Hey guys

I think i have asked this question before but i can’tremember so here goes.

I have a warm 360 magnum with about 360HP at the engine. Itstill has a hydraulic roller cam. The 2 main brands of oil here in Australiaare Valvoline and Penrite. Can anyone recommend a good quality oil withoutgoing crazy. I live in a hot state where it is on average 90 to 95 degreeFahrenheit in summer and 80 degree Fahrenheit in winter. I am not sure what viscosity,synthetic or non-synthetic etc to use.

Cheers Maca

 

Amsoil.

http://www.amsoil.com/

 

Use a good quality 10/30 0r 10/40 Magnum

 

OE / Book calls for 10W30 Conventional Oil

If the bottom end is stock bearing clearance wise and you have an un coated header it will do very well with 15w/40 synthetic. It cost 25 bucks in the states. It is worth the price point in my opinion.

I run / recommended oil cooler at your HP level.

If you find that extended idling or cruising is running you on the low side on the oil gauge with conventional weight consider the synthetic and a cooler.

 

I would use a 10-40w oil , you want an API SJ -SL rated oil , SM & SN are not designed for your engine , synthetic is good if you have 4000 miles or more on the engine since building it

 

Thanks guys
I have been working on a shift kit on my trans lately so i have been giving my motor some curry.
When i checked the coolant i found this sludge on the top. I always have had a tiny bit of junk floating on the top that looked like brown powder or rusty junk but only the tiniest bit that never seemed to flush out. Now i have this. There is no water in the oil and i only did the head gasket about 12 months ago. The motor is still running great. Today i flushed it with some flushing agent from the shop and a heap of junk came out. I then flushed it 5 more times with water. It looks like trans oil to me but i disconnected my trans lines from the radiator about a month ago when i installed a cooler.
Hope its not oil

cheers maca

 

Oh boy that sucks
it looks like oil no doubt but from where?
It can be leaking from almost any where, most will tell you to back track your head gasket replacement, i had a leak at the intake manifold coolant crossover it was a slow seep that did the same when i pulled the aluminium manifold the coolant passage was severely corroded.
You may have a small leak at the manifold that would be a simple fix.
keep our fingers crossed.

 

I would take the rad out and have it professionally cleaned If possible remove the frost/freeze plugs on the side of the block and give the block a good flush too..

 

run 10w-40 or 20w-50. depending on your climate. I run 10w-40 here in the pacific nw. it loves having great oil pressure.

 

Do the roller lifters like a thinner or thicker oil?
After i give my motor some curry on the street or at the strip the lifters are very noisy. Almost as if they have lost pressure. This is my second set as some failed on the 1st engine build.
cheers

 

Wrong lash on the XE cam will make noise. .060 for that lifter. Not Chevy .020. And set lash hot. Wrong PR length will make the same noise. Weak spring pressure on the XE grind will do same thing.

Over heating oil will do that and well as low oil. You have oil in the radiator. Do you have water in the oil? I have NEVER had an entire set of lifters go bad. A few.. sure. All 16? Nope.

XE cams and roller rockers make noise IMO. Its a very slight "tic". almost like a micro header leak.

 

Thanks for the reply PK1

If my oil was too hot and causing the noise would the motorbe hot too? Or can the motor still be cool but the oil temp be too high?

I have a 160% thermostat and according to the temp gauge iusually run at about 170% and never more than 180% I have since read on a forumthat i might be running a bit cool. It said i should be at 195% for factory and185% for street/strip

Thankfully there is no water in my oil. At what stage shouldI consider an oil cooler? If I install one would my factory pump have enoughgrunt to handle a remote oil filter and cooler? I always have good oilpressure. Around 60 psi at start up and around 50 while driving.

They seem to get very noisy after I have punished the motorbut return to a quieter stage after 5 or 10 minutes.

Cheers Maca

 

Your motor can be cool with over heated or under heated oil. Without a gauge its a guess at best. You can shoot the pan with with an IR gun at different times and variables and record your numbers.

Couple things to consider.

Most aftermarket rockers will hit the baffles of the magnum valve covers. And thus "tic". Make sure yours arent hitting. The solution is to bash them in but then you need to drill the pcv opening.

An unshielded PCV valve will suck oil and cause problems. So keep an eye on that too. Solving one problem can cause another.

Trans dapt and Perma cool make a cooler adapter that has a Tstat in it. PM me later and I'll take some pics of it. I have one in the shop. This means your oil stays optimal. Not to hot, not to cool. I believe 185.

Headers and a lean WOT will cause serious heat. Check you WOT AFR to make sure she isn't running lean. You'll need a Wide Band to tune the stroker you have on the drawing board so it may be time.

IMO your cooling system is fine. The 195 is for emissions and to keep the fuel injection out of the enrichment / warm up cycle. With your extreme heat keep what you have.