5W-30 oil...OK to use?

[d.]

question guys, I have 3 cases of 5W-30 in the garage from I car I no longer have.
Could I use this safely in my Model A? Maybe add a can of STP to each oil change?
The engine was rebuilt 20 years ago and run on 30W non-D up till now.
I would appreciate your input. thanks.

[Aok]

If it has been running non detergent I would drop and clean the pan and in the valve area before I switched

[Tom Wesenberg]

I agree with Aok. How many miles have been put on in those 20 years? How often was the oil changed?
It would be interesting to see how the pan looks on the inside.

I'd consider 5-30 a little on the light side, but it should work OK. You could also use it up in your modern car.

[steve s]

One argument against using the lighter weight oil is that it will get by the rings, so you'll wind up burning more oil--just keep checking it. Once it gets up to operating temperature, its viscosity will be the same as SAE 30, which is what a lot of people use. Ford recommended 20 for winter and 40 or summer usage.

Remember, that by adding STP or other additives you are diluting or displacing the manufacturer's antioxidants and other additives and real lubricants designed for the purpose.

Steve

[Rowdy]

Lucas, maybe. I hightly doubt I would use STP, but then again I find very little use for it anyway. Rod

[Mitch//pa]

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Why put something in that you feel you have to doctor with an additive to thicken it up. Take the 3 cases and give them to a friend or your local garage, or return it to where you purchased them tell them you lost the receipt...
if someone brought them to me i would hook them up with some future favors in repairs

[Craig Lewis]

Just my opinion, but I would continue with the original non detergent oil if you can find it.

Plan B clean out the pan and valve chamber very well first.

That thin 5/30 detergent will wash the internals & suspend alot of sediment & gritty carbon deposits in the oil...this is pumped into the valve chamber and flows down the lube tubes directly into your main saddles and could grind up the bearings and crank pretty bad.

With a descent engine rebuild running $3000 and up, changing to modern car oil could be the worst money you ever saved.

[steve s]

My understanding is that experiments have shown that detergent oil's ability to re-suspend sludge is a myth--a VERY long standing myth that everyone knows to be true. Does anyone on the Barn have actual data (not just something they've heard over and over)?

Steve

[P.S.]

I bought a 31 with a motor that still has original babbit, has only had the valves done but not totally rebuilt. I figured, it will probably need to be rebuilt soon anyway, so with nothing to lose, have been running modern 10-40 and 20-50 Valvoline detergent type oil in it.

Have put thousands of miles on it since. All that has happened is the motor has actually continued to run better and better. Have been failthful with oil changes every 500 miles.

I do notice that when running the 20-50 oil, the rear main leaks more. When running the 10-40, the car rarely leaks more than a drop or two after driving it. Have never tried an oil as light as you propose.

[Tom Wesenberg]

When I was in El Paso in the Army I bought a 1952 Studebaker Land Cruiser that must have been using non-detergent oil. When I removed the valve covers I could barely see the rocker arms and shaft. I dug out all the sludge I could reach using a popcycle stick, and started using detergent oil. Once a month I'd remove a cover to see how it looked. The detergent oil was slowly getting the engine cleaned up, and everything was working great.

[Roadster Rich]

I recently posted about my engine that I opened up for the first time since 1966. Every oil change from 66 to about three years ago, was with 30 wt. non-detergent oil. For two latest oil changes I used Mobil 1 10w40 (I think it was labelled high mileage). Although the engine probably only had about 30,000 miles on it in 46 years, there was almost no sludge. The valve chamber was very clean. There are many pictures in that post. I don't believe that the use of non-detergent means you have a lot of sludge. More like abuse and not changing oil probably would be the culprit. I will continue to use Mobil 1 10w40 for as long as I am around.

[Greg out west]

Hey Mr. "D"



I'ed clean out the motor & start over with new Straight weight oil...Here in So. Calif it doesn't get that cold so I use 40W...I'am thinking some of the multi-weight oil's are too thin for a non-pressure engine like the A



I want a high film strenght at the brg's...I run multi weight in my modern car...I even asked the Motorman,,,on KABC Radio here in So. Cal....he said if it was his car, he'd run straight 30 or 40W....He was a consultant to Quarker state,,so he ought to know..!!



