My '85 MGM, "Maisa"

[Arquemann]

The "W" only matters if cold starts are a thing, so the lower the better. You primarily want to care about the number on the right. I've seen 0W-40 out there and would go for that if I still ran 40. Or well, whatever one provides the highest film strength. But thanks to some more reading on 5-40 Rat, I'm back to 5W-30, full synthetic Quaker State.

That 20w-50 VR1 oil kept the oil pressure light off in my Fury. Although it never made any noise back when the light came on. 10W-40 had the same effects you noticed on cold starts, hence my suggestions not to go any thicker than that if vehicle subjected to cold starts. Perhaps try 0W-40 in that case or 0/5/10W-50 if it exists. It got a few cold starts when I sold it- ::shudder:: I think the lifters tapped for up to a minute before that sludge made it's way through them.

I will say that in my current DD, I used to run 5W-40 Rotella T6. Since switching to 5W-30 FS Quaker State, the 40 weight T6 was good for an additional 5psi hot pressure @ idle according to the dummy dash gauge.

A good oil filter helps fight noise on start up. According to 5-40Rat, Motorcraft oil filters are amidst the best you can buy as they have a great anti-drain back valve. This seems to be most important. Another decent filter according to him is the bottom tier Purolater. I switched the 2002 Tahoe in the fleet to one of those + the Quaker State stuff and the 10-20 seconds of lifter tap it had on start up went to being either non-existent or less than 5 seconds and really quiet. I didn't think it would make a difference since the filter is already vertical, but it did.

Yeah, I've ran 40 weight on this since I got it, but this time I tried thicker 50 weight if the clattering might quiet down a bit, which it didn't.
I've used Motorcraft filters every time, mainly because I didn't know if anything was better than OEM.

I ran 0W30 in my Volvo for the first year, but switched to synthetic 0W40 for the second year. Oil consumption was reduced and it ran a bit smoother.

[DerekTheGreat]

540 RAT Oil Wear Protection Ranking List (2019).pdf

Here's a neat list from 540 Rat, circa 2019. A bit dated, but still relevant. Can't go wrong with Mobil 1.. Before I read through his stuff, I used to think zinc content mattered and I used MotorKote engine oil additive. Straight up oil for me from now on. About the only thing I ever added to my oil and noticed a difference with was SeaFoam. The MotorKote did actually help my lawn mower, it doesn't knock any more.

...I've used Motorcraft filters every time, mainly because I didn't know if anything was better than OEM...

Seems like in the case of Ford, no. 540 Rat dude didn't have good things to say about A/C Smelco filters, which is what I used to use on my GM products. Then somewhere about three to five years ago I switched to Wix XP filters. Heard they supposedly make filters for OEM's and generally make a good filter. Rat dude didn't say good things about those either, so now I'm trying the Purolaters out since I can get them for all of the vehicles in the fleet.

[friskyfrankie]

I have only used Motorcraft OEM Oil Filters, for MANY decades and have never had an issue. We're talking Ford vehicles only. Not to say other high quality filter won't work as well but I am not one to experiment with my cars.

[Arquemann]

Interesting list, especially the Royal Purples being mostly down low. I've got some fanboy friends who swear by that pompous shit.

Oh by the way, the rear shocks are yellow Monroes, does that mean they're old as shit or those po-po spec ones? Couldn't make out part numbers sadly.
Either way the rear shocks look pretty toast.

[DerekTheGreat]

Interesting list, especially the Royal Purples being mostly down low. I've got some fanboy friends who swear by that pompous shit...

Right?? Lots of Motul and Redline fanboys as well. Hype is why I switched to Shell Rotella T6, it was reputed to be great stuff. People using it in their LS powered Corvettes and all that on track day. Yet on his list, it's complete shit, think it only offers about 45,000psi of protection. I think somewhere on his blog he said 85 or 80k psi is the minimum for most applications, anything over is great and anything over 100k is outstanding. Something was also mentioned about additives similar to MotorKote- they increase the film strength of the oil but also increase the likelyhood of corrosion or something like that over time. Something to do with the chemistry of the additive. So that's why I won't use that any more except for in the lawn mower because well, lawn mower.

He also said something to the effect of "Don't pay attention to what the bottle says, only the performance of what's in it." Recommends 5W-30 in any application regardless what the OEM specifies. He's got reasons and logic as to why and all that on his blog.

