Northern Custom Cruiser

So ive got a 1983 olds custom cruiser and im fairly confident in its condition. There seems to be quite a bit of controversy over which oil to put in this 307 and while i was patiently researching and giving the problem the time it deserved my girlfriend took it to one of these quick stop places and they put full synthetic in it and im pretty sure that was a terrible idea. This morning i checked the oil level and it did not apper to be full and once i turned on the engine it smoked ALOT from where there had been an insignificant leak on the passenger valve cover gasket leaking into the exhaust. Before the synthetic oil change it barely dripped but from the eruption of smoke i can tell there is more oil leaking than before, much more. What would be my best course of action now? Should i drain out the synthetic and fill it back up with conventional? If so what weight and brand?

Thanks in advance!

oldcutlass

Change the valve cover gaskets...

Northern Custom Cruiser

Definitely on my to do list, but the passenger side looks like its going to be a pain.. Is the any specific oil type/brand i would be better using? Currently its got 10 30 full synthetic of who knows what generic brand.

Allan R

If it's a higher mileage car, using synthetic is a waste of money. Just buy some decent dino oil in the 10w30 range and you'll be good to go. But fix the VC gaskets anyway. It will still leak. Synthetic will leak much more than conventional oil.

Northern Custom Cruiser

Is it worth it to spend big bucks on something like valvoline?

oldcutlass

On flat tappet cams, I like 10w30 VR1 racing oil. I don't use for competition only off road VR1.

Allan R

No. Regular high mileage 10w30 is just fine and won't come close to breaking the bank. Remember to also change your oil filter if you're changing out from the synthetic. You can buy what you want, but this engine is not designed for performance. Valvoline is an expensive blend more designed for performance engines.

Note: I have an older model GM that has around 100k miles on it. Factory and owners manual says to use 5w30. I only do that for the winter as it typically gets friggen cold here. Rest of the time I use cheapo 10w30 in it. The car leaks from the cylinder head but since I use 10w30 it's a lot less than the 5w30. It's simply not worth pulling this thing apart to fix the head gasket because it's not leaking coolant and the cost to do the head gasket is too high for a 20 year old car.

Northern Custom Cruiser

Awesome, thank you much guys. I think im gonna go back to dino goo for the time being!

Allan R

Good call. If you have any more leaks you won't be wasting high price oil. Also you can add some oil treatment for the leaks you can't fix yourself.

Professur

Ok, I'm gonna point to the elephant in the room. Why is your girlfriend taking your car for oil changes?

Allan R

Because it's better than her changing it herself

Northern Custom Cruiser

It was the first and only time im giving her a chance messing with the older cars, she can handle herself when it comes to basic stuff, but i told her to go have it checked to see if ut needed a top off and those idiot convinced her to change to full synthetic. Ive gotta give her credit because she asked them about it first but they said full synthetic wont cause any more leaks than dino oil. Needless to say im going back and giving their manager multiple reason why they should be fired. Unless or course hes just as much of an imbecile

Allan R

Naw, just tell him that you want your money back for creating the mess and burnoff on the exhaust. Also ask him for the specs that show an 83 307 needs synthetic. When they were built new, they specified dino oil in the owners manual. I know because I had an 83 Ninety Eight Regency Brougham.

BTW, that VC on the right side isn't really that hard to change the gasket. Just lump the hoses up on top of the intake. Not a hard job, but tedious. I had to do that too. IIRC I used cork gaskets and they never leaked again, even after another 120k miles!

Northern Custom Cruiser

Cork huh? I never considered cork gaskets for that. I never took a look at the benefits and downside of cork gaskets as i just assumed theyre outdated. Ill give that a look and i dont actually intend on getting anyone fired, but he did gloat about how hes neen there for 8 years and rebuilt multiple engines and knows what hes talking about, which i intend on amending.

Northern Custom Cruiser

Just to add and clarify, i changed the oil yesterday afternoon, it smoked quite a bit where it was leaking above the exhaust more than it ever has this morning, and this is what the synthetic 10 30 oil looks like now after i checked it directly after turning the engine off. Is this good/bad?

oldcutlass

Whats wrong with it? You could have just left it in there, it would not have harmed anything. Again, a new set of gaskets will solve your problem. Its going to leak with either oil. Do not disconnect any A/C hoses, just take the bolts out of the brackets and move everything to the side.

