Early Continental engine question again

30 wt

I'd start out with a straight SAE30 deisel rated (multi-fleet) oil or possibly a 15/40 Rotella

I'd think modern detergent oils (API SG) would be just fine, the trick is finding a straight 30-weight oil since the whole world has shifted to multi's. If you go with a modern multi-viscosity so it's easy to find stay on the heavier side in the summer, like a 10W30.

If it doesn't have an oil filter(and it has a pressurized lube oil system) add one - you should still be able to find a "Purolator Military Junior" filter shell that takes bypass cartridge elements and is fairly period in appearance. It'll skim off all the big chunks.

Even if it's "period" I would NOT try to find a non-detergent oil. Unless you like overhauling it a lot more often - there's a reason oil has evolved over the years, it lubricates a whole lot better now.

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Autozone stocks ND-30 and HD-30. oils.

Gunner

"I am for doing good to the poor, but I differ in opinion of the means. I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. In my youth I travelled much, and I observed in different countries, that the more public provisions were made for the poor the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer." -- Benjamin Franklin, /The Encouragement of Idleness/, 1766

Wow - you guys are discussing oils like the wine snobs do - about the only subtlety you havent touched is if it should be Californian or French..........................

Andrew VK3BFA

Straight weights are relatively easy to find at the auto parts places, just not in every brand. Non-detergent might be harder to find, but I wouldn't recommend it unless the thing has been freshly overhauled and you need some break-in lube for the first few hours. Considering the state of lubricating oils when it was built, anything we've got now has got to be a whole lot better than what was run in there originally. If it's just a splash lube system, you're going to want to change oil a lot more frequently than with a pressurized filter system and probably the first few ought to be at short intervals to get rid of loosened-up junk.

Stan

Usually creankcase (sic) oil to be usde (sic) is based on the local climate. Most of the time in USA, 10W30 works well. I'd dare to guess that a 1911

Continental 4 cyclinder (sic) gasoline/ kerosene engine is no exception. Some farmers like straight weight oils. I've heard some engines need non-detergent oils. I would avoid ND oils, unless the owners manual requires it.

I like Castrol GT, 10w30 from the southern oil fields of Arabia... 2006 was a very good year.

My vote would be a 30 wt non detergent. The original was designed to use the equivalent of 20wt, 30 wt or 40wt non detergent oil depending on the ambient and operation temps. You don't say but I'd guess that the Continental has either a full splash system or only a low pressure oil system for the valves.

Detergent oils are designed to keep the crud in suspension (among other things) , let it get back to the filter to get removed. Non detergent oils will let the crud drop to the bottom of the crankcase as sludge. I'm sure you have no high pressure lube and filter system, go with non detergent.

Detergent oils did not exist in 1911. Owners manuals were close to non existent. Quality specs on oil were non existent. You will have to deal with the choice of going with a modern oil or the original.

If you did not have a chance to full desludge the engine when rebuilding it, you could run a couple batches of lighter weight detergent oil to clean things out. If you do that, only operate at fast idle, no heavy loads or you take the chance of pounding the bearings out. Run until the oil visbily changes color, replace.

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Grumpy wrote:

Well..given that I live in the middle of the oil fields..of course Californian is superior!! And Ive got olive groves not 10 miles away..and Safflower fields in sight!!

Gunner

"I am for doing good to the poor, but I differ in opinion of the means. I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. In my youth I travelled much, and I observed in different countries, that the more public provisions were made for the poor the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer." -- Benjamin Franklin, /The Encouragement of Idleness/, 1766

I have a Lincoln SA 200 that has the add on oil filter. They can be used with a roll of toilet paper as a filter, and do a fine job. With the new rolls, though, one has to roll some off to make it small enough to get in the canister.

Steve

The French have oil wells?

As long as it was refined right, the appellation on the feed stock are totally irrelevant.

Though I would take pains to not give Hugo Chavez a single dime if I can help it. No CITGO or Petrobras.

The guy who insists that you have to be totally authentic and run vintage correct non-detergent straight 30-weight oil in a vintage engine... Isn't the guy that has to pay for the rebuild when it fails after 100 hours runtime instead of the usual 2,000 to 4,000.

Modern oils are a whole lot more slippery than the old stuff, and protect a lot better even when they are thinner.

Oh, and note that I said *bypass* filter element, they are a whole different animal made of packed cellulose or cotton fiber in the can - if you rig a full-flow paper cartridge element up as a bypass filter, the engine won't have enough oil pressure left to lube the bearings as it all goes around the bypass and back to the crankcase.

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This pre-dates the engine in question, but I recall the instructions for lubricating one of the pioneer cars -- from around 1901 - 1904, IIR, that Ken Purdy published in one of his classic car books. You were supposed to melt lamb fat and pour it in the engine, and then start it before the fat congealed. Then you were to drain it when you stopped the car for the day, into your melting pot.

Oil changes were to be conducted every 50 miles.

If I was running that engine, I would ask myself what do I expect from it? Is it just an engine in a tractor that goes to country shows, and never do any real work, like pullimg a plough or a set of disks for 8 hrs a day,? If so then you could use any 20 weight oil as the loading on the engine is minimal. also if the engine has never been apart ,sinceit was made, id take off the sump and give it a good wash out and wash out the oil lift pipe strainer. #then you would have a better idea having looked inside thec crank case how much sludge or not was over everything. If the inside is relatively clean then theres no doubt, a multigrade detergent oil is a better product than say a 1911 30 weight oil. Its interesting that Porsche only allow a fully detergent diesel engine oil in their flat 6 air cooled engines. Has to be a good reason. I restored and ran for a no of years a 1908 Renault 4.5ltr 4 cyl landaulette. I used in that a 20/50 multigrade and it loved it . Also, my current commercial vehicle a 2 axle rigid has the Rootes blown 2 stroke Junkers derived commer TS3 3cyl 6 pston installed. Engine dated 1959, I use a multigrade 20/50 diesel engne oil. and that has never missed a beat, despite having highly thermal loaded fire rings on the pistons. So choose the oil to suit the work done and engine condition.

Ted Dorset UK.

snip

note that on my cars that use a bypass filter (such as my 38 plymouth) there is a pressure regulator on the bypass return line that ensures that there is pressure there - it only opens when the pressure gets above the setpoint and then it lets the oil from the return line go into the sump, if pressure is low, it blocks the return of oil to the sump, thus keeping the engine oil pressure up.

All the ones I've delt with actually maintain gallery pressure by restricting the outlet flow by use of a metering orifice, or in more technical terms an itty-bitty hole-

This particular model is a Fram cannister as used on Willys L & F head engines. A number of people have tried to update this system to a spin-on cannister system with, what would have been if these engines wern't happy running on a couple of PSI oil pressure, dissasterous results.

H.

you may be right about the "metering orifice" - some day I'll dig out the manual and check

No, they get it from their food.