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Oil additive

78Suburban said:
Mercon Dextron? I guess I could try it... 4 quarts of regular and 1 quart of ATF? I don't guess it will finish my poor old motor off :crazy: ?
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It is possible that it will kill your motor, but sometime that is that nature of the cure. If it were my motor, that is what I would do (I would toss 1 quart of ATF (dexron mercon) in, run it, change the oil, fill, repeat). The risk you are taking is that everything is so clogged up that you could completely block the oil filter or the oil pump pickup (which is why you only run it for about 30 minutes and then change the oil and filter). It could free everything up and allow your motor to live a longer life. If the problem is actually bearings, rebuilding the bottom end is the only way to fix it. I would try ATF because it is cheap, easy, and has a pretty good chance of helping (and is pretty safe).
 
Thicker oil and Lucas...

I'd run 4 qts of 20w50 oil,with 1 qt. of Lucas oil treatment,or "Motor Medic",or STP(only ones I ever used that work,and dont hurt the engine)--I'd stay away from "Restore",I have seen engines fail shortly after adding that stuff,Slick 50 too--..or SAE 30 or thicker can be used above 32 degrees too..and a new WIX oil filter..Fram filters are crap,don't use one of them if possible..A clogged oil filter can reduce oil pressure too,because it forces oil to be "bypassed" thru a valve in the block,so the motor wont sieze from lack of oil--but the oil wont be getting filtered either!..

Cleaning a high milage motor out with "motor flush" or ATF can loosen sludge and grit up and send it thru the entire motor..it often hurts more than it helps..15W40 is diesel oil,OK for gas engines too--but it is higher in detergent than "regular" oils like 10w30 ,etc,and can do much the same thing..

Changing the oil pump IS a bit complicated--but all of us were "newbies" once!--if you have to do one,a smallblock chevy isn't the hardest one to change,but it can be challenging to someone who's never done one before..I'd look for someone who has for assistance..books only list the steps on how to do it--actually doing it is another thing..

I still say your too worried!--if its not knocking,or no noisy lifters,I'd be willing to wager it will run a few years like this with no trouble..I guess you don't trust or believe us???.. :crazy:
 
There are plenty of products that do the same thing I am suggesting with ATF, but ATF is cheaper and works just as well. Motor oils do have detergents in them but they are nowhere near as strong as ATF. Restore is bad, it actually has metal in it and its principle of operation is to scuff up the cylinder walls to help the rings kind of "re-seat". I have heard of it killing the bottom end and would not consider using it. SB Chevy's (and Chevy trucks in particualr) are about the easiest engine to pull the oil pan on (lots of IFS stuff and Broncos require dissasembling a bunch of the front end, tons more work). If you go this route, you can inspect the bearings at the same time and find the root of your problem for sure, and maybe fix some oil leaks as well. But it is much more time consuming and will cost more money.
 
diesel4me said:
I still say your too worried!--if its not knocking,or no noisy lifters,I'd be willing to wager it will run a few years like this with no trouble..I guess you don't trust or believe us???.. :crazy:
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Sorry I'm so anal about my truck, I'm just kinda paranoid, because I worked so hard to get it and really, really want to get a chance to build it and wheel it, which is pretty much what I live for.

After having a long talk with SUBFAN last night on the messenger (I stayed up so dang late that I didn't get any sleep), I decided here's my gameplan:
1)Fill it up with 10w30 and change the filter too.
2)Run it and watch the oil pressure for a few miles---IF it goes back up, then the problem I had was gas in the oil (it did smell gassy, but I changed the fuem pump. and yes I realize this could also be caused by the carb draning down and it seeping past the rings overnight....... but If that is the problem, it will still have pressure the first time I drive it)
3)If the pressure problem continues...............
4)Fill er up with either 20w50 OR...... straight 40wt......
You all rock. I seriously wouldn't have a clue what to do with my truck without yall. :bow: :bow: :bow:
 
it is really cheap and easy to do the oil pump so I don't see any reason not to. Spend a few minutes unbolting pan let it drop on your head :o, then remove oil pump bolts and remove unit and inspect (I am also a noob so i brought it to closest competent shop and they demonstrated the problem and hooked me up with new pump and installed pick up in correct position) stuck it all back together after cleaning pan, new filter and make sure and prime the pump. And if your pump is fine all this is free if you are changing the oil+filter anyways. oops I guess you should put some new gaskets on also. few bucks just some time.
 
I put some Lucas oil stabilizer in my PSD when I had a dusted engine with low compression. It did increase the compression in it and it ran much better.

Tim
 
I'm going to go and change it with some 10w30 right now and see if the leaky fuel pump was the problem.. I will let yall know the results in a few hours..
I had an idea......... Just assume that the reason for low psi is worn clearances in the engines' internals. Wouldn't it be better to run some synthetic oi in 20w50 viscosity? I recal hearing about a demonstartion one time inwhich someone cranked 2 motors and let them run. one had petrolem oil, one had sythetic. They pulled the plugs on both. the petrol motor locked up almost instantly....... The motor with synthetic kept running for a long time till it died..... With that in mind, wouldn't a motor with 5 psi at idle be happier with synthetic than with petrolem oil? just a thought...
:bow:

lemme go change my oil and smell and see if it gets gassy :laugh:
 
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