Oil

wlewis_old · December 29, 2008 at 10:17 AM

What brand and weight of oil works best in a 60,000 mile K code engine? I just changed my oil from an unknown type and weight to Ford synthetic 5w20 and now engine has a valve tapping noise.

Walter

66kcar_old · December 29, 2008 at 10:38 AM

I would not run the engine until others chime in. From my understanding, many newer oils are missing some components that used to be present for us old fashioned flat tappet cam guys. I run oil that mentions diesel compatibility, as I was told that would ensure I got the old fashioned ingredients. If you have a new type cam/lifters, then you should be able to run anything that is in the right weight vs. your clearances in your engine. Also, if it was built a while back, I would run something like 10w30 or 10w40 if not straight 40w. That would depend on weather as well.

Edited by - 66kcar on 12/29/2008 10:40:09

wlewis_old · December 29, 2008 at 12:08 PM

Good ideas. I suspect synthetic has even less of those original ingrediants. I think I'll use convetional 10w30.

round2K_old · December 29, 2008 at 2:23 PM

When it comes to oil you can end up in a long discussion of synthetics vs conventional oils and the lack of zinc/ZDDP in oil formulas today. You have 60K miles on the motor so break-in isn't an issue any more. If the engine noise is a newfound problem since the oil change, in the interest of keeping it simple you might want to go back to square one and put an appropriate weight of brand name oil in the motor (and change the filter). Ford recommended 10w-30 conventional oil.

289kford · December 29, 2008 at 3:17 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>

What brand and weight of oil works best in a 60,000 mile K code engine? I just changed my oil from an unknown type and weight to Ford synthetic 5w20 and now engine has a valve tapping noise.

Walter

It has solid lifters, they should make some noise anyway. I would run 10-40, I think 5-20 is too light.

Check your valve adjustment too. Hopefully it is not a 'new' noise that came in.

Edited by - 289kford on 12/29/2008 15:21:59

wlewis_old · December 29, 2008 at 3:22 PM

Thanks!

b9folk_old · December 29, 2008 at 3:58 PM

I noticed that Eastwood now carries bottles of a ZDDP additive. I think someone else here was running an STP brand one? May be worth adding a bottle. There are several archived posts about the issue.

don_old · December 29, 2008 at 4:05 PM

The Gurus on the NCRS website generally agree that current day Diesle Oil is best. The chemical composition being closest to what was used back in the 60s. Readily available at Costco, Sam's Club, Auto Parts stores.

JimD_old · December 29, 2008 at 5:29 PM

At last month's Greensboro, NC Mustang Club meeting, a factory rep discussed the BradPenn line of motor oils. Their racing oils and a new blend of high performance oils have the ingrediants that many of the modern oils do not have.

JimD_old · December 29, 2008 at 6:16 PM

The web site is http://www.bradpennracing.com. Many of their oils contain the ZDDP antiwear additives.

topdownK_old · December 29, 2008 at 6:25 PM

I use a bottle of Comp Cam additive with every oil change. I did since break-in day & still do on all my classic cars actualy

s2ms · December 30, 2008 at 12:21 PM

If you want to read more about motor oil than you care to know, check out the Bob is the oil guy forum. This subject has been discussed ad nauseam there.

FWIW, for those wanting to run a conventional 10W-30 oil, Chevron still makes Delo400 10W-30 in the old CI-4/SL spec with plenty of ZDDP. I've been using it the last two years in my car and the oil analysis results have been excellent. Which reminds me, need to go get a couple more cases!

zray · December 30, 2008 at 4:20 PM

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I use a bottle of Comp Cam additive with every oil change. I did since break-in day & still do on all my classic cars actualy

isn't that loaded with graphite? I think that will make your oil filter less efficient. And is one reason Comp Cams recommends changing the oil and filter after relatively few miles.

I've been using Mobil 1 15w-50 in my k code engine for 22,000 miles without any issues. It has the full load of ZDDP (1200 ppm)

Z. Ray

Edited by - zrayrichter on 12/30/2008 16:21:04

wlewis_old · December 31, 2008 at 3:28 PM

I changed oil using 10w30 Ford oil that has small amount of synthetic. Didn't make any difference. Changed it again, this time with Castrol GTX 10w40. Seems better, but still a bit of tapping noise. I thought I'd drive it a few miles over holiday and see if it makes any difference.

timjshanahan_old · January 4, 2009 at 11:48 AM

Just to make sure I understand correctly. I have a rebuilt k-code motor which has not been started yet. The motor was rebuilt several months ago and now I will be placing it back in the car. Is it suggested that I put 5-6 quarts of Diesel motor oil in the motor for the break in point? How long should I keep this oil in the motor after the break in point. I assume I should still do the usual 15 minute 2000 rpm initial run of the motor? Thanks for any other advice you can provide. Tim

zray · January 4, 2009 at 12:20 PM

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Just to make sure I understand correctly. I have a rebuilt k-code motor which has not been started yet. The motor was rebuilt several months ago and now I will be placing it back in the car. Is it suggested that I put 5-6 quarts of Diesel motor oil in the motor for the break in point? How long should I keep this oil in the motor after the break in point. I assume I should still do the usual 15 minute 2000 rpm initial run of the motor? Thanks for any other advice you can provide. Tim

If it were my motor:

1) use a quality 10w-30 conventional oil plus a bottle of comp cam break in lube.

2) do the usual 15 minute 2000 rpm initial run of the motor

3) drain oil after 500 miles.

4) change oil filter & refill with a quality 10w-30 conventional oil plus a bottle of zddp plus

( http://zddplus.com/ )

5) change oil after 3000 miles:

fill with Mobil 1 15w-50 ( 1200 ppm zddp). that oil would be my first choice.

or Mobil 1 0w-40 ( 1000 ppm zddp) if you don't want the higher weight oil.

I don't feel the need for an additive with the oils listed above.

Opinions vary greatly on this issue.

Z. Ray

timjshanahan_old · January 4, 2009 at 1:13 PM

Excellent, thanks.

zray · January 9, 2009 at 10:49 AM

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Excellent, thanks.

just learned about this product, which appears to have some advantages over the zddplus,

http://www.cam-shield.com/index.html

although I don't generally go for additives, this is one that intrigues me, as they actually say how much to add to your oil to arrive at a desired zddp level. Whereas the zddplus company goes for a one size fits all philosophy saying just to add a whole bottle with every oil change.

some interesting suggesting from the Cam-shield™ website:

"........ add enough Cam-shield™ premium ZDDP concentrate to get to the appropriate concentration for that application. Current API SM/ILSAC GF-4 oils will have approximately 850 ppm Zinc.

Minimum of 1200 to 1300 ppm Zinc for normal operation with moderate valve spring pressures *

Approximately 1600 ppm Zinc for normal operation of muscle cars*

Approximately 2000 ppm Zinc for racing*

Approximately 2500 ppm Zinc for new cam/lifter break-in* (supplementing the cam lobe molybdenum break-in paste)....."

* I purposely deleted (from the cam shield website quote) the amount of cam shield to be added in each example, as that really depends on how much zddp is in your oil already. Their examples are all based on the premise that your oil has 850 ppm of zinc. One size won't fit all...

ck. out this thread from over at the VMF:

http://forums.vintage-mustang.com/showtopic.php?tid/1502888/

Z. Ray

zray · January 9, 2009 at 10:52 AM

another massive thread about this subject over at one of the vintage Porsche forums:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showthread.php?t=367300

Z. Ray

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