Hello All,
I have an oil question. I have been using 10w-40, synthetic blend specifically for older engines. I took my truck in for brake pads and asked about an oil change (something I normally do myself) and was told that they only had 10w-30 and that I should be using that up here in Wisconsin. That didn't seem right to me but it got me thinking. I have a 460 and the dipstick says use SE 101-C oil. Am I using the right stuff?

 

It's more personal choice, I use to use 10 W 40 and moved to 10 W 30. My newer cars want 5 W 30.

Buy what you are comfortable with. I see guys using 20 W 50 and I cannot imagine why they want that mud in their engines.

John

 

These multi-weight oils mean that they somehow have the super ability to act differently at different temps. The 10W30 means that when it's real cold the oil will act like 10 weight oil (i.e. not thicken up) and when it's hot it's a 30 weight oil. Same thing with 5W30 and 10W40. Usually what you do is get out your vehicles owners manual and it tells you which oil to use depending on the normal temps in your area. I always use 10W40 on my 72. My Taurus calls for 5W30 and both my 92 F150 and GMC Suburban call for 10W30. I have 3 cases in the garage. The important thing is to make sure you keep oil in the engine. The weight probably doesn't matter all that much. I'm guessing a 10W40 covers what you'd get from a 10W30. I have an owners manual for my 72. I'll check it to see what it says and I'll post it for you.

 

Thanks for the replies. I'd appreciate knowing what your owner's manual says, qman. I got the shop manuals on ebay just the other day, but they haven't arrived yet. Also, since the engine was swapped to a 460 in '73, the info won't be in the '69 shop manuals anyway. I got the truck ('69 f250) on ebay and drove it home from Washington, back to Milwaukee. I used 10w40 the whole way (some 2000 miles) and everything was fine except that this 460 uses more oil than the 360 in my '70. (Actually, quite a bit more). The 360 never seemed to need any oil; it never leaked or burned any, if I can trust the pavement under my parking spot and my exhaust emmissions, and the dipstick. The 460 doesn't leak anything on the ground, and nothing is "wet" under the hood. I haven't yet been tested for emmissions, but I will be in the next 2 weeks. The exhaust from the dual set-up is not excessively white or black or any color, really; in fact it's mostly invisible unless it's cold out as in clouds of vapor (like every other vehicle here in the winter). Should I be concerned about adding a quart of oil with every 2 tanks of gas, or is this normal for this gas-hog engine that I can hardly keep my foot out of? It just seems excessive to me because the 360 would take a quart every 8 tanks or so. Thanks for any info.

 

Any idea of the milage on the 460? You should be able to drive it a thousand miles or so without adding any oil. We bought a 71 Pinto that used a quart of oil ever thousand miles from the first thousand to 115 when we got rid of it. We used to say it was ok for that to happen.

My Taurus will go 5000 miles and not be a qt. low even with 100,000 miles on them.

John

 

Theoretically, if all is well in an engine, you should never have to add oil. An engine is not supposed to use or loose oil. Sounds like your 360 was in great shape but your 460 isn't. Of course, my 72 seems to go through about a quart every 1000 miles. It leaks all over and probably burns some. It smokes some at start up but not at all after that. My compression is great so I'm thinking that it is mostly due to leakage. That's what I like to believe anyway. If I had the time and energy to fix the leaks I'd do it and then I'd probably never have to add any. But it's just easier to add.

 

Jowiliker, my gas mileage is 8-12 mpg, the mileage on the 460 is hard to say. I found a big envelope behind the seat with tons of receipts back to the original purchase order. There is a plate on the door that says the 460 was put in in '73. (I didn't think that the 460 was available until '74?) There is also a receipt for a new 460 that was put in in '85 when the odometer read 19k (obviously turned over) and the odometer is at 95k now. I'm hoping that this means the engine has 75k on it and not 175k but you never know. The engine is strong and has good compression. It seems like whenever I check the oil (after sitting overnight) it always reads the same which is about a half a quart down. (except for when I just topped off) Maybe I'm being too consistent and always checking at the same mileage interval. Anyway, I'm using about 4 quarts every 1k and that seems too high. I just don't see any obvious leaks and I hate the thought of burning that much oil. Are there any less-obvious places to check for leaks? Any place that might leak while the engine is running and then not leak when off?

 

Let me ask you to try something, wait until it is a full qt. down before adding oil and see if your refill rate stays the same.

BTW, How many qts do you use on change?

John

 

CHECK OUT THE(MUD) YOU MAYBE USING
http://www.repairfaq.org/filipg/AUTO...l#OILFACTS_010
MY 2CENTS
orich

 

I checked the owners manual and there' nothing in there about which weight of oil to use. I find that odd.