Lubrication

mvonhobe

mvonhobe

Junior Member
So my 1939 1-1/2 ton flat bed is running nicely. Thought it a good idea to change the oil, etc. Took it to a local Jiffy-Lube; they didn't have a socket wrench big enough to fit that big oil pan plug. But while they were scratching their head, they asked what kind of oil I wanted. I asked what they would recommend. No real answer being forthcoming, I accepted their free lube and came home.
I'm looking at a great old lube chart I got on the forbidden site for some clues.....they have an ambient temperature scale with an SAE # opposite each range. So, for the current season I suppose I'd be looking at SAE 30 or SAE 40. Seems there was no multi-viscosity goin' on back then?
So I searched the interwebs for "best oil for old engines". Yeah, that didn't give anything resembling a clear recommendation! For one thing, the supposition is that an old engine is a high-mileage engine. Mine isn't necessarily a high-mileage mill.

So, fellas, keeping in mind that we have no oil filter on such a rig, what would be y'alls recommendation(s) for oil? Feel free to include manufacturer preference as well, and whether or not synthetic, or synthetic blends, would be in your mill.

For the transmission, differential, and steering gear, the old chart specifies "New Univ. Gear Lub.-(EP). What's today's equivalent? It also recommends "drain, flush, refill". Flush with what?

And, finally, MARFAK.....a suitable substitute for general lube points available at a generic parts store?
 
Aight.....disregard my post then. Close it.
My initial boards search yielded nothing....a subsequent search yielded much more, including can o' worms references.
I think I've got enough information to work with on my own.
Wasn't my intention to irritate the senior members or anyone else.
 
LOL some guys in here just dont have the patience they should have, use 20- 50 oil, any brand as long as it doesnt have the red shield on the container that says "for gasoline engines", it does not have the zink in it needed for older engines
 
Well lets pop that can wide open-I did not think Henry's engines needed the zinc. I never have worried about it in my flat head-now my cheby-that's a different story. By the way I have talked to cam grinders who say you only need the zinc for break in. Let the fur fly.
 
I'm using Rotella 30 weight, but you will get so many opinions on this. I've come to the conclusion after reading alot of posts on this that it probably doesn't matter to much what you use,they are all better quality than what was used back then. Flatheads are low compression low reving over engineered engines that seem to WANT to run. I know we like to baby our engines and that's why we all have opinions on how to treat them but they are tough little engines. So any of the suggestions you get on here although contradictory are probably good.
 
What about Mobil 1 0/40 synthetic motor oil? Im using 40 nondetergent & thinking I want something better#%*?
 
Ken Bull said:
What about Mobil 1 0/40 synthetic motor oil? Im using 40 nondetergent & thinking I want something better#%*?
Click to expand...

I've heard people say synthetic oil could loosen sludge(bad) but I don't know how true that is. I wonder if there wwould be any benefit to using synthetic on a 70 year old engine to justify the price.
 
I personaly use either delo 400 15-40 or rotella. I think most oil these days made for gasoline eng. would be fine. the biggest key is frequent oil changes. esp. if you don't have a filter. they did not have multi-visq. oil when flatheads were made . the recomendations then were based on the outside ambient temp. 30 or 40 wt. in summer 10wt or 20 wt. in winter
 
I use what Mr. Ford recommended except I use S.A.E. 40 in the summer which is alright when starting temperatures are above 60 degrees. It gives me about 5 lbs. more oil pressure (although I don't think that's real critical). Then I use S.A.E. 30 down to starting temperatures of 30 degrees as Ford recommended. I never need lower than that because my garage in the winter never gets below 45. I buy the cheapest oil I can find of the correct viscosity because the flathead engine is designed to use about a quart of oil every 1,000 miles so it's all replaced by the time I change it at 5,000 miles anyway.

If you want some interesting reading about engine oils here's some:

The down side of multi-viscosity oils and a lot of other information: http://www.upmpg.com/tech_articles/motoroil_viscosity/

Oil for Diesel engines probably wouldn't hurt a gas engine but why use it when there are so many formulated specifically for spark ignition (gasoline) engines? Gasoline and diesel oils have different additive packages because the contaminants in the crankcase are different. With a gasoline engine you get a lot of moisture and tar and with a diesel the oil becomes acidic and will collect more carbon.

Many oils will work well in either engine type but it's always best to use an oil specially formulated to the type of engine for optimal life.

You will see things like "API SG or CJ" on the oil container, that means:

API = American Petrolium Industry
SG = Spark ignition (for gasoline engines), grade "G"
CJ = Compression ignition (for diesel engines), grade "J"

The second letter is the grade designator, in alphabetical order, and later = better.

Scientific wear studies have shown that even with our flat lifters, the pressure is so low extra zinc is not needed. But, if you want to add a little zinc just in case it helps (like I do) here's the cheapest I've found: http://www.eastwood.com/ew-zddp-oil-additive-4-oz.html
 
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After all is said and done, I believe this is the true test of whether or not you have oil that will work fine for your engine:

Stick your finger in the oil container then pull it out. Rub that finger against the thumb on that same hand. If it feels slippery, put it in! :rolleyes:
 
Interesting dialog !
My research indicates the problems are with the non hardened valve seats on some of the flat heads and the flat tappet cams. SO I use Rotella 15-40 in my newly rebuilt 8BA with a zinc additive. I also use Rotella 15-40 in my Porsche 911. Last oil change the Quick Lube kid asked if the Porsche was a diesel, gotta wonder about the younger generation!:confused::confused:
 
Are wet-behind-the-ears, Johnny-come-lately, green-as-grass new boys allowed to wade into the forum with strong opinions whilst at the same time terrified they will shot down in flames?

I have been brought up with a few oily mantras inherited from my father....if an old engine still has its old straight grade oil in it, and you want to change to multi-grade,it will need to be stripped and oil ways cleaned, because modern oils have contained detergent for decades now, which will loosen sludge and cause untold harm.

Any bog standard multi-grade will do, just change it frequently if the old engine doesn't have an oil filter.

If you ve been running on veg oil for the divine scent, but are fed up with the mess and want to change to normal oil, you will have to strip and clean out the engine because the 2 don't mix.

Those modern, ridiculously expensive, synthetic oils look WAY too thin for my old motor, will surely play havoc with my oil pressure and should be avoided at all costs.

EP90 in all things with gears in unless it comes out as fast as you can put it in, in which case dig out the old drum of 140 and try that. He had some concern about EP gear oil and bronze, and had an old pot of straight 90 just in case,but we never knew if anything had bronze in it or not, so the old pot of straight 90 still has its lid seal intact!

Now please be gentle!

Tom.
 
Down here in good old Australia we have an oil company Penrite who specialize in non-friction-modified oils for older vehicles. They also do a synthetic oil for those who want it, but their HPR range is basically all we ever used at The Healey Factory where I spent almost 20 years. In summer I use HPR50 and in winter HPR30 & I've not heard a word of complaint from my flattie!
 
53 bucks for 6 quarts ....wow. I'd have to stretch out my oil changes. I thought the posts underneath were interesting, it looks like Rotella says they still have 1200 ppm zinc, I hope that's true.
 
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