what oil type?

Oldiron440

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I'm an Amsoil user also, my engine building buddy was sold on it and sold it to me at cost. I was using Castrol synthetic at the time. All I can say is I've never had an oil related issue with any of my drivers or my over spun Fords or mopars.
 

BudW

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@kkritsilas said "The viscosity testing is set by the SAE. There is no difference between a conventional oil rated SN, and a full synthetic rated SN. The 10W30 is the same viscosity whether it is synthetic or conventional. Synthetic is actually slipperier, for want of a better word, than conventional oil. However all that being said, you use the grade specified by the factory. When both synthetic and conventional oil were being used, there was NO factory manual that ever suggested that a different viscosity oil be used when using synthetic vs. conventional. The factory determines what grade to use, not the oil manufacturer or distributor. The factory designs engine tolerances and clearances, not Amsoil. Redline, or any other oil manufacturer or distributor. When the factory says use 10W30, 5W20, or 10W40, use what they say. We can change those tolerances by rebuilding with tighter or looser tolerances, and you builder should recommend a grade or a brand. that is with full knowledge of what those tolerances are.

Our LA engines were built with tolerances designed for use with 10W30, or 10W40. The Magnums were built with tighter tolerances, so probably use a 5W30. However, using a 0W20 in an LA is taking an unacceptable risk in my mind, not even considering that the tolerances on our older engines have opened up even further."

I agree with what he said, 100%.

I've not tested oil vs. oil myself nor plan on it. I have worked on a thousand of Chryslers, many of which are high mileage car, over the years.
What I can tell when a person changes his oil every 3 to 5,000 miles vs. who changes it every couple of years or so. Being a mechanic, I don’t get to ask the customers which oil was used or for how often.
Also, I really really dislike working on "sludge bucket" engines . . .


On two (possibly) unrelated issues:
One - When an item (any item) changes temperature and the humidity is at a certain percentage, water will condense on the outside (or inside) of that object, and that includes automobile engines. A cold drink on a hot day is a good example of this. Any water (or moisture) that makes it way inside of an engine will boil-out over time when engine is in operation.
On ‘70/80’s Chrysler engines, this process takes about eight non-stop driven miles to accomplish. Any less than that, regardless of brand of oil used, will cause the formation of sludge inside of the engine over time from not getting that water moisture completely removed.
The shorter distances driven, the faster and greater amount the sludge accumulates.
Example, if a person drives say five miles to work and back, I would recommend making one of trips/legs about three miles longer so one direction is eight miles and the other leg can be five miles – to avoid sludge forming.
If you already drive car eight miles (or more) when car is driven – then great (you get a pat on the back)!

Item two. I have always heard that engine gaskets shrink over time. That said, I have replaced hundreds (thousands maybe) of engine/transmission gaskets over the years and not thought twice about it. When I purchased my ’77 318 wagon a few years back, the car was an all original car with 32k (or 34k) miles on it. Within a short time of driving it, every single gasket started to leak on the car (engine, transmission, P/S, etc.). I had to retighten every (accessible) bolt about ½ to a full turn until bolts were tight (torqued). The front pump gasket bolts are also loose (leaking) – but that requires a bit more work to access. This car has proven to me that gaskets will shrink over time.


My opinion as to oil:
- On a high mileage engine or an engine that is consuming oil, I think any (correct weight) oil with a decent detergent rating, like SH to SN will work fine. The higher the second letter (SN, for example) means the more detergent in oil which helps keep inside cleaner. If engine is burning, say, a quart of oil every 500 miles, expensive oil can get very expensive . . . quick.
- On a fresh rebuild or an engine a person has a lot of money in, then by all means get out the good stuff and change it often.
- Those cars in-between those two (mentioned above examples), the induvial owner will need to that decide themselves.

Personally, when I get oil for my vehicles (’10 Town and Country (w/200k miles), ’77 Wagon (w/50k miles), or ’86 Fifth Ave (w/90k miles)) I purchase the oil when on sale (generally the cheap stuff, but with a SN detergent rating), and change it every six months (about 4-6k miles), which is every April and every October. My diesel pickup (230k miles) has different oil requirements – but I also change oil in it every six months (all three gallons of it).

If you ever get a chance to drain engine oil from a car that has sat (untouched, but hood closed) outside for a few years (engine not locked up but not cranked in many many moons), you will find, in most cases, a good bit of water will be in the drained oil, at the bottom (about 1/4 inch deep or more). The water that is present because of moisture condensed due to normal temperature changes. Sense oil is lighter than water (even 50w engine oil), the water will go to bottom and can’t evaporate. Pretty much all car manufactures say to change oil in a mileage OR time interval (usually 12 months) – for this very reason.

