Re: what oil should I use in my 53 Clipper?

Posted by Tim Cole On 2017/4/30 9:30:50

The dispersants in detergent oils keep particles in suspension that are too small to be filtered. This prevents deposit formation on rings and valve guides.

So the only problem with detergent oil is when the motor has never used it and the crankcase is full of sludge. In that case the pan needs to be dropped and the sludge cleaned out.

Yes full flow filtration is better, but GM and Chrysler were building motors with bypass filtration well into the detergent era. VW as well didn't use anything. You can always stick a good sized magnet on the bottom of the oil pan, but if the car sits for a week almost all of the particulates will fall to the bottom anyway.

I wouldn't let a lube bay mess with the bypass filter if equipped unless they can explain why it should be torqued to 15-18 lbft.

For those Packard motors the 10w-30 should go a long way to preventing valve sticking.