Engine Oil Type & Other Maintenance Stuff

Ok, so the time for an oil change is approaching, and all this talk on the cj-3b page about different oil types has me wondering what to use. I have no Idea whats in it now, but the whole bit about detergent oils causing sludge to clog oil passages is quite frighting. Does anyone have any suggestions on what kind of oil I should use. Its a 56 cj-5, with the f-134. I was also wondering if anyone knows of a good source for oil filters. Autozone carries them for about $12.00, 4wd hardware was $16 I think, and I believe kaiserwillys.com was about the same. Has anyone had any good/bad experiences with any particular brand, (pardon all the questions, but I'm new to this whole f-head thing). The last thing that has me confused maintenance wise is the distributor type. I have the prestolite iat-4405, but the rotor doesn't look like the one that napa pulls up, and it has at one point ground on the terminals on the inside of the cap, (my distributor is coated with a nice layer of shiny little shavings). So I believe that it is, or at one time has been the wrong rotor for my distributor. Any and all help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
-Josh

 

Detergent oil will not cause sludge. The detergents in oil suspend the dirt deposits in the oil so that they can be run thru the filter. Non detergent oil however will cause sludge in the bottom of the pan as there are no detergents to suspend the dirt and such so they deposit alot of the crap in the bottom of the pan as they sink. The detergent oil will pick some of this up and can cause sludge but usually not if the engine is run for a decent amount of time when run. Say 20-40 minutes instead of 5-10 minutes. To cold of a thermostat will do more to sludge an engine up than anything, as it cause's the engine to cool to quickly, causing the engine oil to thicken before it has run back to the pan, this cause the oil to stick in places where it doesn't flow easily. I run Castrol 10w-30 in my Dauntless v6, always have. When I rebuilt the engine it was quite clean considering it had 160,000+ miles on it.

 

The manual indicates 30 wt for summer. I also run castrol 10w 30. I've used castrol in all my cars forever. costs a little more but it's been great.

Also usually use a Fram filter. No problems there either. don't skimp on the filter esp. on a cj that's used in the backcountry.

 

No offense here, but you might want to google some oil filter tests. Fram used to be highly rated, sadly, no more. For the price NAPA and Wix seem to be the best for the buck. I encourage you to take the time to research this yourself, motors aren't cheap to rebuild.

<edit> That being said, the most important thing is that you change the oil AND whatever filter you chose on a regular basis.

 

No offense taken. Thanks! I'll take a look.

 

Josh:
You got good advise here. No matter what oil and filter you use change it often. A good rule of thumb is if you think oil cost to much. Think about how much an engine costs.:?
Also NAPA sell an oil filter for your 134. It is number 1010.

Cabover

 

My local Advanced had a Purolator (L20700) in stoc for $7.00.

 

i run shell rotella 30w oil. Yes, it's diesel oil. it has more detergents then gas oil, since diesels are harder on their oil.

 

Google "ZDDP" for lots of discussion of why the diesel oils are preferred for flat tappet engines (as opposed to modern roller tappet engines). Diesel oils do have more detergent, but perhaps more importantly, they contain more anti-wear additives like ZDDP. I use Rotella in the Jeeps and Valvoline multi-vis in the VW, both with a Wix filter.

Valvoline "Racing Oil" is another good alternative.

 

Regarding the distributor, I'd suggest you split that question off into a separate thread with a more specific title. One question per thread is the suggested mix.

Also try searching for "F134 distributor".

 

Regarding the comment about sludge, Mcruff pretty much covered it, except for a myth (?) that says detergent oil will soften the deposits left behind by non-detergent oil. Supposedly the varnish and sludge in the valley, valve covers and pan will be softened by the detergent oil in an engine that's run non-detergent for a long time, then changed to detergent.

I think you only need to worry about this if you know you have an engine that's run non-detergent oil for a long time, and maybe been neglected. This tale was more common 50-60 years ago, when more cars were being switched over to detergent oil ... today I think it's unlikely to be a problem, since detergent oils are fairly universal now.

If you're worried, look under the valve cover or in the oil pan for sludgey buildup. If it's clean, no worries - if not, then we need to discuss step 2.

 

More about this, from this article http://www.widman.biz/uploads/Corvair_oil.pdf

Forget the myth that you can’t put high detergent oils in older engines or engines that have been using poor quality oil. I do it every day! 50% of this market is API SF or lower, frequently without thermostats. They are full of sludge. Some drain plugs come out looking like a cork, with an inch or so of thick sludge on the end. No matter what the engine, I put in a 10W-30 high detergent CI-4 oil and instruct the customer to come back when it thickens up, or the following week if he doesn’t want to check it himself. Once it no longer thickens up quickly we move on to 15W-40 and add a 1200 mile engine cleaner. At the end of that cycle we move to whatever oil the engine should have.

 

Thanks guys, I think I'll go with rotella, and keep an eye on the condition of the oil as I add miles to it.

 

I'm bringing this thread back from the dead since I couldn't find a reasonably current thread on the topic.

I'm having trouble finding any oils with Ci-4/SL rating anymore. What are you guys running for the F-134 engine these days? Exact oil types please.

 

Which one? So far as I can see the Rotella ones don't meet the spec anymore.

 

I run regular 10W-30 with a zinc additive, ZddpPlus. But diesel oil will get you the same results. The zinc is critical, without it you will end up with excessive wear on the camshaft.

 

So Rotella you don't add the Zddp?

 

FYI: Napa Gold filters are Wix, Just stay away from the silver line there a diffrent critter closer to a fram inside.