What oil do you reccommend for an origional 216? We have been bangin on davidack4's "new" 52 ALL week. We will post pic.s later. Haven't been able to find 20w like the factory reccommends.
Change it religiously! In my humble opinion, it doesn't matter what oil you put in an engine as long as you change it on a regular basis. The original 216's ran single weight SAE 30 in the summer months and a lighter viscosity oil if the winters were harsh. I can't imagine "Super Wally World" not having 20 wt oil in several brands. We ran that oil that came in yellow cans forever and never had an engine failure throughout the '50's, 60's and '70's. I'd venture to guess that a good 10W-30 would be a great year round oil for a well maintained 216. Ken
David, just remember that... My opinion and $4.00 will buy you a Starbucks! I try to keep current with the times. It used to be " My opinion and 25 cents will buy you a cup of coffee!" Can my wife even buy a non-fat, light whip grande mocha for 4 bucks?
Oil Thread What , no flame war ? . oil threads are the worst . You want a fairly thin oil in there and of course , a modern detergent typ , ignore the noodleheads who think non detergent oil is useful . For thin oil , I run multi-vis like most folks . As mentioned , the # 1 thing is to change it frequently and always when the engine is HOT ! . The original by-pass typ oil filters are good , some don't fully understand how they work .
Nate PLEASE do a test for me! Pull the line off the bottom of your bypass oil filter(by the way it is not a by pass filter LOL) If you get a quart out of it in a couple of mins i will be real amazed. The test has to be with a oil filter with more than 10 min on it. They dont flow and they dont filter much oil at all.(The test is only for the 216/235 with oil filter hooked to your oil pressure gauge not other equipment) Also when was the last time anybody here ever cut the filter apart and found much of anything in it?They dont work.Full pressure filter is the only way to go or toss it.Lots of bigger equipment with these motors had no filter! As far as oil who built it? Are you using factory specs? Most machinists dont follow bearing specs of old and change up bearing clearances. With the splash system that the old 216s and early 235s(pre53 car 54 truck) have a non detergent oil is good as it has anti foaming properties in it like you need for a air compressor.Other than that ,its the only reason to use non detergent.All other 235s with oil pressure rods just use good oil that you use in anything else. So 216 235 splasher motors... non detergent 30 in the summer 20 in the winter.
See ? What I mean ? . Yes , I have taken the oil filters apart and yes , there's always dirt in the pleats . bypass oil filters don't do much @ idle speeds but once the engine is up to speed they pass 10 % of the oil through , as a machinist you should know this . I agree , your conversion to full flow oil filtration is great but most are NOT going to take a good runing engine apart ~ don't let your prejudices cloud youre good judgement . ALL oils contain anti-foaming agents so there is no rean to ever use non detergent oils . Ever . Not even in the compressor ! .
Just changed mine today so I did cut it in half to see what it looked like. Guess what?? It was filthy. The first bypass filter I put on my 1959 truck had a hole around the fitting at the bottom exit hose. A surprising amount of oil would squirt out at idle. Much more than a quart in a minute or so. I do agree that a bypass type filter does not work as well as a full flow but they do work and look good as well.
I have some NAPA 30 wt. motor oil that I use. But, I put this in our 1950 Chev. 2-ton, my '87 GMC S-15, several 1950's Farmall tractors, and all my Craftsman lawn mowers, and MTD rider mower. I just like the oil and never any problems. Have a little of Walmarts 30 wt. oil too, for extra because it was on sale. I recall as a kid we had a lot of single wt. oils, mostly for farm, and it was either 20 wt. or 30. I change it regularly with a very warm engine, and just proper maintenence, decent driving, we get great dependability. I guess since the '50 Chevy truck is so original, I get a good feeling using the "original" kind of oil too...... HA. The oil for trucks like this - mjd
Nate's right, I think oil ranks just behind religion and politics in causing arguments. I have used Castrol for years because the sporty car guys had the best luck with it in keeping the connecting rods inside the blocks of their Leyland and Morris Garage engines--a real challange. If you are re-doing an engine I'd absolutely go to a full flow filter since they're easy to mount, easy to plumb, and not expensive. You can install one on a completed engine by using heavy grease and a strong magnet for capturing stray metal but it's way better to do it before the engine is assembled. Here is a close up of a 235 full flow filter. Do not spread the word around on the high class plug on the intake manifold windshield wiper port, I don't want people bugging me for copies.
Wow ! Evan ; You let the cat outa the bag , now I'll have to make up a buncha those rare vacuum port covers @ work to-morrow and make a killing selling them on Flea-Bay....... -Nate (who uses the correct oil Religeously , not Religeous oil !)
I Know Class When I See It ! Oh man ; I am insanely jealous of that truck , so sweet , it looks ready for work or play . -Nate
