Oils aint oils

[ront49]

I'll open up a can of worms that has been hashed and rehashed many times ... Q. What oil is recommended for a 351W stroked to 418, roller rockers, cam, 750 Holley .....

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by ront49

I'll open up a can of worms that has been hashed and rehashed many times ... Q. What oil is recommended for a 351W stroked to 418, roller rockers, cam, 750 Holley .....

If you don't have solid lifters, then the ZDDP content is not nearly as critical as if you do. That said, an old fashioned "healthy" ZDDP content is not going to hurt anything so long as you don't have a catalytic converter or other sensitive emissions equipment (which almost none of us have in these cars). That leaves you two basic choices, dyno versus synthetic, and what viscosity should you use. You will get varying opinions on both but, at least on FE engines, synthetic oil seems to "leak" a bit easier than regular oil does. Maybe that's just an old wives' tale. The best answer as to viscosity is whatever the engine builder recommends. If you're curious as to what I use, and I almost never even start the car up unless it's in the upper 50's at the very least, it's Brad Penn 15w-40 and it's a "partially synthetic" oil. I guess that's kind of like being "partially pregnant."

[Jaydee]

Thanks Patrick for a scientific answer. At the moment I'm not worried as I haven't overhauled the motor yet. It's still the donor engine. I think as long as you let the engine get hot it should evaporate out most moisture, opposed to starting it up for 1 minute and building more condensation in the engine and exhaust. I remember a customer come over for a service and only drove it 2 miles to my workshop. He complained of always rusting out his mufflers. I drill a small hole in his new muffler at the lowest point and removed a cup of water out of it. The hole was small enough not to hear the exhaust leak, and his mufflers lasted a lot longer. JD

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by Jaydee

I think as long as you let the engine get hot it should evaporate out most moisture, opposed to starting it up for 1 minute and building more condensation in the engine and exhaust.

Yep, pretty much. Another internet forum myth is that you have to get your oil up to over 212 degrees Fahrenheit to get moisture out of your engine. Because, after all, everyone knows that's the boiling point of water, right? We'll just ignore the fact that spots like the underside of the piston get way, way, way hotter than 212 degrees.

[Morris]

Originally Posted by patrickt

Yep, pretty much. Another internet forum myth is that you have to get your oil up to over 212 degrees Fahrenheit to get moisture out of your engine. Because, after all, everyone knows that's the boiling point of water, right? We'll just ignore the fact that spots like the underside of the piston get way, way, way hotter than 212 degrees.

Patrick

Not sure I understand what you are saying???

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by Morris

Patrick

Not sure I understand what you are saying???

Some car owners don't realize that some areas of your engine get much, much hotter than other areas of your engine and that the oil that comes in contact with very hot portions of your engine will be "hotter" than oil that is down in your sump where your oil thermostat pick up is sitting. They then take that misunderstanding to the next level that if my oil temperature gauge never registers more than, say, 195 degrees Fahrenheit, then no portion of my oil, anywhere, ever sees a temperature higher than that number. Then, the third step of the misunderstanding is that if no part of my oil ever gets high enough to "boil water" then I must never be getting the water out of the oil to begin with. Of course it's all not true and the automakers' SAE studies all put the "perfect temperature for low wear" (as seen on your oil gauge) down below water's boiling point and, if you just test it for yourself with oil analyses, you can confirm whether or not you're getting the moisture out of your oil by whatever driving it is that you do and whatever temperatures you happen to see on your gauge. Of course, the worst thing you can do is just start your car up in the winter, run it for a minute or two, and then shut it down and store it away for months, and then maybe do it again. But, you still, from time to time, see the statement "If you don't get your oil gauge up past 212 degrees then you never get the moisture out of your oil." Which, of course, is bunk.