1978 Ford Bronco 400ci V8 | Amsoil Z-Rod 10w30 | 6k km OCI

M

mechjames

Joined
Jan 16, 2008
Messages
546
Location
Richmond, BC, Canada
4th oil change on new motor, previous ocis after break in approx, 500km, 2500km, 2500km.
3 previous oil changes before this Zrod were Lucas 10w30 Hot rod oil. Did not get them analyzed as didn't want to do analysis on such short OCI's on a new motor as probably still flushing out contaminants from the rebuild.

Went 5958km due to 3000km summer roadtrip over 1.5 weeks to the Bonneville Salt Flats for speed week in August from BC, Canada.
Wanted to check up on this rebuilt motor done 2 years ago, and looks like some bearing wear.
Is this normal on old domestic motors? We will have to chart a trend with the next UOA I guess.
Or could the motor still be breaking in? It has plenty of oil pressure, 30-40 psi at hot idle. 75-80psi during warm up. No knocking or power loss. Baldwin B2 USA made filter.
Tore oil filter apart and no sparkly stuff or magnetic stuff in filter.

1696548332533.png
 
Try going back to a conventional oil. Maybe a 10W30 diesel like Valvoline All Terrain. Valvoline VR1 10W30 is another good choice.
 
Baldwin B2 Filter images:

DELETED IMAGES. FILTER CUT OPEN WAS FROM A MERCURY BOBCAT. WRONG FILTER

This thing has had an issue with cooling way too much, even on hot summer days on the highway, as it's equipped with a HD cooling fan since it has A/C, a Robert Shaw 180F high flow thermostat, along with a Flowkooler Water Pump, and a recored copper full size radiator, where the coolant temp would barely brake 150-160F. And I suspect that it was just sludge.
We have now put a 195F Robertshaw in it and it runs around 190 to 205F now on the gauge.
 
Last edited:
My rebuilt lawnmower engine had higher lead too. I'm hoping it comes down but if it doesn't i'm going to run some thicker oil. So what your calling sludge is just leftover debris from the rebuild?
 
fantastic said:
My rebuilt lawnmower engine had higher lead too. I'm hoping it comes down but if it doesn't i'm going to run some thicker oil. So what your calling sludge is just leftover debris from the rebuild?
Click to expand...
The pictures were of the wrong filter. The sludged filter was from a 78 Mercury Bobcat 2.3L. It was not from this engine. There was a filter cutting mix up at shop. Both take a Baldwin B2 so they got mixed up.
I have since deleted the photos as they weren't from this oil change.

No sludge in the correct oil filter and it is a much lighter color.
 
mechjames said:
The pictures were of the wrong filter. The sludged filter was from a 78 Mercury Bobcat 2.3L. It was not from this engine. There was a filter cutting mix up at shop. Both take a Baldwin B2 so they got mixed up.
I have since deleted the photos as they weren't from this oil change.

No sludge in the correct oil filter and it is a much lighter color.
Click to expand...
Woops, Thanks for the update. Did they replace the rod & main bearings with new or reuse the old ones?
 
I have an old 1985 Dodge Ram with the original Slant Six engine that has lead bearings. I run T4 Rotella 15W-40 in it. In my UOA's on it, lead and copper is low, right around 1-2, at the highest for lead and 2-4 ppm for copper. Obviously though, completely different engine and doesn't have the power yours has. Out of curiosity, do you ever rev the engine immediately after a cold start? If so, that could cause some additional wear on the bearings, IMO. I'm no expert, though. Just spitballing.
 
Someone on here had a 400-powered ‘78 T -bird; and it did better on a 40-weight. The UOA’s are in this section.
 
I built a few 351C and a 400M in my younger days. Did you replace the cam bearings too? I had a Cleveland once eat the cam bearings.
 
DuckRyder said:
Is this a flat tappet cam and has it run any leaded fuel or additives?
Click to expand...
It is a flat tappet Lunati Voodo cam, no leaded fuel or additives. We did try some ethanol free gas from Sinclair and Maverik on our trip, but it turned out to make no difference. It gets 10mpg hwy whatever we tried and out in it, premium, regular e10, e0 regular and e0 premium. Didn't make a difference for cost per mile when you run the 33 gallon tank out dry every 4 hours.
, so it just started getting the cheapest e10 on the interstate on the way back.
 
Last edited:
BackwoodsAL said:
I have an old 1985 Dodge Ram with the original Slant Six engine that has lead bearings. I run T4 Rotella 15W-40 in it. In my UOA's on it, lead and copper is low, right around 1-2, at the highest for lead and 2-4 ppm for copper. Obviously though, completely different engine and doesn't have the power yours has. Out of curiosity, do you ever rev the engine immediately after a cold start? If so, that could cause some additional wear on the bearings, IMO. I'm no expert, though. Just spitballing.
Click to expand...
No, we don't rev it immediately after a cold start. We have the holley 600cfm dialed in and the fast idle sets and it starts without any throttle given after just 1 pump when cold. No throttle needed when hot, just bump the key.
 
Not sure what your clearances are or your sump capacity but I think this engine would do better with a SAE 40 range viscosity. If there is an assembly or materials issue no oil brand or type will solve that.
 
Pablo said:
Not sure what your clearances are or your sump capacity but I think this engine would do better with a SAE 40 range viscosity. If there is an assembly or materials issue no oil brand or type will solve that.
Click to expand...
We are going to run the 10w30 over the winter here and take a sample before changing next, to see how the trend is, but it's looking we're going to try the zrod 10w40 for next summer. Ambient temps were pretty hot for a few days this summer on the roadtrip and it was worked hard as there was many 5000-8000ft highway mountain climbs on the trip.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

T
  • Locked
Advice for 2009 Ford Mustang GT (UOA Inside)
3 4 5
Replies
80
Views
59K
JOD
I
  • Locked
1978 Bronco w/ 400 CID: Oil Recommendation
Replies
3
Views
2K
Flimflam
F
  • Locked
motorguy 222
2 3
Replies
45
Views
23K
Bio-T
C
  • Locked
Better Hydrodynamics with Thicker Oil? (Long)
2
Replies
33
Views
17K
moribundman
Back
Top