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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / 1947 which oil and viscosity

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Discussion Topic: 1947 which oil and viscosity

Old Henry

02-28-2015 @ 1:28 PM

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The operator's manual for the '47 specifies S.A.E. 30 down to 30° F. Since you'll just be running in the summer that straight viscosity should do fine. That's what I used until my crank and rod bearings just wore out after 55,000 miles since previous rebuild. So, I've gone to Mobil 1 10W-30 synthetic to try to get more mileage out of the bearings I just had put in. It is thinner than petroleum based oils producing lower oil pressure and a little more leaking past the rear seal. Other than that, we'll see whether is prolongs the life of the engine this round. (I drive over 1,000 miles per month all year round every day plus road trips. Just completed a 6 day 2,379 mile road trip to Mexico.)

This message was edited by Old Henry on 2-28-15 @ 1:33 PM

len47merc

02-28-2015 @ 9:12 AM

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Agree with Tom's comments completely. Have ran Castrol 5W & 10W-30 exclusively for over 20 years in all my 'modern' cars, all of which have 160K-290K miles on them, the lone exception being the '47 Merc has the lowest miles of any car in the household at now 40K. Upon receipt of the Merc and before motor rebuild I ran non-detergent Castrol 30W until input from others on this forum (Tom being one of them) opened my eyes on the detergent and muti-grade points.

On the API rating point in my opinion Tom's concerns are absolutely valid. My reason for using non-API certified Brad Penn for the new motor is they are not a johnny-come-lately and have been producing their oils for classic car and racing applications at a long established former Kendall plant in BRADford PENNsylvania since the company's inception in the mid '90's. Their break-in 30W oil is designed for just for that - break-in of a new motor. It performed so well during this period I trusted it enough to continue on with their 10W-30 for the first oil change after the 1,000 mile, 2 oil-change break-in period. Price is prohibitive and may ultimately drive me back to my tried-and-true, trusted Castrol 10W-30 after the next oil change.

Btw - past research revealed API certification imposes limits on ZDDP levels to ~800 ppm. Break-in and high performance oils containing levels beyond this, including those of the major brand names, do not qualify for or carry API certification, primarily in order to protect catalytic converters.

Very interesting point and observation Tom makes about 20W-50 resulting in higher operating temps for his '40.

Steve

This message was edited by len47merc on 2-28-15 @ 11:10 AM

TomO

02-28-2015 @ 7:45 AM

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Here is my opinion.

Detergent oil is the best for your engine. It will NOT loosen old sludge deposits that will clog your engine's oil passages, but will help keep a clean engine clean.

I prefer 10W-30 in my 40 Mercury. I ran 20W-50 for a few years and then changed back when the shop that changed my oil only had 10W-30. The engine ran cooler with the lighter weight oil, so I have continued it.

There was very little ZDDP in the oil when these flarheads were in daily use. They started to add more of it when the high performance engines of the late 50's and 60's were developed to combat excessive camshaft wear. I have seen Ford camshafts with over 200,000 miles with very little wear. Most people that have worked on these engines will say the same.

I would use any of the major brands 10W-30 oil. I am concerned about all of these specialty oils that have popped up to take care of the wear problem. These companies don't have the API certification, so you don't really know what standards are used to maintain quality.

Tom

len47merc

02-28-2015 @ 6:38 AM

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Whoah boy, you're opening a can of worms/oil here with this one. Suggest you do a search on this forum as there's a plethora of discussion threads on this. For what my two cents are worth, for your peace of mind if ZDDP concerns are important to you look for Brad Penn's oils usually found at performance/racing car centers as it contains high levels of zinc and phosphorous/phosphats. Sh*ll's Rotella, which is available at Wal Marts, also contains these components. Lots of debate on this topic exists - read it and make your own decision (same for detergent versus non-detergent). Outside of this, if you've a new motor with tight tolerances straight 30W or 10W-30 (former will produce and maintain slightly higher oil pressure). Non-detergent 30W is available but may take a little searching to find. If an older motor most seem to prefer a 20W-50 oil, particularly for warmer month use, to keep the oil pressure gauge in the peace of mind range.

I used a quality brand-name non-detergent straight 30W prior to restoring my motor. After motor restoration, ran Brad Penn's 30W break-in oil for 2 oil changes through 1,000 miles, then their 10W-30 this fall and winter and may stay with that weight this summer, or at most change for the 90-100 degree months here in NC to their 15W-40 for the new motor.

Steve

This message was edited by len47merc on 2-28-15 @ 6:54 AM

barrhavencobra

02-28-2015 @ 5:27 AM

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Hello, I recently bought my 1947. It is actually warming up enough here to get out in the garage, before I do anything I want to change oil, filter etc. I have been reading a lot to try to determine which type of oil to use etc. I will only drive in summer but can not find out exactly what viscosity of oil to use and also there seems to be discussions about an oil with detergent or not. My engine is all original. Any advice on viscosity and detergent or not?

Thanks in advance.

Jim

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