Oil for Ram Charger 318

[nanney]

My Brother-in-law just bought an 85 Ram Charger. Unsure of the mileage. Could be 77,000 or more likely 177,000. Who knows. Looks and drives good for an older vehicle. Truck has a tiny leak and probably consumes a little.

He's leaning toward putting in an oil with a long life name, such as Pennzoil LL. I said that should be good, just get something thick, like a straight 30wt or a thicker multigrade like 15W40.

The 30wt can be run pretty much year round and might stop the leaking on the driveway. I know someone who does so in this climate without starting problems on older engines. The 15W40 would be better overall but might not stop the leak in the driveway.

Any suggestions? Am I way off base?

 

[Al]

Well, the difference in viscosity at say 80 F between a 15W and 30 W does exist. The 15W is maybe 150cSt and the 30wt. is 250 cSt. But the thing is that the viscosity of a 30 wt at operating temperature is only 10 cSt. The leakage is occurring as the car is being driven and the drops fall on the driveway shortly after the car is stopped. The 15W-40 probably would help some. It would be a good choice for this engine in NC also.

 

[JohnnyO]

I would run a high-mileage 10w-30 dino oil like Pennzoil's. An Auto-RX cycle might fix the leak depending on where it's coming from.

 

[uconn1150]

Auto-Rx works wonders in most applications, but if you are leaking from the rear main seal it will probably not work since the seal is just some "rope".

In my '87 RC I've used 15w-40 Schaeffers/1300s/and now I'm using Schaeffers 20w-50. It'll leak a drop or two a day. Oh well, it is an oldie but goodie!

 

[Chris 2421]

Use the 15w40,that 318 will go another 177K!!
The leakage may be the valve covers weeping on the back side,I've seen this happen on the older 318's/360's.

 

[Durrr]

Ive always been leary of Pennzoil due to the fact that I hear that the detergents in it treat the seals in such a way that if you change oils again, it would cause it to leak, but thats just what i've heard over the years.