I'm new at antiques. I have a 1924 TT that has been sitting in a garage for about 10 years. I want to lube and oil the oilers before getting it back on the road again. What type of oil and how much is needed to fill the oilers.

I imagine others will have different opinions, but I use engine oil in the oilers. Just fill them to the top. Don't forget to also check, fill and turn the grease cups.

I haven't tried this, but somebody mentioned using bar chain oil. It works well for chain saws, so maybe for T suspension too. I expect it would work longer than motor oil.

Steve, a guy in our club gave me that tip a long time ago. Been using it ever since.

Has anyone using bar oil verified that it will actually migrate down and lubricate the front axle points, especially ? And drip off at the bottom of the nuts ?

I use differential grease (600W) in all my oil cups. It sticks really well and stays for a good amount of time. No matter what “oil” you use just fill the oil cups to the top. My experience with motor oils, it just seems to run out almost as fast as I pour it in. I have never tried bar oil, so I cannot comment on that option.

Frequency; depends on how long my drives are, but I fill them up every few trips. If I am doing a longer trip, then I will fill them every time I go out (or the night before).

As for the grease cups I give them a twist maybe every few months, and always with each oil change. Make sure you check and file each cup before your first run. All of mine we basically empty when I bought mine (sitting 10+ yrs). They all had slowly drained over the years into their corresponding cavity.

Steve, 600W does migrate and slowly drips off the bottom of the nuts. It is still dripping slowly the next day.

I just lubed the T Friday, and took it out for a short spin (5miles?). Parked it. Saturday morning we went out for another 10 miles. When we got home my kid was worried about the T dripping oil from the “front wheel”. So it does migrate, it just sticks around longer, which means it should be lubricating, in my opinion for longer.

I use either bar oil or straight STP. Both seem to migrate just fine and don't need to be replenished nearly as often as motor oil.

Thanks for your observations !

STP is a viscosity enhancer--it has no lubricating qualities by itself!
This passed on from a chemical engineer to me many many years ago.
Your mileage may vary.
T'
David D.

STP does have some lubricating qualities as I have used it for close to 40 years as an engine assembly lubrication in all my engines 1hp to 1000Hp. I learned this from a pro engine builder. I also use it in gearbox assembly and it works great for this also.. Remember the old commercial were I think it was Andy Granatelli who tries to hold a screwdriver that had been dipped in STP. I think it might be to thick to use as an oil replacement because of heat generation do to the high viscosity. ..Fred

David,
STP contains Zinc dialkyldithiophosphates (often referred to as ZDDP)

The main use of ZDDP is in anti-wear additives to lubricants such as greases, gear oils, and motor oils, which contain about 1%. For applications in oils for gasoline engines, zinc and phosphorus emissions could damage catalytic converters and have had their quantity reduced in standard formulations.[3]. Reduced ZDDP oils have been cited as causing damage to, or failure of, classic/collector car camshafts and lifters with flat tappets which undergo very high boundary layer pressures and/or shear forces at their contact faces, and in other regions such as big-end/main bearings, and piston rings and pins. Some racing oils such as Valvoline ZR-1, and aftermarket additives, are available in the retail market with the necessary amount of ZDDP. See "external links" in this article. The same ZDDP compounds serve also as corrosion inhibitors and antioxidants.

If an STP type additive is used it may be more cost effective to use a generic version;
A 32-ounce bottle of STP Engine Treatment (containing what they call XEP2), which they claim they can prove outperforms leading PTFE engine treatments, cost us $17.97. Yet a can of K Mart Super Oil Treatment, which listed the same zinc-derivative ingredient as that listed for the XEP2, cost us a paltry $2.67.

Read more: http://www.carbibles.com/snakeoil.html#ixzz1PksshVG0

Jim

Thanks for all the great feedback