Got a 302, with its bearings going. I am currently using 10w-40 in it, but was planning on moving up to 10w-50. Should i still move up even though its becomming winter? I am up here by Washington DC and it can get pretty cold. Sometimes gets close to 0. Any help would be great.
Thanks Dave

 

I would probably go with a 20W50. I have had a brand X truck with that weight oil in near zero temps and it started fine. The key is to have a good battery and starter etc.

Good Luck,

Jim Henderson

 

If it were me, I'd use thickest synthetic weight available. It'll be thick enough to pamper those worn bearings and yet flow better at low temps.

Ken Payne
[img src="/dcforum/User_files/webmaster/usaflag.gif" valign=top align=left] Ford Truck Enthusiasts Admin

 

I'm with Ken on this one. How about Mobil 1, in 15-50 ? DF

 

For some reason I'm getting fond memories of my first Ford, a 74 Mustang II with a 302 transplanted into it. Before the transplant, the 2300 4 cylinder ran on nearly pure STP Motor Honey. Stuff was like jello in the winter and took forever to start! :-)


Ken Payne
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Ive been running regular oil the entire life of my truck. Ive heard rumors that switching to syn. oil late in the engines life causes problems. Like small holes that cause oil leaks, that regular oils cant find. Is this true? If not then i am going to go syn.
Dave

 

also what about on older engines, if it really cleans that much better would it remove carbon deposits that are actually helping the engine retain a higher compression ratio?? therby resulting in lower cylinder compression?

 

Check out:

www.mobil1.com/why/myths.jsp

Answers a lot of synthetic questions.

Ken Payne
[img src="/dcforum/User_files/webmaster/usaflag.gif" valign=top align=left] Ford Truck Enthusiasts Admin

 

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 09-Oct-01 AT 08:12 AM (EST)[/font][p][font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 09-Oct-01 AT 08:09 AM (EST)[/font]

I switched the 302 in my '89 Lincoln to Mobil 1 15W-50 at 125,000 miles - now it is up to 165,000 miles with no leaks (yet) or any problems. I've been leaving it in year-round, even down to 20 degrees F below zero.

If you don't want to spend the money for synthetic, I was running 20W-50 in a '73 Jeep J4000 (full-size pickup) I used to own that had the old AMC 360 (which I've never really liked much). Not only were the bearings shot, the valves were so bad that I had to keep one plug wire off it to keep it from constantly backfiring through the carb and killing the engine...and it also burned a quart of oil every 50-100 miles (no leaks, it burned it all). Anyway, since the engine wasn't worth synthetic by any stretch of the imagination I decided to run 20W-50. It worked pretty well, but it was a problem in colder temps - anything below zero was out of the question, and even in the 0-20 degree range I had a lot more bearing rattle on startup.

I don't know about 10W-50 conventional oil - I didn't think you could get that spread without synthetics. If you can, I'd be concerned by the fact that it would be loaded with viscosity improvers that would gum up an engine (the same problem that conventional 10W-40 and Castrol Syntec 5W-50 have). Also, you have to remember that as oil breaks down it returns to the base number - a 10W-30 or 10W-40 gradually become 10, and a 20W-50 would become a 20. After the first 1 or 2000 miles, a 10W-50 wouldn't give you much of an advantage over a 10W-40. However, a 20W-50 will stay thicker over its entire life.

I guess if I were you I'd stick with 20W-50 most of the year, and if winter is pretty harsh (regularly down to 0 degrees F) I'd try to find a decent 15W-40 or something like that. Unless, of course, you want to go with synthetic...then I'd go with Mobil 1 15W-50. Also, for cold starts you want an oil filter with a good anti-drainback valve - Motorcraft, Purolator, Wix, anything but a Fram product.

LK

 

Sabre, I'm up here in DC as well and have used Mobil 1 15W-50 in all my vehicles year around and never had a problem. The old Volvo 740 I used to have didn't like syn oil - it kept leaking out the rear main seal, so I used dino oil in it. I remember reading a test a few years ago where M1 15W-50 flowed better at -69F than most conventional 5W-30 did. That sold me. I change oil/filter at 5k miles.

BTW, Wal-Mart around here has Mobil 1 for $2.87/qt now (I consider that a pretty good price); go get 5 quarts and give it a go. If you notice wet spots under the vehicle, your engine may not be a good candidate for syn oil.

Chris
'88 F350 XLT Lariat CC DRW/7.5l/C6/4.10
'93 Mustang LX 5.0l/T-5/3.55's/Flo's/pulleys/K&N/Synthetics
Nissan p/u (DC commuter)
Volvo 940

 

ok thanks for the help guys, i'm gonna try m1 15w-50 this time around. Hope my 302 is gonna like it. Thanks again!
Dave