Zinc Additives

With the amount of Zinc being reduced in motor oils is there such a thing as a zinc additive? Worth the $$$ and trouble? Good brand?

I bought some at the auto parts store to put in my John Deere diesel because I had to replace some of the lifters.

Do a Google search for "Rislone with zinc additive".

Some of my buddies with old cars and trucks have been running Joe Gibbs oil with the zinc in it.

I got 16 oz for a newly rebuilt Buda from a parts store. Lucas TB Zinc Plus for the first oil fillup. Around $15,

Scroll to the top of the discussion forum home page and Google "zinc in oil" in the YT search window and you will have enough reading to keep you busy till next weekend. Lots of info right here on the subject and then elsewhere as well ........

Once again; You wouldn't want to live in a world without Zinc.
You need Zinc

Yes, but why not just buy oil that already has it? Like Shell Rotella T.

That's the problem zinc content in oil has been reduced so its not that simple anymore.What was true 5 years ago doesn't hold anymore.I'm looking for a name of an additive.

The first question is- what are you running? If its an early 1960s or older I would not bother. When they were new zinc wasn't part of any additives package to any oil.

JDEM ...... yes, I have read that one type of Rotella still has at least some of it, not sure what amount or levels it is in the T-version. I'd guess maybe less of it than in the older formulas, not sure.

Most are in the 60's and 70's but just because good quality lubricnats weren't available when something was built doesn't mean its not better to use them now that better lubricants are available

The material data safety sheets usually tell you the ZDDP content. No big mystery.
Camshaft break-in lube is sold in many places. Very high ZDDP.


Shell Rotella T 15W-40 CI-4 Plus ZDDP - 1200
Shell Rotella T 15W-40 CI-4 ZDDP - 1100
Mobil One 15W-40 ZDDP 1100
Mobil One 5W-40 Turbo diesel truck - ZDDP 1100
Lucas Race Oil 10W-30 ZDDP 3000
Amsoil 10W-30 Z-Rod ZDDP 1400
Redline 15W-40 CI-4 ZDDP 1500
Chevron Delo 15W-40 400LE CI-4 ZDDP 1300

I agree and I think a lot of old tractor owners get in a knot about something that is not an issue. This Wiki info says sometime in the 40's when they showed up ......

"Zinc dialkyldithiophosphates (often referred to as ZDDP) are a family of coordination compounds developed in the 1940s that feature zinc bound to the anion of a dialkyldithiophosphoric acid (e.g. ammonium diethyl dithiophosphate).[1] These uncharged compounds are not salts. They are soluble in nonpolar solvents, and the longer chain derivatives easily dissolve in mineral and synthetic oils used as lubricants. They come under CAS number 68649-42-3. In aftermarket oil additives, the percentage of ZDDP ranges approximately between 2-15%.[2] Zinc dithiophosphates have many names including ZDDP, ZnDTP, and ZDP."

Not to pick on any single poster here, just thought I'd add my $.02 and have a few other posters pick it apart...
The good camshaft and lifter saving additives have been taken out of a lot oil to help save the catalytic converters that so many vehicles have.
AS I SEE IT (and I wear glasses, so my eyesight is not perfect), an older tractor that has put in 100s if not 1000s of hours probably doesn't need any zinc additives other than what is already in most diesel engine oil. (Side note: many diesel engine oils have dropped a lot of zinc content. Better check how much your oil has in it) New cars that have roller lifters really don't need the zinc, but of course our older tractors don't have roller lifters. The zinc additive really is needed for older flat tappet car engines that have super-fact camshaft ramp speeds or engines that can easily rev to 6 grand.
So...if you have an older tractor that has a broke-in engine, don't worry too much about it, provided you use a good diesel oil or an oil that has your zinc in it.
If you have a rebuilt engine with new lifters or/and camshaft, have some concerns.
If you have a new engine that has been rebuilt by somebody else, ask what oil and additives they recommend and exactly how they want it broke in.
The problem really rears it's head when the camshaft manufacturers buy blanks from China, finish the milling in the states and the heat treating is scarce or the blanks were cast with poor materials.

Heres my 2 cents worth, John Deere 9500 combine had real high blow by after an overhaul. I was thinking I did something wrong but Tims on the Deere board said use zink in the oil and after a few hours in the bean field the blow by was gone.

I agree with this post.

Also the older engines have a lot of bearing surface area compared with the loads. On an old tractor you can open the valves with a good shove; only one spring. Try doing that on an LS-7 with triple valve springs. Not hard to see that one generates much much higher loads per square inch on moving parts.

Another thing to keep in mind before freaking about reduced zinc in diesel oils and others is that there is other additive technology being developed and in use. Oil technology is not standing still.

Poor quality parts from overseas vendors are a problem. Even some "name brands" are using overseas vendors for parts. Some of the factories are state of the art and have good QC. Others do not.

A problem I often see is people who "rebuild" engines in a breezy dirt floor shed or people who can't or won't pay attention to properly cleaning out dirty blocks and cleaning new and re-manned parts before they put the thing together.
I use a separate parts washing tank to clean new parts out of the box. There's a surprising amount of glitter and debris that accumulates in the bottom. The cleaning solvent runs through a late model fuel filter after it comes out of the pump on its way to the hose.

A friend of mine once had a valve job done by a local shop with a decent reputation that had been in business for a long time. They did the valve job, surfaced, and reassembled the head. Ready to intall.....right? Nope! We ended up tearing it back down and cleaning out an embarrasing amount of grit and dirt from this supposedly ready to go head. That shop has since gone out of business.

I'm not trying to pick on anyone who is doing their best with the facilities that they have; my grandparents certainly had to. But there is a difference.

Why not get the most protection possible if the price is near the same? Plenty of oils still have high ZDDP levels and it is a well-proven anti-wear additive.

Let me know when people with 1/4 million dollar engines in race-cars stop using racing oil with high ZDDP.

Plain fact that many modern engines have more durable materials and/or designs in them and that is at least one on the reasons they do fine with lesser ZDDP or use alternative additives like boron.

Older engines with light valve spring pressures can probably get by on less zinc in the oil.
The 12v Cummins in my pickup has flat tappet lifters and stronger valve springs for the exhaust brake, it gets a 16 oz bottle of Lucas zinc additive every oil change, the extra cost is cheap insurance condering what it would cost to replace the cam and lifters.