Best Oil for an old 454?

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Greg L

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This is a question more for my son, who just bought a 1979 Chevy Cheyenne Dualie Truck...with a 454. The truck has over 180k miles on it, and supposedly the original owner did a 'rebuild' some years ago. Not sure how many miles on the rebuild

The question: What oil should he be using on this big block?


I am not familiar with the engine, other than owning a 350 on my '96 truck.


Any ideas/suggestions would be appreciated. He is currently using a generic 10w40, but will need a OCI soon.



GL
 
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Since you live in California, and won't see cold climates, any decent 5w40 or 10w-40 would be good. PYB, VWB, etc. etc.

Any HDEO would be great too....like Rotella, Delo, Delvac, etc. etc. Dino flavors are 15w40 and synthetic are usually 5w40.

One thing to watch is oil consumption. Easy to run these things dry if they burn oil. Does it blow blue smoke out the tail pipe at start-up once it's sit for a few hours? If so, could be valve seals. Could be worn valve guides too.
 
Sort of depends on the rebuild. What kind of camshaft does it have? A generic 5w30/10w30/10w40 should be fine as long as the oil pressure stays acceptable.
 
10W-40 is a good place to start. Any good 10W-40 will do. Not sure which 'generic' he is using, but I would stay away from any brand that is not well known - there are some 'off brands' that could harm the engine (see www.pqiaamerica.com)

15W-40 might also work fine in warmer climates. 5W-40 would probably be an excellent choice if he doesn't mind spending a little more.

If it were mine, I'd start with Quaker State Defy 10W-40, Valvoline MaxLife 10W-40, or Shell Rotella T6 5W-40.
 
Originally Posted By: metalboy
Originally Posted By: Doog
DO NOT USE SYNTHETIC OIL!!


Why?


Was going to ask the same question. I'm a risk-taker though, I ran Mobil 1 (religiously) in a 425HP Ford Y-block
wink.gif
 
Originally Posted By: metalboy
Originally Posted By: Doog
DO NOT USE SYNTHETIC OIL!!


Why?


The seal technology in the 1970's and 1980's is not very good at handling synthetic oil. You have a high chance of getting leaks based on the cleaning of syn oil over time. Engine sealing technology changed radically in the 1990-1994 time frame. So anything pre-1993 would be best served by dino.
 
Originally Posted By: Doog
Originally Posted By: metalboy
Originally Posted By: Doog
DO NOT USE SYNTHETIC OIL!!


Why?


The seal technology in the 1970's and 1980's is not very good at handling synthetic oil. You have a high chance of getting leaks based on the cleaning of syn oil over time. Engine sealing technology changed radically in the 1990-1994 time frame. So anything pre-1993 would be best served by dino.


Oh. That old myth. This engine might very well leak through the seals, but it won't have anything to do with the base stock of the oil.
 
How can you have " the cleaning of syn oil" if there isnt any synthetic lubricant in most "fully synthetic" PCMO, Doog?
smile.gif


#1 easy choice would be RT6, next a major Mineral motorbike 4T or ATV 40grade oil on sale at your local VIP or wherever; these are current/modern base stocks with high EP/AW adds with API SH phos limits. These are API PCMO servvice category oils - dont be confused by motorcycle pictures on the oil bottle - only the certs matter, not ad copy or pictures!!! Most OIL Guys here still dont get this SIMPLE fact and are afraid to run "motorcycle" oil in a car engine. IN most cases this oil is much more robust than ANY current ISACL approved lube.
DOH!
 
If synthetic "causes" any problems, anybody with a brain stem would know it's only revealing a problem that already existed and if it's been rebuilt with relatively new seals and such there shouldn't be a problem. I have my brand but honestly use any decent 40wt, if your happy with it then it's probably ok.
-srv
 
Originally Posted By: Doog
Originally Posted By: metalboy
Originally Posted By: Doog
DO NOT USE SYNTHETIC OIL!!


Why?


The seal technology in the 1970's and 1980's is not very good at handling synthetic oil. You have a high chance of getting leaks based on the cleaning of syn oil over time. Engine sealing technology changed radically in the 1990-1994 time frame. So anything pre-1993 would be best served by dino.


That is entirely untrue. What usually happens is that old gaskets, particularly cork valve cover gaskets, become rock-hard and stop doing their job. But deposit build-up along their edges has prevented leaks. When that build-up gets cleaned-off, well, the leaks begin. Even a new set of cork gaskets fixes the problem.

I experienced that in my Mustang. A new set of valve cover gaskets, and it was golden.

Properly formulated lubricants are designed to be compatible with, and not harm all major gasket and seal materials, even those used 50+ years ago. The base oil is irrelevant because of this.
 
FOLLOW UP -

So it turns out he decided to check out oil prices at the local O'Reillys.

Funny that you mentioned the Delo 15w40....as he saw that it was on sale there for $11.99.

I told him that he might be better to start with the High Milage O'Reilly brand of 10w40, since it was on sale for $3.89 a quart. He ended up buying that instead.


As far as the camshaft and other history of the motor...I don't know. He had me look over the engine, and check the fluids. They looked clean, but I told him to do the OCI anyway. The only oil 'leak' I saw was some old drippings from the passenger side valve cover. (they are crusted over with grime....so not really dripping anymore).


GL
 
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