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MG42

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usa maryland
My Car
1971 Q code mustang
hello all what is the best oil to use in these old motors. a buddy of mine told me to use royal purple. thanks Ed

 
if you decide to use royal purple the only one is the "engine break in" oil, this is the only conventional oil royal purple makes and has a higher ZDDP zinc level for flat tappet engines.

 
This is a roller motor would that change the type of oil I run in it? Sorry for the novice questions.

 
Hi i have asked for the same thing as well ;-) But it is still too expensive oil ;-) But it is not necessarily too yuse that. But I am always putting ZDDP Zinc 3 bottles in every time together whit Mobil 1, 5w-50. Which works best here in Denmark [WINKING FACE] But it's not easy to Choose Which One Is The Best because of its depending on where you Live as temperature dry ore cooler weather conditions. Regards Lars DK73

 
My line of thinking is that aside from special-purpose blends and/or additives, Motor Oil is Motor Oil.

Having said that, I use Castrol SYNTECH Blend - in all my cars. High-Mileage version goes in the Jeep (even though it has less than 10,000 on its most recent rebuild).

I don't know why, but I've always used Castrol. Probably because I liked their TV commercials back in the late '80s/early '90s or something. I have no compelling technical reason to prefer that brand, nor have I ever had any major or catastrophic failures that weren't already in-progress thanks to the previous owners (blew an engine in my black Nissan 4x4 a few months after buying it).

 
with a roller motor you don't have the same issues as a flat tappet, but you might want to use a high zinc oil anyway.

they removed zinc from most oils because of emissions regulation, so there are fewer and fewer blended conventional and synthetic oils on the market with high zinc levels.

there are so many oil topics on various websites that it will make your head spin. there are also oil test websites that give breakdowns of most oils on the market and testing.

as an example

from testing:

Royal Purple 10W30 Break-In Oil conventional = 62,931 psi

zinc = 1170 ppm

phos = 1039 ppm

ZDDP = 1100 ppm

10W30 Royal Purple HPS (High Performance Street) synthetic = 66,211 psi

zinc = 1774 ppm

phos = 1347 ppm

ZDDP = 1500 ppm

you can find a list here

http://speedtalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=35836

now you can also add ZDDP to most motor oils it comes in a small bottle and you follow the directions and mix it in when you do an oil change.

everyone has a brand they love, and there are brands that have gotten a bad rap because people feel they caused an engine to fail.

Some people like conventional and some only synthetic.

another issue is changing regulations on emissions, many lists on the internet are out of date and formulas kept changing. Rotella is a good example it used to be that mobile oil was good all around then one day they changed the formula people found out and switched to the diesel version, but then the diesel version changed a couple of years later. all very confusing.

Conventional, has wax in it and it tends to clog up, which can be a good thing if you have a leaky motor, or one where the tolerances are a little open.

synthetic, is more controlled and clean usually goes longer but an old engine may start leaking because the synthetic cleans out the internals and usually breaks a chunk of conventional oil away from where it clogged a leak and some people hate it because a leak free engine suddenly starts weeping oil from all the seals.

the truth is there is no direct answer for the best oil, even bad ones can be good, better then they were originally made 40 years ago.

some people will send off there oil change samples to be tested for bushing wear and adjust what oil they use based on the reports.

i've used royal purple engine-break in oil, but i've been wanting to change over to something more conventional.

 
with a roller motor you don't have the same issues as a flat tappet, but you might want to use a high zinc oil anyway.

they removed zinc from most oils because of emissions regulation, so there are fewer and fewer blended conventional and synthetic oils on the market with high zinc levels.

there are so many oil topics on various websites that it will make your head spin. there are also oil test websites that give breakdowns of most oils on the market and testing.

as an example

from testing:

Royal Purple 10W30 Break-In Oil conventional = 62,931 psi

zinc = 1170 ppm

phos = 1039 ppm

ZDDP = 1100 ppm

10W30 Royal Purple HPS (High Performance Street) synthetic = 66,211 psi

zinc = 1774 ppm

phos = 1347 ppm

ZDDP = 1500 ppm

you can find a list here

http://speedtalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=35836

now you can also add ZDDP to most motor oils it comes in a small bottle and you follow the directions and mix it in when you do an oil change.

everyone has a brand they love, and there are brands that have gotten a bad rap because people feel they caused an engine to fail.

Some people like conventional and some only synthetic.

another issue is changing regulations on emissions, many lists on the internet are out of date and formulas kept changing. Rotella is a good example it used to be that mobile oil was good all around then one day they changed the formula people found out and switched to the diesel version, but then the diesel version changed a couple of years later. all very confusing.

