Re: Engine oil

Posted by Tim Cole On 2008/2/17 11:50:19

You are both right!

I have this piece of paper that says full flow and obviously it is not. I wondered about that given the can on top of the engine.

The last time I worked on the Packard V-8 was awhile ago. A body shop had gone out to see if the engine would start. They ran it a little and shut it off. The engine seized because of condensation in the cylinders. I freed two stuck pistons, honed it, and the car kept running until the owner died from old age. It was his only car.

Anyway I talked to an engineer about this and he feels that the big problem is that old engines are just plain dirty and need frequent oil changes. A number of manufacturers in the fifties were recommending detergent oil for cars as soon as they came onto the market. However, the switch to full flow filtration became universal very shortly because petroleum researchers were finding corrosion without enough filtration. By 1969 Chevrolet was recommending annual oil changes thanks to full flow oil filtration.

The other day I was looking at engine parts from a rebuilt V-12 that were in really bad shape. That is, it is on its second rebuild. The owner always used detergent oil and the detergent obviously wasn't helping very much. I think the biggest problem is not enough original Packard parts. These new parts just aren't as good as genuine Packard merchandise.