Amsoil stuff is over priced IMO.
I agree with you. However, the winter of 99 I was pushing snow with my Case 680CK. I was doing the neighbors driveway which was 300 yards or more from my garage when the machine began to shake and oil pressure went to zero.
I shut the machine off and scratched my head wondering how I could get a 10 ton machine back to my garage, thru virgin snow. I didn't own a 4wd at the time, and anyone that did was at work. So I bit the bullet, started the machine and drove it back to the garage with no oil pressure. I would estimate it took me 10 to 15 minutes because I wanted to keep the revs low to minimize damage.
A few days later I pulled the engine and stripped it down. The unit was rebuilt 2000 hours before I bought it. I cleaned the crankshaft and measured it (I'm a machinist by trade) and all of the journals were spot on, no wear, no taper, not a scratch on them. No scoring in the cylinders, cam, rocker arms or related components. Everything was within spec.
What had failed was the counterbalance unit. The previous "mechanic" had installed new bushings in worn bores and center punched the area to keep them in place. A bushing walked out , followed by two more. The balancer unit is fed by the oil pump first in line, so pressure dropped before oil went anywhere in the engine.
I had switched the Case to Amsoil 15W40 synthetic the previous spring. I can't say for sure that another motor oil wouldn't have been able to protect a $3K crankshaft from harm, but the Amsoil I used sure did. That sold me on the quality of their oil. I'm very happy with their grease and gas treatment.
