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Quote:

While it is good to follow suggestions on types of oil that have been proven to work well and might help the issue, with a stock 55 and a "pretty bad" valve tick I would wonder if all of the field mods Packard made to the 55 engine because of oil pressure and valve lifter noises had been done. If the car is early production or rarely saw a dealer after purchase perhaps not.

If the engine is not high mileage or excessively worn and mods were not done, there is a possibility low oil pressure due to the cam or rocker shafts allowing too much oil to escape is part of the issue. In 56 they also made another mod -- this time to the oil pump -- to reduce the possibility air was being drawn in and foaming in the oil stream.

If the engine is low miles or corrections have been done then perhaps your engine is one in which the oil pump itself has become the issue and is a good candidate for the Olds pump conversion.

I tried various oil blends and 30-wt in my Clipper over the years and have eventually settled for 15-40 and my car seems to run great with no knocking, smoking, and very little leakage. Since I generally put 1,000 to 1,500 miles a year on the Clipper, I change my oil twice a year and the filter once a year. The viscosity never has a chance to wear down. And since I change my oil as often as I do, I figure I might as well use good conventional oil rather than synthetic, which is a lot more expensive.