Oil change

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erafuse

erafuse

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Have a 1973 Dart Swinger 318 63,000 orginal miles. When should the oil be changed? Been changing oil at 1000 miles.

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Prob every 3k oil and filter every time if with dino oil, you can stretch it some more with synthetic, but still change filter every 3k. Add a rare earth magnet to the outside of the filter cartridges to help strain out ferrous dust. Check oil level every 1k or so because of possible oil leaking past old valve stem seals. Top off as needed between oil changes. At least that's what i would do. If its original 60k mile engine from 1973, it's got a flat tapper cam I recommend using an additive called ZDDP with the oil. This adds back in some of the chemicals oil companies removed to prevent wear since everything new is now using roller cams.
 
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Not sure if synthetic oil used on a broken in flat tappet cam will hurt it or help prolong its life. Maybe someone else can chime in with that information.
 
moparmat2000 said:
No clue. My 408 is going roller cam setup, then I won't have to deal with it.
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You might want to reconsider. I installed a 408 crate engine built by IMM Engines using a roller cam. Ask Brian which oil to use in it and he recommended conventional motor oil with zinc.... even with roller cam. This was after he broke in the engine on the dyno. I have Joe Gibbs in it now.
 
Every 3000 km?
I routinely go 10,000 km in my daily drivers and just use 5W30 Penzoil,
Same oil in my '69 340 built to stock specs but it never gets much mileage,
so usually about every 3 years or so as long as it is clean.
 
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I use Joe Gibbs oil it's loaded with zinc..on a side note where are you in P.E.I. we vacation up there all the time..
 
zddp plus is available on ebay...amazon...

I use it on our engines with flat tappet engines.....

also Lucas oil makes Lucas Hot rod oil which is for older engines with flat tappet cams.....

and given the spring pressure in a 318..i would probably not worry about it....lol
 
It's best to use an oil with over 1100 ppm of ZDDP already in it. I avoid additives for two reasons. First, is you don't know how well the additive will work with your chosen oil. The carrier oil in the additive is often of the lowest quality, which can degrade your oil. Also, you won't really know how much ZDDP you'll have. In a street driven car ou want to be between 1000 and about 1500 ppm. The second reason is no oil company will guarantee their product if you've introduced an additive to the solution.
 
Gibbs, Lucas, Penn Grade (formerly Brad Penn) Valvoline VR1, Amsoil, even Hemmings Motor News sell enhanced ZDDP oil for older, flat tappet cam engines.
Two that are available at Walmart are Quaker State high mileage (10W-40 only) and Shell Rotella T6 5W-40. Both will do the job with lots of ZDDP, and don't cost $50 a gallon like some of those do.
 
ir3333 said:
What do you guys think of this?

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Really good background information. Very simplified, but that's fine.
ZDDP is an additive that is consumed during engine use. It's consumed when it prevents wear in a metal on metal contact situation. When there is less to begin with, it will be consumed more quickly. So, in a flat tappet engine with high valve spring pressure, you'd want to change it more often.
The Valvoline guy in no way could say to use his VR1 racing oil in a street engine. It says right on the label off road use only, or something to that effect. To preserve catalytic converters, it must. But it's fine for a pre-cat car.
Bottom line is that for the OP with his 318, he'll probably be fine doing just what the Valvo guy said. But in my never apart 56K mile 340, I'm using the Quaker Hi Mile 10W-40 with 50% more ZDDP.
 
Keep using what you have been using for the past decade or so.....seems to be working on the 318.....lol
 
ir3333 said:
What do you guys think of this?

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Good Video, I personally think the recommendation for 20w 50 VR1 as break in oil is too thick. Want a thinner oil to flush out all the fines as the engine is breaking in. Take the vehicle out, get it up to temp, work it for a half an hour to expand out and seat the rings. Once broke in then change out the oil to the 20w 50 or my favorite Shell Rotella 15w 40 Diesel Oil (for summer months) that already has the zinc in it.
 
If you need zddp get an oil with it blended in
adding zddp to SN oil can actually lower EP
even in the south 20-50 is too thick cold and you do not need 50
0w-30 should work or 0w-40
most of your wear comes when cold
BTWmy 68 Polara as over 300k
been using 0-40 last several years
change it every 5k with carb
Dakota with EFi once a year-
Natural gas oil is oh so much better than dino oil check out the data sheets
I think that 15-50 is for supercars, late vetts take 0w-40
see that column with the phosphorus- that's what your are looking for
after break in and without really stiff springs I think 800- 900 works fine
Oil is constantly being re-formulated stay on top of it
 
ir3333 said:
Every 3000 km?
I routinely go 10,000 km in my daily drivers and just use 5W30 Penzoil,
Same oil in my '69 340 built to stock specs but it never gets much mileage,
so usually about every 3 years or so as long as it is clean.
Click to expand...
Thanks. Using Penzoil 5W30. Think I will change it every 1500-2000 miles.
 
Wyrmrider said:
I think that 15-50 is for supercars, late vetts take 0w-40
see that column with the phosphorus- that's what your are looking for
after break in and without really stiff springs I think 800- 900 works fine
Oil is constantly being re-formulated stay on top of it
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FWIW.... Just be aware that a 15W50 full synthetic at cold temps (like below 40F) is going to be as thin as a 5W dino oil at those colder temps. The 'cold' temp viscosity of motor oils is measured at 104F and the oil's behavior at much colder temps can be quite different depending on the oil material. Pout them both out of the bottle at room temp and the lower viscosity of the full synthetic will be immediately obvious.

So a 15Wxx Mobil1 is gonna work OK for most street engines, even at cold temps.

And yes, the old stock spring pressures seem to not be an issue with the now-lower ZDDP levels. From several research articles read, the ZDDP gets 'activated' when pressures on the microscopic 'peaks' gets past a certain level, and the less the spring pressure, the less ZDDP gets used or needed. I personally will try to stick with the older, higher levels regardless.
 
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