The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Real high milelage 327 engine.

Just curiouse as to what type of high milelage oil my pal who hadn't worked since 911 it seems like should run in his 327.I believe it has 300 plus miles on it and don't ask he can barely afford gas for it, little on rebuild it. I'm thinking it's valve guides and rings.He said it has 323,689 miles on it. It uses about a quart every 500 miles he said. Thanks there Bolters.

At that rate of consumption the thicker the better. Unless he's in an area where he's routinely trying to start the engine in temperatures below 30 degrees, I'd recommend straight 50 weight racing oil. He's going to encounter spark plug fouling pretty routinely due to the oil getting past the piston rings, and if he lives in Commiefornia, the CARB will probably be after him for putting out too much blue smoke from the tailpipe!
Jerry

Torco makes a 70 weight when that wimpy 50 weight starts to migrate. Gonna see some oil pressure when it is cold though.

They have more things to do here than worry about an old truck with some blue smoke. 76 and up require smog inspection and I have never heard of anyone with an older vehicle getting "busted".
By the way, it's in the high 70's here with blue skies.
Fred

I would use 20W50 in that. A quart to 500 miles is reasonable oil consumption, I have engines that use that with nowhere near that mileage on them! Some engines just inherently use oil.

when I ran a shop in Merced in the late 1970's, smoke tickets were pretty common. Back then, they actually ran roadside smog tests- - - -pull a vehicle over at random and stuff the tube up the tailpipe! We did a lot of engine repair to clear "excessive emissions" tickets. Another cash cow for politically-connected shop owners was getting state certified as a "headlight aiming station"!
Jerry

I had a Dodge van with over 200,000 on it. Used 20W50 Havoline year round. Havoline seemed to be the only oil that had consistant oil pressure. It was a little hard starting when cold out, but always did. My cousin ran 15w40 Rotella in a high milage Chrysler, Rotella seemed to calm the oil usage.

I really wan't to thank you Bolters for the replys, I haven't bought my buddy any oil yet for his christmas present, but the parts guy at auto zone mentioned max life,by valvoline 10w 30, he was probably trying to sell me some odd ball stuff. Thank you..

Man I love the commiefornia! That was great. Lucas makes a straight petroleum oil. It comes in a gallon jug. I run one of those and two of the havoline in my cummins with 200k. Stuff is thick as molasses. Works awesome.

A diesel will inherently use thicker oil, so I don't think this applies too well to the 327 in question.

Why does a Diesel run thicker oil? The clearances are usually tighter, such as the .0002" wrist pin bushing clearance specified on the Cummins 855 connecting rods I reconditioned. That's a strand of hair split into 10 equal slices. Put some thick oil through that size space sometime!
Jerry

FWIW, I run Delo 400 15W-40 diesel oil in my stuff; I'm pretty sure my current 283 in my DD has 300K on it. I also ran it in my other truck with a 250 six to the tune of a quart or more every hundred miles; that one I figure has probably passed the 500K mark. Seems to be good stuff.

Yeah, I know I have a lot of tired old engines; I'm working on it...