Have any of you changed the oil lately! Maybe to another brand? I have always used TexacoOil. But for two years ago i changed to MobilOil. The oil was of exactly the same spec. as the TexacoOil. Some days later when i was cruising around in my car, a 70 GS St1. when the lifters(hydraulic) begin to clatter. I look at the oilpressure-gauge but its O.K. Near 1/2. Soon it was a really horrible sound. And no idle. I stop the car and look at the oil deep stick, but didnt find anything, except the right oil level. I wait an hour, started the engine and when its being hotter, the clattering sound was there again. I have been working with cars more than 20 years, but never had this problem before. Cold engine = silence. Hot engine = clattering lifters on both sides. But i reminded the oilchange some days earlier. I asked an oil-guru on the MobilShop. After i tell my story, he asked me: "- Did you fill up with the new oil, start the engine, after some minutes shut it off, and then drain the oil?" "-No, I didnt, it was exactly the same oil type!" "-Yes, but two different brands" "-Mobil and Texaco is the same type, but they are using different kind of additives in the oil. -Some of the additives in one brand is not mixing with other brands additives." he said. "-And sometimes it could plug the small holes in the lifters" Was this true?, maybe he had right? When home again, I change the oil and a new oilfilter again. Still using the same oil once again. Voil! The engine was hot and no strange sound. After that, I have never heard anything strange. Has anyone of you get this problem, or was it only in my engine this happened? ____ Elis
I ran into this same thing back in the mid 70's. I had been running either valvoline or quaker state back then in my 65 401 gs. I decided to change to pennzoil after believe all their advertising poop on their exclusive z-7 additives. ANy way, a day or so later, the engine started missing and picking up lifter noises , the more I drove the worse it got. I thought the engine was toast. I got ahold of a friend of mine whose father worked for the local Buick dealer, had been there most of his life and told him about waht was happening, I told him about the oil change and this was his reply. They had seen at the dealership this same situation occasionally when someone would either change to pennzoil from another brand or to another brand after running pennzoil. He suggested the same thing, either drain the oil and put pennzoil back in or drain it and go back to what I had been running. He said the best they could figure was that the additive packages were not compatible between pennzoil on other brands. I changed back to my old brand of oil and the problem went away. He had said that when the dealership ran into the problem and rechanged the oil and stuck to pennzoil, the cars were fine. I changed back because I did not want to be in a situation where I had pennzoil in it and neede to add oil at some point and would not be able to find pennzoil. I kinda figured that those kind of problems would not exist today with the current oils out there, but I guess it's still a problem. Jim Burek P.A.E. ENTERPRISES
I changed to Mobil 1 from Kendall and got noises (sounded like rod knock) on my Fiero GT w/turbo. Switched back to Kendall and quiet again. That's why I like to ask when I buy a car what they were using in it. Kinda a pain as I have to keep 5 oils around ......Kendall, Mobil 1, Castrol, Valvoline and Quaker State (for the boat). Bruce
You see, what everybody doesn't re4alize is, new oils are lighter in viscosity, like 0WZippo, for drag/friction reduction, and that the additive packages favor the lighter viscosities. How can these later oils run soooo good in late engines, and so crappy in earlier ones? Well, metallurgy, and clearances for a couple of reasons. Our earlier parts aren't induction hardened, aren't nearly as tough as new stuff with special metals, hardening and treatments. Also, these later engines use, for the most part, roller cams, which don't cause as rapid an oil molecule sheer from sliding lifter faces on flat tappet cams. With reduced oil sheer, oils wear less and can be a lot lower viscosity. This allows for more mileage with the lighter oils and synthetics, ones like Mobil1, etc. I've used Valvoline and Chevron RPM Delo straight weight oils for many, many years, with no problems whatsoever, and even converted to Valvoline straight weight natural oils in my Japanese motorcycle engines, and saw lower engine temps, retained oil pressures after extended length rides, all by simply going to a straight weight oil from a 20W50 like Castrol GTX, (which ain't a bad oil in its own right, for later engines).
I was using the same weights but I know what you mean...... my son took his 190,000 car in to Walmart (I was away) and they put 5w-30 in in the summer. I changed it right away. I never go lower than 10w-30 except maybe in the dead of winter on something less than 50K. Bruce
OK, SO WHAT'S THE SUGGESTED OIL AND/OR WEIGHT FOR THE 'OL BIG BLOCKS WITH LESS MILES, AND THOSE WITH HIGHER MILEAGE? SYNTHETIC OR NOT? I'M RUNNING VALVOLINE 10W40 WITH A LITTLE LUCAS OIL TREATMENT IN A FRESH 455, OPERATING BETWN. 200 AND 220 DEGREES. AM I DOING THE RIGHT THING?
