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Posted By Discussion Topic: Engine Oil     ford38v8 04-08-2011 @ 4:54 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 2769 Joined: Oct 2009 Babbitt is a very forgiving type of bearing. It will conform to and around imperfections and floating junk like a clam makes a pearl. The trouble is, it tends to herniate into oil passages and grow in diameter faster than you can say knock-knock-who's-there? As a kid I had a Brand X with a loud knock. It was so loud you couldn't hold a conversation in the car. I removed the shims from the rod caps and dug the babbitt out of the oil passages. That helped a little, but I then took the caps to my Father's bench grinder, which did the trick. It took two batteries to spin the engine the first time, but no knock! It still ran quietly when I sold it to an unsuspecting Chebbie Nut a few months later. Alan supereal 04-08-2011 @ 1:37 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 MG: We don't use synthetic oil in any old engines for the reasons set out above. The durability of babbit bearings depends on the quality of the material, the skill of the pourer, and that of the fitting of the bearings. When babbit was the primary material, the bearings were actually scr*ped manually to fit in some cases where boring and honing wasn't available. It was a durable material that could take a lot of abuse, but as speeds and loads increased, it was replaced by insert type bearings. We occasionally get a babbit block at our shop, and we farm out the actual replacement to Egge Manufacturing, one of the few big shops that still perform the task. If you have a babbit type engine, drive it gently, and it is likely it will serve a very long time. MG 04-08-2011 @ 12:29 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1262 Joined: Nov 2009 supereal, What is your opinion of using synthetic oil in engines with Babbitt Bearings? Better yet, what is your opinion of Babbitt Bearings with respect to it's durability? This message was edited by MG on 4-8-11 @ 12:32 PM Ron Crouch 04-08-2011 @ 10:53 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 25 Joined: Apr 2011 Thanks much.---Ron Ron Crouch 04-08-2011 @ 10:52 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 25 Joined: Apr 2011 Thank-you you are forgiven.---Ron supereal 04-08-2011 @ 10:11 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 To be clear: I am not against synthetic oil, and use it in my modern vehicles, both for durability and extended drain intervals. It is designed for today's close engine clearances with superior flowing ability. Our older engines have much wider clearances and, in my opinion, it is overkill to spend such high prices on a product with limited advantage. I know there is a desire to give our old cars the best that can be obtained, but changing oil twice as often will do the same, and more, if there is no effective filter to catch the suspended particles. We don't advise the use of synthetics in the older engines we rebuild, as inevitably there will be seepage, with a customer unhappy that his "new" engine is leaking. TomO 04-08-2011 @ 7:12 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7257 Joined: Oct 2009 Ron, Modern antifreeze will work well in your car. As Alan said most of us use water with a corrosion inhibitor in the summer. Do not use plain water, due to the corrosion possibilities. IMHO the best anti-freeze to use in the flatheads is Sierra. It doesn't foam as much as the other brands and if you have any seepage past the head gasket, it will not do as much damage as the the ethylene - glycol antifreeze. Tom ford38v8 04-07-2011 @ 10:19 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 2769 Joined: Oct 2009 Ha! Ron, forget my bawling you out in my previous post, I think you got the hang of it now! Many of us use only water and a product such as Purple Ice or Water Wetter. Some use only a water pump lubricant. I doubt if any of us leaves our car outside in freezing weather, so Antifreeze is not required but for the anticorrosive properties contained in it. Antifreeze is also the cause of foam if used incorrectly, a thing we try to avoid. Winter storage in extreme climates is preferably a flushed and drained cooling system, to start out in Spring with fresh coolant. Alan ford38v8 04-07-2011 @ 10:09 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 2769 Joined: Oct 2009 Ron, you've had the best opinion of our best expert to your previous post on this same question. As a Newbie, you are certainly forgiven, but in the future, please note that it is much less confusing for us all to keep a single thread going till the question is thoroughly answered by all who would contribute. Each answer or comment bumps the post to the top of the pile, so it gets plenty of exposure. As it seems that you want a second opinion, I have just one comment on Super's advice regarding the relative cost of synthetic versus conventional oil: The investment we have in our cars, in my opinion, demands that we treat them the best we can. That means not only changing oil and filter more often (I change every 2000 miles), but to use a product that will be up to the task if the engine overheats. Dinosaur oil will break down and lose its lubricity if it overheats, while synthetic will not break down regardless of the temperature. A further bit of advice on a similar subject is to use a few ounces of Marvel Mystery Oil in your gas tank at each fill up. This will help prevent sticky valves, a symptom caused by government mandating oil and gas content, and will also help prevent rust in your fuel system caused by the same government interference. Alan Ron Crouch 04-07-2011 @ 9:33 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 25 Joined: Apr 2011 I used the wrong topic title. What I really wanted to know is if the modern radiator coolants are recommended for the 1936 Ford Flathead V-8? This message was edited by Ron Crouch on 4-7-11 @ 9:51 PM

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