I read an article in an issue of trailer life stating that the modern oils do not protect our older engines with flat tappet cams. The article suggests Rotella T Triple protection for the older engines. I have been running Mobil 1 since rebuilding my 460 but have been thinking of changing to Castrol Edge since I do a lot of heaving towing. Does anybody have any opinions about the protection to the cam using synthetics?

 

To reduce cat converter contamination, the ZDDP in the oils was reduced from around 2000 ppm to about 700 ppm (including diesels), which the engineers advise this is plenty for any engine......but this reduction has paralleled with the increase of flat tappt cam failures, valve tick, etc.

The one thing that the aftermarket cam mfgs & machinists agree upon is engines need about 1400 ppm of ZDDP, the newer engines (modulars) with cats, about 1000 ppm. While the oil companies disagree, they recently added another additive to the oils as a "wear reducer" (the name escapes me now).

After talking in length with Ron Eskenderian (yes, Isky Racing Cams), I add one bottle of ZDDP to my old school engines and I add 1/3 of a bottle to my mod motors as well (1997 Cougar Sport 4.6 & 2006 Lincoln Mark LT 5.4)- IIRR it is a 9 oz bottle.

With regards to syn vs non-syn oils............all oils are considered synthetic. While I am not promoting this company nor their products, they have an excellent, detailed description as to how & why all oils today are considered “Synthetic” Synthetic Motor Oil and was confirmed through legal proceedings http://www.scribd.com/doc/217558103/...s-Day-in-Court. Mfgs such as castrol, are actually using a oil base that is not by previous industry standards to be even considered a "synthetic", was sued (By Exxon/Mobile IIRR) and they won in court because they were able to demonstrate with additives they were essentially delivering a syn product. When looking at all the refineries in the US (2014), the only one really capable of supporting 100% synthetic oil manufacturing is Chevron/Phillips refinery in Texas…and it is not promoted as a synthetic oil.

With regards to switching oils..................IMHO, DON"T!!!!!

“Additives are blended at the proper rate, heat and in the proper proportions by the manufactures of their particular product. Crude supplies are not all the same quality and the additives have to be adjusted for the quality of the base stock being used by each particular company, per batch. Dumping your own personal stuff will more than likely be way inferior to what the oil manufacturer uses. The chemicals will normally differ from the manufacturers blend, and can cancel each other out to the point where there will be no anti-wear properties left in the product. (This is one reason it's not wise to mix oils from different manufacturers together). Changing the oil from say Mobil to Shell and then to Pennzoil will have a negative effect on your engine from conflicting chemicals. Buy an oil that you may like and STICK TO THAT COMPANY'S product.”

“What you may get away with when using Shell may cause instant havoc with Valvoline. The major oil companies work closely with the auto manufacturers so that bearing material, seal material, roller bearings, ball bearings, and all other moving parts are not adversely affected by the oil products. This is especially true for automatic transmissions. DO NOT USE SOMETHING OTHER THAN WHAT IS SPECIFIED BY THE CAR MAKER FOR YOUR AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION”


Read more: Car Bibles : The Engine Oil Bible : Additives

Read more: Car Bibles : The Engine Oil Bible : Additives

 

Thanks for an informative response. I don’t have a cat on this vehicle so the level of ZDDP is irrelevant. The vehicle is a 77 F250 that I tow with. I built the engine up slightly. 40 over, zero decked, roller rockers, double roller timing chain straight up, heads have Manley oversized undercut stainless steel racing valves, (I ported the heads myself taking the smog bumps out and enlarging and rounding out the exhaust ports) MSD Ignition and Edelbrock 750cfm carb. I have dual 2.5 exhausts with an H-pipe and wicked flow straight thru mufflers. I balanced the engine before I put it back together. I did have a crane cam in it with heavy valve springs. I had to remove the cam to get it through California smog.

I have a little experience in mechanics, I owned a garage in the 50’s and built up a lot of flatheads that did pretty well at the drags. I did all the work on this engine except for the boring. But all these new fancy oils are a little confusing. I notice that the ZDDP comes in 4oz bottles. Is that sufficient for an engine that holds 7 quarts?

 

many have different concentration levels.......I would read the bottle but I would guess that it would be more than enough.

 

I have been running 10w30 synthetic in my 74' F-100 with 302 since I bought it in the late 90s. I ran several different synthetics from mMobil, Valvoline, Castrol and others over the years. Engine was never taken apart and had 45k miles on it when I bought it. Most of the miles since I bought it were highway at higher rpms (no OD) Obviously the cam was more than broken in when I got the truck. Still have the truck, still the original untouched engine, still running 10w30 synthetic. Rotella has a 10w30 T5 synthetic blend you can get at most wal-marts for a decent price.

 

For what it is worth I think you could do a lot worse than using Mobil 1 oil. You could put an oil cooler on if need be but that's about all I would do. I use Mobil 1 15/50 synthetic in my 460's and they seem to like that quite well.
I ran Rotella T for years in my semi and my pickups also and never a problem. When they changed the mix here recently I switched to Mobil 1 and have not regretted it for a second.

 

A good historical read on oil & additives that can shed some light on the OP's question.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...h-busters.html