recommended oil for old engine

[ChaiBabbaChai]

And I'll give the correct answer: NO. They had multi-viscosity oils back then. Most cars still specified single-weight oil, though.

Why would they. No one does now. I believe that's because multi-weight was too new, but I can't find any definitive date when it became widely used or basically developed. VLLs...

 

[ChaiBabbaChai]

Does it leak/burn a lot?

If no then go with 10w30.

If it leaks/burns a little then 15w40.

If a lot then 20w50 summer and 15w40 in the winter. If you live in a warm climate then 20w50 year round.

And just use the cheapest name brand you can find.

What is the point of 10w-30? It's an old ass V8. I can see using lighter weight oils like 0w-60 (extreme) for a high RPM race engine, but my POS doesn't burn oil, 15w-40 is just in the right temp range for California. And it's recommended by the manufacturer for the kind of driving I do. For an old big block V8 that isn't fresh race built for revving I see no advantage to using thinner oil. And Chevron is one of the top refiners and it's cheap. I think they make a Delo 400LE in 10w-30 if you need colder temp range.

 

[Vette73]

What is the point of 10w-30? It's an old ass V8. I can see using lighter weight oils like 0w-60 (extreme) for a high RPM race engine, but my POS doesn't burn oil, 15w-40 is just in the right temp range for California. And it's recommended by the manufacturer for the kind of driving I do. For an old big block V8 that isn't fresh race built for revving I see no advantage to using thinner oil. And Chevron is one of the top refiners and it's cheap. I think they make a Delo 400LE in 10w-30 if you need colder temp range.

10w30 flows better at start up and also increases gas milage a little.

10w30 is also easy to find. You may not have a problem finding 15w40 but some do in smaller parts of the US and/or the price is a lot higher. But I think that is more rare now since many use 15w40. One shop I worked at used 15w40 in EVERYTHING.

 

[CraigRT]

I would use a 10-40 HDEO or so (heavy duty)
You don't have cats and things to worry about like you would on modern cars.
I'd go with a Shell Rotella or something similar in it. Not gonna hurt a thing.

 

[Homerboy]

I never thought what I assumed to be a "easy" question to raise such a fuss 🙂

 

[LTC8K6]

Use 10W30. Why the confusion?

We have a quote from a contemporary Ford truck manual that recommends 10W30 for all gasoline engines in 1965.

 

[ChaiBabbaChai]

I can appreciate the better flow at start up. I can understand 10w-30 or 15w-40. Both are recommended by my car's manufacturer depending on climate and driving conditions.

 

[franksta]

Brad Penn 10W-30 "The Green Oil"
It has the Zinc and Phosphorous you need to prevent your lifters from grinding your cam into a 0 lift stick.

 

[kalrith]

I use Castrol GTX 10w30 in the V8 in my '79 Monte Carlo with no problems whatsoever.

 

[DietDrThunder]

You could also use Amsoil 10w-40, or even Shell Rotella T6 5w-40 These also have the Zinc and Phosphorous that your flat tappet engine needs as well as being synthetic. I currently run Shell Rotella T6 5w-40 in my '63. But I also used Auto-RX with conventional oil first to clean the engine before switching to synthetic. Auto-RX cleans all the sludge and other crap that blocks oil passages, and also softens the old seals where they actually seal again instead of dripping oil. I did the two stage process of Auto-RX (basically two 2,000 mile oil changes with conventional oil). You'll be amazed at all the crap that comes out of the pan. Then I switched to Shell Rotella T6 5w-40. Another reason I say 5w-40 is that most of the engine wear occurs within the first 15 minutes of starting the engine. The lower vescocity will help protect the engine at startup.

Selection of the Right Motor Oil for the Corvair and other Engines
http://www.widman.biz/Corvair/English/Links/Oil.html

The Difference between GL-4 and GL-5 Gear Oils
http://www.widman.biz/uploads/Transaxle_oil.pdf

 

[DietDrThunder]

Brad Penn 10W-30 "The Green Oil"
It has the Zinc and Phosphorous you need to prevent your lifters from grinding your cam into a 0 lift stick.

