Antique car Oil Problem

First off I've been working on antique cars for over 50 years but have a problem I've never experienced before. My 1917 Maxwell engine had a total rebuild and I put 4 quarts of 30w non-detergent oil I got from Advance Auto in the engine. I've been out of the car hobby for the last 15 years and was very surprised to see the oil come out crystal clear but thought it was something new in the way oil was now refined. Anyone else notice this or did I get some defective oil?

Second problem is I can't get this car to stop leaking! Every plug has been tightened to the point that I believe the next step is stripping them and they still leak. The oil pan, wet clutch bellhousing and transmission all have pipe plugs that still drip, the shaft that has the oil level gauge float arm leaks and now all 15 of the oil pan bolts have started to drip!! It's almost like instead of oil I added that gear oil that has the ability to climb gears to my crankcase? Has anyone else seen this water clear oil and had oil leakage problems like this?

I'm having sooo many problems with this car that I have never experienced before that my brother recently suggested maybe I needed to perform an exorcism on it!

Howard Dennis

I don't know, but there are companies like Penrite that specialize in lubricants for old cars. An oil change would be easier than rebuilding the engine.

I purchased some 30wt non detergent oil that was the same, but can't remember where I got the stuff. It was advertised as being good for older cars and was a mineral oil base. I had the same problem as you. I believe it is much thinner than the 30wt. we are used too. I drained the oil and switched over to another brand of 30wt which was thicker and not clear and it reduced the leaking considerably. The oil change was a lot cheaper than trying to fix all the leaks. Good luck.

If it's a fresh overhaul, why use non detergent oil ?? if the engine is fresh, and therefor clean, I'd use detergent oil, and change the oil often, just like you do with non-detergent.

GLong

I would go for the Classic Car Penrite oil. Looks like oil, smells like oil and is high in zinc.

I put some 15-40 Nulon oil in an engine yesterday and you are flat out seeing the level on the dip stick. Its like water and you have to take the dip stick out in the sun to read the level

http://www.penriteoil.com.au/products/classic-car-oil?gclid=CM7GpanxzcACFdd5vQodxLMAMA

I'm no oil expert, but in my 71 TR6 I use Red Line oil which I've had great luck with and like. Some years ago I emailed their technical people asking about using the Red Line in my 1928 Durant that I am restoring. They're tech person advised that there were no problems using synthetic oil in old cars as long as the system is clean inside or recently rebuilt. As GLong stated I'd do an oil change with other oils to see which one will work best. Some of the oils have a mineral oil base which of course is much thinner. The Red Line tech stated he used their synthetic oil in his Model A with no problems. If the engine is untouched and not been rebuilt from what I understand is that the detergent oil will clean out all the gunk and with the added mess in the engine from the clean out could cause that junk to make it back though the system and damage the engine. His opinion was that since you don't drive the antique cars so often the synthetic oil should last awhile.

I agree with GLong.

The following is my opinion, and may disagree with what other believe on this topic.

There is a reason they used Non-detergent oil years ago, detergent oil had not been developed.

Same story with single grade oil, the reason they used single grade oil was that multi-grade had not been developed. Why use a single grade oil when you can use a multi-grade that has the recommended viscosity at operating temperature yet has a lower viscosity for better oil flow on startup.

When I bought my 1933 Chevrolet in 1971 and my TR4 in 2008 I did not rebuild the engines, but did remove the valve covers, oil pans, and push rod side cover on the 33 and cleaned out the engines before using the detergent oil. The 1933 Chevrolet engine had been rebuilt in the 1950s and still had over 1/2 inch of sludge on the bottom of the oil pan.

A detergent oil with a sufficient zinc level should be fine. Penrite and Brad Penn are made specifically for antique cars and have high zinc. I have always used detergent / multi-grade oil in my antique cars and switched to Valvoline VR1 Synthetic racing oil when the oil manufacturers lowered the zinc level in most oil. I do not put may miles on my antique cars, but I still change the oil once a year. Even if I only put 100 miles on the car.

Visit my personal website at: www.jakegingervila.wix.com/bobs-vintage-cars-

Vila

1933 Chevrolet

1962 Triumph TR4

1984 BMW 633 CSi

About leaks. By tightening anything with a cork gasket behind it, you just compress the cork locally and bend the light steel section. Leaks follow. The sump and the differential rear cover are good examples - both pressed steel. Pipe plugs should have tapered threads so should seal properly, but if not, thread seal tape might work, else use a hemp designed for oil. Your car was not made to be oil-tight: it probably has lots of bolts with one end in the oil and one end in the air and the oil just comes up the threads. Mine does - the sump, the gearbox, the differential to the axle and the diff. rear cover and so on. For those, you can try a thread sealer from the likes of Loctite. Some use Permatex No. 2.

Re oil, there is a lot of misinformation out there. The first number (e.g. 5W) refers to thickness when cold. If you want your new engine to last a while, use a low first number so the oil flows early and does its job. Most engine wear occurs when cold. You have a new engine so use a detergent oil and change it often. You say the oil came out clean - after how long? It should: your engine is squeeky clean inside and it has new oil in it!

I am using 10W-40 in my 1930 Dodge, CI-4 rated (i.e. a diesel oil). It has full ZDDP and will lubricate well. I change the oil at 1000 mile intervals. There is a very good readable treatise on oil here:

http://www.widman.biz/Corvair/English/Links/Oil.html

If I am correct, non-detergent oil doesn't hold the engine dirt in suspension and it collects in the bottom of the oil pan(no oil filter-manuals say to remove oil pan and clean), detergent oil does and the oil filter collects the dirt. I have used diesel engine oil in my 1930 Chrysler since the engine was rebuilt.

If I am correct, non-detergent oil doesn't hold the engine dirt in suspension and it collects in the bottom of the oil pan(no oil filter-manuals say to remove oil pan and clean), detergent oil does and the oil filter collects the dirt. I have used diesel engine oil in my 1930 Chrysler since the engine was rebuilt.

Tim, I was always taught the exact same thing and that is why I will go against what seems to be the norm today and NOT run detergent oil because I don't want debris circulating around my engine, I'd rather have to remove the pan and clean it off the bottom every other blue moon.

Howard Dennis