I was wondering what sort of oil to use in a used dirty old flathead thats been sitting for years? if I used high detergent oil for a diesel engine would that flush out to much **** and plug galleries up or should I just use regular old quaker state? right now its seized up tight as a nun but when it comes time to pop the ole cherry I may not be thinking of what sort of lube to use in my excitement
If it has been sitting that long a HD detergent wont have much effect on hardened sludge. A good quality 20W50 will keep the bearings and the rest of the rotating ***embly very happy. Best thing is to drop the pan, clean it out and at least clean the oil pump screen. If it was me and I wanted it to run for a few years I would put in a new Melling M19 pump. The Melling will also work in a old 59A style block if you use the 8BA pickip and screen.
Mine is worn out so I just run what ever I find cheap. 30w or 40w. It doesn't seem to mind at this point. When something does go wrong I guess I'll pull it out and rebuild.
The Jalopy Journal
