Oil 10W30 ????

[MikeK]

I run a quart of antifreeze with the oil. I've been procrastinating about doing a babbitt job, that should speed things up.

[Y-Blockhead]

Originally Posted by Purdy Swoft

Model A's ran forged camshafts like the newest engines that are made today and ZDDP isn't really needed .

... Not to mention that a good portion of cams these days have roller lifters.

[maxandmickey]

I use 10w-40 and put a zinc additive in

[C26Pinelake]

Originally Posted by MikeK

I run a quart of antifreeze with the oil. I've been uuprocrastinating about doing a babbitt job, that should speed things up.

Is this a joke or if not what is the reasoning ?
Wayne

[31 Model A]

Morning gentlemen!!!! It's 4am here in Moonshine County, been awake since 3am. I might go back to bed and maybe not, I've already had three cups of coffee. Been doing a lot of reading, research and soaking in every bit of it all that has been said and advised.

Here is my plan of action over the winter.....I don't have a big garage, I store many of my Texaco garage items inside. It is not heated 24/7 and doesn't hold the heat long after I turn off the portable heaters. I don't want to get into something major until Spring when I can have the door open, more light and less restricted. Over the winter I will acquire the parts, fan and carb for example, and needed tools and have everything ready to tackle Sarah's age lines come Spring. Until then I will do service that needs to be done anyway. I will go ahead and drain the radiator now and refill her with fresh anti-freeze. I'll change her oil in the crankcase and I think I'll go with 15W40 rotella, why did I chose that weight.....it's what was drawn out of the hat. No reason not to go with anything else that has been recommended on this thread but...I went that way.

The differential and transmission I will also wait till Spring to change those fluids out. I'll continue to read the manuals I have and plan to acquire a couple more over the Winter, plus continue to bug the hell out of everyone here about small things.

I'll fix the chips in the fender, take out some small swirl scratches in the paint finish here and there, small things....................Winter should go by rather quickly.

That's my plan.......but being 96, things could change overnight!!!!

[Big hammer]

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IF your plans change overnight,I would take care of Sara for you.I am
in Bond county :-)

[31 Model A]

Originally Posted by Big hammer

IF your plans change overnight,I would take care of Sara for you.I am
in Bond county :-)

Bond County!!!!!!!!!!! Damn, you're almost family!!! Put a visit come summer on your 'to-do list'. I'll put a couple of Baby Backs on the grill and we'll sit around and tell war stories.....I personally don't have any but I can bullshit one or two!!!!!

[Terry, NJ]

Not to hijack the thread, but I've been meaning to ask about that! When I took my engine apart before putting it in, I had the dipper tray out and I noticed approx. 1/4" drain holes on the vertical/ front side of the the depressions. I thought they were supposed hold oil up to the top of the tray to provide a bigger splash with the rotation of the crank. Are these correct?
I haven't had enough experience with these engines`
Terry

Originally Posted by Purdy Swoft

I didn't mean to be miss leading. I buy oil in 5 quart jugs but only add 4 quarts when I change the oil. The engine holds 5 quarts but one quart remains in the dipper tray and can't be drained unless the oil pan is removed.

[hangarb7]

OK, just because everyone is weighing in with their procedures....

I wanted to do as Purdy mentioned in the book, 40W in summer. Here in Western PA I don't drive at all in Winter.

But I got fooled and ended up using 40W detergent. So after under 500 miles I went with the 40W non-detergent. Both seemed to get dirty at about the same rate, soooo using my goofy scientific decision-making, I now alternate between the two.

But learning from this thread what 10W40 means (thinner at cold temps to allow better lube when starting) I think I will go with that for the colder months.

See, old dog, new tricks.

JackD

[BlueSunoco]

Originally Posted by sethkestenbaum

. Since it is a Model A, perhaps the question isn't "which oil should I use that is best for my engine?" Perhaps it is "which oil would look the nicest dripped on my garage floor?"

