MTFCA Forum

I realize that many Model T's do not get driven much so once a year oil changes should be fine. However lets say your having a good year of driving.....After how many miles do you change the oil?

I usually change mine either before or after a long tour, like a week long. If I don't drive much I will change about once a year. If we have a day tour each month, I will change 2 or 3 times a year.
Norm+

Norman Kling wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 06, 2021 8:49 pm

I usually change mine either before or after a long tour, like a week long. If I don't drive much I will change about once a year. If we have a day tour each month, I will change 2 or 3 times a year.
Norm+

Do you have a Speedometer/odometer? My 1915 Touring did not so I picked up a cheep GPS Speedometer to track how many miles I have driven. Would you say every 300, 500 etc?

Since my Model T’s have no oil filter or PCV system around every 500 miles. Oil is cheaper than a engine rebuild…..

I drive a lot but change oil once a year (idealy just before winterstorage). During the season I may add so much oil to compensate for what it looses so that may count for an extra oilchange

*) A lot may be 2500 km/year but most years it is split between 3 cars.

I think 500 sounds about right for a Model T since you do not have a Oil filter. When I got my car I changed the oil and used Shell Rotella 15w40. That seems to be my go to oil for old cars and I use it in my Model A as well. I have an oil filter in the Model A so I change that between 1000 and 1500.

I change my oil at about 500 miles. I use a garmin to keep record of the miles and to monitor the vehicle speed. 1400 miles this year. Last year was 1900 miles probably due to covid. Lots of picnic tours.
If I used MMO oil I could stretch the oil changes to 600 miles. Just not ,financially gainful.
Art Mirtes

My TT changes the oil by itself every 500 miles. It leaks it out,
I pour more in. A few times a year I pull the crud collector/magnet
and pick out any chunks.

Around 1925, Ford recommended changing the oil at 750 miles. A car in good condition using modern day oil can easily go 1,000 miles between changes. A car driven often for at least 10 miles at a time in mild weather on mostly paved roads could easily go 1,500 to 2,000 miles between changes. If you drive in dusty conditions, you need an air filter. If your car is already sludged up, changing the oil every 500 to 1,000 miles may help remove the worst of the sludge and gum. Always drain oil hot immediately after a run of 10 miles or more. Oil today is far superior to what was available in the 1920s, and there is nothing to be gained by throwing away good motor oil. If your car's engine is shedding metal, it needs repair. A screen added to the transmission cover is an excellent idea. They are effective at trapping band debris and a magnet will trap fine wear particles. Be sure the magnet is securely fixed to the screen. When you start your car, drive it, especially in cold or damp weather. If you aren't going to drive it for at least ten miles, and more is better, it's best not to start it at all. If you have a newly rebuilt engine, it might be a good idea to change the oil after the first 300 miles and inspect the oil for any evidence of unusual amounts of metallic wear material.

Pat
I think you may be right about 1500 to 2000 miles but I have always had the thought that oil is cheep insurance so I do not think I would push it quite that far on conventional oil. Now with using a synthetic 1500 to 2000 seems more reasonable but then again we do not have oil filters on the Model T. In my modern cars I use synthetic and change it at 7000......they say its good for 10k or more but I still see it as cheep insurance.

What are your thoughts on Synthetic? I love it but on the T I do not think its necessary.

Ron

See other thread on synthetic. I use it in my T with good results. I change oil more often than recommended on most vehicles made in the last 50 years, even though my driving patterns are not severe as concerns oil life. A T is different, in that they lack any oil filter and don't have the best crankcase ventilation. I don't think lack of an oil filter is nearly as much of an issue as a lack of an air filter. Driving habits, such as avoiding dusty conditions and short trip, cold weather driving, will prevent most problems. Keeping the engine in tune and in good repair also helps minimize oil contamination. If you start it, DRIVE IT, especially in cold or damp weather or during off-season storage periods. Doing so will allow the engine and oil to fully warm up and will give time for the heat to drive moisture and fuel condensate out of the oil.

I believe that most ferrous metal particles that get into a Model T oil supply will wind up on the flywheel magnets or in a screen magnet if one is provided. Babbit particles and some larger ferrous particles will tend to settle quickly and remain at the bottom of the sump at the drain plug, or they will settle elsewhere and remain there. Very small babbit particles will tend to remain suspended in the oil, and will do no harm. Band lint is best dealt with with a screen accessory, and I'd suggest using a a screen and magnet. With modern oils, heavy coking on the underside of the piston heads is unlikely, and most soot and fine carbon particles will remain in suspension and do no harm. Good driving habits and keeping the engine in good condition and good tune will minimize the accumulation of such material in the oil, and using a quality oil, whether regular or synthetic, will remove most of the material when the oil is changed. Changing the oil immediately after a run of ten miles or more will assure getting the maximum amount of debris out of the engine. Model T engines need to run at 180F to about 200 F at the water outlet for best performace and to keep water and fuel condensate out of the oil. This will also reduce carbon deposition in the combustion chambers and may reduce the amount of soot that reaches the crankcase.