I’m neither pro/con synthetic or pro/con any specific oil manufacturer.

I am very pro on changing oil often and very pro on driving car at least eight miles on any one leg every day the vehicle is driven. Other than that, I don’t want to get into arguments about the other details.

Note: we change oil because of dirt/contamination (which also includes water and/or sludge) and not because the oil breaks down (in most cases). A oil filter captures most dirt/contamination but only down to a certain micron size (usually 5-20 micron size). The dirt/ contamination smaller than that will still wear an engine and can’t be captured effectively. If a person could find a cost and size effective filter to capture dirt or other contaminates smaller than that, then I would all for letting engine oil go for a longer distance (like say 15-20,000 miles).
dirt/contamination is the enemy of engines, not the oil. The oil is what transports the dirt/contamination around to the different bearing surfaces.
BudW
 

BudW

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they knew you were running 15k oil change intervals they'd yank your power train warranty.
If car is still under factory warrantee (Chrysler or other) and if you plan on exceeding the oil change intervals published in the owner’s manual, most (OK . . . all of the) car manufactures will deny failures that occur during the powertrain warranty period – regardless of brand oil used. I know this to be a fact.

Chrysler will also deny engine claims (under powertrain warranty) if there are any signs of dust in intake system (after the air filter) – for those who replace the paper air filter with an oilable style filter (K&N style). This is not the topic at hand, but it is just how factories do things.

The good news is all FMJ’s are decades outside of any factory warranty, except for those who had an engine or transmission replaced by them recently (Cha Ching) or recalls.
BudW
 

ch1ll

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If car is still under factory warrantee (Chrysler or other) and if you plan on exceeding the oil change intervals published in the owner’s manual, most (OK . . . all of the) car manufactures will deny failures that occur during the powertrain warranty period – regardless of brand oil used. I know this to be a fact.

Chrysler will also deny engine claims (under powertrain warranty) if there are any signs of dust in intake system (after the air filter) – for those who replace the paper air filter with an oilable style filter (K&N style). This is not the topic at hand, but it is just how factories do things.

The good news is all FMJ’s are decades outside of any factory warranty, except for those who had an engine or transmission replaced by them recently (Cha Ching) or recalls.
BudW
tell me how do you know this to be a fact?
 

ch1ll

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synthetic oils do not work in high mileage cars that have all their miles racked up on conventional oil. use conventional oil in oil burners, the cheapest you can find.

vehicles only benefit from synthetics when they are used right after break in. no oil will repair a worn engine, that is why its important to use synthetics after break in to keep it from wearing out.

all oil and filters need changing eventually, but not by age or mileage but by chemical analysis. after you test it for your vehicles use you can generally determine safe intervals to change it.

I drive short trips 32 miles or less at a crack. heat cycling along with the Wisconsin winter is hard on oil. it needs changing at 18,000 mi. I change it at 15,000 mi to be safe. other folks are able to get much more out of their oil cause of how their vehicle is used and its operating environment. its documented that some fleet diesel trucks have gone over 300,000 mi with Amsoil cause they are driven constantly and are never shut off. no heat cycling.
 

Darth-Car

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That sludge you see in engines run on conventional oils comes from the paraffin in the oil. You find really high paraffin levels in the Pennsylvania crude's.

Now one thing that makes a big difference in running extended drain intervals is to keep a clean, high quality oil filter in the system. So yes I run 20k oil changes, but change the filters every 10k, and only with Wix filters.

As for change intervals on any engine, an earlier poster had it correct, laboratory testing proves there is no problem with extended drain intervals if you are using a quality oil product. The 3k drain interval was developed by an industry with poor quality oils, and a service industry who wanted to spread fear in order to keep the customer coming back for needless oil changes.
 

Camtron

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I’ve worked on a number of class 8 trucks that had high interval oil changes. Oil aside, the things that really make it possible are the auxiliary multistage filters and oil coolers that are added to the trucks to support/supplement factory oil systems. Conway/Xpo logistics is Frieghtliners largest customer on a global scale but, all new trucks are maintained to written factory service intervals to keep warranty’s intact. Once the trucks are out of warranty, they start implementing longer intervals between oil changes that are based off previously collected oil samples over the years that helped them establish a base line for when the trucks actually need an oil change.
 

ch1ll

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Amsoil filters are made by Wix to their specifications. my dealer told me the Amsoil is the better filter. Amsoil also sells remote filter units that use a multistage setup. the one filter is so fine the oil never turns black.
 

