Synthetic Oil?

[RalphInCA]

Use whatever you want.

The worst we have today is worlds better than anything they had in 1947.

[SoCalCoupe]

Originally Posted by RalphInCA

Use whatever you want.

The worst we have today is worlds better than anything they had in 1947.

A lot of great observations here. This one sums it up for me. Have heard about the increased leakage concern. I do believe it reduces engine wear in any engine and that's the decider for me. I'd like to see my flathead last the rest of my life without needing a rebuild. For my next oil change I'm going to use synthetic. I'll use whatever's closest to the original viscosity recommendation though, nothing thinner.



I know, flathead guys don't need no stinking torque wrench, but over the years, I've see a lot oil pan drain plugs stripped when torqued "by feel." Any thoughts on a reasonable torque value to prevent weepage AND protect thread integrity?

[Jack E/NJ]

>>>Any thoughts on a reasonable torque value to prevent weepage AND protect thread integrity?>>>


Snug. Not tight. Weepage is fine with me. Drippage, not so much. 8^)

[SoCalCoupe]

Originally Posted by Jack E/NJ

>>>Any thoughts on a reasonable torque value to prevent weepage AND protect thread integrity?>>>


Snug. Not tight. Weepage is fine with me. Drippage, not so much. 8^)

Did the deed this weekend, changed the oil and put in 5w-40 Mobil-One European Formula oil. Not totally sure what European Formula means, best I can tell is different additives for extended oil change intervals. But, like RalphInCA said, everything today is so much better than what was available in the 1940's it shouldn't be a worry. Didn't sound poisonous to cast iron blocks.



Bought a new drain plug gasket only to find that it was about 3x the diameter of my drain plug. Must not be a stock oil pan. It has a much smaller diameter plug, maybe 5/8", but with plenty of threads in the pan, maybe at least 1/2". Since my new gasket wouldn't work, thought I'd make my own with a roll of Felpro gasket material.


Well, turns out there was a copper gasket on the drain plug that WAS NOT coming off. It turned, but the diameter was so small I couldn't engage it on the threads to turn it off. Gave up but did my best to clean it up and remove contamination along with contamination of the hole in the pan. Two gaskets are usually worse than one gasket.



Totally agree that ""Weepage is fine with me. Drippage, not so much." "Snug. Not tight" drives me crazy. I THINK that's what I did; I hope so. After 24 hours no drippage or weepage.



Been a long time but when I took my nearly new 1989 vehicle to a shop for an oil change three decades ago, there was A LOT of drippage. A lot of shouting ensued but they finally had to admit defeat and replace the oil pan. Snug, not tight didn't work so well for them.



Wasn't so lucky with another bolt in another part of the car. Have to buy another helicoil set this week, my second this year. Argghh!

[Jacques1960]

Rotella and MMO mix

[joe 1950]

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Ah remember the good old days at Western Auto and don’t forget JC Whitney good quality products and reasonable prices well at least Western Auto

[tubman]

Originally Posted by joe 1950

Ah remember the good old days at Western Auto and don’t forget JC Whitney good quality products and reasonable prices well at least Western Auto

Up until about 10 years ago, I ordered rebuilt carburetors from J.C. Whitney. I wanted to get the original Quadrajet on my '68 Corvette redone, so I ordered a direct replacement for $179.95, no exchange. It worked great out of the box. I did the same thing with the original carb on my '70 el Camino. I think that one was $129.95, no exchange, and I sold it on eBay a few months later for $200.

[Robert/Texas]

Joe, Some of the good old days are still here. I bought my 1992 Wizard/Western Auto lawn tractor used in 1994 and we still mow our lawn with it.

[lotsagas4u]

The Valvoline VR-1 is great break-in oil, as it contains a good amount of zinc, which is needed for flat tappet cams. But it does not contain much detergent, so sludge build up could be a concern if you expect to run the engine for 50,000 miles,
There are two versions of this oil, one in black container, low detergent, silver container, normal detergent, both high in zinc.

[solidaxle]

Originally Posted by lotsagas4u

The Valvoline VR-1 is great break-in oil, as it contains a good amount of zinc, which is needed for flat tappet cams. But it does not contain much detergent, so sludge build up could be a concern if you expect to run the engine for 50,000 miles,
There are two versions of this oil, one in black container, low detergent, silver container, normal detergent, both high in zinc.

To expand on your statement.
The black container is synthetic as stated on the label. The gray container does not mention anywhere that it is synthetic. It states for racing and classic cars "Specially designed for push-rod & flat- tappet engines".

[ct1932ford]

VR-1 20/50 is all I run. I change the oil as soon as it looks dirty.

[Tim Ayers]

Originally Posted by ct1932ford

VR-1 20/50 is all I run. I change the oil as soon as it looks dirty.

Same here. If you look around, sometimes you can find great deals like $25 a case. It's been a while since I've found a block buster deal like that, but last time I did, I loaded up.