Detergent oil

[mhsprecher]

I use synthetic. A little more expensive, but I run it in all but one of my vehicles, new and old. I am running 10-30. I plan to change to 10w-40, as 40W was what was recommended by Ford at the time. As long as the cars run well, that is all that matters, whatever oil you use.

[J Franklin]

I have never seen a Ford recommendation for 40w oil, but I haven't seen everything.

[mhsprecher]

J FranKlin, let me check and I will post my findings. It should be easy to verify.

[40 Deluxe]

Originally Posted by J Franklin

I have never seen a Ford recommendation for 40w oil, but I haven't seen everything.

Quote from the 1931 Model "A" Instruction Book: "In general an oil having the body of S.A.E. viscosity No. 40 will prove satisfactory for summer use. For winter use oil having the specification of S.A.E. No. 20 should be used. It is essential, however, that this winter oil have a low cold test."

[raprice]

Originally Posted by David L. Holloway

Thanks to all the replies! It appears most people recommend detergent oil. I was just afraid that the detergent oil might release a lot of sludge for a while into the system. I do plan to run with existing oil a few minutes just enough to warm and liquefy, drain out and then put new oil in.
On a slightly different subject, is there any problems using standard unleaded gas with ethanol ?

Where I live, I don't have a choice when it comes to gasoline. All our gas has ethanol. So, whenever I fill my tank, I add Sta-bil alcohol treatment to stabilize my gas.
Rog

[WHN]

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Please remember that this is a flat tapped engine. Without an oil filter. That has a non pressurized engine lube system. I would not recommend using to light of a weight oil. The oil is the only cushion you have. I have found with our engines that 30 SAE in summer is light and the engine is noisy. Put 20-50 SAE in and things return to normal. In heated garage not driven in winter. We are all as different as our engines. Enjoy.

[Mike V. Florida]

Originally Posted by wingski

I agree with all of the replies, but no one really mentioned synthetic oil. I'm going to go with fully synthetic oil when I start driving my A. If it sets for any long periods of time I'd rather have synthetic oil in it. Also, since A's have a tendency to run warm or hot, I'd rather have oil that doesn't break down with heat. Good luck with your A.

If the synthetic is of the correct weight and is designed for vehicle use it is fine.

[Smooth_One]

I run straight 30 weigh Kendall oil in my car and then top it off with Marvel Mystery Oil and all has been good and quiet.

[40 Deluxe]

Originally Posted by Smooth_One

I run straight 30 weigh Kendall oil in my car and then top it off with Marvel Mystery Oil and all has been good and quiet.

Kendall! Don't see that brand in this part of the country. When I was a kid in the early '50's Kendall advertised in magazines like the Saturday Evening Post. The ads featured a hand raised with two fingers making a "V" sign and the slogan said "Kendall! The two thousand mile motor oil". The usual interval was 1,000 miles so I guess you cut oil expense in half! Now my VW Diesel goes 10,000 miles between changes.

[H. L. Chauvin]

Hi David,

A. I can imagine perhaps your initially staying up all night reading and re-reading all 28 different replies on recommending 20-50, not 5W-20, 15-40, 10-30, add ZDDP, add MMO, use synthetic, no 40W, Engineer recommendations etc., etc.

B. Just in case you had to take Alka-Seltzer, and/or are beginning to acquire stomach ulcers to decide on oil, help is really just around the corner.

C. Just drive your Model A to your nearest Wal-Mart and tell some young non-Model A guy you just need a damn simple oil change ...... and tell him just like that .... don't leave the damn out ...... he will understand.

D. Wal-Mart has trained, oil changing guys that change oil in millions of cars a year with absolutely no problems ...... nothing at all like all of the burnt up and gummy Model A re-built engines we hear about every week on this Forum

E. Hope this helps anybody in the future to choose a peaceful lubrication selection of modern detergent oil where one has a similar situation of only 100 miles on a rebuilt Model A engine.

[Jim Brierley]

Diesel oils are not recommended in gasoline engines, although many seem to use it, I don't.

