I was thinking about using diesel oil for my next oil change. Only reason being is I can get it for free through my work. I was wondering if there would be any issues using this oil? Chevron Delo would be the brand, it says approved for gasoline engines on the bottle. The engine is a stock 454 with about 30 hours on a 8 year old re-build. Any info on this would be great, free is always good but not if It will cause harm to my engine.

Thank you,
James

If you are running a flat tappet cam (non roller lifter) you need to be running something that contains zinc.  The Delo oil along with several of the racing oils still contain zinc.

^ Another reason I was interested in the Delo.
 I've always been a "by the manual" type of person when it comes to fluids but with oil so pricey (and I need 10.5qts) The Free 15w40 is looking way better than $40+ of 10w30. I don't want to screw anything up though, I've read that using diesel oil in a gas engine can cause problems if the engine is old. Don't remember where I read that but I got it stuck in my head somehow

IMO    The 10w oils are too thin to run safely with the loose tolerences we run in marine engines.  I'd recommend staying with a 15w40 or a 20w50.

I'm sure some oil specialist will tell me I'm wrong, but...I know most of us don't have the money to build an engine 2-3-4 times for oil testing.

 

I just run valvoline vr1 20 50 I know is has zinc in it, but do you guys run a zinc additive with oil that already has zinc in it? Was considering it but don't know. And to the op, I've got a buddy with a bbc that runs delo oil and has no problems.