It's a good idea to draw off a tablespoonful of oil after a run from time to time and look at it carefully. If it's thickened, very black, thinned out, or if it smells strongly of gasoline, or if it shows any sign of water contamination, change it. Old engines that are coated with sludge inside need oil changed more often. An older engine that is dirty might benefit from having the oil drained, hot, into a CLEAN container, then let the oil sit overnight to settle, and then carefully pour about 3/4 of it into another CLEAN container, then put that oil back in the engine and add fresh make up oil as necessary. Examine the dregs in the first container for debris. I would do this every few hundred miles if significant debris showed up. Any heavy debris will remain in the bottom of the first container, IF you handle it carefully and pour SLOWLY. The remaining oil in the first container can be strained and used for chassis oiling.

This is the same response I posted to the latest discussion on Synthetic Oil
Things to consider -
The color of oil isn't the only factor in determining its state of usefulness (color is effected from engine heat) - texture (foamy, gritty) is far more important. Since the Model T engine lacks a oil filter such that engine deposits are kept in suspension, the frequency of oil changes should be based on miles driven or time (oil additives will stratify over time). So oils with high mileage between oil change claims makes little sense for a Model T engine. You should refer back to oil change frequencies before multi viscosity and synthetic oils...as I recall 500-1000 miles or yearly and that was with an oil filter. So the best oil for a Model T is one that you will change yearly (assuming miles driven not the factor) but when.....
Good reading --- https://journal.classiccars.com/2018/03 ... ners-make/
"Under the proper circumstances, oil can sit in an engine for six months and still be drive-able. To help decide whether an oil change is necessary immediately after a car has been stored, Speed offers three situations:
If you’ve been cranking the car once a month while in storage, change the oil immediately.
If you didn’t change the oil when you put it in storage, change the oil.
If you put in fresh oil when you stored the vehicle, don’t change the oil."
So don't pay for the mileage claim, buy to change it every year regardless of mileage.

Re: "If you’ve been cranking the car once a month while in storage, change the oil immediately". Good advice. Better advice: Don't start your car unless you are going to drive it for ten miles or more. /// If you live in an area with high humidity and frequent temperature changes, water can condense inside your engine during cool periods. In such regions, driving the car for ten miles or more once a month or so will be helpful.

The condition of your car, how you use it, and the conditions under which you use it should guide your oil change decisions. Natural condensation of moisture in engines and gearboxes is not a problem where I live, and (clean) oil can be left in an engine indefinitely with no loss of quality. That's not true everywhere. The little old lady who only drives 6 blocks to church on Sunday puts the most demand on her motor oil. The salsesman who drives 1,000 miles a week puts the least demand on his oil.

TXGOAT2 wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 07, 2021 10:41 am

It's a good idea to draw off a tablespoonful of oil after a run from time to time and look at it carefully. If it's thickened, very black, thinned out, or if it smells strongly of gasoline, or if it shows any sign of water contamination, change it. Old engines that are coated with sludge inside need oil changed more often. An older engine that is dirty might benefit from having the oil drained, hot, into a CLEAN container, then let the oil sit overnight to settle, and then carefully pour about 3/4 of it into another CLEAN container, then put that oil back in the engine and add fresh make up oil as necessary. Examine the dregs in the first container for debris. I would do this every few hundred miles if significant debris showed up. Any heavy debris will remain in the bottom of the first container, IF you handle it carefully and pour SLOWLY. The remaining oil in the first container can be strained and used for chassis oiling.

Excellent advice, an oil change shouldn't be simply based on miles or the time since the last oil change. It should be inspected as well. If there is no record of when the inspection pan was removed and cleaned of any slug that should be put on the schedule as well. Again you can't apply most of today's automotive engine maintenance rules to a Model T engine.

At the end of fall, then in the spring. Over the winter because of condensation from fluctuations in temp and winter driving I change in spring and then after the summer driving in the fall. Or as needed if looks really black.

I change mine every 1000 miles and I drive it around 100 miles a week. Just changed the oil yesterday to my winter viscosity 5w 20.

Another consideration is the fact that modern gasoline, while not as good as it could be, is better than what was generally available in the 1920s. Today's gasoline is free from sulfur and very nearly gum free. It has good volatility and typically contains detergent/solvent additives that reduce carbon deposition and it is by nature low carbon fuel. All that reduces the amount of harmful combustion by-products, and sulfate in particular, that reach the oil in the crankcase. It's a shame that most fuel is adulterated with ethanol, but that need not be an issue if it is handled properly. That said, I avoid ethanol-adulterated fuel whenever possible. If you must use it, use it up before it spoils, and take whatever measures are necessary to avoid having it sit in the tank for more than a month or so.

RE the fuels, depends on your location. In Oregon ours last a lot longer than a month.

I loathe ethanol adulterated fuel. You never know how it has been handled before you purchase it, or how much ethanol it has in it, or how old it is. It WILL destroy fuel systems if it is not handled with care. Hot weather, damp weather, and storage conditions affect how long it can keep. The sooner you use it, the better, if you must use it at all. Cold, dry storage in an air tight container is best. Model T fuel tanks are not a good place to store enthanol-adulterated fuel, especially in areas with high humidity.

What the book says:
When With hat Explanation of weight oils then and now https://modeltfordfix.com/care-and-feed ... el-t-ford/
Light = SAE 20
Medium = SAE 30
Heavy = SAE 40
So we know definitively that Ford specified SAE 20 when your Model T was new. Back in those days there was no such thing as detergent oil, and multi – viscosity oil was also decades in the future. Let’s consider the advantages and disadvantages of each of these technology advances.