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Well currently the speedo doesn’t work is the cables broken but she is a high mileage hero for the embody she’s got about 90,000 she does have a pretty bad oil leak from the rear main crank seal so right now I’m running 20 W 50 conventional STP do I care for STP oil no I’m a mechanic/oil technician I do both in my professional opinion the STP is an all right oil but the filters stink I would prefer to get the OEM Mopar filterBut another thing I noticed with poor quality oil’s I am noticing that I get condensation in the oil dipstick tube pretty bad like a white frothy film but not in the oil cap not when I drain it not in the breather

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kkritsilas

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WIX does make a higher end filter, the XP line. It is more expensive, but is (according to WIX) filled with a synthetic wool type filter material, which is supposed to block particles that conventional filters would pass, and has better flow. Local car parts stores don't carry them, and won't order them in (I asked). I use them on my Monte Carlo SS daily driver (bought 6 from Rock Auto). The XP line is specifically designed to work with synthetic oil.
 
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Oldiron440

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Napa has all the Wixs filters if you can't find them locally.
 

kkritsilas

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Not many NAPA stores in Canada. And the one NAPA store that I have found in Calgary, doesn't have WIX XP filters, and will NOT order them.
 
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kkritsilas

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Yes they are. However, what goes inside a NAPA filter, or any other filter, even if made by WIX, are not necessarily the same. You don't know until you cut them open in see them side by side. As somebody said above, Amsoil filters are made by WIX, TO AMSOIL'S SPECIFICATIONS. I would imagine that the NAPA filters that are also made by WIX, are made to NAPA's specifications. How they vary between the WIX brand filters, or even the WIX XP filters is an open question. Did NAPA try to cut costs? Did they have WIX improve upon WIX's own brand filters? I don't know one way or another. Even WIX has their standard line of filters and their XP line. However, in the vast majority of cases, store brand parts are made to cut costs and improve profitability, or to get some sort of price advantage while maintaining profitability.
 

kingoftooland

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True about to change the oil with brad penn 10w30 tho I gotta find the right oil filter I want to find a mopar one but my 5th ave has that dopy 90* adapter I don’t even know if I take it off could I just use the short n stumpy one right on the side of the block atm I got a cheap stp on it for now And the condensation problem I was having was because I had such a low temp thermostat in there I only had 160° thermostat and now that I put on the stock 195° thermostat the condensation went away

image.jpg
 

Camtron

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True about to change the oil with brad penn 10w30 tho I gotta find the right oil filter I want to find a mopar one but my 5th ave has that dopy 90* adapter I don’t even know if I take it off could I just use the short n stumpy one right on the side of the block atm I got a cheap stp on it for now And the condensation problem I was having was because I had such a low temp thermostat in there I only had 160° thermostat and now that I put on the stock 195° thermostat the condensation went away

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I have the same filter adapter and long tube headers in the way also. I’ve been using the K&N gold filters, they have a thicker can than most filters and a hex nut welded onto the bottom so, it’s really easy to get to from underneath the car with a ratchet (I think 9/16 socket) and extension. You spend more for the K&N name but, the quality of the silver and gold filters is top notch. Silver filters are meant for garage beauties that only need annual oil changes and have a high micron element. Gold filters are meant for high volume oil flow and regular oil change intervals.
There’s a bunch of videos on YouTube of oil filter reviews and guys cutting open filters and comparing materials used and even comparing the hot and cold flow rates of different oil brands. It’s not too difficult to find out what’s up to par these days.
 

kingoftooland

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I’d love to get headders but before I do that I gotta pull the old girls heart n rebuild it because it’s got a nasty oil leak from the rear main seal and the oil pan is gettin rather rusty along with worn out valve guide seals to boot in the spring I MIGHT install a holly sniper efi system but the motor itself is tired I’ll post a short vid once I get a chance of it firing yp
 

MoPar Maniac

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synthetics are not conventional oil and the grades are different between the two.
This is incorrect.
There are Group III , Group IV and Group V synthetics.
Group III are derived from dino oil Group IV are derived from true synthetic base stock either ester or paraffin based. Group V oils are also synthetic base stock but are not suitable for street use, aka long oil change intervals. They are made to be changed frequently as after race night.
Any engine can benefit from synthetic oil as it reduces wear.
 

The Director

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I use 10w30 in my car.... brand doesn't matter much to me, but I do tend to use Castrol. I prefer synthetics, but I've used the conventional stuff before, just at a lower change interval. As for the filter, I've been getting STP filters lately, but I might try out one of those gold K&N filters I'm reading about on here. I also tried out Restore, that engine additive, and I'll do some testing when I finally put a couple thousand miles on it to see if it actually works as advertised. (My engine is getting up there in the mileage.)
 

Mikes5thAve

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I use 10W30. Usualy Castrol or Shell. I've never seen the point in spending money on synthetic or anything else special for an old 318.
 
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