[lukescoupe]

Rotella for me

[H. L. Chauvin]

Wal-Mart Oil Changers ..... millions of 100% success stories.

[Railcarmover]

Diesel grade oils have higher shear properties,better detergent and soot entrainment properties and better viscosity modifier properties than gasoline engine grade oils.Entrainment properties hold dirt and soot in suspension,allowing it to be removed with the drain instead of depositing on parts,critical with engine not running an air filter.Shear means they handle load better,good for soft babbit bearings.Improved Viscosity modifier properties means it resists breakdown when running multi viscosity oils..15-40 wt breaks down to 15w when the modifier fails,a higher stability factor means higher resistance to breakdown.

[Kevin in NJ]

Here is a link to an oil and grease guy who makes old style oil products.

http://steamenginelube.com/lubeuse.html

You can go around his page and learn about the U-joint grease that was specified for the A.

[FRANK PKNY]

Don't use synthetic oil ! It will leak from every part that leads to the outside. It's far to slippery for your antique engine to handle. Regular Rotella oil 20w-50 is just fine or any diesel oil will be just fine. It can sit for years, but any oil while sitting will just migrate into the pan, that's why it's best when sitting for a long time to pre-lube through the distributer shaft. I run MMO in my fuel on all older engines, have done so for many years and swear by this practice. Some frown at this, but I have never had a valve problem. One of my friends has a Ford 9n tractor, the valves hung up from the modern type gas, I freed them up and got him started on MMO and he has not had any problems with the valves in the last five years. JMHO
When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it” - Henry Ford

[40 Deluxe]

Originally Posted by Railcarmover

.Improved Viscosity modifier properties means it resists breakdown when running multi viscosity oils..15-40 wt breaks down to 15w when the modifier fails,a higher stability factor means higher resistance to breakdown.

During my 27+ years as a mechanic for Arizona Hiway Dept. we saw the opposite. We ran 15W-40 diesel oil in everything for many years to reduce inventory. When we were thinking of extending oil changes from 5,000 miles to 7,500 miles in cars and pickups, we did a lot of oil sampling. The oil in 350 Chevy pickups would often start to thicken after 5,000 miles if used hard. Seems like some samples came back as 50W!

[Railcarmover]

Originally Posted by 40 Deluxe

During my 27+ years as a mechanic for Arizona Hiway Dept. we saw the opposite. We ran 15W-40 diesel oil in everything for many years to reduce inventory. When we were thinking of extending oil changes from 5,000 miles to 7,500 miles in cars and pickups, we did a lot of oil sampling. The oil in 350 Chevy pickups would often start to thicken after 5,000 miles if used hard. Seems like some samples came back as 50W!

Interesting..my experience with viscosity modifiers comes with higher soot numbers during analysis,acid build up and a subsequent drop in viscosity signaled breakdown..oil looked like black water..not arguing your findings,its entirely possible to fail 'up' the chain..my history is almost 100% diesel.

[Mr. J]

Another diesel oil I can vouch for is delo, I may use rotella because it is better suited for my line of work and conditions, but my brother runs delo in his 6.0 powerstroke and his dump truck for the simple fact that it doesn't create as much stiction in the high pressure oil pump in the injection system on the powerstroke in fact caterpillar uses delo oil for their hui injection system which runs under the basic principals it might say cat on the can but it's delo inside

[Y-Blockhead]

Originally Posted by Railcarmover

Diesel grade oils have higher shear properties, better detergent and soot entrainment properties and better viscosity modifier properties than gasoline engine grade oils.Entrainment properties hold dirt and soot in suspension, allowing it to be removed with the drain instead of depositing on parts,critical with engine not running an air filter.

One thing that we tend to overlook is detergent oils do suspend dirt and soot, in turn circulating them through the engine bearings and other wear points. *Non-detergent oil allows the dirt and soot to settle out into the pan.

This is why I am a proponent of adding filters to the Model A, both oil and air filters.

*I'm not proposing anyone use non-detergent oil, I use Chevron Delo 400 15w40.