Im new to the FE block, what Oil Should I be running?

I have a '68 F250 w/ 360 FE

Im hearing all kinds of things 10w/40, 20w/50, 30w
What is best?

 

Brock, When the FE was designed in the 50s there was only 30 wt. oil for the most part. Then we got HD multi wt. 10W40 etc. The newer engines were designed to run 5W30 and thinner oils to get the mpgs up.

You can spend all the money that you pockets will hold on the new style oils, I see some $7-8.00 a qt.

I am convinced that regular changing is more important than using high dollar oils. Any good 10W30 oil with new filter will get you 200,000 miles or more. There aren't many folk that will put that many miles on an engine. I have well over a million miles on engines under my care since my wife and I have been driving, and no failure due to oil.

Your 68 prolly has been running 10W40 and since that is harder to come by these days, 10W30 is a good choice.

I'm sure others will offer their opinions shortly.




John

 

It depends on the condition of your engine. How's the oil pressure at idle when it's hot?

Generally, 10W40 is a good start, but if you have oil pressure issues at idle, a 20W50 might be better.

 

I'm not that deep yet, all but the gass guage & speedo are broke. and im still working on the Carb & Spark. compression is good, 126k mi.
after i get her running temp/oil pressure cluster should be on my list.

My dad did a fresh Oil/Filter with 30w b4 he handed her down to me.
I think I'm going to stick with that for now.

 

I run 15W40 based on some advice received from a couple of friends who build old FE engines. Mine has great oil pressure, but the advice was based on the fact that 15W40 is essentially diesel engine oil and it has all the nasty additives that are missing from most car oils these days.

They claim that the factory shipped the 390 interceptors and 428 SCJ engines with 20W50.

 

Comp Cams recommends breakin with Shell Rotella oil . It has a higher zinc content whitch is more compatable with flat tappit cams .You can run an additive like ZDDP to replace the additives .Motorcycle specific oils have a high zinc content also . I have heard a lot of negetive coments about 10-40 .I have been told more than once that the mix doesn't lubricate well . I use 20-50 in my 78 Airhead BMW and 10-30 in my 410 FE. I reciently bought several quarts of Valvoline Durablend ( It's just now broken in and oil changes take 9 1/4 quarts , so I look for oil at a discount ) .Keeping the oil and filter fresh ( almost no matter what oil you use ) is going to add to the longevity of your engine .

 

My ol 352 got 10w40 and that was with 150K miles on it. Ran fine. Only with a fresh rebuild would I be concerned with zinc and the additives. The old stuff is more then broke in and will survive with just about anything.

 

[quote=yellow truck;7965768]I run 15W40 based on some advice received from a couple of friends who build old FE engines. Mine has great oil pressure, but the advice was based on the fact that 15W40 is essentially diesel engine oil and it has all the nasty additives that are missing from most car oils these days.
quote]


exactly what i do

 

I run 10w40 in summer, and 10w30 in winter in my 390. On a hot day, I never see pressure below 20 @ idle.

 

This will work good for me, i use delo 15-40 for my '99 7.3L F350. it makes it easy if both my trucks run the same oil. they sell 15-40 Delo by the case At costco. i have also been thinking of switching from delo to Motorcraft, they have it @ autozone in the 5 qt. container for 10 bux.
Rotella is a good oil but its spendy, i have a buddy with a CTD thats all he will run.

 

the 390 is a tuff engine has a poor oiling system on a new rebuild run shell rotella-t for break in. I run a good quality 30 w

 

Any of you guys seen this stuff?
http://www.jcwhitney.com/jcwhitney/t...questid=255099

 

any body looking for some 390 parts? I got a toploader 4speed with lakewood bellhousing id tag rug-j. 1wire alternator 100 amp, headers adjustible rockers matching number heads and intake. I am doing the 4.6 convert on my 68 f100 need to make space.

 

Nice high jack!!!

 

Does it matter what brand of oil to use is one better than the other? An should I run Synthetic oil?