The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Oil Filter/ Oil

I have got three questions reguarding oil....

1) Is there supposed to be a sealing washer between the oil filter housing lid and the hold down bolt, if so what type, cork, rubber, fiber?

2) What weight of oil should I use to break in a newly rebuilt 235?

3) Should I use a synthetic or regular oil to break it in?

:confused:
Thanks again Guys

Yes, there should be a copper or fiber type washer at the top rubber seal where the lid contacts the main oil filter housing.
.I would use regular 30wt. oil.
Synthetic will not allow the engine to break-in properly.

Talking about synthetic, what about in a older 235 that's been rebuilt 2 years agos, would you recommend synthetic? I'm a firm believer of synthetic and have seen the difference, I just don't know if the older engines would like it.

After it has been broke-in, I see no reason not to try it.Others may have a different opinion.

There was a post quite a while back about the tractor companies (John Deere I think) making a break in oil. Probably a good idea--might want to check at a tractor supply. When I did mine, used 30 weight and chamged at 300 miles. Dropped the pan too and looked for metal. Changed second time at 1000 miles and then back to twice a year.

Ohayden, why??? Syns are made for extreme service and extending oil changes. Are you going to do either with your 235? I agree with Mechanic, shouldn't be a problem. But to me it's overkill, and a waste of money, to use a syn oil in an engine that will be treated with kid gloves. Mike

Go to any John Deere Ag or Industrial dealer--they have the John Deere Break-In oil you need. It is 10W-30 viscosity. I would run it for 1000-1500 miles, then change to a good 10W-30 oil. The main atvantage I see to synthetics is the cold oil flowability and I would recommend a synthetic if you are going to be using the vehicle in sub-freezing weather.

On your oil filter canister, there should have been a rubber gasket that came with the new filter.

If you added an aftermarket cam take the advice regarding break found thereon on the cam card.

20 or 30 wt hd oil. EOS (1 qt of EOS Engine Oil Supplement) found at Chevy Dealers. Follow the directions.

Then after a few oil and filter changes switch to a 10w30 synthetic if you like.
Tim

Fred T. Erwin was asking about the washer under the hold-down wing-nutat the top of the lid,,,

stock cam new lifters and pushrods. This will be a driver and a nice truck to pull the ol' boat with. I run synth. in my other truck after the break in is over just wondering about it with a rebuild. Thanks guys you are allot of help for someone doing this for the first time. I am so glad i ran across this forum!!

DUHHHHHH

That one's usually thin copper or brass.

Fred T.,,,,
The way I see things is that the more we can cover each others oversights and be able to be thankful for what others catch and make us aware of, the more we can be heading in a positive direction

As you guessed, I'm not going to abuse the motor, however, have you tore down an engine after running regular oil? Have you seen that grime / sludge built up inside the engine? That's what I'm wanting to avoid. I use Mobile 1 (A pure syn not a mixture) in my 67 Camaro and I don't like the cost (about $4.50 a bottle) but if it will keep my engine clean, then I'm sold. I seen a buddy do a rebuild on hist car that he ran Mobile 1 in and it was amazing... it was as clean as the day he put it together.

Yes it's great for extreme weather... does anyone know why? It flows so much better than heavy wieght oil which makes it better for cold winters; moreover, less resistance equals more power. By flowing more it created less resistance and I had to retune the carb on my 67 as it started idling faster. No joke.

Hope this info helps guys. I will do the change over to Mobile 1. I just wanted to make sure that there wasn't any known issues with a 235 (As this is my first 235).

Your buddy ran mobile 1 but still had to rebuild his engine- at what milage?
My opinion is that a little bit of sludge and varnish won't hurt as long as it isn't on a bearing or clogging up a passage. If you get the same milage out of the rings and bearings with synthetic as regular oil but you get sludge with regular oil who cares?

With a 235 you may find that the mobil one leaks out a lot faster than dino oil since the seals weren't designed to hold thin oil in.

Oh, and I am a fan of synthetic oils in certain situations, like transmissions and axles where the extended drain interval is an advantage, but in the crankcase of my miata I have tried all the synthetics and found that they sludge up just as fast as good dino oil. That car has hydraulic lifter issues that rival the 235- The holes in the lifters are too small and they clog up, and then 4 valves per cylinder clatter and sound terrible. I know when my oil is saturated with contaminates because the lifters start getting noisy. I have found that good old valvoline works just as well as mobil one, but the cheap oil only lasts half as long. I replace a quart of oil with a quart of ATF through the engine (has lots of detergent) for about 15 minutes before I change the oil and that cleans all the scum out. After I changed the timing belt at 145k miles the inside of the engine is still clean even though the oil is always black and ugly when I change it.

You can't use synthetic oil in some motorcycles that share transmission oil with the engine- the clutch won't engage properly. My bike has a dry sump engine with shared tranny oil and it is very picky about oil. Luckily we have dry clutches (well, unless our rear main seal goes Jeep) on our stovebolts.

Guys--

If that sludge in those engines is bothering you that bad -- drain the oil from a warm engine--take the filter out pour 6 quarts of keroene in and run it 5 to 10 minutes. Cleans em out every time.

Ohayden, I run Mobil 1 in my 1 ton Furd van, with a 7.3 engine. The 1st owner used Mobil 1 so I've continued with it. I can make a round to Phoenix and back (about 3300 miles) and not use but a quart. This engine has 221K on it.

One doesn't have to use a syn oil to keep an engine clean. Harvard (of Evansville, Wi.) makes a one micron bypass oil filter that will actually clean your oil. That is, it will remove contamanits faster than they accumilate. This filter works fine with either type oil. I ran 186K on the same oil in a Cummins NTA 420. When I'd pull the tappet covers to run the overhead it was clean as a pin. I blew an oil cooler or I wouldn't have changed oil then. I have kpersonally know an engine that ran 360K on the same oil. In a trade magazine a few weeks ago I read of a fleet manager (Schneider National, I think) that had ran trucks on the same oil that many miles also. They used another brand of bypass filter with a natural oil. I started using these filters two decades ago. Slowly they are begining to catch on. Mike

question???? how adverse an effect will the lower viscosity of the 10w have on these old engines which were designed for the 30w oils??? It seems to me that you will get greatly increased wear unless you severely tighten up the bearing clearances (every where) since the lesser thickness of the weight difference will allow the parts to run(force) themselves together and wear faster than normal. You chemical/mechanical enginers out there PLEASE respond with your knowledge. And the 10w will get thru parts/seals and burn off much faster. YES???NO????

Bobby , the original handbook that came with my truck says to use 20W or SAE 20 down to 32 deg F .
20w as low as +10F
10W as low as - 10F
10W + 10% Kerosine below -10F
It also says to drain the crankcase every 2000 - 3000 miles or more often in dirty conditions .
During new engine break in , the book says to use 10W for the first 1000 miles ( with a hot drain at 500 miles ).

'40 Chev 1/2 ton - 216