[AT] oil for old engines

[Francis Robinson]

----- Original Message ----- 

>I always used Penzoil in my Ford pickup. Switched one time to SuperFlo
> (Exxon). Don't know if it was a higher detergent or if it was just time 
> but
> I had lifter problems just a couple days later. Long story short, I'll 
> never
> use Penzoil again and never switch brands of oil if possible.
>
> John Hall
>


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    I think your statement "or if it was just time" is VERY important 
here... I think that happens "A LOT" in many of these stories. I think that 
in most cases where a gunked up engine acts up after using a detergent oil 
the problem was on the verge of happening any time regardless.
    I know guys that will not use detergent oil but think nothing of buying 
a can of engine flush and dumping in there.
    My approach is why do you want to save that gunk??? Wash it out, flush 
it out, drain it out and filter it out. Get it out of there. Oil going to 
your bearings should have passed through your oil filter first. If the 
engine is that gunked up problems are on the way anyway... If you feel 
detergent oil is shaking out a lot of gunk then change it again quickly. 
Don't allow goop to collect in the pan. Oil is cheap. If you don't want to 
use detergent oil then don't... Personally I have just never had a problem 
with detergent oils and I own a lot of engines. Some I have had a long time 
and many that I have bought used. I will still always use detergent oils...

    There is another factor that enters here related to the wise statement 
"or if it was just time". All too often one simple incident is extrapolated 
into purported common fact. If I eat Cheerios for breakfast this morning and 
my neighbor falls off of his barn roof it does not extrapolate that if I eat 
Cheerios for breakfast every morning that my neighbor will fall off of his 
barn roof every morning. Not even that it will happen a lot...   ;-)
    We all draw cause and effect conclusions. Sometimes we are right, 
sometimes not...   :-)

    BTW, I also tried Pennzoil (40 years ago), didn't like it. It seemed to 
thin out too fast.

    I have one of those one time stories... take it for what it is worth. I 
also didn't care for Quaker State oil (also 40 years ago). About 30 years 
ago I was tilling my then large garden and my tiller was due for an oil 
change. I told Diana to get me a few quarts of oil when she was in town. I 
was tilling when she got back so I stopped and drained it out while it was 
still hot. To her, back then, oil was oil and she had bought Quaker State. I 
figured that any clean oil was better than dirty oil so I poured it in. It 
was 30 weight just like the Kendall I was using. After I changed it I 
started across the garden and before I had gone 100' the engine was smoking 
like an insect fogger and by the second round it was missing out and I was 
about to be overcome with the smoke.   :-)   I sent her back to town to 
exchange the other two quarts and told her to come back with Kendall oil (I 
now use Valveoline). I drained the Quaker State out and when she got home I 
filled it with the Kendall and hit the garden again. I had a hard time 
getting it started again but when I did it cleared up well in about 50' of 
tilling and by the time I went a few rounds it was running clean and well. 
Shortly after that there was a news report of some lawsuits where Quaker Oil 
had to pay for a bunch of car engines that were ruined by "bad" oil. I 
concluded that rather than a bad general product they had a quality control 
problem and some really awful stuff slipped out to the public and I got some 
of it. I'm not sure what you could do to oil to make it that bad but that 
little tiller sure didn't like it...   :-)

    Another oil story... There is a local quickie oil change place that has 
several shops around here. They were charging a base price for an oil and 
filter change using their "standard" brand of oil and charging a third more 
for using the "premium" Valveoline oil. The oils were in plain barrels. 
There were some rumors and suspicions floating around and a local (Indy) TV 
news reporter did an investigation. They had a bunch of people have the 
"premium" oil change then they pulled samples and sent them to the lab. 
Confronted with the evidence the chain owner admitted that he had been 
selling the "standard" oil when ever anyone asked for the "premium" oil 
change and just charging more. He admitted that he had not had any 
Valveoline oil in stock for a long time. He had made a LOT of money charging 
the extra money for the same cheap oil. As they talked with him it was 
apparent that in his mind he had not really done anything wrong. In his mind 
it was "just business". I understand that the Indiana Attorney General's 
office doesn't agree...   ;-)

    I can't see my garden this morning, too much snow. I won't be able to 
till it tomorrow either, too hard... Supposed to be 16 to 18 degrees 
tonight.   :-)   I doubt that much would grow this month anyway.   ;-)   I 
have not been able to have much garden for a few years and I am really 
looking forward to getting a good one out next  spring. Of course I will 
"have" to plow it with an old tractor and the old IHC pull type plow. I 
don't miss crawling under the combine since I retired but I do kind of miss 
"turning dirt" in the spring.   :-)


--
"farmer"

When you reach the end of your rope
 tie a knot and hang on...

Francis Robinson
Central Indiana, USA
robinson at svs.net