Firsttimemopar14
Member
this may sound stupid but i need to do an oil change on my 1968 dodge dart and i have no clue what type of oil to use. 5w-20? 5w-30? please help!!!
Engines haven't changed much, oil has improved, so you can run 7000 miles between changes. If anything, a slant is more forgiving than current aluminum head overhead cam engines. What really matters is how much suspended carbon is in the oil, i.e. how black it gets. Diesel oils have more detergent, so some here run that (Rotella, etc). I use 10W30 (better mileage) non-synthetic and change it every 6 months in my daily drivers (~5000 mi). If your engine has worn rings (noticeable blow-by, burns oil, low compression), use 10W40 or even 20W50. The "high mileage" oils might be expensive snake oil.
bit of buildup on the oil fill cap that is also attached to the air cleaner.
OEM recommends 10w-30. Don't forget that modern oils are lacking the zinc additive needed to keep our classic engine alive. I would recommend buying a high zinc content oil or buying the additive. Stay away from Synthetics because they have even less zinc in them.
And for gods sake don't cheap out on an oil filter!
I get Pep Boys 10w-30, change it every 3000 miles with a Fram filter. Why Pep Boys? Because its cheap and I believe its actually non-branded Havoline, if I'm not mistaken.
Yeah, same advice here. Add some Royal Purple or Lucas zinc additive. Get a good oil filter. First filter I bought was a generic "value" filter. The oil drains back into the pain when the engine is off. I could here rod knock for the first couple of seconds after start up. The engine was already well worn and loose when I got the car. Who knows what condition it woulda been in if prior owners all used top shelf filters.
I have not been using the additive, and would have never known that they needed a high zinc content till you guys just mentioned that. I think this is so far the best forum I have ever been on for cars. Don't even get me started on honda forums...
I am looking for a spot to change my oil. Last time I did, I missed the catch completely and let about 4 quarts of oil dump right onto the driveway. 4 bags of sweep junk later - still on the driveway. Landlord was not too happy. I am not sure if I'd want to take it to Jiffy Lube. They do fine with my other cars, but it seems like from what I'm hearing - I should attend to this myself.
Under no circumstance use a Fram....They are the worst.
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