Seems to me, when the manufacturer specified a oil service grade & viscosity range for our lube & a oil filter type & change intervial, he's already taken into account, the oil pumps capabilities, the lubes ability to retain operating temp viscosity over time, the oil filters filteing ability over time & it's pressure & flow drop over time, & the engines flow rate & volume needs.

So, when we tinker with the viscosity of the lube we use in our engines, we often forget the oil pumps rated volume & flow rate, of the lube at operating temperature & the pressure & flow drop accross the oil filter & the engines Needed volume & flow rate, to keep it's innards happy.

Oil pressure is a measurement of the oils Resistance to flow, not Volume of flow, or flow Rate.

So, thicker oil will yield higher oil pressure, but not necessarly higher flow rate, or volume.

On the other hand, if we lower the viscosity, we can increase the volume of flow, BUT if the pump isn't designed to handle the lower viscosity, it may not be able to provide enough Flow Volume, or Flow Rate, to keep up with the engines needs.

All this hasn't taken into consideration the oil filter & the pressure & flow drop accross it's filtering media, over time.

Yup that changes too, as the filtering media plugs up, from filtering out the putrids over the OCI.

Our engines lubrication, is a balanced & tuned system, that can operate ok within the systems specified lube viscosity range call outs & filter media type & surface area.

So imo, if we begin messing with things, we need to consider the Whole system, not just one item, like oil viscosity, or just the fiter, or just the oil pump, or just the engines bearing tolerances, or just oil pressure.

When we change One thing, like increase the lubes viscosity above that which is specified by the manufacturer & observe incrased oil pressure, we can't be sure by looking at that One thing, that we have sufficient Flow Volume, or Flow Rate, to cover the engines needs.

We need to consider ALL things in our lube system, when we make A change, thats contrary to the manufacturers specified call outs.

Just some more lubrication thoughts for pondering.

 

A great message there paw paw.

All I know is on a cold morning, not zero degrees cold, as some of you experience, I am happy to know that my factory specified 5w30 oil is in the oil pan, and NOT a straight SAE 30HD or 40HD oil, 15w40 or 20w50, 50 weight ect. No way!

I've also done my impromptu tests, putting a 15w40 oil or 20w50 oil overnight, in the freezer or even the refrigerator...

No way do I expect my oil pump to try and pump that taffy / molasses / honey thAT IS supposed to be engine oil!

Ed

 

if you're running propane temps, should be lower, I run mine at 150 tops , i run 0w20 synthetic, have 45 lbs pressure at hot idle, i'm running chrome rings on chrome moly cylinder sleeves with 22 psi boost, no problems in 450 k

 

What was the freezer/refrigerator result with the 5W30?

 

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No. The freezer, refrigerator tests were with 15w40 diesel oil, 20w50, Straight 30HD oil, name brand.

I was amazed at how thick ALL were, freezer temps were ridiculous, refrigerator temps (approx 38 degrees -- 42 degrees) those oils were very noticeably thick and NOT repeat NOT like pouring a 10w30 oil from a plastic quart container, on a 70 degree day.

I mean, many talked about using those visocosities I mentioned above. I read about a person's findings after he did that type of test on another oil website, so I thought I would try it also. That person was 100% correct -- told me all I needed to know...

Remember this was OVERNIGHT test in the fridge / freezer. I could only imagine oil sitting for a week to 10 days in those temps, = a car or pickup sitting outside in the winter, and not driven for a week to ten days!

 

We did Ed's test back in the 50's when the first multi vis lubes hit the market & it convinced a lot of guys that weren't sure about multi-vis lubes.

Kinda reminds us of the reason for good quality & quantity of barrier lubes, on those high rpm, cold starts, doesn't it!!!!

Don't know about you guys, but those increased rpm cold morning starts, have always made me wince, with my jaws tight.

A good time to consider having a quick flowing synthetic lube, of the correct viscosity range, in that crankcase. The colder it is, the more value that synthetic lube will be to our engine!!!!

