VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND NEWER 1946-1948 Recommended Oil for my '46 216

Good morning all,

I have a 1946 Chevy Fleetmaster with 39,000 original miles. I bought the car 2 years ago and although I put on about 500 miles, I did not know when the last owner changed the oil so I changed it. I recently read the "Lube Job" article by Gene Schneider in the August G&D and put in Mobil 10W-40 oil. Gene's article suggested a light to medium detergent 10W-30 oil.

After the oil change, I hear a whir sound at idle that seems to be coming from the front of the engine, near the timing chain. The engine also has a terrible miss, but that is another topic.

Is my engine starving for oil as evidenced by the whirring sound? If so, is it more because of the grade of oil or its detergent level?

Any suggestions or advice is appreciated!

Matt

First the engine has timing gears and not a chain. A whirring sound is more indicative of a bearing than gear. Take off the generator belt and see if the sound goes away. If so then check the generator and water pump. You can also use a stethoscope, long screwdriver or other solid object held to your ear and touched to various places on the engine or accessories to determine the location of the loudest whirring noise. That should pinpoint the cause.

Hi Chipper, thank you. Just to clarify, it is safe to run the engine without the belt for a few minutes? It will not overheat or drastically discharge the battery?

Thank you,
Matt

Yes, it is safe to run the engine for a few minutes without the fan belt. Watch the engine temperature though. As far as the battery goes, if it is fully charged you can run the car on just the battery for a day or two.

You can run the engine for a short time, few minutes, without danger of any damage particularly when it is cold if cooling system is full. It can also be run when cold with cooling system empty for a minute or so without damage if necessary.

You can run the engine for a few days without draining the battery. Even start it several times. The ignition system takes only a minute amount of power. Starter a bunch. Radio, headlights likewise.

I would suggest 10W-30 in the future and there was a mis-print in my article. That was a "light to medium viscosity oil" and not light to medium detergent. All good brands of 10W-30 oil is high detergent.

If the timing gears are straved for oil and most are on an engine like yours) you can find a very steep incline with the nose down and that will allow some of the oil to flow into the timing gear area through the oil return holes. This will quiet the gears for a short time.

I saw 1946 and 1947 engines apart in 1950 where the oil pump screen was already beginning to plug up.

On my 1940 , I had the noise you speak of ...tried Genes test of the steep grade with no change in the whiring noise . Ended up getting into the front end to check out the timing gears and it was the plugged oil passage that lubricates the gears. A good cleaning and new set of gears solved the problem. I then checked out the pan and rocker assembly( shaft was almost full of crusty carbon) and found LOTS of gunk too. All clean now .......good luck!

Thank you for pointing out my "error". I re-read my original and it was the same as what was printed. I am sending in a correction that will appear in a future issue.

You could always add a pint of Marvel Mystery oil to your 10W-40 oil. It will thin out the oil a little and it is an excellant solvent which could clear an oiling passage with some luck.

The"terible miss" is probably a leaking exhaust valve. Most of those engines required a valve job by that mileage. A compression test would verify.

Gene, thank you for clarifying your article and the idea of the steep grade.

You mentioned Marvel Mystery Oil - that made me remember that I also added 8 oz. of Sea Foam to the oil when I did the oil change. I am now thinking perhaps the oil change and the Sea Foam broke some deposit loose and now it is lodged somewhere else.

That is good to know about the valve job. I did not realize they needed service that early in mileage, but then again it is 70 year old technology and materials.

David, thank you for the response and sharing your experience. I assume you were able to do all of this with the engine still in the car, just removed the radiator?

I am thinking something got gummed up. I added Sea Foam to the oil which I forgot about until Gene's recommendation of Marvel Mystery Oil. It is seeming more and more likely that some barnicle is plugging up the oil galley.

Are the timing gears for these engines readily available?

Matt

There are several sources that have the timing gears. One of them is the Filling Station. www.fillingstation.com

To replace the timing gears the radiator AND the oil pan must be removed. This will give you a chance to clean the pan and oil pump screen.
Now the real problem is the timing gears are worn and noisey because the milled slot on the back of the front mounting plate is plugged-up. This will require removing the front mounting plate. There were a few threads here where guys did this.
Would advise you order a shop manual from the Filling Station and study the engine section.

I was following this thread and a thought hit me. (Yes, miracles do happen).

Anyway, I would advise against ever using any chemical that is supposed to clean out the oil sludge of the engine. Sometimes, and quite often. bits and chunks are dislodged.

Those chunks may spot up something that needs to be open. Sorta like your own plumbing system (heart arteries and veins.

I tossed some cleaner in a 60 something Falcon one time and pretty soon it started a-knocking. Not good.

Charlie

Strait 30w non detergent.

There is no such thing as 30W.

Conventional - 30W | O'Reilly Auto Parts

Yes, in the text for the oil it states 30W, but look on the bottles, OIL SAE 30 only. No "W". It is that way all over the "web". Many 30W listing for all brands but look on the containers, no "W".

Gene pointed this out some time back.

Three is 10W and 20W but no 30W. Why? #30 is not a "winter" oil.
The "W" stands for the oil viscosity was tested for "flow" at 0 degrees. It is tested for 120 Deg. only.
In 1947 Chevrolet recomended #20 for summer driving and #30 could be used in areas that temperature over 90 Deg. was common and used for high speed driving. They also recommended a "Heavy Duty" oil as that is way a detergent oil was classisied in 1947. .....yes, there was dtergent oi;s in 1947.
To day the best choice for a dipper engine is 10W-30 as it give more instant flow when engine is cold and full body when hot.Oh yes, it is detergent also.

I agree and that is what I use in my 48.

Me as well

I think I understand now. The (w) On the oil containers stand for Winter and not weight..

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MOTOR OIL FAQS

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