the use of modern oils in old engines

[8993-520 0]

as i said in my original post , i have not experienced any problems with my own cars or small engines because i was aware of it early and took action to prevent . i have been using a zinc additive since i first became aware of it

BUT......i personally know of 4 cars that recently had cam/lifter failure , all with small block chevy 350s in a hot rod, two of the cars i built for other people. even after repeated warnings to the owners about zinc , neither took any action. so i know the problem is real

here is one on the motors that had cam/lifter failure due to lack of zinc. i had the motor part about 5,000 miles ago and installed a new Comp Cams camshaft. it was broken in properly

my original question was should we be concerned with small engines too. i guess the jury is still out on that , in the meantime i will continue using a zinc additive

another question: a lot of the small engines we used were built when all gasoline was leaded , with no-lead being the only thing available now has anyone experienced valve problems due to lack of lead? i have also been using a lead additive in my Wheel Horses , or maybe i'm over thinking things

Not typical a chevy man but have owned a few in the past. Never seen any undo cam wear in the ones I owned but I only owned a few before switching to the other brand. And the toyotas can go back to the filter. Have owned a bunch and worked on hundreds and all will act funny with anything other than a toyota filter on them. But still stand by the saying that ZDDP is not the be all end all for any engine. The companies are made to remove stuff but they replace it with something else. Have been to Mobile Shell Hyrotex and indapendant lubracations companies and thay all say the same. Not the oil but the additives in the oil that do the work.

[02sierra 0]

amsoil is a great product i run it in my gmc its just too expensive for a small engine and plus the kohler seems pretty bullet proof but heres something interesting http://www.amsoil.com/storefront/zrt.aspx i just run non detergent napa 30

[shorts 182]

I think that most camshaft failures are caused by manufacturing defects in the heat treating process and alsothe amount of taper on the cam lobes not always being held in tolerance. The other big player is a lubrication issue or more accurately a lack of prelubing an engine prior to starting after it has been in storage for a couple of months such as in a street rod that sits in the garage for 8 months and then it gets driven only on nice days for a few miles in extreme stop and go conditions (cruising).

Any large standby power engine or quality high performance engine operation that I have ever been near requires that all oil systems be preheated and pressurized before starting the engine.

My recommendation is to disable the fuel and/or ignition system and put a quick disconnect fitting in the pressure side of the oil system and pump 10psi oil into the system while cranking the engine for 10 or 15 seconds to prelube the critical internals, disconnect the prelube system, crank for oil pressure and then turn on the fuel and ignition and start, run at high idle until warm and then drive like you stole it.

In our 1940's designed and engineered air cooled flathead cast iron engines with splash oil systems stick with a quality straight weight HD dino oil like the manufacturers recommend, the newer alloy engines with pressurized oil systems are designed and tested with modern lubricants but again follow the manufacturers recommendations

[horse junkie 18]

I personally (iust my opinion) think we're going way to far on the discussion of oil. If proper maintence is performed and the proper weight oil as suggested by the manufacturer is used there shouldn't be any problems. comparing a built 350 chevy in a hotrod to a single cylinder kohler is like comparing apples to oranges. I have a 66 wheelhorse that went 42 years before needing rebuilt and there was nothing wrong with the cam it spun the mains which could have been attributed to owner neglect for who knows how many owners it had prior to me and what oil or maintence was performed on it. Just my 2cents take it any way you want