I have a 49' 3100 with what ive been told is a 54' 235 engine in it. Is there any special type of engine oil that these trucks require?
oh, man. there's the can o worms, eh? check the archives, sir. there's plenty written about engine oil. IMO- and i'm the least qualified to give advice here, but i don't think it really matters much what you put in as long as there's oil in there. and welcome! jon
Flame War ! Of all possible threads , oil is the very worst in creating arguments . My take is this : You have essentially a 1940's tech engine so any modern oil you put in and keep topped up and frequently changed (whilst blistering hot) will be a vast improvment over the old stuff it was designed for . Diesel rated oils and synthetics give the very best protection . Thick oils ( -50W) are really too think for these old rigs as they take too long to get up out of the sump and circulating . Non-detergent oils are crap and should be discarded , not even your lawnmower uses that crap . Remember : your old tech engine loads the oil with all manner of crap quickly (ACID & SLUDGE as well as abrasive dirt & carbon) so it NEEDS changing frequently ! this means at least twice a year even if you only drove it a few times ! . Synthetic oils CANNOT harm your engine no matter how many B.S. Urban Myths you hear ~ it simply isn't true . My flame suit is on and all my old saved from the crusher rigs are lined up behind me so bring it on !
Glad i didn't ask that question again!! i like to change mine at least twice a yr just to keep in practice. I concur with Nate, per usual, that changing it frequently is the most important thing. After working for years to get it going, what's a couple of oil changes a yr?