You can tune in on the internet to listen to his show...It's on every Sunday 8 to 10 am PST...Go to KABC.com listen live "Leon Kaplan"



Greg out West

[MrTube]

Originally Posted by Greg out west

Hey Mr. "D"



I'ed clean out the motor & start over with new Straight weight oil...Here in So. Calif it doesn't get that cold so I use 40W...I'am thinking some of the multi-weight oil's are too thin for a non-pressure engine like the A



I want a high film strenght at the brg's...I run multi weight in my modern car...I even asked the Motorman,,,on KABC Radio here in So. Cal....he said if it was his car, he'd run straight 30 or 40W....He was a consultant to Quarker state,,so he ought to know..!!



You can tune in on the internet to listen to his show...It's on every Sunday 8 to 10 am PST...Go to KABC.com listen live "Leon Kaplan"



Greg out West

Greg,

I have to ask, how is 10W40 or 5W30 or even 0W40 any thinner than 40W at operating temperature?

And being 40W is not too thin at operating temperature, obviously that viscosity is all that is required so at what point is 0w40,5w40,10w40 too thin being it is never thinner than 40W is hot.

I'm not a consultant to Quakerstate, but I played one on TV once...

[msmaron]

i use 5w/20 and have no problems, just let it warm up a bit and good to go!

[Mike V. Florida]

Originally Posted by steve s

My understanding is that experiments have shown that detergent oil's ability to re-suspend sludge is a myth--a VERY long standing myth that everyone knows to be true. Does anyone on the Barn have actual data (not just something they've heard over and over)?

Steve

This is from engine builder magazine,

"When "detergent oils" first appeared, everyone’s engine repair business increased. Tired, worn out engines, full of sludge deposits because they had always been serviced with non-detergent oils, were ill advisedly transfused with detergent oil, which promptly attacked the sludge deposits. Engine bearing surfaces were flooded with oil containing a high concentration of newly suspended sludge particles. And during the phase-in of detergent engine oils, a number of chemical elixirs for "engine oil desludging" appeared. With current engines, we often encounter similar failures when engines are accidentally overfilled and loosen normally benign engine deposits. Unless you’re very young or your principal residence is a cave, none of this should be news."

[MrTube]

Originally Posted by msmaron

i use 5w/20 and have no problems, just let it warm up a bit and good to go!

Wow 5/20 now that might be kinda thin for my tastes. I only ran that in one modern engine and it was because it called for it. Actually later I switched to 0w20.


I'd say 0w30 or 0w40 is perfect for the "A".

[MrTube]

Originally Posted by Mike V. Florida

This is from engine builder magazine,

"When "detergent oils" first appeared, everyone’s engine repair business increased. Tired, worn out engines, full of sludge deposits because they had always been serviced with non-detergent oils, were ill advisedly transfused with detergent oil, which promptly attacked the sludge deposits. Engine bearing surfaces were flooded with oil containing a high concentration of newly suspended sludge particles. And during the phase-in of detergent engine oils, a number of chemical elixirs for "engine oil desludging" appeared. With current engines, we often encounter similar failures when engines are accidentally overfilled and loosen normally benign engine deposits. Unless you’re very young or your principal residence is a cave, none of this should be news."

I don't know Mike, with all due respect (and that is a lot due..) I don't know if I trust that article. Just because it is in a magazine doesn't make it true, it also notes companies making stuff to try and sell to fix a problem. Perhaps that problem never even existed, you know kind of like oil additives today that probably cause more harm than good.

[hotrodderhaag]

I use that brad penn mean green 10-40 racing oil. It's what very engine shop recommends for these old engines . We use it in all our antique tractors and cars

[PetesPonies]

Personally, I would never use 0 or 5 weight oil in an engine that has clearances not designed for such oil. That's just my opinion and not only with an A engine.

[MrTube]

Originally Posted by PetesPonies

Personally, I would never use 0 or 5 weight oil in an engine that has clearances not designed for such oil. That's just my opinion and not only with an A engine.

Once again, 0W30 is the same exact weight in a hot engine as 10w30 and 30SAE.

0W30 is like running *closer* to 30SAE when the engine is cold and running 30SAE when its hot where 30SAE is like jello when cold. 0W30 is simply more consistent than 30SAE.

Not sure why no one can quite grasp that.