Northern Custom Cruiser

I haven't taken anything out yet, thats the synthetic oil in the picture just taken an hour ago. It went in clear but now its brownish. I figured it could have just been from leftover conventional oil. It looked grey when i wiped it off with a napkin.

oldcutlass

Oil will change color from semi clear to black the longer its in the engine, its normal.

Northern Custom Cruiser

Well it went from clear to the color in the pic in 24 hours, as long as thats fine then ill try to keep it in there.

oldcutlass

Oil has detergent in it to clean the inside of your engine. As it does it starts to change colors. Also there is a certain amount of hydrocarbon and other contaminates that collect in it. Like I said, it turns black over time.

Northern Custom Cruiser

Yes i realize that, and i know the synthetic has more than conventional, but ive never delt with it and just wanted to make sure it wasnt turning color too fast or doing anything it shouldnt. I personally am in love with this car and just want to make sure nothing wrong could occur.

malibru

This article may interest you:

http://www.drivenracingoil.com/news/...-in-motor-oil/

In an older 307 engine such as yours, (I believe 1985 was start of roller cam/lifters on the 307...) we can assume it's stock and has a flat tappet cam and lifters. I think you should first fix the leaks as Eric suggested, then dump that synthetic and change to a conventional oil with an adequate zinc (ZDDP) package. After about 2004 the zinc levels in oil had been limited to the point that cam lobes and lifters were being wiped. I used to run 10w40 Shell Rotella in my Chevy dump truck with a 350 engine, with no problems. But then even the Diesel oil had the zinc package limited.

If you go with the Driven oil, a Lucas hot rod oil, Amsoil or equivalent I think you would be better off. Most of the newer oils marketed as "hot rod" or "muscle car" oils can still contain the ZDDP or ZDTP package at a percentage that will help your engine live longer.

That's my .02. or maybe .03.

Allan R

Engine oil should not be judged by a 24 hour visit within your engine. I have full synthetic oil in my Sonata that has been in there for about 2500 miles and it's still clean (like your picture). I've also had oil changes where after running the engine for 10 miles it was black as coal. I didn't realize you were going to drain the synthetic immediately, it seems like that's a bit of a waste of money IMO. As Eric said earlier (and I did too) just change the leak you know about by replacing the VC gaskets.

Comparison note:
72 Cutlass - oil change: doesn't get black, just gets light discoloration
96 GM - oil change: gets black after about 500 miles
07 Sonata - oil change: oil seems to stay clean all the time
67 Cutlass - oil change: oil is black after 10 miles

Bottom line - there's no consistent way of telling you what your oil should look like all the time. Monitor it through a few cycles of oil changes. If you think it's getting dirty too fast? Change it and the filter more often (like every 2500 miles or less) but with less expensive oil. Just because the oil is dirty doesn't mean it's not doing its job. Oh, get a good quality filter, not those cheapo Fram jobs.

abodyman

Quaker state "defy". Has "boosted" zinc for older cars, and its a synthetic blend, which is basically standard(dino) oil with synthetic additives. it's also cheap, about $3/qt at Wally World.

Northern Custom Cruiser

I have not and will not drain the oil unless it leaks unexpectedly to much or the oil place gives me a refund, i just want to put the absolute best in this engine and i know you guys would know whats best

Professur

I'll just add something ... the oil filter on these cars is a royal pain in the **** to get at. K&N has a filter with a nut welded to the end. I grabbed a few online ... a pontiac site I also frequent has an associate program with them ... Online buys from accessing their site via a banner gets the site a kick back. Every little bit helps, right? I got the filters in 2 days shipped international (Calif to Mtl) free. Also no taxes. Filter also has an anti-flowback valve which I like a whole lot.

Northern Custom Cruiser

Honestly, i changed it before and needed it off then and there and used a giant pair of vise grips and latched it on there and it spun right off and i had the new one on in 3 minutes. I did not however expect the oil in the filter to come out as viscously as it did haha

Allan R

I changed oil on mine for close to 17 years and never had any issues with the oil filter being hard to get to, or remove. A good oil filter band wrench works extremely well if it's on tight.

Professur

I've got that same tool. Never worked for me on this car.

oldcutlass

These work well also:

Allan R

Ah, you musta got the left handed version....

Professur

I'll admit, most times when I change the oil in the wagon, I don't even use my ramps. Plenty of room to just slide underneath with all 4 wheels on the ground.