1953 Chrysler Oil

Hi,

I just got a '53 Chrysler Windsor Deluxe, and I was told that it doesn't matter what kind of oil I put in it. Then I was told to use non-detergent oil, but someone else disagreed with that and said to use detergent oil. So, what do I use? Also, if you have any other helpful information on the car, I would appreciate it. Thanks!

i believe your right any 30 weight should be ok, but if your put a detergent oil in the engine without cleaning the inside first, there is a chance that the detergent oil could kick up all the junk and block your intake screen. i think there are more threads here about your subject. good luck jp

I concur that a good quality 30W oil would be fine and pretty much what would have been used in it all of these years. Even today's "worst" oil is probably much better than the good oil of the earlier times.

The detergent/non-detergent issue has been mentioned many times before. If the engine's seen reasonable care and oil changes, I doubt you'll have any trouble with detergent oil. If such things are a concern, I've had good luck with Stewart-Warner Alemite CD2 Oil Detergent additive. What I would do to get things cleaned up is to do a fresh oil/filter change and add one can. Then, when it gets a quart low, add another can. When it gets a quart low again, then a "full drip" oil change with the engine at a stabilized HOT temperature is done. What the oil additive does is to emulsify the accumulated oil-related deposits and clean things up. Usually, by the time for the oil change, the rocker arm shafts (as seen through the oil filler cap) should be visibly cleaner. If you desire, another treatment could be done later in the same manner, but I suspect it might not be needed. One other thing I usually try to do is to pour and extra quart of oil through the engine with the oil drain plug out, after the rest of the oil is still dripping, to help flush out any dirty residual oil from the low spots of the pan. Just a little extra cost that makes me feel better about the oil change being a better oil change.

I've heard the dialogue about those deposits flaking off and stopping up the oil pickups, but if the engine's that gunked up inside, I suspect it would probably need an overhaul anyway. There are some other detergent additives that do a quicker job than the CD2 stuff, but the more gradual approach is probably best. If it's really bad and you don't mind making a big mess, you could pull the valve covers, intake manifold (to get access to the lifter valley, plugging up the intake ports in the heads also), and oil pan off and wash things down with a cleaning solvent (Varsol is the name I've heard mentioned). That way, you get the pan cleaned out too. Just depend on how "deep" you want to get in that project.

In prior times, people used to talk about putting some automatic trans fluid in the motor oil to help clean things out. The theory is that atf, being about 10W, would get into the nooks and crannies better than the 30W oil did and help initiate or increase oil flow to restricted areas. Sounds good, except that when it mixes with the motor oil, it just thins it out a little and those noisey hydraulic lifters did not quieten down.

Enjoy!

NTX5467