BRAD PENN® PENN-GRADE 1® Partial Synthetic SAE 10W-30 Racing Oil is not registered with the API, but it appears to be a blend of 5 to 10% Group IV with group I oils. I do not see specific values for zinc and phosphorus although the 10.6 TBN and 1.2 Sulfated ash content indicates it is in the neighborhood we are looking for, and the HTHS values are very good. Although I prefer API licensed products, this is probably worth considering, particularly because Pennsylvania crude is some of the best, so the group I would have a low aromatic content.

 

[lurk3r]

Shell Rotella T is the best oil for old engines, its still got the high zinc content they used back then. Since I switched on my '63 vette it seems alot happier. It's pretty cheap too, like ~18 a gallon. I found it because it was the recommended oil for the "Blueprint" block I bought.

 

[kalrith]

Shell Rotella T is the best oil for old engines, its still got the high zinc content they used back then. Since I switched on my '63 vette it seems alot happier. It's pretty cheap too, like ~18 a gallon. I found it because it was the recommended oil for the "Blueprint" block I bought.

I just bought some Rotella T 15W40 for $12/gallon at Walmart today (or $28.50 per 2.5 gallon). I found that I can use it as the hydro trans oil in my riding mower. The official Cub Cadet oil is $10/quart 😱.

 

[ziggy67]

Hello all,

This is an old thread but still important! ()🙂

I have a F-250 1967 and after reading many boards and researched what oil types are out there I personally think the winter weight should not go below 10 for most areas in theses older trucks. 5W is fine if you drive your older vehicle in the winter and it is good to keep the oil from gumming up in colder weather (when starting the engine in below zero temps). The high number does the opposite and helps the oil from getting too thin as the engine really heats up. With the older vehicles you should not go below 30 ever! 40 weight is a great standard since these engines can get toasty especially in the areas that are consistently in the high 90-100 degree Fahrenheit ambient temperatures. A 5 quart jug of the High Mileage additive in the 10W40 will run you around $17-18.

 

[tortillasoup]

Hello all,

This is an old thread but still important! ()🙂

I have a F-250 1967 and after reading many boards and researched what oil types are out there I personally think the winter weight should not go below 10 for most areas in theses older trucks. 5W is fine if you drive your older vehicle in the winter and it is good to keep the oil from gumming up in colder weather (when starting the engine in below zero temps). The high number does the opposite and helps the oil from getting too thin as the engine really heats up. With the older vehicles you should not go below 30 ever! 40 weight is a great standard since these engines can get toasty especially in the areas that are consistently in the high 90-100 degree Fahrenheit ambient temperatures. A 5 quart jug of the High Mileage additive in the 10W40 will run you around $17-18.

Do you understand that a straight 30 and a 0W-30 oil are exactly the same thickness (typically) at operating temperature? The only difference in oil is that when it's cooler, the 0W-30 oil is thinner so it flows better. However, even so, a 0W-20 oil at 70F is still thicker than a 20W-50 oil at 140F. You want an oil to be as thin as possible when cooler so that it flows better because oil is stupid thick at low temperatures.

 

[NutBucket]

Yes, but in an older engine with looser/worn tolerances a thin oil may make it harder to build oil pressure when the engine is cold.

 

[tortillasoup]

Yes, but in an older engine with looser/worn tolerances a thin oil may make it harder to build oil pressure when the engine is cold.

Typically it is rare to see low oil pressure when cold. If that really is an issue, then yes you could go up a grade. However it's highly unlikely that it is an issue. In fact, 20W-50 synthetic oil has the same viscosity as 0W-50 synthetic at both 70F and 210F. 20W-50 is now being used as a marketing term for those who don't know any better. Go and look at the cST ratings for the different oils and you may be surprised.

0W-50 or 0W-20 oil is still pretty damn thick at 70F anyway so it's not typically likely that a car could fail to build oil pressure when cold yet the tolerances close up when at operating temperature and not burn oil. If your car is burning oil, like a lot, going with a "synthetic" (PAO are the only true synthetic) is recommended. Most "synethics" on the market are just highly refined dino oil so there really isn't any risk to using them anyhow.