1982 Trans am 84K miles Oil recomends ??

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Okay now the trans am's turn lol


This is my pleasure (TOY car) only drive it few times a month in nice warm weather most of the time its parked in garage


It has factory dual TBI 305 crossfire and 84K miles. It does have low oil PSI and leaks


Last oil change was Mobil 5000 semi-syn with a WIX oil filter and 25% lucas oil stabilizer. Haven't done oil change on it since Spring 2016


On the next change, I'm thinking of the harvest king (Atwoods) 10W30 full syn with mobil 1 oil filter ??


Any recommendations ?? Mobil 1 website for this year/model recommends 15W-40 oil ???
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If it's leaking oil and does not have great oil pressure i would run Valvoline Maxlife 10W-40.
GM specififcally said that 10W-40 should not be used in the SBC, but that was because back in the day most 10W-40 Dino oils would shear a lot and the shearing of the high amounts of viscosity index improvers would form deposits inside the engine etc etc etc, but nowadays that has been adressed, so it would be an ok choice.
 
Ya my mechanic who builds LT1 race engines Uses VALV VR1 20W50 in his '94 Camaro LT1 race car. But I feel thats alittle to much.


I just noticed Atwoods has 15-40 Lucas HD magnum for a nice price $16 !!! would this be okay to use ??


Dave


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Lucas oils have been found to be pretty mediocre, i wouldn't use it, use something like Valvoline Maxlife or Shell Rotella.

VR1 is a great oil but the 20W-50 will be too thick for your 305 TBI, it would only make you lose performance and fuel economy.
 
Ditch the Lucas products, especially the oil stabilizer. Get a 10w-40 high mileage oil, or 15w-40 HDEO. 15w-40 Maxlife HDEO at Wallymart sounds good for your app. I wouldn't use full synthetic if it's leaking.
 
Originally Posted By: DoubleWasp
If your engine has low psi on MS5k with 25% Lucas, then you should run a 20/50. You can't ask for better than Valvoline VR1.


Would there be any issues with running VR1 with the catalytic converter(s)? Not even sure if the car has any.. Early 80's just seems to "new" to me.
 
Lucas oil stabilizer is very thick. If you're getting low psi using 1/4 of that for your fill, you're going to need a thick oil without the stabilizer.

Why oil without the stabilizer? Other than keeping your oil pressure from falling too hard, it is doing nothing for your engine.

I'd at least look at Castrol GTX 20/50.

FordCapri: He's running 1/4 of Lucas stabilizer. He's not going to see more drag with a 20/50. He might even see less.

dlundblad: I've run VR1 in quite a few cat equipped machines without issue.
 
Whats low oil pressure? I worked on these engine new and we had a lot of new ones apart looking for the cause of low oil pressure right out of the factory before GM came out with some TSB's. Did you take a mechanical reading.
5-7 psi at idle is common even new and 10 psi for every 1K RPM seems to work okay with these engines, some companies had similar issues and went with a dummy gauge for this reason. Swapping out the OE pump for a Mellings unit usually takes car of it if you run it hard.

Edit: On the Z28 there were issues with the dual TBI units and water ingress from the hood, some of these engines that sit had rust on valve stems causing sticking valves, GM had a revised seal and fitting procedure that fixed it. No idea if this is applicable to the TA but after over 30 yrs if it hasn't been an issue I cant see it developing now.
I would use a zinc additive in the oil like the one from Rislone, this engine was not designed for low zinc.
 
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Ditto on the Lucas :use something else: stop using ANY TYPE of oil additive. Mobil delvac 1300 would be a good choice. HTHS is 4.3 that's thick. $10.97 gal. at the [censored].
 
I would run a good HDEO in 15w40 like others said. And skip the lucas stuff or any additives.
WIX filters are good no need to switch to M1 filters.
 
I have been running strictly 5W30 motor oils(did a little 10W30 in the early 80's) in my '80 FORMULA Firebird V8. Over the past 8-10 yrs, I've been using MaxLife, QS DEFY, Pennzoil HM(all 5W30).
 
Nice old ride.
I had an 81 TA. Recaro pace car with the 301 Turbo in the day.
About as much hp as my hybrid.. lol
Great looking though.
 
Dug this old album up of the 81 Pace Car
From 1981-82
My brother and I started a TA club back then in Newark, DE.
Sorry pictures of pictures
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Originally Posted By: AirgunSavant
Nice old ride.
I had an 81 TA. Recaro pace car with the 301 Turbo in the day.
About as much hp as my hybrid.. lol
Great looking though.


I know, right?
My daughters Mazda3 2.0L(in my sig) has the ~ same HP as my '80 Bird
My Altima 2.5L has 30hp+ more still!
The V8 still has some GRUNT though!
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Yes sir you know:)
Back in 2013 when I got a new Honda Sport with the stiff wheels 18's I said this car feels exactly
like the 81 TA and about the same exact power. It really felt like a Ws6 machine
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sadly that Accord was a 4 banger- lol
 
Totally agree with not using anything LUCAS.
Try some Wally's ST 15-40--about 11 bucks a gallon, so pick up an extra quart-or 2 X 4 qt containers.
Or, if you have an AutoZone handy, see if they have any stock left of the Rotella T5 10-30. It has a high HTHS of 12.0, so it is closer to a 40, than a 30 wt. Fifteen bucks for 2.5 gallons
Steve
 
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