Which Mobil1 Oil?

I have never had any problems with the same Mobil 1 5w30 that goes in my Camaro SS, Monte Carlo SS and GMC Yukon. Nothing fancy like high mileage, just the regular 5w30. I just refill an old Labelle bottle.

If you need specific information on Mobil products and there interaction with plastic, maybe you should contact Mobil directly.

People on this form may only be able to talk about there experiences, however, they may not know anything about there long term affects on plastics.

30 weight oil is probably a little heavy for toy trains. You might want to use an oil with a summer grade of 20 weight.   The LaBelle oil indicates on the packaging that it is a synthetic motor oil.  It may be Mobile 1. If you call Mobile and ask about plastic compatibility, be prepared to discuss the chensetry of the specific plastics involved. 

The "5w" is the important factor for flow when applied. It is thin when cool.

The 30 portion a heat bonus should it come down to it.

 Not to pro or con it ;  The characteristics of the oil are great but it wasn't designed with model trains in mind. It was designed to remove heat and flow as well as lube. A slightly heavier straight weight 10w or 20w still stays put, but takes more care to flow into bearings when oiling. 30-40w can be fine for locos but a little heavy for some  stock (e.g. downright sticky on flat to flat tin if applied heavy).

I use the synthetic 5W30.

Gene Anstine

Bill S. posted:

I have never had any problems with the same Mobil 1 5w30 that goes in my Camaro SS, Monte Carlo SS and GMC Yukon. Nothing fancy like high mileage, just the regular 5w30. I just refill an old Labelle bottle.

Same here for 20+ years easily.

I use Mobil 1 0W20, it seems to be more like a light weight oil such as 3 in 1.

Larry

I use Mobil 1 10w/30.  Haven't seen any plastic compatibility issues.  I also use Mobil 1 synthetc grease on gears.  No problems there, either.

Mobil1 comes in a plastic bottle, should be plastic compatible.

feet posted:

Mobil1 comes in a plastic bottle, should be plastic compatible.

There are an untold number of plastics. What is safe for one can react with another.

I like to keep some WD-40 in a dispenser bottle. The bottles I used early on oozed, so I kept the bottle in a tray lined with paper toweling. I finally found some plastic bottle that do not ooze. Surely a different type of plastic.

I have no thoughts on using mobile one. 

Another thought is Chain saw bar lubricant.  A sticky, tacky, lube that hangs onto the saw bar and chain. 

Here is a idea, just use plastic compatible oil i.e. Made specifically for hobby products. 

You spend $1,000's of dollars on your trains, why be cheap on oil. 

Reminds me of the time guys were using lamp oil instead of smoke fluid. Yea that was a good idea!

Dave

Mike CT posted:

Another thought is Chain saw bar lubricant.  A sticky, tacky, lube that hangs onto the saw bar and chain. 

Good thought, but much too thick. I'm a logger and use lots of it. Just my opinion of course.

Oil my trains, next thing you guys will be telling me, is that I need to clean my track.

One question I have (and this is not meant to be disparaging, it is a real question) is how big is your collection, and do you run your collection that much (like, continuously) that you need that much lube? Most of the lube on rolling stock is a tiny bit on things like the rollers, and on the wheelsets, and with grease it is something you do once in a while. I know Labelle and such are relatively expensive, but could you be over lubricating them to use that amount? I suspect mobil 1 will be safe for most plastics (the fact it comes in a plastic container means nothing, rolling stock and engines, especially post war, have a variety of plastics), but the problem is you don't really know if it will affect things long term or will work except for that one prized car. 

bigkid posted:

One question I have (and this is not meant to be disparaging, it is a real question) is how big is your collection, and do you run your collection that much (like, continuously) that you need that much lube?

Very good point. I use the synthetics so I don't have to lube that often due to the size of the collection and the lubrication that is done stays.

And I'm a little guy. I've said it before... you would be surprised how many folks on this forum alone have 250-300+ locomotives and 1500-2000+ additional pieces of rolling stock.

So I look at it as a quality, & quality of life issue - use the best / longest lasting so you're full time job isn't oiling toy trains.

3-in-1 brand makes a 20 SAE oil in a blue/white plastic container with an application spout designated for electric motors. I have used this on running gear on my gauge one live steam locos with success, but never on Lionel or MTH engines.

Balshis posted:

I use Mobil 1 10w/30.  Haven't seen any plastic compatibility issues.  I also use Mobil 1 synthetc grease on gears.  No problems there, either.

 

Same here but I use 5-30w in everything I own but my diesel tractor. The Mobil 1 synthetic grease works great as well for the trains.

Mike CT posted:

Another thought is Chain saw bar lubricant.  A sticky, tacky, lube that hangs onto the saw bar and chain. 

Ha ha, I use the Mobil 1 I drain out of my car into a clean pan as chain oil for my saw. I have been doing that for 40 years. After all it has been filtered for over 7,000 miles by then.  

"...$60 of Labelle 107 this year thus far."