I LIKE that

[Tom Wesenberg]

Originally Posted by Terry, NJ

Not to hijack the thread, but I've been meaning to ask about that! When I took my engine apart before putting it in, I had the dipper tray out and I noticed approx. 1/4" drain holes on the vertical/ front side of the the depressions. I thought they were supposed hold oil up to the top of the tray to provide a bigger splash with the rotation of the crank. Are these correct?
I haven't had enough experience with these engines`
Terry

Any holes drilled will lower the oil in the tray. Someone added those holes, but if they are high up on the vertical side you should be OK. I replace dipper trays that have drilled holes with a good original tray. The next time you have the pan off I'd install a good pan without holes.

[CAPE A]

Rotella on sale at your local Tractor Supply store 1 Gall. 2.00 off. Love that store

[Purdy Swoft]

Originally Posted by Terry, NJ

Not to hijack the thread, but I've been meaning to ask about that! When I took my engine apart before putting it in, I had the dipper tray out and I noticed approx. 1/4" drain holes on the vertical/ front side of the the depressions. I thought they were supposed hold oil up to the top of the tray to provide a bigger splash with the rotation of the crank. Are these correct?
I haven't had enough experience
Terry

I agree with Tom in post # 31 . I have found engines with holes drilled in the outer edges of the dipper tray. I prefer to replace the dipper tray but at times I have also gas welded up the holes. If they are at the outer edges there is probably no need for alarm. I just prefer to have plenty oil in the tray . I think that I read somewhere that Ford later added holes to the tray, maybe on the B engines but I'm not sure how correct that info was.

[Purdy Swoft]

Originally Posted by hangarb7

OK, just because everyone is weighing in with their procedures....

I wanted to do as Purdy mentioned in the book, 40W in summer. Here in Western PA I don't drive at all in Winter.

But I got fooled and ended up using 40W detergent. So after under 500 miles I went with the 40W non-detergent. Both seemed to get dirty at about the same rate, soooo using my goofy scientific decision-making, I now alternate between the two.

But learning from this thread what 10W40 means (thinner at cold temps to allow better lube when starting) I think I will go with that for the colder months.

See, old dog, new tricks.

JackD

The same applies to 20w50 . The oil will be thinner on cold start up for better flow. Its all good and way better than any oil that was available when the model A was introduced. Its just my thought that a 20w whatever will be what Ford recommended for cold opperation, start ups or whatever. 10w whatever oil that is used will be thinner at cold start ups than what Ford recommended , which may be just fine. Its really a personal choice.

[Patrick L.]

A complete oil fill would be 5 Qts, while a normal oil change is 4-4.5 Qts.

Actually at operating temps the oil should be 10w.

The first number on an oil is the cold flow rate while the second number is the shear strength. A 10w-30 is equivalent to 10 weight with the warm film shear strength of a 30. The oil doesn't get thicker as it warms. I did my college paper [ back in the dark ages] on lube oils.

[J Franklin]

I remember an exhibit on oils at the museum of science & industry in Los Angeles consisting of 4 plexiglass tubes with a steel ball in each. two had 30 weight and two had 10-30 in them. There was a heat source under a pair of each and the other two were refrigerated somehow. the tubes were on a pivot like a see saw and you could watch the action of the ball traveling through each type under the different temps. Of course the balls in the 30 wt had the most variance, but the balls in hot/cold 10-30 traveled at about the same speed. I always liked that exhibit!

[Purdy Swoft]

Yep, oil can only get thinner, the hotter that it gets. My point is Ford recommended 20 w for cold operation and 40w for hotter or summer operation. 10w is thinner when cold than 20w when cold. There is such a thing as engine rattle on cold starts if the oil is too thin. Ford recommended 20W for cold operation and I'm pretty sure that cold and hot viscosity fluctuation was taken into consideration when that recommendation was made.

[Purdy Swoft]

I don't disagree that most oil when hot or at operating temp works out to be around 30w. If there wasn't an advantage to a multi weight fluctuation in hot and cold operation there would be no multi weight such as 10w30 ,15w40 or 20w50 oils offered , it would all just be 30 weight or a single weight whatever the case may be.

[31 Model A]

Originally Posted by CAPE A

Rotella on sale at your local Tractor Supply store 1 Gall. 2.00 off. Love that store

Just returned and I got $10.00 off with the coupon Mitch sent me!!!!!!

[Mitch//pa]

Originally Posted by 31 Model A

Just returned and I got $10.00 off with the coupon Mitch sent me!!!!!!

glad to help