Packard Forum Index » General

I have always used Penzoil SAE30 W oil in my old cars.

Mostly because I have a Model T Ford and I heard some high detergent oils destroy the Magneto coils that are inside the engine.

Used SAE30 for years, no problems. Model T has never been apart.

Today I found my local autozone no longer stocks straight SAE30 oil, so I bought 10W 30 which I am going to use in my 54 Packard instead of the SAE30.

I do understand that 10W 30 means the oil is like SAE 10 when cold and SAE 30 when hot.

Anybody please feel free to comment.

Jim

You are mixing viscosity modification and detergent additives.

Viscosity modifiers are polymers added to make the oil viscosity less dependent on temperature.

Detergents are meant to attach to crud in the oil to keep it suspended instead of depositing.

So an oil can have none, either, or both.

I believe NAPA carries non-detergent, 30W, in their house brand.

Good Evening...If the 30w that you were using was detergent, than I think that you are all right to go to 10-30w detergent...However if the 30w was not detergent, it is NOT recommended to change to detergent oil. You need to stick to the non detergent oil. Using the detergent oil at this point can break lots of junk loose and plug up oil passages and cause harm...You should be able to special order the oil you need from most NAPA stores. Owen is the expert and I suspect he will check in shortly...Ernie

A quality brand of 10W30 is a good choice. 10W30 was the standard choice for all cars in the fifties sixties seventies and into the eighties. Chances are your Packard never used anything else.