Wow. Just how expensive is LaBelle, or how much equipment to you have, or how many miles do you put on your stuff, or all of the above? "This year" is all of 36 days old...

Per the oil: 3-in-1 is all you need.

bigkid posted:

One question I have (and this is not meant to be disparaging, it is a real question) is how big is your collection, and do you run your collection that much (like, continuously) that you need that much lube? 

D500 posted:

"...$60 of Labelle 107 this year thus far."

Wow. Just how expensive is LaBelle, or how much equipment to you have, or how many miles do you put on your stuff, or all of the above? "This year" is all of 36 days old...

Per the oil: 3-in-1 is all you need.

I really don't feel comfortable sharing my exact size, but it is not small - I'm in the triple digits for locomotives and well, rolling stock can extrapolate from there. Part of the reason for high consumption rate at the moment is I am reviving a rather large estate acquisition to addition to my collection so lots of servicing going on. But I do religiously lube the axles when placing a piece on the layout (unless I know it was just on there yesterday).

To put things into perspective, Labelle 107 comes in a 1/2 oz package. That is roughly 300 drops, or about 18 dry cars per bottle.

I think a Qt of Mobil 1 and a tube of grease would last me a lifetime. I put my Mobil 1 in an old Labelle oiler and the grease is an old cleaned out Carmex container.

C W Burfle posted:

feet posted:

Mobil1 comes in a plastic bottle, should be plastic compatible.

There are an untold number of plastics. What is safe for one can react with another.

I like to keep some WD-40 in a dispenser bottle. The bottles I used early on oozed, so I kept the bottle in a tray lined with paper toweling. I finally found some plastic bottle that do not ooze. Surely a different type of plastic.

I have no thoughts on using mobile one. 

 

I have to agree with you C.W. I'm going to mobil1's web site and see what I can find out.

Nick12DMC posted:

I know it’s off topic but don’t just put modern fully synthetic Mobil 1 in any car. Older engines won’t like it, the tolerances in the engines are greater and you may get oil leaks. Use the oil type and grade specified by the manufacturer.

For example many new owners in the DeLorean world ask about putting in Mobil 1, but the correct oil is a bog standard semi synthetic 10W-40. 

Nick

Yes and no. Mobil 1 makes a high mileage that is just fine for older engines. It also has seal softeners in it and works fine in any older engine and will reduce leaks from loose tolerances and dried out seals. It will also stop any further increases in wear tolerances.  I use that in my 2003 Ranger with 163K on the clock. But then to each his own. 

C.W.Burfle

if i remember correctly wd-40 is made from fish oil,  a smaller molecule than the hydrocarbon molecule generally called oil.  That is why it is sold in metal containers not plastic.

KRM posted:

Mike CT posted:

Another thought is Chain saw bar lubricant.  A sticky, tacky, lube that hangs onto the saw bar and chain. 

Ha ha, I use the Mobil 1 I drain out of my car into a clean pan as chain oil for my saw. I have been doing that for 40 years. After all it has been filtered for over 7,000 miles by then.  

That's a common practice in heavy use chainsaw country.

feet posted:

Mobil1 comes in a plastic bottle, should be plastic compatible.

I worked in a ESSO Station back in 1971 and Uniflo 10W-40 Motor Oil was sold in plastic cans with a metal top back then and it wasn't synthetic.

In some older  automotive applications synthetics are not the best choice. Along with the other issues mentioned, the cooling characteristics are different. On occasion some blocks developed cool or hot spots which can mess with the metallurgy over time. Know your machine  

I'm a big Mobil 1 fan, specifically because I have personally disassembled and inspected engines that have run it. Clean, no sludge, parts still coated with oil after YEARS (my 98 LS-1 is an example), no ridge at the top of the cylinder, and hone marks still visible after 60K+ miles. 

As for ANY "W" rating of oil, that is the viscosity @ 0F. That said (and especially as it relates to trains) you can pretty well ignore the "W" rating of any oil you care to use. And as much as I like Mobile 1, yes it applies to Mobil 1 too.

When you change your oil, put the cap back on the bottle and set them upside-down. The next day you'll have more than enough oil to fill a LaBelle bottle, or two.

Another option is Lucas Oil Gun Lube. It's good stuff too.

We bought a crate motor for our '66 Mustang 2+2 last Fall. In the instructions it said no syn oil for the first year 12K miles.   So yes...not always best. 

Dave, you're 100% correct, the rings need to seat first before running synthetic. Even new cars that are shipped with Synthetic; the engines are run in with break-in oil before installation in the car.

I cleaned my post-war Lionel 205 diesel that has a pullmor motor, and used Mobil-1 for the gears and armature, being careful not to get any on the brush commutator.  Did the same for my AF post-war GP diesel that has the brass bushings on the armature.  Both of these have never run better and smooth since I have owned them.  

Hmm.  Very interesting..that explains what happened with a vehicle l bought...that used oil initially and the dealer closely monitored for oil use and changes.  Engines must not have been run in, and l wound up doing it, and then they changed oil.  Was a series of initial deliveries, that l now bet were not run in before installation.