engine oil

[90halfton]

Just out of curiosity, you personally put more zinc in for better startup lubrication on older engines or do I have it wrong why you personally do?

flat tappet setup is a solid lifter rubbing against a solid cam lobe, no roller. Makes friction as one would expect, good lube helps those surfaces last.

 

[slowburb]

Flat lifter engines need different oil that roller lifter engines. The more spring pressure you run, the better the oil has to be. That's fact.

 

[Ironhead]

The zinc compound is particularly important to prevent wear at the cam/tappet interface on non-roller cam engines. When I had such an engine, I used a Lucas product that contained lots of the ZDDP (that's the Zinc compound) and added one bottle with each change. That seemed to prevent bad cam and lifter wear that had been a problem before I started using it.

Sorry, but right now I can't remember the name of the Lucas oil supplement, but it did come in a small plastic bottle, I'm guessing it was around 8 oz. You could probably find it on their website, or at a good auto parts shop.

 

[SLmateo]

Glad i started this thread now, I'll add some stp or lucas zddp next oc for the zinc in it for our engines...trying to make this engine last as it'll be passed to my parents for their land when I buy another truck or become a project where I'll redo the entire interior and exterior more than I've just restored.

 

[MarkZ28]

They must have added the zinc back in or the info posted on anither forum was wrong. Glad to know Rotella has it.

 

[Rusty Nail]

What does it say on the cap,
5-30?
I'd use that.

Zinc? Zddp? = junk science. Bob is the oil guy? Yeah. As soon as "Bob" oil us in a bottle on the shelf at O'Reilly's, I MAY consider giving it the time of day, but until he's been around longer than Quaker State, it's a joke. Gimmicky waste of money. Scam.
Until you build and design better, longer lasting engines and sell more cars than Louis Chevrolet...
You dudes are hilarious. I heart the internet!

 

[SLmateo]

What does it say on the cap,
5-30?
I'd use that.

Manual from Louis Chevrolet says either 10w or 5w depending on temp preference

 

[1500z71]

I use Castrol 20w50 in my '93 with 160K on the stock motor. A while back my lifters and IIRC my pressure were giving me trouble so I switched to a thicker mix and haven't had any issues ; pushing a year now. Minimal towing and occasional off-road farm stuff.

 

[Jacob]

-40 weight oils are allowed to have higher zinc like less than the -30 or -20 grades. There is still zinc in the lighter ones. If you have a stock valve train that is broken in you don't need to worry about zinc.

 

[90halfton]

What does it say on the cap,
5-30?
I'd use that.

Zinc? Zddp? = junk science. Bob is the oil guy? Yeah. As soon as "Bob" oil us in a bottle on the shelf at O'Reilly's, I MAY consider giving it the time of day, but until he's been around longer than Quaker State, it's a joke. Gimmicky waste of money. Scam.
Until you build and design better, longer lasting engines and sell more cars than Louis Chevrolet...
You dudes are hilarious. I heart the internet!

5w30 is the right thing in cooler weather with a tight new engine. Mine uses a little oil and hasn't been new in 26 years, and the difference between 5w and 10w is microscopic. The oil companies are adhering to epa and probably a hundred other regs. They don't give a **** about your flat tappet dinosaur, those engines are no longer made (unless you build it or order the motor). Zinc and zddp = junk science, are you f###### serious? I bet the earth is 4000 years old too.