what kind of oil?

i have a 78 ski nautique thats new (to me) i put new plugs and wires, new fuel filter, all new hoses and lines. I need to change the oil, and was wondering what kind of oil should i put in? and what oil filter do you guys recommend for a 351 windsor. thanks guys

Tom isn't exactly correct on the Rotella as all Rotella's are NOT high in ZDDP. Some have been reformulated for the new diesels!!

Napa gold is a very highly rated filter.

Tom,
Once again, double check your info before posting.

yes, thank you for not answering my question horkn. i was wondering what weight, brand, etc. people are using and are happy with since im kinda new to inboards. Im asking for opinions. i could read a million different types of pros and cons online, so i'll rephrase my question, what type of oil (weight and brand) are you using in your 351? thank you

Adio, questions on oil and filter choice, are like religion and politics in that they can be touchy.

That's why I didn't say exactly, and left a link for you to decide:)

thatdude596 wrote: i run mobil 1 full syn 15-50 with motorcraft filter

You'd better start reading!!! I have personally seen cam lobes ground to rounds from people using what they thought was good oil on flat tappet engines. Please, DO NOT get caught up with the marketing/advertising scam and the "bling" factor. Do your research first. I feel you have made a very poor choice.

After doing some more searches about ZDDP and flat tappet motors, it appears that the new rotella diesel oils are around 1200 ppm of zddp, about 200 ppm les than what it used to have only a few months ago.

Similar stories of valvoline VR1 oil reducing ZDDP levels to less than ideal numbers have been reported as well by race engine builders.

Here is one guy's quote regarding the VR1 in high performance boats.

"Case in point, Valvoline Racing oil VR1, had 1300 parts per million of ZDDP in January of 2008 and the last I heard it was down to 900 parts per million just a few weeks ago. Be aware that most racing oils are designed for short term use before being changed out and may lose the additive package before the next oil change in your boat."

Castrol has several oils that meet the ZDDP requirements of older motors as well, probably more so than any other brand of oil.

As far as actual numbers, the motorcraft 15w-40 has like 1550 ppm of zddp, which is higher than even the old formula of rotella.


It appears while some oil makers might make it more difficult to find a proper oil for us, that other brands are making oils specifically for flat tappet motors.


Here is some more reading for those interested.....



http://www.ttalk.info/Zddp.htm
http://healey.org/content/view/269/1/
http://www.ohiomotorpool.oldmv.com/htm-files/hmv-restoration-tv.htm
http://www.littlebritainmotorcompany.info/index.php?id=follow-up_to_camshaft_chronicles
http://www.enginebuildermag.com/Article/74002/race_vs_street_oil_and_lubricants_the_great_zinc_debate_continues.aspx

Yeah, some of the stuff that has been posted recently is old news and not accurate anymore.

A lot has changed since that ford article that keeps getting linked was written.
I hope people don't simply assume that their VR1 or rotella is the same formula as it used to be, because it is not anymore.
It used to be that the new oil was better in every respect than the old oil, and the new stuff can be used on old engines. Unfortunately this all changed in the last couple of years and using the newest oil formula may do more harm than good on these old tech motors.

Very good discussion here. I just bought a 91 SN about a month ago, and the seller told me that he always changed the oil each year with Mobil 1 Synthetic oil. I'm not sure what weight he used, he didn't say. However, I do have some experience with building racing engines (Chevy's ... real engines... :-p )with a freind with decades of experience. We have seen guys' flat tappet cam lobes wiped out as well on break in by using Walmart or Dollar General cheap oil because of the dropping of zinc in oils these days.

What are your opinions on my boat having synthetic Mobil 1 in there right now? Supposedly he put this oil in each year for years and years. I'm driving back home from Maine next weekend to use it and I'm wondering if I should be freaking out about it now that I've read these Ford engines are sensitive to the zinc in the oil.

I've been doing oil analysis on my stuff by spectrometer the at the last oil change new Rotella 15/40 had 1246 ppm zink.
Can't measure phospherous (we don't have the right atomic emission instrument) If you take a 2oz. hot mid-stream sample, and send it to me I can run it in 30 sec.

Tim D wrote: Can you buy ZDDP as an additive?

Sure you can.

ZDDP plus is one of the ones that seems to be pretty prevalent if you search the internet for info on ZDDP.

I bet autozone, advance and all those have some ZDDP additive for sale.

As an additive to oil that may be lacking ZDDP, it will work, but is more expensive than simply buying an oil with good amounts of ZDDP in it to start with.

I'm now the back-up guy in our oil lab we analysis oil for wear metals and water.(at one time it was my full time job) We use a spectrometer on aircraft engine and transmission oils. I work for The United States Marine Corps as a silly servant.

Tim D wrote: Went to Wal-mart, STP has ZDDP on the front label, got a bottle to try.

Tim,
It's interesting you mentioned this. When I first brought up ZDDP to our oil supplier several years ago, the very first thing he mentioned was "STP". Evidently, the zinc and phosphorous has been in that formula since day one. They picked up the fact that powdered zinc added to oils "plating" out the wear surfaces from the very very early oil benders. Also of interest in the metal stamping business, it was common with deep draw stamping problems way back for you to run down to the auto supply and get a couple cans of STP. Mix it up in the lube and the problems went away!!! You may have missed it in earlier threads so I'll mention it again. We can run galvanized or electro galvanized dry through our dies. No lube needed and when you open up the dies you see where the zinc off the galvanized has coated all the shear and form points. very low coefficient of friction and never any galling.

What kind of bike? And what mobil 1 were you using?

Gun Driver, I wonder if cam research is aware that Valvoline has reformulated their VR oils recently and part of that apparently is lowering of the ZDDP levels. I would love to see what new VR oil has for ZDDP levels.

horkn wrote: Gun Driver, I wonder if cam research is aware that Valvoline has reformulated their VR oils recently and part of that apparently is lowering of the ZDDP levels. I would love to see what new VR oil has for ZDDP levels.

I would imagine he does.