Tallyho Posted July 26, 2018 Share Posted July 26, 2018 Started doing research on changing oil on my new to me 84 f250 with 460. Previous owner has been using 15w40 mobile since it was 3 years old. But I wont have the advantage of a heated space as he has so I'm concerned about the cold weather up here in Maine during the winter. I've been reading a lot about zinc and flat tapper cams in the 460. There is a lot of talk about this new amsoil 10w30 zrod oil. But I'm not sure about synthetic oil in an old truck.... Thoughts? I did buy the wix 51733 two qt. Filter that looks to be a good mod. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted July 26, 2018 Share Posted July 26, 2018 You will need zinc (ZDDP) in the oil with a flat tappet cam, so if the Amsoil is loaded with it then that may be a good option. And 10W is better in the cold than 15W. As for synthetic in and old truck, I don't see a problem. My understanding is that the main advantages to synthetic are that its viscosity improvers are inherent so don't go away with use the way that they do in non-synthetic oil. Second, that it can handle the heat much better, so doesn't break down. Third that it has less friction. So I think the Amsoil should be a good solution. But, it is more expensive. And surely Mobil has a 10W or even a 5W in the same oil that has been in the engine. That would be less expensive, but the Amsoil would probably be better. On the filter, will that big of a filter fit on the 460? I may want to go that way, but things are pretty tight with the big engine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tallyho Posted July 26, 2018 Author Share Posted July 26, 2018 You will need zinc (ZDDP) in the oil with a flat tappet cam, so if the Amsoil is loaded with it then that may be a good option. And 10W is better in the cold than 15W. As for synthetic in and old truck, I don't see a problem. My understanding is that the main advantages to synthetic are that its viscosity improvers are inherent so don't go away with use the way that they do in non-synthetic oil. Second, that it can handle the heat much better, so doesn't break down. Third that it has less friction. So I think the Amsoil should be a good solution. But, it is more expensive. And surely Mobil has a 10W or even a 5W in the same oil that has been in the engine. That would be less expensive, but the Amsoil would probably be better. On the filter, will that big of a filter fit on the 460? I may want to go that way, but things are pretty tight with the big engine. Thanks Gary! I'm leaning to the amsoil. I will let you know with pics how it goes with filter. I've read on posts that this filter is a pretty good upgrade on a lot of vehicles. It came on the f700 with the 429 back in the day... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1986F150Six Posted July 26, 2018 Share Posted July 26, 2018 You will need zinc (ZDDP) in the oil with a flat tappet cam, so if the Amsoil is loaded with it then that may be a good option. And 10W is better in the cold than 15W. As for synthetic in and old truck, I don't see a problem. My understanding is that the main advantages to synthetic are that its viscosity improvers are inherent so don't go away with use the way that they do in non-synthetic oil. Second, that it can handle the heat much better, so doesn't break down. Third that it has less friction. So I think the Amsoil should be a good solution. But, it is more expensive. And surely Mobil has a 10W or even a 5W in the same oil that has been in the engine. That would be less expensive, but the Amsoil would probably be better. On the filter, will that big of a filter fit on the 460? I may want to go that way, but things are pretty tight with the big engine. Rotella T6 [for diesels and gas engines;available @ Walmart [inexpensive] Synthetic; 5W40 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted July 26, 2018 Share Posted July 26, 2018 Rotella T6 [for diesels and gas engines;available @ Walmart [inexpensive] Synthetic; 5W40 A lot of guys are running Rotella, and I've heard/read good things about it. However, I've read fairly recently that even it may be seeing a reduction in ZDDP, so I'd suggest further research. I've done a bit of reading have found a couple of references to the T-series of Rotella, but you have to make sure to tell your browser to give you the latest findings first or you'll be reading old news: HAMB: https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/zddp-again.1057854/page-3 NASIOC: https://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2785176 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tallyho Posted July 28, 2018 Author Share Posted July 28, 2018 A lot of guys are running Rotella, and I've heard/read good things about it. However, I've read fairly recently that even it may be seeing a reduction in ZDDP, so I'd suggest further research. I've done a bit of reading have found a couple of references to the T-series of Rotella, but you have to make sure to tell your browser to give you the latest findings first or you'll be reading old news: HAMB: https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/zddp-again.1057854/page-3 NASIOC: https://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2785176 Did the oil change this morning. Chose Amsoil 10-30 zrod synthetic. The wix 51773 filter fit great with no clearance issues. Took 7 qts total. While checking things out I popped off the air cleaner lid and rotor cap. It's due for a tuneup. Not knowing what year the motor is how might I get the right parts for a tuneup? It doesnt have any sticker on the valve cover. The owner told me the motor came out of a mercury. Valve covers are gray.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted July 28, 2018 Share Posted July 28, 2018 Did the oil change this morning. Chose Amsoil 10-30 zrod synthetic. The wix 51773 filter fit great with no clearance issues. Took 7 qts total. While checking things out I popped off the air cleaner lid and rotor cap. It's due for a tuneup. Not knowing what year the motor is how might I get the right parts for a tuneup? It doesnt have any sticker on the valve cover. The owner told me the motor came out of a mercury. Valve covers are gray.. Well, I thought that was an easy answer so I put the info up on the Cap, Rotor, & Adapter tab on this page: Electrical/Ignition. But, now that I look it at I find it rather complex. Maybe someone can make it simple for me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tallyho Posted July 28, 2018 Author Share Posted July 28, 2018 Well, I thought that was an easy answer so I put the info up on the Cap, Rotor, & Adapter tab on this page: Electrical/Ignition. But, now that I look it at I find it rather complex. Maybe someone can make it simple for me? Thanks for the link Gary! I asked the seller about the motor and all he could say is that he was told it came out of a mercury monarch. I had done some research on mercurys. Monarchs didn't come with 460s but there was a marquis in 77. Well the plot thickens because it's not clear but it seems that ford didn't start painting 460s gray until the 80s. Can anybody confirm this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted July 28, 2018 Share Posted July 28, 2018 Thanks for the link Gary! I asked the seller about the motor and all he could say is that he was told it came out of a mercury monarch. I had done some research on mercurys. Monarchs didn't come with 460s but there was a marquis in 77. Well the plot thickens because it's not clear but it seems that ford didn't start painting 460s gray until the 80s. Can anybody confirm this? Can't truly confirm it, but Dad's '81 was blue and the '85 I bought had a gray engine. I know Dad's engine was the original, but the 85's might have been replaced. So, some time in the mid-80's is my understanding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tallyho Posted July 28, 2018 Author Share Posted July 28, 2018 Can't truly confirm it, but Dad's '81 was blue and the '85 I bought had a gray engine. I know Dad's engine was the original, but the 85's might have been replaced. So, some time in the mid-80's is my understanding. St least it's being narrowed down. Maybe all the carb engines were the same spec wise and I can just say it's an 84... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts