Was Your Dad or Granddad a Believer in Non-Detergent Motor Oil?

[k1xv]

I think the advocacy of ND oil was a belief that the detergents were not compatible with some parts in older engines. Once run on ND oil, engine deposits would come loose and promote leaks and other internal engine mayhem if switched to detergent oil.

The same fears were raised 50 years ago with the introduction of Mobil 1, especially destruction of engine seals.

And many freaked out at ARCO Graphite oil

My father did not trust multi-viscosity oils. Thought they would "gum up" his engines. He had various cars with straight 6 and straight 8 engines, He loved to use SAE 20 diesel oil that he would buy a 24 quart case for $6

 

[ecotourist]

My father, born in 1903 only used detergent motor oils, mostly Esso brand, 5W-20 in winter and 10W-30 in summer. He said I should not start using a detergent motor oil in an engine that had used non-detergent motor oils previously. The point being that the detergent was supposed to pick up a lot of debris that had been left lying around and that would cause problems.

 

[JunkdrawerDog]

My grandfather never owned a car.

Same here. He had a team of horses and a mule.

 

[k1xv]

Same here. He had a team of horses and a mule.

Used only oats and hay.

 

[MrJayhawk]

The only thing I remember my dad saying was to use it during new engine break-in so the cylinder walls didn't get the good additives wash away. Antiquated by today's standards but seemed to work up through the 60's.

My grandpa (born 1914) swore by this and did this in his new vehicles into the 1980s.

 

[Hohn]

Do you have any idea what the reasoning was behind the non-detergent oil recommendation for the tractor?

I'd be curious to hear that as well.

I think many people replying to you are confusing non-detergent with Straight Grade, which of course is not synonymous. One has necessarily nothing to do with the other, although the do correlate somewhat.

 

[joekingcorvette]

My dad owned a gas station and I remember a lot of talk about regular and ND oil. I cannot remember the exact conversation or details because I was too young. I remember my dad always had a lot of Pennzoil laying around and he swore by some sort of additive to keep lifters quiet in his Oldsmobiles.

 

[busdriver]

No they were not, but definitely a believer in a straight weight oil, like 30 or 40 weight

 

[thastinger]

The only thing I remember my Dad (1940-1992) saying about oil was that he believed Pennzoil made engines "gunk up".

Early Pennzoil was made exclusively from Pennsylvania crude, which was known for good lubricity but had a high paraffin content. I've personally seen some early 302 Fords that ran Pennzoil exclusively, they lasted 200K miles but they had a TON of wax build up in the valve covers.

 

[oil pan 4]

My dad preferred 10w-40 diesel oil, which back when diesel fuel 500ppm sulfur it was loaded with detergent sludge and KOH for high TBN to combat all the acids produced.
It seems the logic behind ND oils was the dirt would settle out in the oil sump.
That may have been true for engines that had pumped splash oiling systems.
Any kind of modern engine there is quite a bit of oil movement. Just YouTube search "see through oil pan", "see through engine", "see through lawnmower engine".
Now engine oil is so busy that the dirt settles out anywhere it can, almost anywhere but in the oil pan.

 

[kballowe]

I'm old, and remember reading a lawnmower owners manual that spec'd non-detergent motor oil.
Also, a couple of air compressor oil specs for non-detergent oil.

We ran a lot of SAE 30 motor oil in the 60's and 70's. Well, because that's what everyone else was using.

 

[Rmay635703]

When I noticed cheap oil at the store my grandfather said that’s non-detergent oil and that it wasn’t good for anything.

My father was an early user of Mobil 1 when he could afford it, especially in the winter

 

[RDY4WAR]

My grandfather did until I got him to change his mind. I occasionally hang around a local Model A club, and it's insane the oil myths go around that circle. They insist that anything with detergent will destroy that engine.

 

[Stelth]

I didn’t know my grandparents well. When I bought my first vehicle in 1975, a ‘65 GMC 1/2 ton pickup with a 230 six and three on the tree, the guy I bought it from said, “Don’t use that detergent oil. Gets too thin.”

I asked my dad about that, and he said that he thought the guy meant multigrade oil, and that I should use detergent oil. So I used SAE 30, summer and winter. I think it was either SE or SF in those days.

 

[Lockasiam]

My grandparents were born in the late 50s/early60s so they more than likely bought cars that suggested multigrade detergent oils. My great grandfather was a bodyman and I’m sure if I asked him the ND/Regular question I would’ve got a whole conversation but he died in 2019

 

[4wheeldog]

My Father was born in 1920. He was not particularly mechanically inclined, and didn’t have strong opinions on ND vs detergent oil. But he worked for Chevron and when he bought his first new car (1958 Country Sedan Wagon) he bought a drum (55 gallon) of 20 weight ND oil. I used it for initial start on 5 or 6 engines I built in my teens. Only ran it for 30 minutes before putting in 10w/30.

 

[Sumboodie]

Lot of older stuff didn't have oil filters, so makes sense.
I've seen engines from the 70s even without full flow filtration. Congenital flatheads, Toyota 1F, etc.

I'm surprised newer small engines that don't have filters don't spec ND 30wt anymore, least that I've seen.
New generator I bought spec'd 10w30.
I'd guess bevause isn't very common anymore, or some emissions deal.
The little engines definitely aren't fussy.

 

[RDY4WAR]

I'm surprised newer small engines that don't have filters don't spec ND 30wt anymore, least that I've seen.

Because we learned that keeping particles in solution is better than letting it agglomerate and clog things. (such as the rod dipper) The lack of an oil filter makes detergents, dispersants, and anti-oxidants even more vital to oil life and wear prevention.

 

[alcyon]

My great grandfather (1907-1985) was a firm believer in non-detergent motor oil. It was my dad’s guess that he probably tried that newfangled detergent stuff, and it knocked loose too much gunk in a short time, plugging the oil pump pickup, etc. My dad recalled that great grandpa’s late 70’s Buick Skylark (231 V6) already had a ticking sound at 40K miles.

He was a very thrifty and hardworking man. He would buy up houses for $1 each before they were set for demolition, and strip every last useful piece. He would even straighten the old nails. He would build “new” houses with the scavenged materials. This was in addition to his full-time job at Miller Brewing and his other side hustle growing apples and raising small livestock. My aunt told me he became a teenage orphan responsible for his younger siblings after his mother died of Spanish Flu and father died of unrelated causes around the same time.

They were the greatest generation Indeed.

 

[Chris142]

My dad was born in 1925. He had an older brother that got shot down in WW2 and held hostage for a while. That brother went on to work for Gulf oil. I'm sure they talked about the importance of detergent oils was discussed. I remember my dad telling me about how detergent kept stuff in suspension so that the filter could remove it.