New owner of an F3 that looks almost identical. Couple questions. Well, several… Like to woodwork and want to refresh the flatbed. Having a hard time finding pics of an original bed. The current bed has no metal spacers. Thinking those were not original on F3 beds. Read where the metal frame was also same color as cab.

Learned all about oiling the fan bearing after the v8 flathead burned a belt when the bearing seized.

~49k miles on the original v8 flathead. Wondering what oil to run. All kinds of advice on non-detergent/detergent zinc, Rotella 15w40, 10w30 etc. Going to run mostly on the weekends to Menards in the Midwest summer.

Haven’t had a chance to drive it much yet, but it runs good. Want to change the oil in the 4 speed and diff and make sure the clutch is tuned. Assume 80/90w in those.

 

SS51, welcome to FTE the best Ford truck forum on the World wide Web! That's a good looking truck you have there. I like the color.

I have a '54 F100. I use 10w30. Some say we should use 10w40.

About your flatbed, it looks like your bed is an aftermarket bed. A Ford factory bed had the FORD script on the rear panel. The factory beds were painted body color. Aftermarket beds could have been painted any color.

BTW, this is an old thread. You should start a new thread with a good title, post more pictures of your truck and introduce yourself.

Here is the factory flatbed I put on my 55 F350 which I no longer have. The 48-52 beds were similar, if not identical.

 

more views of factory flatbed

 

@SS51F3 , welcome to the forum, the best place on the Internet for these trucks!

First off, get yourself the shop manual - the forum isn't a replacement for that.

Secondly, glad you posted a picture of your truck! We love pictures!

Now, to address a few of your questions...

Here are Ford drawings of their stake bed:





Many folks discover that the Ford Flathead Fan Hubs require motor oil the hard way when they start making noise or seize up! There is a good write up here on what to look for and what to do: Ford Oil Filled Fan Assy

If you are disassembling and rebuilding your fan hub, there is good information here: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...39-1952-a.html

As for motor oil, there are many thoughts and opinions. Ford recommended straight 30 for our typical driving season. Some run thicker because it can provide unfounded comfort to see higher oil pressure readings. Some use diesel engine oil because it has more zinc/zddp, but overlook that the diesel zddp additive package formulation is usually different than what is used for gasoline engines and not nearly as useful. There is uncertainty out on how these other additive packages/formulations are compatible over time. I think this diesel oil preference gets perpetuated around due to the novelty of the "life hack" or that "I know something you don't" mentality.

The traditional wisdom is that synthetic oil will have tendency to liberate deposits in the oil system. Some of these deposits may have been acting as a seal and so it has the potential to highlight weaknesses by weeping and leaking. Also, some of the liberated deposits may relocate to a inconvenient place and crate a new restriction.

For what it is worth, I run straight SAE 30 oil in my engines coupled with Rislone ZDDP treatment. Bottom line, while any oil is better than no oil, the manufacturer/engineers of the engine specified an oil spec, so why not lean on their expertise?

As for your transmission and differential, Ford called for what is considered a GL-1 mineral oil based SAE 140 in the summer and SAE 90 in the winter.

You will get all sorts of opinions on what you should use and for various perceived reasons (availability, yellow metal compatibility, uncle's brother's grandfather's wisdom, technological advancements). You will get those who claim all later GL specifications are yellow metal safe, where in actuality the GL specifications don't corelate - the additives of the specific brand is what determines that.

Hope that all helps!

 

Welcome to the forum! Good looking truck. I had to chuckle when you said you've been getting all kinds of different and conflicting advice. I'll say just because some of the most knowledgeable people on the planet for these trucks are here on this forum, it's quite likely your experience here won't be much different.

If you have an aftermarket bed, it's quite likely it was built with tongue and groove boards instead of planks and rub strips like the factory option, and if so, I wouldn't mess with it or worry about it or change anything. Just roll with it and enjoy it. From this angle it looks great. If the wood needs conditioning, you can prep it and refinish it with your choice of top coat; paint, varnish, oil, etc.

As for oil, everyone has an opinion. Mine is people tend to overthink the whole conversation. Oils today are better refined and far superior to whatever dino blood they were pumping out of the ground 75 years ago. Back then, engine oil filters were an option and it was recommended to change it every month or 1000 miles, and change viscosity with the seasons and temperature. Today, we have multi-vis oils that replace that hassle and expense. They weren't recommended in 1950 because they didn't exist for common availability. When they were made readily available, the factory recommendation changed. Whatever oil you use will be better than what the original owner used. If you have a favorite oil for your other vehicles, chances are one of those will work fine here. A 10-30, 10-40, 15-40, any of them will be fine. I've been running Rotella T4 15w40 in my trucks for over 20 years without issue. Change it once a year for the little driving you're doing and it will outlive you. But like I said, ask 3 guys, get 5 opinions. Your mileage may vary, as they say. But common sense will go a long way to improving said mileage.

I will disagree with the above post on the GL ratings on gear oil. The ratings are a guide and correspond with the additive mix inside the bottle. For our trucks, you want a GL-4 or lower. GL-1 mineral oil is available at NAPA in quarts, gallon jugs or 5 gallon pails. I use it in my 8N tractor as that's what's specified for the hydraulic system and gear train that all works together.

The most important thing is to just have fun with your truck, These are simple machines and there's typically no need to overthink anything. Just drive it and enjoy the ride.

 

@52 Merc , the GL ratings do not necessarily correspond with yellow metal safe, especially at the newer numbers. One really needs to check the technical data sheet and look for the rating for ASTM D-130 test and you will see various results across various GL ratings and thus yellow metal safeness.

As for the point multi-weight oils that did not exist and couldn't be specified, that is very true. But then it also follows that the engineering and tolerances also didn't account for them. As you say, there are many opinions and experiences, but one can't really go wrong with factory specifications. You say manufacturer specifications changed when multi-weight oils were introduced, but I haven't seen any evidence of Ford making that change for Flatheads - please share if you have found such a Ford updated recommendation as I would find that to be very interesting and welcome information.