What Oil For Exposed Valves?

[Elgin Racer]

Hi all,

My 1917 Elgin Racer has an open valve train, which needs to be lubricated frequently.

Both the valves and pushrods need oiling, but when I oil the valves, this oil enters the combustion chamber and causes blue smoke.

 

My questions are;

1. What oil should I use, is there any 'low-smoke' oil available?

2. How often should I oil the valves and rocker arms?

3. How much oil should I place in the valve recesses?

 

Many thanks!

 

Pat Feeney.

Edited 14 hours ago by Elgin Racer
Spelling (see edit history)

[J.H.Boland]

My '21 Chevy has open valves and lifters. The owner's manual says to lubricate the valves and rocker assemblies about every 500 miles with the oil can provided on the firewall. One old timer

told me that he only lubricated things when the engine started to slow down from excess friction !

I use a dripless oil like what you use when assembling camshafts and internal parts. I have used a white lube between the valve and tappet. On some of the 4 cylinder Chevies, there are individual felt seals that hold the oil around the tappets at the push rod.

[Larry Schramm]

My early Buicks say to lube the valves every 25-50 miles.  I use SAE 80-90 gear lube because it is thick, sticky, and as extreme pressure additives.   I put 2,100 miles on our 1913 Buick so far this year.  No issues.

 

If it is smoking when lubing you might need a valve job and guide to valve clearance checked.  Also if you do a valve job be sure to put some felt washers on the valve stems inside of the spring to help keep the valve lubed.

 

Just IMO and experience.

[PharisMetals]

I’ve been using 1:1 mixture of motor oil and Lucas Oil Stabilizer.  Started with gear oil but hate the smell!  I run a felt and cover on this head to keep it clean, but the design has no oil supply.  So far so good!

 

Edited 5 hours ago by PharisMetals (see edit history)