OK, I've changed spark plugs, wires, dist cap, rotor, points, capacitor, coil, fuel and air filters, and cleaned carb (no leaks, works fine). Getting ready to change iol and filter. What is the word on synthetic oil ? I would also like to relocate my oil filter. any thougkts?. Again thanks for any and all input.
\Ray

 

On a stock 390 I would use regular dyno oil. You won't be generating enough heat or bearing pressure to make synth oil worth it. Synthetic also finds ways to leakmuch better as the molecules are much smaller.

 

Dyno oil??

 

He meant Dino ...as in Dinosaur.

Funny thing is, Oil did not come from Dinosaur's.

 

I wouldn't use synthetic oil. I can't justify the cost! I would definitely skip any additives. My brother in law works as a fleet mechanic. They tried some type of snake oil additive. The engines started to actually lose oil because the oil would make leak its way through the gaskets.

Mil1ion - So you mean those old Chevron/Standard oil commercials from the 70's are bogus? Remember the ones where they showed the dinosaurs evading detection?

 

I work with high hour diesel engines every day, and they have never had anything but Synthetic in them, most are over 10,000 hours. After opening them up, usually for leaky gaskets, there is remarkably little wear on the components.
I'm sold on synthetics, of course another factor is where I'm located, have you ever seen conventional 15w-40 at 40 below? The stuff is like jello. I helped a guy start his truck this weekend(chevy, of course) who has antifreeze leaking all over his intake, well when we raised the hood the puddled up antifreeze was frozen! It's -44 today so synthetic is the only way to go for me.




1 Peter 5:8

 

Highboy does make a good point about the temperature though. If it was frequently below zero then I would run synthetic.


I run synthetic in my engine but it is no where near stock. I did run regular oil on a trip once becasue I knew I would not be ripping on it.

 

I have read on this site that someone has gone 6 MONTHS without changing the synthetic oil! Is that normal or just abuse?

And as far as the additives, I have only used the Lucas oil stabalizer and that's in my '99 with the cold engine knock/short piston skirt issue. It has almost completely eliminated the rattle noise.

 

Hey there,
Unless you're dealing with extreme cold temps, run straight 30 in it. I run castrol GTX in my race motors and have had excellant results. It's not as expensive as synthetic, but better than mineral based. Just run Napa 30 WT in my 390.

 

Thanks for all the input guys. About relocating thee oil filter, are those kits any good and where would be the place to relocate it??

 

Why run straight 30W in the engine. I tihnk straight 30 is great for lawn mowers as they don't have to pump oil through a long chain of oil galleries but why not have oil that is thinner when cold and the same weight when hot. Just wondering. I doubt there is a big difference in engine longevity either way.

 

Unless dealing with diesels, the cost of synthetic versus regular oil over the 200k or so lifetime of a normal gasoline engine isn't worth it.

As for filter relocation, generally placing it in the easiest position to get at during an oil change is the best.

 

These engines were designed for sae 30 and will actually last the longest if you use it. single viscosity oil doesn't break down as fast. A stock engine without roller rockers, hydraulic cam and typically a high volume oil pump doesn't take long to break down the oil. I've run both straight and multi weight and I go straight.

 

I have switched over to synthetic oil in the vehicles I care about (such as my '67 F250). My truck gets garaged in the winter and my winter beater (at 217,000 miles) doesn't get synthetic, it gets regular oil. If you want to look into the engineering characteristics of synthetic, there is absolutely no doubt that it is a superior lubricant. Even the Plant Maintennance Magazines have regular articles about Synthetic Hydraulic Oil in large machines. What I have noticed in my vehicles that have synthetic, is the excellent viscosity characteristics that they have in extreme weather. In Western New York, we can go from -20 F in the winter to 90+ F in the summer. Running a multi viscosity synthetic has kept my oil pressure guage from pegging at ridiculously high pressures on super-cold mornings. Excessively high oil pressure in the cold can be as devastating as low pressure in the heat. The outcome is that you are not feeding quantities of oil through the engine. I have also noticed that at an idle in the summer, the pressure stays sufficiently high.

 

I would not reccomend using synthetic on an engine with more than 50-60K miles on it or has any leaks, synthetics have a tendency to clean oil deposits away, which is good in a way but bad as it starts a lot of leaks those deposits were plugging up.

Synthetics are only a real advantage if:

You do a lot of high speed driving, stop and go traffic, or lots of driving in general, as in more than 12K mi a year

Your vehicle is exposed to exteme temps, like below zero or 80+ degrees

You tow heavy loads or do a lot of hard driving like drag racing or 4X4ing

My truck sits in the winter and I probably don't put more than 6K miles on it a year so I don't use it. Our daily drivers get Mobil 1 every 6K miles or 6 months. That is not abuse, it's actually maybe even overkill... The additives that matter in these oils usually don't deplete until 12K miles or so, it's just a state of mind that I change it. I also use a good oil filter, like a Motorcraft filter with a good anti-drainback valve.

I wouldn't use a single weight oil unless I lived in a hot climate or had oil consumption problems. Multi-grade oils were designed to replace single weight to improve performance and fuel mileage. Everything has to work harder with thick oil, including the starter and battery and everything inside.

I am no expert but I have been working for Pennzoil for 6 years as a lube guy to put myself through school.