1953 letter complaining about detergent engine oil

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FCD

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I thought this was pretty interesting, it's a letter from the UK from 1953 about a man complaining that detergents are being added to motor oils.

This is it :

Sir,

As a motorist for 20 years I have had many cars, but only one rebored (during the war), because I have used only good quality oil. changed it when necessary, kept my engines clean myself ; now after all these years I find the oil companies have decided I am not capable of doing these things myself and they are putting into their oils washing powders called "detergent additives" or detergent dispensives," etc., they might even have chlorophyll added, anyway I don't like it.

What the oil companies don't tell us is that detergent oils have their limited uses, mainly for engines with hydraulic valve mechanisms which must be kept clean. But most engines on the British roads today have performed well and will continue to do so with a pure oil and no additives if kept clean.

No finer proof is needed than the number of vintage and near vintage cars on the roads today and the engines of a modern car and vintage car are very little different, both respond to good lubrication.

Really the object of this letter is to find out if there is any pure oil on the market today, if so can someone tell me the name before my engine is washed away ?

I am, Yours, etc..

Coventry. J. E. HAND,.
 
Very interesting. It's funny considering we still have non detergent offerings such as Warren ND 30wt, Castrol ND 20W-20, and Kendall ND 20W-20. Truth be told, even in today's modern engines, you might could get away with non detergent oil at a 1K drain interval.
 
Probably best to read it in the context of 1953.

What detergents were used back then?

Surely they were experimental and some probably caused more issues than they solved.

Oil technology has certainly come a long way, eh?

But he does not sound too different from several older generation Powerstroke owners who see no benefit to CK-4 HDEOs designed to compromise for the benefit of newer Cat-equipped trucks.
grin.gif
and asking where can we still find CJ-4 oils !
Like Me !
 
Originally Posted By: ArcticDriver
But he does not sound too different from several older generation Powerstroke owners who see no benefit to CK-4 HDEOs designed to compromise for the benefit of newer Cat-equipped trucks.
grin.gif
and asking where can we still find CJ-4 oils !


Or flat tappet owners (hmm like me) asking for high Zinc oils (not like me).
 
Originally Posted By: LoneRanger
Ahhhh oooogah !!!! Enjoy those deposit build-ups Mr. HAND.


You have to take it in the context of the times....this was just 8 years after WW2. A whole different world..
 
Originally Posted By: philipp10
Originally Posted By: LoneRanger
Ahhhh oooogah !!!! Enjoy those deposit build-ups Mr. HAND.


You have to take it in the context of the times....this was just 8 years after WW2. A whole different world..


Given the number of magatonnes that were shortly to be hanging over Mr Hand's head, not worrying about deposit buildup was probably pretty reasonable.
 
As son of a fuel distributor being a teenage gas pump jockey, I got a chuckle one day.

A guy came in with 55 Chevy bragging about how clean that non detergent oil was when I checked his oil.

At 15 in 1967, I even knew the story.

Of course oil is clean, but any dirt just lays around inside engine making mud and wear.

Oil was up to at least SD by that time, and I read the books on why SA (straight non detergent) wasn't good.

However, Chevy engines run until they don't.
 
As a pump jockey/ labor for every dirty job there was, I de-sludged many a Chevy 6 that had the rockers immersed in sludge. I used a putty knife. In those days, a Ford V8 was lucky to get to 70K miles
 
;
Originally Posted By: Red91
Very interesting. It's funny considering we still have non detergent offerings such as Warren ND 30wt, Castrol ND 20W-20, and Kendall ND 20W-20. Truth be told, even in today's modern engines, you might could get away with non detergent oil at a 1K drain interval.


I suspect that you may be right.
I knew people back in the early seventies who did exactly this with Type I VWs and their engines lasted as long as did anyone else's and didn't look too dirty on teardown, but the usual failure mode with these engines involved a swallowed valve which had nothing to do with lubrication.
There are also folks who still think that an ND oil should be used in anything lacking an oil filter, like a splash lubed OPE.
ND 30 does have a legitimate use in air compressors, but I'm not too sure why ND 20W-20 remains available.
Very short drain intervals were the norm way back when, but I don't think that I'd want to do 1K drains if I could use an oil that would allow me to extend them.
Might be an interesting experiment, though.
 
If we didn't already have a 3.5 quart mix of ND 30wt and 40wt poured up for compressor pump oil changes, I'd be tempted to try out a 20W-20 in it. I'm pretty sure I can get Castrol or Kendall 20W-20 ND from one of my suppliers, and if not, I believe I can order the Castrol through Napa.

As for the 1K non detergent experiment in a relatively modern car engine.....do not tempt me.
crazy2.gif
 
I don't have any oil comments to make. This just happens to remind me of a letter I read many years ago in the Houston Chronicle's version of TV Guide, called the Chronilog. A man wrote in to rather bitterly complain that the early morning listings -- we're talking like 1AM, 2AM, etc. -- were listed with the previous day's programming. So, the early Tuesday morning programming was on the Monday page, etc. He was truly angry about this. We cranky old men are funny sometimes.
 
What's most amusing is that, with only some slight tweaks, this letter could easily be one of the daily rants by BITOG members about __________ (fill in the blank with any "newfangled technology" from smartphones to direct injection).
 
Originally Posted By: ArcticDriver
What is the dis-advantage of running a detergent oil in an air compressor?

Thanks


Some will say that disadvantage is that detergent(s) can cause foaming...and that they can trap condensed water from the air in the oil...


Ours where I work runs happily on acea C3 5w40 engine oil
smile.gif
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: Kamele0N
Originally Posted By: ArcticDriver
What is the dis-advantage of running a detergent oil in an air compressor?

Thanks


Some will say that disadvantage is that detergent(s) can cause foaming...and that they can trap condensed water from the air in the oil...


Ours where I work runs happily on acea C3 5w40 engine oil
smile.gif

The circulators on my boiler (TACO) require not detergent oil. There is the chance that a little water will get past the pump seal.
 
Yep, just like the curmudgeons that complained about lead going away and the curmudgeons today that complain about ethanol.

Did that guy work at a coal plant and have a goatee?
 
As to running non-detergent oil in something today... isn't even ND better than what it was, years ago? I have to wonder, if ND was good for 1k eons ago, maybe today's ND would be good for say 2k today.
 
Originally Posted By: fdcg27

ND 30 does have a legitimate use in air compressors, but I'm not too sure why ND 20W-20 remains available.


I have seen it specified for some hydraulic systems. Some very old small engines specify it.

ND 50 Aircraft oil is still VERY much available! I think a lot of cylinder rebuilders specify to use it for break in.
 
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