1978 Volare Wagon Slant Six Oil

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SlantyNW1990

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Portland,Or
I have a 78 Plymouth Wagon with a 225 slant six and a 2bbl carburator.
i was thinking of running Shell Rotella synthetic because of the cylinder wall wash you get with carbed engines.I plan on using this as a daily driver.Am i right on track to use synthetic oil in the trans and rear axle also?
 
I would suggest that you use Rotella Triple T (conventional) instead of the synthetic which will do nothing to abate the fuel dilution. Since it is a carb engine, you will likely have to change the oil on a more frequent basis than an injected engine so the use of synthetic engine oil will only result in you spending more money.

The transmission and axle are a different matter and if you plan to extend the change intervals it would be worth it.

Just my thoughts...
 
Welcome to the forum.

Regarding cylinder wash, it's not as bad as you think. I would probably run a modern 5W30 conventional and call it good (trans and diff too). If you like, use a 10W30 HDEO to make others here feel better.
 
Originally Posted By: Zaedock
Welcome to the forum.

Regarding cylinder wash, it's not as bad as you think. I would probably run a modern 5W30 conventional and call it good (trans and diff too). If you like, use a 10W30 HDEO to make others here feel better.


Ok good because i heard the cylinder wash makes carbed engines not last as long as FI....is there a 5-40 hdeo?
 
Originally Posted By: SlantyNW1990
Originally Posted By: Zaedock
Welcome to the forum.

Regarding cylinder wash, it's not as bad as you think. I would probably run a modern 5W30 conventional and call it good (trans and diff too). If you like, use a 10W30 HDEO to make others here feel better.


Ok good because i heard the cylinder wash makes carbed engines not last as long as FI....is there a 5-40 hdeo?


Keep in mind that it's not bad if your carb is in tune. BTW, there are 5W40 HDEO's.
 
Probably one of the best engines ever made. You can run these things forever. If it even somewhat smells/looks like oil that engine will last, and last and last.
True story, friend threw rod out the side of block. Piston and most of rod still stuck in cylinder, basically tip of rod and rod cap froze on crank. Engine still ran!!! Not smooth, because of 5 cylinders, but ran "with" oil pressure. He had run it out of oil is why rod froze on crank. He drove this thing for over a year going back and forth to farm on backroads! Yes it spilled some oil, not bad for hole in block though. Engine did finally lockup.
The mighty 225!!!
To OP, if you take even any kind of care this thing, it will run forever. Keep oil in it.
 
thanks guys..i previously had a 69 rambler with a 232 straight six..i drove it 40 miles on the freeway at 60mph with no oil....filled it back up and it was fine..i drove it everywhere and it never gave up..even after i downed a power poll it still made it home all smashed up,it ran great even as i drove it into the junker!
 
The frame of a Volare is week in the area below the firewall. If you ever go down a hill with a sudden level area at the bottom, and you drive it fast, the strain when the front end hits that level section is enough to bend the frame so much that you can see the back of the hood move towards the windshield. This is a very bad thing to do to a Volare, as it can make that frame even weeker than it was. It also can cause the windshield to crack. The more a Volare frame is abused the weeker it gets.

Some of those 225 slant 6 did not have hydraulic lifters. If yours has the solid lifters you will have to adjust the valves about every 10K miles. It is easy to do. You just remove the valve cover and adjust so a fealer gauge of the correct gap will just barely fit in the gap of the intake and exhaust valves when the engine is idling.

If you have the solid lifters is is good to time an oil change around the time you adjust the valves, because you are going to loose oil during the valve adjusting with the engine running anyway. So you can drain and fill with new oil after you adjust the valves.
 
I wouldnt use anything thicker than 10w30.If it where mine I would use 5w30 the engine specs for 10w30 but that is the old way of thinking.90% of wear is on start up so if you use 5w30 you have less start up wear and its the same viscosity at temp.If that isnt enough look at the car makers back specing lighter oils.Some of you need to read motor oil university.And yes it may give you some gas mileage increase.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: SlantyNW1990

Ok good because i heard the cylinder wash makes carbed engines not last as long as FI....


While it is true that a FI engine will last longer, I wouldn't lose sleep over a well-tuned carbed engine. I've had several carbed engines go over 200K miles, and this was decades ago. My mom used to have a Dodge pickup with a slant 6 engine that almost made it to that.
 
The 225 will last a very long time, but is it not very good at MPGs.

What that engine really needs is a computer controlled carburetor ran from a computer looking at an O2 sensor in the exhaust.

While it would cost too much to do that with new parts, you probably could pull the entire system from an engine of similar displacement from something on its way to the junk yard. Though one of the main problems in doing it that way is the wiring harness requirement.
 
That slant six will run no matter what as long as it does not get wet the rest of the car usually falls apart within 3 years but in your case your lucky keep that thing in good condition im sure most of them have become hyundais by now lol
 
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