The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop oil filter

since getting my 3100 home a month ago I have been using 10w40 oil, then modern 30w now , non detergent 30W, I wondering if adding an oil filter would help and looking for part #"s

Helps to tell us what year your truck is and what engine you have...

Mike B

1952 3100 with a 216 , Thanks

I think non-detergent (if that's what you're using now) is not a good idea. Frequent oil changes diminishes the need for a filter but I'm glad I have (had) them.

I thought new oil would be the way to go, but after pulling the valve cover and side push rod cover to replace the gaskets it was obvious that the grunge left over from old style oil and lack of maintenance might be plugging up the oil pump screen,so I started using non detergent oil so I wouldnt be washing all that stuff off, which I can tell it is from looking thru the oil fill hole

Im hoping to catch it in a filter. pulling the pan just to see how it looks in there is on the list too

I could fertilize several acres of garden with all the bovine effluernt that's been published on the Stovebolt forum in the 15 years or so I've been here, about which oil to use and pontifications about filters of various types and designs. Everybody's got an opinion, and opinions, like "noses" can get pretty "smelly". Before you can "catch it in a filter" you're going to have to figure out a way to dislodge those layers of sludge that have been building up for decades. I like to use a gallon or so of Diesel fuel, added to a full crankcase of cheap oil, and run the engine for 20-30 minutes at a fast idle with the crankshaft and connecting rods splashing into the over-filled crankcase. No driving, or putting any sort of load on the engine- - - -just give it a good wash job with the solvent-diluted oil, with the crankshaft serving as the agitiator in the washing machine. Drain the oil while it's hot, and a large quantity of the sludge will come with it.

If, after washing a bunch of sludge out, you find that the engine is worn out (noisy bearings, and/or excessive blowby and oil consumption) at least you've gotten a better head start on cleaning it up than you could ever do with a brush and solvent after removing sheet metal parts like the oil pan, side cover, and valve cover. If you get lucky and find you've got a usable engine, install the original-equipment type bypass filter, fill it with 15W-40 oil, and drive on!

As always, the opinions expressed by this writer might be worth exaxctly what it's costing you to read them. Anyone with a different opinion, please note the sprig of mistletoe attached to my untucked shirt tail!
Jerry

I have been using Rotella 15-40 for years in all our motors except, the two late model ones that require synthetic.
In fact, I buy it by the barrel and extra filters. Mainly because of living rural and I don't have to make a trip to town to get the oil and filters.
An oil filter sure won't hurt to have also.

Wish I would have know that trick years ago Jerry. Spent many hours cleaning the sludge out of engines to rebuild.
Mainly as a kid helping Dad rebuild engines. I was the parts cleaner with a bucket of gas with no gloves.
Winter time, it was near the wood stove.

Don

Jerry, I like your "internal engine cleansing" procedure.

Do you recommend that procedure with 216s and early 235s?

If the engine is a low-pressure 216/235, non-detergent oil was recommended and might have been used. A lot "stuff/gunk" might have settled to the bottom when using non-detergent oil.

With those engines, is there any reason not to first remove the oil pan and scrape/clean out the sludge and the junk in the goop in the bottom of the engine? Then, put the pan back on and follow your cleaning procedure?

That sludge/goop/junk might be minimal/non-existent if the previous owner used detergent oil.

Thanks

I usually don't bother to remove the oil pan first. There's about a 50/50 chance of creating leaks from an improperly-installed pan gasket, plus the whole point of doing the engine flush is to save time and effort. If it's necessary to do an engine rebuild after flushing the gunk out, dropping and reinstalling the pan would be a wasted effort anyway. Other solvents like kerosene or #2 heating oil could be used instead of Diesel fuel, but Diesel is handy and relatively inexpensive. It's also got enough of an oil base to provide a little lubrication as well as being a solvent. It certainly can't be any more detrimental to an old stovebolt engine than some of the water-thin "oil" that is being used in them by people who don't have any common sense! I don't like kerosene because it has a pretty low flash point, not a lot higher than gasoline.
Jerry

In my high school days In 1961-2, I worked at a service station where we did engine flushes. We added kerosene to 30W bulk oil (I forget the ratios) and idled the engine. I remember wondering how good that was for the engine. I never did it on my '51 Chevrolet.

My 1948 owners manual says if the temperature is going to get below -10 degrees, use 10W plus 10% kerosene. Yikes.

An old timer, years ago, suggested adding a quart of transmission fluid just prior to an oil change to help get rid of sludge. I tried it several times and it worked pretty well. The first time being nervous, I ran it 20-30 minutes at fast idle. Subsequent times after, I added a quart and drive it around for a few days. It worked really well. That vehicle used a little bit of oil so I waited until I was a quart low before I added the transmission fluid.

I like HotRod’s washing machine idea.

I've also heard of using ATF to free up sticky hydraulic lifters, and it's approximately the viscosity of 10 weight oil, but I'm a little reluctant to run something in an engine with the friction enhancers that make automatic transmission clutches grab and hold. ATF cools and lubricates as well as developing enough pressure to make clutches and bands do their thing, but I prefer something a little different for engine cleaning.
Jerry

Back in the day, we used to slow pour ATF down the carburetor at a very fast RPM. Probably 2500 or so to lube the top end. Good way to fog the neighborhood for mosquitoes. Now days someone would turn you in to the EPA.🛠

During the Korean war when virtually all the high-grade gasoline was being used to make aviation fuel, cars had a chronic problem of getting massive carbon deposits in combustion chambers due to the poor quality gasoline that was available to the general public. The fix was to run a metered drip of "top cylinder oil" into the intake manifold through a tiny piece of copper tubing (1/16" outside diameter) from a 1/2 gallon glass jug mounted under the hood. There was a needle valve similar to a carburetor mixture needle to control the oil flow. Various "pour through" concoctions were also used, like "Casite Tune-Up" and "Wynn's Friction Proofing". My father's shop sold and installed those top cylinder lubricators, and the oil used in them. A favorite product around the Nashville area was "Aviex top cylinder oil". He sold many gallons of it during the mid-1950's.

A "Shade Tree" carbon blast job could be done by running a fully warmed-up engine at around 2500 RPM and slowly dribbling a 6-ounce Coke bottle of water into the carburetor throat. When the water hit the combustion chamber it flashed to steam and cleaned out the carbon.
Jerry