T/A Screwed Up

[389 Hood]

The article doesn't state the engine brand, oil brand or API weight. I'm wondering if they used an oil only for the newest engines which is full synthetic and of a very light weight.

Lawsuit accuses TravelCenters of America of damaging truck with bad oil change

An owner-operator claims he has been out of work for six months after TravelCenters of America used the wrong oil and damaged his truck.

landline.media

 

[Duck]

I don't get how the wrong type of oil, one that can quickly destroy a truck engine, would even be available in the shop at a TA.

Would they even have something like 10W-30 in a shop that only works on diesels? And what would that do to a truck engine anyway?

 

[Electric Chicken]

10W-30 and 15W-40 are common oil weights for both cars and trucks. The weight isn't the issue. It's the additives.

 

[Duck]

10W-30 and 15W-40 are common oil weights for both cars and trucks. The weight isn't the issue. It's the additives.

So today's retarded eco trucks will rapidly destroy themselves without special additives in the oil?

 

[Electric Chicken]

So today's retarded eco trucks will rapidly destroy themselves without special additives in the oil?

Probably. But that's all vehicles.

 

[Mike]

The only way this happens is if TA had some really old oil sitting around and decided to use it, which I really doubt happened.

New oils have backwards compatibility.

This would have to be caught and confronted at the time of the service. Not later when the drivers mechanic noticed that the oil used was different than normal. If the wrong oil was on the receipt, the driver needed to speak up then. No way of proving that after the fact.

 

[389 Hood]

He has a 2011 Pete with most likely an ISX-15 Cummins in it. That engine requires a 15W-40 oil. Even the older Paccar and Detroit Diesels use that weight of oil. I forgot the spec letters for it. The new truck my replacement got is a 2024 Pete with an ISX-15. It requires a 10W-30 full synthetic oil in it. When getting the oil changed, I always added a gallon of Lucas Oil Stabilizer to it and the shop would fill the gallon jug for you to use for top offs if needed.

Even at 450,000 miles, my X-15 didn't use a drop between changes so I always had a nice stock of 15W-40 oil in the garage. Along comes the new truck and he does the same thing, only now he gives me the gallon of 10W-30 oil. Compared to the 15W-40 it's like water and almost crystal clear. Maybe there is a compatibility issue in using these lighter oils in the older engines. I would have to break down the additive package in each to see what is different besides the weight and the fact that one is a full synthetic. I would need the SDS for both to do that.

 

[Mike]

He has a 2011 Pete with most likely an ISX-15 Cummins in it. That engine requires a 15W-40 oil. Even the older Paccar and Detroit Diesels use that weight of oil. I forgot the spec letters for it. The new truck my replacement got is a 2024 Pete with an ISX-15. It requires a 10W-30 full synthetic oil in it. When getting the oil changed, I always added a gallon of Lucas Oil Stabilizer to it and the shop would fill the gallon jug for you to use for top offs if needed.

Even at 450,000 miles, my X-15 didn't use a drop between changes so I always had a nice stock of 15W-40 oil in the garage. Along comes the new truck and he does the same thing, only now he gives me the gallon of 10W-30 oil. Compared to the 15W-40 it's like water and almost crystal clear. Maybe there is a compatibility issue in using these lighter oils in the older engines. I would have to break down the additive package in each to see what is different besides the weight and the fact that one is a full synthetic. I would need the SDS for both to do that.

The older ISX could use 10/30 as well. It has worked with every engine going back to the early 2000’s.

CJ-4 oil standards came out in 2006, ck-4 in 2013, and most recently the fa oil. All of these oils would work fine in that engine.

It would have to be an oil that didn’t meet any of these standards, and that engine may have been compatible with whatever came out before cj-4.

It’s very doubtful that the shop carried anything g older than even the ck-4.

 

[Electric Chicken]

The older ISX could use 10/30 as well. It has worked with every engine going back to the early 2000’s.

CJ-4 oil standards came out in 2006, ck-4 in 2013, and most recently the fa oil. All of these oils would work fine in that engine.

It would have to be an oil that didn’t meet any of these standards, and that engine may have been compatible with whatever came out before cj-4.

It’s very doubtful that the shop carried anything g older than even the ck-4.

That one tech probably brought in something from the farm to dispose of.

That's my conspiracy theory and I'm sticking to it.

 

[Duck]

That one tech probably brought in something from the farm to dispose of.

That's my conspiracy theory and I'm sticking to it.

Literally everyone who lives in the country & has at least one mature tree, has a burn pile.

What you do is wait til after dark so nobody can see the smoke, then you light it up. Used oil works great for getting wet wood started.

 

[Hammer166]

It wouldn't be the first time gear oil ended up in the crankcase at a truck stop. That's most likely the case here.

 

[389 Hood]

It wouldn't be the first time gear oil ended up in the crankcase at a truck stop. That's most likely the case here.

When you have 10 hanging hoses to pick from and you just happen to grab the wrong one.

I'm sure I bothered many a tech, but I hung around like a vulture watching the top man and the pit man. I count how many grease fittings are serviced on each axle, I see what type of coolant top off they use, etc... But also to be sure no one puts their fingers on anything inside the door with their greasy mits. And that wasn't even my truck!

 

[Mike]

It wouldn't be the first time gear oil ended up in the crankcase at a truck stop. That's most likely the case here.

Being it’s probably an ISX, I’m betting the camshaft took a crap and the owner is looking to get someone else to pay for it, lol.

 

[Electric Chicken]

Being it’s probably an ISX, I’m betting the camshaft took a crap and the owner is looking to get someone else to pay for it, lol.

Speaking of ISX.

These guys at the rail are bragging about how cheap they got their nice looking (far nicer than mine) sleeper trucks. Basically what I paid for mine.

Turns out they all have an ISX.

Hard pass on reputation alone.

 

[Duck]

Speaking of ISX.

These guys at the rail are bragging about how cheap they got their nice looking (far nicer than mine) sleeper trucks. Basically what I paid for mine.

Turns out they all have an ISX.

Hard pass on reputation alone.

I ran many an ISX prior to the 2007 emissions. They would run like a graped ape.

The turbos needed replaced every 500k but other than that they were great engines.

Then I drove a 2012 model and it was like having a pickup truck engine. No power at all. It took an hour to reach 65 mph with an empty trailer.

Van Wyk switched to the OEM motors. Volvo in the Volvos and Paccar in the Kenworths.

They sucked too, just not quite as much.

 

[Electric Chicken]

I ran many an ISX prior to the 2007 emissions. They would run like a graped ape.

The turbos needed replaced every 500k but other than that they were great engines.

Then I drove a 2012 model and it was like having a pickup truck engine. No power at all. It took an hour to reach 65 mph with an empty trailer.

Van Wyk switched to the OEM motors. Volvo in the Volvos and Paccar in the Kenworths.

They sucked too, just not quite as much.

I heard ISX had camshaft issues or something like that. My dad's company would buy a used one and it would always blow up, and they'd replace it with a cat or something.

Just left a sour taste in my mouth whether it's still deserved or not.

They seem to go cheap like a Maxxforce, except not as bad, for that reason.