Edit: I think yellow Monroes are heavy duty shocks- my truck has them on all four corners. Still doing good some three years after the fact. They're now mostly black thanks to Krown.

[Arquemann]

"Don't pay attention to what the bottle says, only the performance of what's in it."

Indeed I found it kinda funny when researching the ZDDP values of this and that. The "classic car oil" that I put in advertised having ZDDP which is good for old engines yadda yadda. The same maker (Comma), makes a very similarly priced 20W50, which happened be out of stock actually has more ZDDP and it isn't advertised at all. I think it was 0.08% vs 0.11%, that's quite a remarkable difference, considering the lower is advertised having lots of ZDDP.

Anyways, enjoy this underneath shot of my "rust-free" MGM:

[DerekTheGreat]

Yeah, I don't have any fucks to give about ZDDP after reading that blog. I remember adding some STP ZDDP additive to my '88 C3500 with it's flat tappet 454. Oh how that made me feel good, like I was doing the right thing. There are plenty of oils on that list which have loads of ZDDP and offer ultra inferior protection film strength wise. So there's no correlation between that schmutz and oil superiority. Go for what provides the most film strength and is both affordable and obtainable.

Nice underskirt photo. Ecoat is a wonderful thing, just look how clean those floor pans are as a result. By comparison, the rear end is scabbier a small child's knee. I've only seen one cleaner, and it lives in my garage.

[Arquemann]

Well, I put in the RVS, which made the engine run maybe a tiny bit smoother, but didn't do shit for the clacketyclack, which was expected.

Coming home from some errands, I heard an ear-splitting screech and I pull over immediately. The AC compressor just seized up completely, and the clutch scorching hot.
You know I've mentioned it a couple times that the compressor runs kinda loud, right?

Now I have an engine that goes clicketyclack and NO FUCKING AC, and it's the HOTTEST August I remember. It's been 30°C almost every day for two weeks!
I guess I should order new AC compressors/ kits for both my cars and throw my wallet out the window, since I won't need it anymore cause FCK.

[Brown_Muscle]

Bottom end tends to be a deeper sound, like dunk dunk dunk, clacking tends to be valvetrain… hard to tell without hearing it though as everyone’s interpretation of the sound can be different. Perhaps you have a collapsing lifter?

[Arquemann]

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xI2...ew?usp=sharing

There's the sound clip I linked earlier. Dunno if it's invisible or something.
I'm thinking bottom end because it doesn't sound as "hollow" as most valve train noises I've heard. There's no rhythm to the clacking and it goes away above idle.
It's not really audible from the engine bay, can be heard much better from underneath.

[Brown_Muscle]

There's the sound clip I linked earlier. Dunno if it's invisible or something.
I'm thinking bottom end because it doesn't sound as "hollow" as most valve train noises I've heard. There's no rhythm to the clacking and it goes away above idle.
It's not really audible from the engine bay, can be heard much better from underneath.

Ah! I don’t know how I missed that… yeah it does sound like bottom end to me as well…

[Arquemann]

How's the rocker arms setup in these? Positive stop right?
I kinda want to pull the valve covers and check that the rockers are all tight. I remember someone saying that with positive stop rockers it doesn't matter if the valve is open, just torque to spec. Is that correct?

[sly]

Yeah, that sounds like the lopo knock to me. I know several engines that ran well over 100K miles AFTER they started that noise. As with all things though, YMMV.

[gadget73]

pedestal rockers. Tighten to torque. No adjustment.


Another way to figure if its valve train or bottom end is to use a timing light. Two knocks per flash is bottom end, one per flash is top end. Cam runs at half speed.

[Arquemann]

Removed the AC belt today, haven't driven the car since the compressor went kaputt.
I managed to turn the compressor about 45° back and forth with a long screwdriver, sound like I'm stirring glass and pebbles in a blender...
Since it cooled down, the clutch disengaged all the way and I can spin the compressor pulley, it's pretty crunchy aswell, heat got the bearing most likely. The clutch did get hot enough to instantly burn my fingers.
The belt got toasty aswell, it's a bit shiny and the hard edges are more rounded now, should be fine to reuse.

I used a tire iron as a DIY stethoscope and the clacking is definitely bottom end. Also noticed that the engine likes to misfire at idle quite a bit (again).


I'll try to get the AC refrigerant emptied next week, there's exactly one shop in an hour radius that might still have the old R12 fittings.
When I'll get the system empty, I'll dismantle it and see if everything inside is filled with glitter or not and go from there.