I'm running 15w40 diesel rated fleet oil.(It's also compatible with gas engines.) Keeps the motor quiet, and it stays nice and clean. The reason I chose to go that route was for several reasons. The first part is, the higher detergent amount and greater soot control. The other main reason was, thermal stability, the oil is rated for turbocharged diesel applications.
I am also running 15w40 now. But i am also little curious about to use synthetic oil instead. Sometimes on a hot summerday,(unusual in Sweden..) the oil pressure on idle isnt very high. Reading between 1/2-1/4 on the gauge. But with synthetic oil, i expect a slightly thicker oil, even on a hot day. But... All people I have been talking with have the same answer to me, DONT. They have all different kind of explanations about that. Because of that i havnt, but.....what could happened? Is there someone of you, who really can explain it for me? Very happy for a answer with facts. ____ Elis
I will add two considerations based on experience and literature in the aircraft piston engine world. Notwithstanding testimonals that are well intended but not based on scientific testing under controlled conditions, synthetics do provide better lubrication and protection against wear. The publication Consumer Aviation recently did another write up comparing various brands including some with synthetic additives and some without. That publication derives no income from advertisers. I once handled a matter that involved a professor of mechanical engineering from Michigan who spent most of his life working as I recall primarily with GM. He would also agree with the forgoing results. However there is a big caveat. The seals used in older engines were not designed with synthetics in mind. Older engines may tend to begin leaking if the lubricant is now switched to synthetic oil. Also one of the most often overlooked considerations is the duration of time , not mileage, between oil changes and regular use. The engine being open to the atmosphere combines in the crankcase condensed water vapor with the by-products of combustion. The result is a corrosive mixture that attacks cylinder walls, rings, etc. Regular use of the engine at operating temperature tends to boil off the water and the oil tends to keep the combustion products in suspension, but eventually it must be changed in order to protect the engine from internal corrosion. In the aircraft piston field we use a rule of thumb that it takes 30 minutes at operating temperature to boil off the water. If I cannot clear up the confusion, I at least try to make the confusion clear.
Synthetics Elis; Let me help you out with some personal experience. I recently picked up my car in Nevada and it was running 20w50 oil because of the hot dry climate. I live in Vancouver, Canada (similar climate to Sweden) and after some deliberation, took a trusted friends advice and switched to a 5w50 full synthetic. Basically, because I run the car year round (sunny days only) I thought the synthetic would give me good protection on cold days while still being effective when the motor warmed up to operating temp. I now regret that decision and have switched back to conventional oils. What happened is the synthetics caused many of the gaskets and seals to weep, making a real mess of the undercarriage and block. This was explained in two ways, first, the synthetics don't have some of the same additives that conventional oils have that tend to "condition" the older gaskets and seals, secondly the synthetics clean out those conditioners and expose the weaknesses in the gaskets. I have read numerous reports on synthetics by unbiased individuals and in all tests, the synthetics out perform all other conventional oils and synthetic blends in scour tests. But if your not starting with a new or almost new engine, the mess the synthetics cause is not worth it! If your changing your oil frequently and using a good filter, conventional oils are more than adequate for our old big blocks. One other interesting fact was that synthetic blends did not do any better in these tests than conventional oils. Hope this helps clear up some of the confusion.
Say Doug there is a show and shine in North Van in Lynn Valley on Sunday if you're interested. It starts at 11 AM. Perhaps I'll see you there.
Thank you all! Your experience and knowledge is gold worth! Now I got all the right explanations about different kinds of oil, on exactly the way I wanted it. ____ Elis
Great Elis... I'm glad we could be of assistance! Barry; Sorry, for some reason the Lynn Valley show is not on my schedule of events for this year. The next show I will be attending is the IPB show on July 27 in Surrey, will you be entering that one? Also, there is a large casual get together every sunny Friday and Saturday night that the Java Hut on the Langley bypass in Langley. I know it's pretty far to travel, but well worth it! There can be as many as 300 cars there on a sunny Friday night. I don't go often, but will be going this Friday, weather permitting. If your interested, drop me a PM!
I had not heard of the Surrey show. What is required to enter? As for the Java Hut I've had a few people tell me about that and I might just take a run at it. When you have such an old car it takes awhile to build up your confidence to do these longer jaunts. I did one out there during the day a few weeks ago and it was no problem but it is over an hour from my place in West Van. Send me your email address at bbampton@shaw.ca so we don't use up this site. There was quite a good showing in North Van but sitting out in the heat for 6 hours isn't as much fun as it used to be! I guess I am becoming an old fart!
