2006 What’s written on your oil bottle and what does it mean. This post may seem like going back to basics but I am constantly surprised by the amount of people who do not know or understand what is written on a bottle of oil and therefore no idea of what they are buying/using. To be blunt about the subject, if a bottle of oil does not contain the following basic information then DO NOT buy it look for something that does! 1) The purpose for which it is intended (i.e. Motor oil, Gear oil etc) 2) The viscosity (i.e. 10w-40, 5w-30 etc for Motor oils and 80w-90, 75w-90 etc for Gear oils) 3) The specifications that it meets (should contain both API and ACEA ratings) 4) The OEM Approvals that it carries and the codes (i.e. MB229.3, VW503.00, BMW LL01 etc) Ignore the marketing blurb on the label it is in many cases meaningless and I will explain later what statements you should treat this with some scepticism So, what does the above information mean and why is it important? THE BASICS All oils are intended for an application and in general are not interchangeable. You would not for example put an Automatic Transmission Oil or a Gear Oil in your engine! It is important to know what the oils intended purpose is. VISCOSITY Most oils on the shelves today are “Multigrades†Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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