50W in a 454?

[Bullet Bob]

Quick summary on my truck, it's my grandfather's 79 or 80 C20 with a transplanted 454. Rumor is that it came from a family friend that had built it for a race car and did something to it to make it more suitable for pulling before putting it in. This truck was mainly used for hauling feed and pulling a cattle trailer. It has been setting up for at least 8 years and I'm slowly going through it to get it back on the road and restore it and put my own little touch to it. On to my question.

Valvoline VR1 50W is what was used in the 454 in question before I got a hold of it and what I put back in it when I changed it. I'm seeing info all over the place on using 50W to the point I'm not sure if it's ok to be using. One thing will basically tell me it will cause it to have a catastrophic failure and the next it is good for motors that pull and haul heavy. Had a lot of guys at work tell me to use different weights and brands instead. Since I'm not going to be pulling anything or hauling a bed full of feed all the time should I go to quality 30W for older engines? It's had 50W put in it for no telling how long and lasted this long. I mean there was 6 quarts of 50w behind the seat and probably a case hid off in one of the storage buildings. Didn't use those 6 quarts when I changed the oil went and bought new oil. So what is everyone's opinion on using 50W or swapping to a good 10W-30.

 

[yevgenievich]

15w40 diesel rated oil would be likely choice for me

 

[Shorty81]

Schaeffer 15w 40 synthetic oil. High in Zinc for flat tappet engines. Modern oils do not contain enough zinc.

 

[Rusty Nail]

I belong to the group what says to never, ever - under ANY circumstances - change weight or brand of engine oil.
As long as that choice is yours to make, my belief based from experiences, says you will find that to be very sound advice.

Somethin about "if it ain't broke don't fix it" - ever heard that?

Good luck!

 

[1973c10]

Just my .02 here
I run delo 400 15w40 or rotella 15w40 in everthing I have
from the kia to my BB puller truck
the kia now has 215000 on it my 73 camaro has 135000 on the rebuild I did 19 years ago
I i even run it in my lawn mower lawn mowers LOL
I am no oil expert but it has worked for me

 

[morrow07]

If it ran with VR1 all these years, keep using it. VR1 has more ZDDP then your run of the mill stuff. My 89' V2500 has beed drinking 20w-50 VR1 since the early 90's according to original owners log. If it's been good enough that long, who am I to rock the boat? That and the thicker stuff makes me feel better about my oil pressure at idle LOL

 

[peats]

i run the rotella 15-40 per my engine builders recomendation and add zddp for the flat tappet cam. 50w seems a little thick especially for cold start up

 

[shiftpro]

Just my .02 here
I run delo 400 15w40 or rotella 15w40 in everthing I have
from the kia to my BB puller truck
the kia now has 215000 on it my 73 camaro has 135000 on the rebuild I did 19 years ago
I i even run it in my lawn mower lawn mowers LOL
I am no oil expert but it has worked for me

Your Camaro with 135K on it... good job! And flat tappet by chance?

 

[AzGeo]

Not knowing what your bearing and cylinder wall clearances are, WHY would you change anything ? If you have the "motor build specs", or KNOW IN FACT that one brand and weight of oil was always used, why change it now ? I must also say that "50 wt oil in a gas work truck motor" seems way off base for a purpose built custom build .

 

[peats]

one other thing comes to mind, maybe the engine is a user and the 50w is in there to slow down the consumption.

 

[idahovette]

Used Valvoline straight 40W in the LS6 car when I got it. Didn't slow consumption down one bit. Those engines were built LOOSE !!

 

[1973c10]

Your Camaro with 135K on it... good job! And flat tappet by chance?

Yes flat tappet its all I could afford back thin LOL

 

[rpcraft]

If you really want to know what the oil is doing maybe you should pop off the valve covers and the intake and see what you have going on there. Buildup will be there if it's not been oiling well and if you find nothing visually wrong then its just a matter of keep on using what has worked.

 

[shiftpro]

If you really want to know what the oil is doing maybe you should pop off the valve covers and the intake and see what you have going on there. Buildup will be there if it's not been oiling well and if you find nothing visually wrong then its just a matter of keep on using what has worked.

Can you elaborate please?

 

[Bullet Bob]

Can you elaborate please?

Think what he's saying is look and see if it is oiling everything correctly. If there is build up, it would be signs of the oil not circulating correctly do to the thickness. I'm just going to stick to the 50W until I get ready to have some work done on it. Unfortunately the only persons that would have known the specs on that motor are no longer around. Just sitting and idling it seems to have a light cam. Couple more weeks I'll have it on the road, and will find out more about the motors personality.