 

Exactly, Paw Paw.

Also, in winter conditions, cold starting, you do an engine and engine oil a much better favor when you start the engine up, let idle for approx 15 seconds, then immediately begin to drive the car or pick-up at slow or moderate speeds.

An engine, under load, turning the transmission, driveshaft and rear axle, with the overall weight of the vehicle, will warm up much much much more efficiently than those people who idle an engine for 1/2 hour before driving it!! All those people are doing is building moisture in the oil, and developing carbon deposits on piston tops, and in the valvetrain and under the manifold areas of an engine! Any engine, Ford, Chevy (GM) Dodge, ect. Extensive idling is not needed, and a new, modern, EFI vehicle, espeically NOT needed!

A car that sits out in temps at zero degrees, or below zero, then yes, idle them for 1 minute, 60 seconds, no more than 90 seconds. But get them in gear and moving, at slow speeds first, ASAP!

Those that rev a cold engine at 4-5K rpm are simply living A**wipes, what more can you say? They are beyond clueless.

Ed

 

I did a "freezer test" (0F) with Coastal SAE 30 non-detergent vs 15W-40 Chevron Delo 400 and the difference was stunning. The Delo thickened, but poured easily. The Coastal had actually solidified to a rubber-like texture and you could see big wax crystals that formed.

Jim

 

I just recieved a order of Amsoil for my vehicles. The requirements for my vehicles vary but the 10w30 is in 4 one gallon semi-transparent containers. I put one gallon jug in the refrigerator section and one gallon jug in the feezer of my shop refer overnight.

I didn't pour the oil out but I could see it sloshing in the bottle. The (10w30) oil in the refrigerator section showed no noticeable difference from the (10w30) oil on the shelf and the (10w30) oil from the feezer had only a slight noticeable difference.

I was only trying to see if there actually was a difference in the same oil...not really.

 

I realize you have a 460 however, I use 10w30 synthetic blend in my 133,000 mile 360 without problems.

 

Honestly 10w-30 was what that engine was designed to run, and todays oils are not worse then back then and in fact 10w-30 napa store brand now is better by far then the best oil on the market in 1982. So just run a dino 10w-30 oil brand of your choice and be happy with it. the rest of this is all opinion and supposition. If your racing then yeah a racing oil is good, if your running it in a boat then there is differnt circumstances but in a pickup thats all a bunch of BS and not worth the bandwidth it's taking to discuss this.

 

I use Rotella T 15w-40 HD diesel oil and 1quart of marvel mystery oil in my 460 and I have had no problems I found on this site because my motor was ticking and knocking that this is what to do and since than the truck has never run better the motor has 130,000 an its an 89 -Scot-

 

I'm I'm buying a Ford F-350 Crew cab dually it has a hundred and eighty thousand miles on it I was wondering what the best transmission fluid and engine oil to use for high mileage like that I love synthetic I love amsoil oil what do you all think about using not the 10:30 not the 2050 but go in the middle with the 1040 or using as some suggest a dinosaur oil that is high mileage oil as they say they add I believe zinc? To the oil to prolong the life thank you very much I'm new to the profile or new to The forum so appreciate any input I can get

 

Think I found my solution with heavy duty conventional 10w30 on a 1980 e350 460 on an old RV.
It's winter in Oregon and it gets pretty cold, so I don't plan to use 20/50, although she gets real hot in the summer, so maybe I'll try that one day if someone suggests it will make a big difference for hot temperatures.

I found Rotella Conventional 10W30 Heavy Duty Truck Grade and without much mechanical experience, but a lot of research I think this is the most solid option I can find, and it's not too pricey at $23.99 a gallon in 2025, so it's on order for pickup tomorrow...

Looking forward to doing my first oil change ever!
-Kaboomski

 

Dang nobody every replied...
What did you go with? What year was it?