well im ready now to drop in the rebuilt 302 in my mav but i have one more question: what oil do i first use in a rebuilt engine? thank you for everything here! mike
Just dino oil for the first 8,000 ? miles depending on how cold it is where you live 10w 30 will prolly be fine.
High detergent oils are commonly used for diesel engines. Your best bet with oils is to use a good brand as there are differences. You don't need to use something special or exotic, just good quality. Several years ago Consumer Reports did a pretty comprehensive study of motor oils, not the synthetics though. They found that the only one that lived up to it's claims was Castrol. They also found in a related test that the best filter was Fram. It trapped more contaminants and particulates than the competition. The weight you should use is primarily determined by the climate you live in. If you live in a Northern climate, 10W40 is the best year round weight. If you live in warmer areas, 10W30 should suffice. You have a virtually new mill. Treat it well from the start and it'll reward you with a longer life and less problems down the road.
That's not what I heard about Fram oil filters...I'll stick with the Motorcraft FL1-A. Also, in a new engine, oil flow is more important than thickness, and with fresh bearings, the clearances will be tight, so go with a 5W-30 or 10W-30. Older engines need the thicker oil because of looser tolerances, and race engines need thicker oil (like 20W-50) because they are built to looser tolerances as well and they use high-volume pumps...
In the test results I read, Fram was rated the worst. The FL1A is my choice also, as far as oil goes, have been running Valvoline in all my cars(11) of them, with good results. Found out 10w40 in the race engines yields better times than the 20w50 and even after 100 or so runs, the bearings and pistons show no ill effects of the lighter weight. Cut the filters open and check for indications of bearing and/or other metallic particles in it. Most newer engines call for 5w30, mainly for gas mileage. If in very hot climates or towing etc. 10w40 may be the one to use. A good rebuild should need no special oil, just a little light foot on the throttle and 1000mi change. New a fellow once who bought new Fords every three or four years, drove out of the dealers lot and ran them as hard as he could on the interstate for a hundred miles or so. Always put at least 150,000 on those cars with very little troubles engine wise. Regular maintenance is the key to any of them lasting, and using quality products is another. Synthetic oil is by far the best way to go, but should only be used after 5000miles of reg oil usage. There are so many different opinions on this subject, it would fill a library.
my engine builder had me break it in with rotella 10-30. i believe that's from shell. i ran it at the track a couple of days then switched to 10-40 castrol. i've got a tiny leak in the rear main, but as soon as i get that fixed i'll change to 5-30 mobil one synthetic.
A royal purple distributor told me Mobil one is like the Pennzoil of the synthetics. He told me if you're not willing to buck up for His stuff or Redline etc. the way to go is Castrol synthetic I took his advice and the car seems a tiny bit more rev happy. Could be my imagination.
