Oil,,,???

[Von Schweck1914]

I recently purchased my first Model T. I was told to use straight 30w oil in it. Is there any reason that a 10w30 blend could not be used.??? Thanks for your time. Rick S...

[tmodelman]

Sure, you bet, a multi weight 30 is OK, in fact any good oil in the T, the synthetics cost more, but also foam and froth less in the splash system of the Ford.

[MrModelT]

...But for a original splash oiling system in a T, you can go any heavier then 30w oil. Thicker oils can't get into the bearings and can cause damage to the Babbitts...and in a real hurry too!

When I was younger and not "enlightened" in this area yet, I decided to switch to 5w40w. After my first and only trip with that oil in the crank case.....ALL my rods were loose (indicating bearing wear). I readjusted them and put the 30w back in....never had the rods come loose again.

[CharlieB]

Hell of a hard time starting with straight 30 in the cold weather. Went for 10-30.

[yachtsmanbill]

My dad was an engineer for EMD ... Electro-Motive Division of GM and swore by 10W year round. He really understood lubrication BTW... It didnt wear off on me tho... I run 70W Pennzoil aircraft oil in my H-D. I run 30W in the T ws

[MrModelT]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

Originally Posted by Jack Innes

(This can not be discussed too many times! Previously posted

It seems a lot of people are running detergent oil with no major problems. Myself I usually use 30 weight non-detergent oil in anything that I cannot determine the oil history on.

The main problem in putting detergent oil in an engine that has been used a lot with non-detergent oil is that the gunk deposited on the inside of the engine will be all loosened at once by the detergent & can find its way into the bearings & anything that can be clogged up. This is even worse with a car with an oil pump.

Detergent oil is designed to keep the dirt in suspension & take it to the oil filter to be removed. Regular oil is designed to let the dirt settle to the bottom to be removed eventually when it is time to take up the bearings. I removed an inch of hard crud & sand from the bottom of the pan on a 27 Star that was running fine at the time. (Luckily always on non-detergent oil.)

I tend to agree that anything heavier than no. 30 in warm weather is too heavy to properly lubricate the bearings.

Keep it full, change it often & change it hot -- you can't go wrong.

Well said Jack.

I plan to run 30W non-detergent oil in my new T motor for the first 500 miles (break-in) then switch over to full synthetic (Amsoil) as recommend by those who built my engine.