Too light of oil?

[dscottdatsun]

Is 5W30 oil okay to run in a L20B? I know 30 WT is what is normal but its not always what's available.

[datzenmike]

No! Follow the car maker's recommended oil viscosity. Select an oil based on the lowest temp expected before your next oil change.

 

For Washington state I don't imagine the winter temps to drop much below 15 or 20 F so at least 10W30 (which is good to zero F)

 

I run 15W40 Chevron Dello 400 or 15W40 Shell Rotella T in my L20Bs. This is a 'light diesel' oil but mainly for it's higher ZDDP level.

[wayno]

I use 20/50 in all my gas engines, and Delo400 in my diesels.

I used whatever oil was bought the cheapest in my work truck when it had the L20b, it used so much oil, that I just kept it full of anything I could buy, I used the cheap stuff as I was going threw a gallon a week, or 3 quarts+ a tank on road trips, it really didn't smoke that bad, but it had so much blow-by, that it was hard to keep gaskets from leaking, there was oil on the ground where I parked it, but it was only a few spots, not big puddles, it burnt most the oil.

That engine made me think about oil and Datsun engines differently than I had before, the L20b engine is over built, as long as you keep oil and antifreeze in the engine, it will run forever, I had not changed the oil in that engine for the last 3 years, as it had new oil in it every couple weeks, I just changed the oil filter every year weather it needed it or not. :lol:

I now have a LZ23, I still use 20/50, but now I have to change the oil, as it doesn't need any top offs anymore, so now I have to actually watch the mileage, what a pain, but I don't have a 100 dollar bill a month for oil anymore either, I just cannot win. :lol:

[datzenmike]

Can you tell which main bearing is the 140 hp KA24E and which is the 94 hp L20B