Oil Change

Canary94GT · 07-01-2009, 12:31 AM

What was the original oil filter brand/color - was it a white Motorcraft? It shows that in my 65-73 manual. Edit: Actually I found out the original filter is Rotunda brand.

Also, what kind of oil do you recommend at 120,000 miles (top end being rebuilt). And I mean both synthetic vs blend vs conventional and 10w30 vs 5w30

Finally, how much oil? 4 or 5 quarts? It's an I6 200.

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knuckless · 07-01-2009, 01:41 AM

10w 30 castrol GTX high mileage is what i use on my 289 with 196,000. i usually use mobile 1 on my 05 but i may be switching to castrol edge because ive heard GREAT things about it and thats what my dads been using in is new malibu.

anyway its your choice, you can choose a high mileage oil or the best synthetic oil on the market. but if you engine hasnt used synthetic before its good to stay away from a synthetic because the engine isnt used to it synthetic and has had 120,000 of conventional

65rangoon · 07-01-2009, 09:03 AM

since its an older engine, even though the top end was rebuilt i wouldnt use synthetic in it. the molecules are much smaller and if you have a small leak with standard dino oil youll have an even larger leak with synthetic. if your piston rings let a little oil pass through it will be even worse with synthetic etc.

i wouldnt say if you have high mileage to not use synthetic though. i would say if its an old engine (like yours) i wouldnt use it but in a car thats within 10-15 years it could be ok. although with synthetic oils now you can always switch back to standard dino oil

i woud just stick to using synthetic on a newer car where the gaskets/seals are going to have a less chance of dry rot. my monte has 130k miles and i put standard in from 55k(when i bought it) till about 90k and then blended until just over 100k and now ive switched to a full synthetic.

the 5w30 is going to be a more thin oil then the 10w30. depending on where you live and if you drive it in the cold really depends on what to use. at that though you can use the 10w30 in the summer and then switch in the winter when its around freezing.

you can use the high mileage oil if you want but its going to have more detergents in it, so again id be a little hesitant in using it on an older bottom end.

personally in my '65 i use the Valvoline VR1 10w30 race oil. it has more PPM of zinc then your standard oil that can be bought offthe shelf which is better for the old flat tappet engines and helps with the wear.

its a little more expensive ($50 for a case instead of $20-30) but i only change the oil maybe once a year becuase of the miles i put on it.

BA Mustang · 07-01-2009, 10:02 AM

I believe it holds only 3-4 quarts of oil. I changed my oil out last week and bought 1 quart and the 4 quart canister. Used the 1 quart and didn't use all the other 4.

Could probably use the Valvoline for engines over 75K. My dad uses Castrol high mileage in his 220K 4 runner. I usually use Castrol GTX w/Sludge protector, but this oil change I used Quaker State Peak Performance.

socalwrench · 07-01-2009, 12:33 PM

Castrol Syntec on new engines (older ones get conventional Castrol GTX). Castrol gives the best performance for the price, and contains a very low quantity of wax. Mobil 1 is also good- but, again, expensive. I don't use seal 'conditioners' (swellers) in any of my engines. Higher mileage engines get thicker oil.

For filters, I use Wix (if I can find them) or Motorcraft (supposedly made by Wix). I don't use the Fram junk (PM me for details)- they fall apart inside. The premium line oil filters sold at Carquest are made by Wix also (most of them).

BA Mustang · 07-01-2009, 01:09 PM

Look for Mobile 1 Clean 5000 in 10W30. It was at our local O'Reilly auto parts for $3 a quart. Was going to buy it, but they only had 2 quarts left

http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/...lean_5000.aspx

I usually use STP filters, I've heard about FRAM being crap filters so I don't even think about using them on any of our vehicles. I didn't this time because I didn't go to Autozone like I usually do, used one of the filters O'Reillys has in stock.

1971mach1 · 07-01-2009, 03:17 PM

I notice another group of folks in this thread that don't appear to know about the ZDDP issue of modern oil. None of the oils mentioned here except Valvoline VR-1 has enough ZDDP for older flat tappet engines (yes the old 6 cyls have flat tappets too). Receintly (~4 years ago) the EPA mandated that motor oils be limited to 800ppm ZDDP to be compatible with catalitic converters. The only oils that are still good for our cars are racing oils (like VR-1 and Roush Oil) and some oils ment for deisel engines, motorcycles or break-in oil. The only Mobil 1 that has enough ZDDP is 15W-50.
My tappets were very noisy at cold start with that thick oil (15W-50). It seems to like VR-1 10W-30 but that weight oil needs to be special ordered from Napa, nobody local stocks it..

BA Mustang · 07-01-2009, 03:24 PM

What the heck is ZDDP?

My engine runs great on the oil I use and I'm not going to change it.

Canary94GT · 07-01-2009, 03:40 PM

Thanks guys, I'll pick up some conventional oil on sale at Oreilly's and they also have a white Motorcraft filter which I'll also get.

65rangoon · 07-01-2009, 04:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BA Mustang

What the heck is ZDDP?

My engine runs great on the oil I use and I'm not going to change it.

ZDDP = Zinc Dialkyl Dithiophosphates

Engine oil used to have ~1200PPM of the ZDDP in it until afew years ago when the EPA regulated it down to no more then 800ppm. it is used for engine wear protection and especially used/needed in the old flat tappet engines.

modern engines to not need that high of ZDDP due to current technology and the only oils you can currently find with the higher count of ZDDP are the valvoline VR-1 race oil, the roush race oil and then the engine break in oils. (unless you go to a higher weight then 10w30)

Just becuase the engine "runs great" with X oil in it doesnt mean that it is giving you the protection that the engine wants.

at that the newer modern oils have a lot of additives in them that are supposed to help keep the internals "clean" as well as the seals conditioned. The only oils without these are pretty much labeled as "off road use only" such as the race oil and break in oils.

you can get additives to up the PPM of the ZDDP but to much ZDDP can actual harm the engine (iirc) and it is easier/more cost effective to just buy the VR1 race oil.

edit:

you have to watch the diesel oils as well due to them generally having more detergents then a standard dino oil for a car.