Conventional, has wax in it and it tends to clog up, which can be a good thing if you have a leaky motor, or one where the tolerances are a little open.

synthetic, is more controlled and clean usually goes longer but an old engine may start leaking because the synthetic cleans out the internals and usually breaks a chunk of conventional oil away from where it clogged a leak and some people hate it because a leak free engine suddenly starts weeping oil from all the seals.

the truth is there is no direct answer for the best oil, even bad ones can be good, better then they were originally made 40 years ago.

some people will send off there oil change samples to be tested for bushing wear and adjust what oil they use based on the reports.

i've used royal purple engine-break in oil, but i've been wanting to change over to something more conventional.
the only part that 72 left out was that all OTHER comments derived from what their father or older person said because that is what "they" were told!

as the story goes a newly wed wife cooks a ham she cuts off both ends prior to cooking. Her newly wed husband ask "why"...that is the way my mother did it. So upon a family gathering he ask the mom the same question. "well that is how my mother did it" . later on at yet another family gathering he ask the wife's grandmother. "so tell me why you always cut the end off the ham prior to cooking it" she responds "because my pan was TOO SHORT"

Fact is if it doesn't have zinc...it may not be good for our cars.

 
the only part that 72 left out was that all OTHER comments derived from what their father or older person said because that is what "they" were told!

as the story goes a newly wed wife cooks a ham she cuts off both ends prior to cooking. Her newly wed husband ask "why"...that is the way my mother did it. So upon a family gathering he ask the mom the same question. "well that is how my mother did it" . later on at yet another family gathering he ask the wife's grandmother. "so tell me why you always cut the end off the ham prior to cooking it" she responds "because my pan was TOO SHORT"
LOL! Used to get a LOT of kids at the Auto Hobby Shop that would do various things along similar lines, usually for the same reason (their Dad always did it). Things like:

  • remove the oil cap before draining - to help it drain faster
  • start the car to circulate the new oil immediately after changing... then shut it off and proceed to do something else
  • use a particular brand of oil
  • use a particular weight of oil (10W30 in a newer car that's clearly marked 20W50 on the oil cap)
  • disconnect the battery (even for just an oil change)
  • remove the air cleaner (even though it's nowhere near the oil filler cap or dipstick
  • buy a complete set of brake pads, rotors, shoes, drums, etc., before even having done an inspection - and wind up taking it all back


None of those are particularly bad practice (except the oil weight thing), just unnecessary things that have become odd habits.

Fact is if it doesn't have zinc...it may not be good for our cars.
As Dan mentioned, very true for factory set-ups or flat-tappet cams and valve-train. Roller cam systems however, not so much. ;)

 
Oil is one of those things, like tooth paste and shaving cream, ask ten people, get ten different opinions. Best advise is to go with whichever you prefer, so log as it's quality brand name oil . By all means use an oil with ZDDP in it ( zinc ), like most good racing ,or truck oils will have.

I take it one step further, in that I not only run a racing oil with ZDDP, but I add a zinc additive with it as well with every oil change.

 
Everybody's singing the praises of zinc pretty loudly.

So, I hafta ask: aside from the necessities with flat-tappet set-ups, what are the benefits or requirements for other engine configurations (roller cams, etc.)?

 
Valvoline VR1 in the old motors. I use it in both of my motors with flat tappet applications. O'Rielly stocks it which makes it a little easier to find over the Royal Purple. I have not expereinced but have heard of guys having problems with the ZDDP addative when running a fresh engine rebuild. It sounds like it takes times for the addative to combine with the base oil which can reduce the coverage on the cam and valves.

I know a couple of guys who also run Rotella in their gas engines and report no problems.

 
Another thing you may find with oil is that some contain additives that will cause the rubber seals to swell-changing from a conventional to a synthetic may lead to leaks for this reason as well.

Zinc in the oil on a car with a roller cam might provide a little additional protection to a distributor drive gear or a rocker arm, but it probably isn't beneficial enough to waste any time or money upon.

 
I just want summarize a little of what I read here and ask if I am understanding correctly. Some maintenance is scheduled for this weekend. Bone stock 351c 2v with 69,000 miles, never been touched.

I will use an oil with a good zinc content, probably Castrol or similar.

Suggested weight I am still a little confused on? I used to run Castrol 20w50 in my 1963 Triumph engine (this was a high RMP 4 cyl built to SCCA race specs with dual side draft carbs). Thoughts?

Filter brand suggestion? I have heard bad things about Fram from some but have never personally had an issue. The local parts store does not stock the Motorcraft.'

Recommendation on Plugs anyone? I have used Bosch and Autolite in the past with no issues. (I will be doing this step along with installing a Pertronix III, new Flamethrower III coil and wires. Gap for this set up?

Thanks in advance for any help/suggestions.

 
most people go with 10W-30, if your engine is leaky then some people go thicker, 15W-40

people want to be safe as if you go too thick on the oil people have reported shearing the oil pump shaft from the distributor.

filter brand everyone will recommend something : i use a K&N gold filter HP-3001

plugs: OEM is fine, autolite 25s are the norm, 24s are cooler if your engine is running hot or your in the southern part of the country.

Gap: .035" keep it stock, even with a hotter coil or electronic ignition a stock gap is way to go.

wires: OEM stock is the way to go, stay away from all aftermarket ignition wires they are junk.

again everyone has there own way of doing and setting things up.

 
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