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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / oil for flat head

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Posted By Discussion Topic: oil for flat head -- page: 1 2     BERTHA 08-28-2011 @ 5:03 AM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 129 Joined: Nov 2009 ....... "Any modern oil is better than anything even dreamed of when flat head Fords were built." "Richard" Excellent point Richard Been using Amsoil 20-50 Z-Rod in "Bertha" Bob supereal 08-21-2011 @ 8:08 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 Choice of a brand is certainly up to the owner. My recommendation is for weight. Modern oils all contain packages of detergents and dispersants in most cases. These include anti acids. I used detergent oils for many years in babbit bearing engines with excellent results. The worst enemy of old engines is sludge. It was usual to actually scr*pe out handfuls of sludge years ago when non detergent oils were common. I change oil at the beginning and end of each driving season, regardless of mileage, and find the inside to be very clean at teardown. We don't use or recommend synthetic oils for old cars, as they tend to get by the primitive seals. They are wonderful in modern engines, but overkill in old vehicles. 51f1 08-21-2011 @ 6:09 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 573 Joined: Oct 2009 I don't understand why people with old cars make such a big deal out which oil they should use. Unless you run scientific tests, how do you know one brand is better than another? Any modern oil is better than anything even dreamed of when flat head Fords were built. Richard 46fordnut 08-21-2011 @ 3:59 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 332 Joined: Oct 2009 if you think for a minute ....the service manual says to replace things that flat heads don't have and at regular mileage. like timing belts and water pumps at the same time because some are driven off of the timing belt. if you don't and the timing belt snaps you may need head work or even a piston or two. this only happens if you have what is called a close tolerance engine. my or most flatheads don't have a belt or a chain . they use gear to gear drive rare if at all these go bad. 100 horse running wild dixiejak 08-21-2011 @ 3:33 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 22 Joined: Jul 2011 For what its worth department, I was told by a Sh*ll Oil tech that spoke at at classic car club years ago, that you should definitely not use high detergent oils in Model T's, Model A's and any other engines that still had babbitt in the rods instead of bearings. The reason as he stated, was over time, as the engine sets up without too much running, the combination of the babbitt and high detergent chemicals creates an acid affect and attacks the babbitt in the rods. He recommended for babbitt engine vehicles, to use plain none detergent 30 weight oil and change your oil every 3000 miles. Jim (dixiejak( shogun1940 04-22-2011 @ 5:18 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 464 Joined: Feb 2010 long before roller cams I used mobil 1 and never had a problem . I would use it today in any engine. Stroker 04-22-2011 @ 3:17 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1460 Joined: Oct 2009 The venerable old flathead is pretty tough. We used to regularly haul loads of alfalfa (15,000 lbs.) from below sea level (Imperial Valley) to our home which was at 2000' in 90 degree weather with our 95 hp 40 truck. We hauled lemons and oranges (20,000 lbs.)to the various packing houses in the area. We had wind machines with 59A's that would swing a 9-foot prop @ 900 rpm 8 hours 7 days a week if necessary. I had what I would conservatively estimate to be 190 horse flathead (281 cu.in. in my 32 pickup. Ardun equipped hemi's have generated over 300 hp on the Wilcap dyno in the 50's, and fellow competitor Ron Main has an seriously-modified flatmotor that has propelled his streamliner to speeds over 300 mph at Bonneville. Having ranted all of this, there have been major improvements in casting technology, tribology, and alloys that have allowed us to put a bigger genie in the bottle. An engine is simply a vessel to contain the explosions that are ultimately translated to rotary movement. Today's engines are being asked to do more and more, with less and less. Todays engines, when they ultimately reach their life limits are pretty much just recyclable material and not much else. As Super has previously eluded to, there isn't much left to re-build. Our beloved flatmotors however, were actually designed to be rebuilt (within extreme limits). Given the fact that Dave Graham says that the average V8 Club member is in his 70's..(fits me), I would think that we should be letting our ancient motors turn slow enough to last quite a while longer. alanwoodieman 04-22-2011 @ 2:15 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 868 Joined: Oct 2009 I like that saying--going to use from now on supereal 04-22-2011 @ 7:42 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 A couple of things: don't use non detergent oil in anything, unless you love sludge. Even without a filter, detergent oil keeps particles in suspension so they can be drained instead of settling in the pan or valve chamber. As for my comments concerning the life expectancy of flatheads, I wasn't comparing miles, but the length of existence. Most flatheads are lightly driven, while today's high revving engines, particularly the small fours, are coming apart in alarming numbers. Our shop handles all kinds of vehicles, and very few engines today can be overhauled at all, let alone over and over, as most flatheads have been done. The last flatheads were made in 1953, more than a half century ago. I agree that some vehicles can make it to very high mileage but, from what we see in actual practice is that few really do. The majority of cars fall apart well before engine replacement. Those that survive are candidates for "crate engines", rather than overhaul, because the thin aluminum blocks are shot. We do a lot of big cast iron engines from trucks and tractors, but outside of renewing multivalve heads, very little engine work is ordered. Much of this is, ironically, due to the fact that today's vehicles are so trouble free for so long that owners neglect them. Most old engines were over engineered, which left lots of "meat" on the bones to allow renewal, which is fortunate for those of us who love our old cars. The "secret" to extended engine life is, and always has been, regular maintenance. This message was edited by supereal on 4-22-11 @ 10:04 AM 46fordnut 04-22-2011 @ 6:59 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 332 Joined: Oct 2009 i use 30w non detergent . i don't drive it very much. if i put 1500 miles a year its a lot . it seems to run good on this oil for me . my engine as far as i know was not rebuilt. only has 100,000 miles. i.m the 3rd owner. 100 horse running wild This message was edited by 46fordnut on 4-22-11 @ 7:28 AM

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