Don't even think about using non-detergent oil. Yes they were used on older engines particularly without oil filters. However the dusty environment of yesteryear has been replaced with hard surface roads. We also change the oil (or should) at least once a year so the chance of particles that might damage the engine are remote. Non-detergent oils produced sludge that sunk particles to the bottom of any area with low flow. That not only included the oil pan but also other places in the block that were critical to lubricating moving parts. Main bearings, timing gears are examples. Anyone want to plug off the lube to those areas?
I dont mean to open a can of detergent/non detergent worms here but if the origional poster's dad has used non-detergent oil for years in the family 31 - can he change over to detergent oil without the worry of disturbing and settlement that is in the oil pan with the "cleaning" action of a more modern detergent oil? I recall hearing that years ago. John
The better grades of motor oil have had detergent in them since after WWII. The detergent was not as good as today and even 20 years ago was not that great and the engines got "dirty" anyway unless the oil was cahaged often depending on driving condioions. Detergent doesn't remove gobs pf sludge. It prevents sludge from forming and will slowly disolve existing sludge. If an engine is sludged-up removing the pan and scraping the sludge out is the only safe way to go. I would recommend anyone with an older engine to remove the pan and clean it out along with the oil pump screen especially if you do any higher speed driving.
I agree with Chev Nut that removing the oil pan is the way to go.
Besides cleaning the sludge out of the pan, you get to inspect the bottom of the engine to make sure that sludge is cleaned out of other areas, like oil reservoir pockets and the holes in those pockets that feed oil to the main bearings.
If you want to do a complete inspection, having the oil pan off is an opportunity to check the clearances on the rod caps too.
Cheers, Dean
Dean 'Rustoholic' Meltz old and ugly is beautiful!
Just as a side note, the 4-cylinder engines also made use of the "oil reservoir pockets". All oiling was made that way except for the "splash" oiling, and in the case of the 1925 engine, had pressure to the center main.
Very few of the 4-cylinder engines had pressure to a bearing with the exception of the center main on the 1925 engine.
I've had our '31 for 53 years. My Dad always said, "use non-detergent because that's what they had back then." So, that's what I did. When I rebuilt the car four years ago, I took the engine out and the sludge was huge. I cleaned it all up and have used Penzoil 10W-30 since per these guys recommendations. It's been great. I changed the oil every 500 miles for a couple years; there was still some sludge in there even though I flushed out the oil lines, etc. It's been running great.
On my 1930 sedan. Can I drop oil pan without taking anything else apart. Like without pulling motor mounts,raise motor etc. I would like to check for sludge in mine and clean oil pickup. Sounds like this would be a very good project to add to my winter list of things to do. Making sure I am get full oil flow to top of engine would be a good thing. Thanks for all the information from one simple question on what kind of oil too use. P.s. No one said anything about synthetic oils
Dino Oil is the best option... These old engines do not have the tight tolerances and such of modern engines. Run 10w30 bc of the recommendations here, no issues so far.
Also you should be able to drop the pan with out any other items in the way. I have done it several times on my 29, usually a little tight but no problem. also make some guides, as this makes putting it back on a million times easier.
Oil Pan Guide Pins 1 Oil Pan Guide Pins 2 You can put slots in if desired, i just screw mine in a few turns on each corner of the rail. install pan, put in a few screws to hold it and then remove the guide pins. install 4 screws and then tighten them all down.
If you would use #30 detergent or 10W-30 you would not have to add the zinc as it is already in the oil. By the way there is no such thing as 30W. The W stands for winter and #30 is not rated for winter use.
couldn't resist: i thought i'd try "proper vintage" oil in my '30, i.e. 30 weight , non det. bad choice. to my horror, plumes of blue exhaust smoke followed me down the street. didn't use to do that! flushed and replaced immediately with 10w 30 detergent and within a day we were back to clean exhaust. dodged a bullet that time. lesson learned. jim
Attached are some pictures of what may be found by removing your oil pan on a 216 engine. If you are not very familiar with the history of your engine this is an important maintenance procedure.
