The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk What kind of oil?

What kind of oil should I use in my '53 GMC 228?

New or used? Based on location I would say a 10w30....someother questions to consider is do you have an oil filter on it? Some of the older engines ran on 30ND (ND meaning non-detergent) If that is it case and you put a high detergent oil in it you can expect it to cut loose some crud that may cause some major problems. If it is new and has an oil filter I would probably use 10W30HD(HD meaning High Detergent)It does have inserts in the rods doesn't it?? I'm sure some more will add there comments later. This is just my opinions.

You can open quite a can of worms with that question. At that time manufacturers recommended differing weights of oil for different seasons (30 weight summer, 20 weight winter, 10 weight below 10deg). Multi viscosity oils hadn't been invented yet. I believe in following the mfgrs recomendation so I use the appropriate oil for the season. Others believe, and I can't really call them wrong but I do disagree, that using a multi viscosity oil (10W30) is OK. My problem with using 10W30 in my 38 is that it's a 10 weight oil that has the lubrication properties (not viscosity) of 30 weight when it warms up. 10 weight oil gets real thin when it gets hot. These old engines weren't designed to use thin oil. Having said that, as long as you have good oil pressure I think you'll be OK whatever you use.

Can of worms is right Tiny.

I've seen so many debates over oils. Personally I stick with "dino" oils over synthetics, and use multigrades if the engine oil pressures stay stable. Synthetic oils are much more stabil when it comes to viscosities and I would have to say that I believe that they are a better oil and will last longer.

What benefit will you get can be determined by the cost and how far you will let your oil go before changing. Personally, I do not drive my bolts enough to justify the synthetics. Very often it is time for me to change oils because of the length of time it has been in the engine and not because of the miles.

I have used detergent oils with no problems yet, but I wouldn't go as far as to recommend it for everybody.

In your case, because you are in the Twin Cities area, I would personally choose a multi viscosity oil. If your engine is older and has some miles on it, a 10w-40 or 20w-50 might work well in the summer. I think if I drove my bolt in the winter, I would change over to a synthetic becasue of easier starting and better viscosity stability.

Well, everyone has to select the one that fits their needs. I use a good multiweight in all my engines. 15w40, 5w30 or 15w50, depending on season and engine.

The real story on viscosity can be found here:
http://www.texacoxpresslube.com/carcare/article_viscosity.html