Which Engine Would Last Longer?

[DScruggs]

Better question:

Which would last longer in a fight:

Godzilla or King Kong.

King Kong would win

Godzilla wipes camshafts

Camshaft/Lifter Wear: Some early engines experienced premature wear on the camshaft and lifters due to low oil pressure at idle caused by the variable-displacement oil pump. Ford has addressed this with updated oil pump calibrations.

Except that the "updated oil pump calibrations" have not reduced the incidence of Cam/Lifter failures.

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[grumpyunk]

If the turbo engines are so hard on oil as is stated in a lot of places, then using 5W-30 in a 1970 Maverick should pose no problems. The 5W would flow quickly when cold and provide quicker lubricant flow than the 10W. The -30 part is THE SAME for both oils. If multi-grade oils actually work as advertised, the pressure, hot, at idle, for both should be about the same. In theory they should both behave as '30' weight oils when hot.

If not, splain how the can be labeled the same at operating temperatures.

Personally, I am not too much of a fan of the 5W-20 spec that was in effect for a while in the early 2000's. I have used it in my duratec, but likely will be switching to 5W-30 in the future.
It may cause a very slight increase in fuel consumption, but I am willing to accept that for what I consider to be the benefit of a bit higher viscosity.
Using old 10W30 in a 2026 Ecoboost would be OK. for a while. Likely the expected higher operating temperature would tend to break down the older package at much lower time of use. If the turbo was used heavily, it is likely, IMO, that the 10W30 of old might just start coking heavily after short usage. It might last longer than expected, especially if turbo useage was light.
tom

 

[garyp]

Nobody even mentioned seals and gaskets. I tried running some synthetics in my 67 mustang and 64 corvette both leaked oil all over. Went back to conventional and leaks went away. Same approximate wt ratings

 

[matmondro]

Nobody even mentioned seals and gaskets. I tried running some synthetics in my 67 mustang and 64 corvette both leaked oil all over. Went back to conventional and leaks went away. Same approximate wt ratings

This right here too

It goes to show the synthetic does creep well on surfaces, but the tradeoff is the leaking on older or high mileage engines.

 

[Glen Baker LLC]

1970s Maverick oil recommendation.

You're going to need one of these..

 

[babytruk]

Nobody even mentioned seals and gaskets. I tried running some synthetics in my 67 mustang and 64 corvette both leaked oil all over. Went back to conventional and leaks went away. Same approximate wt ratings

My brother-in-law bought a 1st year BMW 318ti in 1994. The dealer gave him an extra bottle of synth oil so he didn’t have to buy oil for the 1st month.

 

[Chops]

The differences in oil from the 70s and today are not that huge. There are other factors that lead to engine longevity including the design of the engine, tolerances of the parts, improvements in cooling, better materials to start with.

A better question would be which vehicle would endure more northern Ohio winters, with all the road salt and corrosives - the 1970 Maverick or the 202x Maverick. Because northern Ohio killed a LOT of cars from that era. Not that it's kind to newer cars but after seeing our fenders rusting out in 3 years, people started looking to Honda and Toyota for vehicles.

Of course modern cars are better in most (all?) ways. Safer, cleaner, longer lasting as you say.

Motor oil technology has advanced incredibly too. Same for gasoline.

The rust issue may be a better question - but misses the point of my (dumb?) hypothetical question

 

[Chops]

Nobody even mentioned seals and gaskets. I tried running some synthetics in my 67 mustang and 64 corvette both leaked oil all over. Went back to conventional and leaks went away. Same approximate wt ratings

How about if modern oil technology was used to formulate a specific additives/etc package to address the old engine technology? Higher mileage before changing? Of course, just like today, change oil at least annually if not sooner!

 

[Cherokee]

Better question:

Which would last longer in a fight:

Godzilla or King Kong.

Godzilla, zilla, zilla, zilla~~~

Godzilla’s most powerful form, often called Thermonuclear or Burning Godzilla, burns up enemies like King Kong using an explosive radiation aura that melts everything around him and obliterates targets with intense atomic pulses.

Bet !

 

[Meeka]

Nobody even mentioned seals and gaskets. I tried running some synthetics in my 67 mustang and 64 corvette both leaked oil all over. Went back to conventional and leaks went away. Same approximate wt ratings

Same here in my older Camaro, so I switched back to regular Dino oil. Proof that full synthetic oil really does “clean”.

 

[Chops]

Nobody even mentioned seals and gaskets. I tried running some synthetics in my 67 mustang and 64 corvette both leaked oil all over. Went back to conventional and leaks went away. Same approximate wt ratings

Good point.

But I still think running conventional oil in the modern EB would be worse. Old Maverick would outlast Modern Maverick on that old conventional formulation.

Of course the oil itself is the same regardless of decade - it is the advanced additives package that have been developed. Modern engines can go 10,000 miles / 12 months because of modern oil formulas mostly. An ICE is still an ICE. Steel is still steel. Aluminum is still aluminum. Plastic is still plastic.

Edit…gaskets are not still gaskets though

 

[Lone Ridr]

Non detergent oil was almost totally phased out in the late 1960s. On engine tear-downs, sometimes you could fill your hand with clabbered (congealed oil with the viscosity of wheel bearing grease) in the valley between the pistons. Note: nobody I knew, me included, wore protective latex gloves.

Chevy V8s in the 60's used a steel canister with a bolt running through the center of it to hold the paper filter. The canister gasket would blow if the pressure relief valve failed to close. I witnessed pressure relief valve failures when the nylon cam shaft timing gear disintegrated and pieces traveled into the valve, keeping it from closing. The use of full flow, spin-on oil filters eliminated the canister and pressure relief valve, meaning that engine oil could be filtered all the time instead of very low RPM and idle only.

 

[Darryl]

What a time to be driving. While nostalgia and rose colored glasses are nice when discussing old vehicles, the combination of improved oil , improved engine, improved turbos, improved fuel management, etc has combined to give us the luxury of debating whether to change the oil at 5,000 vs 10,000 miles . In 1970 the debate was 3,000 vs 6,000 with some people recommending even more often than 3,000. And with turbos it was whether 3,000 was often enough. We also bragged when our engine made it to 100 000 with just minor repairs such as a water pump and valve cover gaskets. Even a timing chain wasn't considered excessive. Today we demand 150,000 miles minimum and consider anything more than scheduled maintenance as excessive for an engine. My dad had a valve grinding machine sitting on the counter that we used regularly back in the pre 1990s. Timing chains were regular items. Belts and hoses were 2 year items. Wow!

 

[Idahomaverick60]

Of course But the OEM 6 or 8 cylinder Maverick engine would last longer than an 202X Maverick EB if using 1970’s conventional oil.

BTW, the 1960’s era Chevrolet Corvairs had turbos. Air cooled 6 cylinder turbo engine using the crappy 1960’s conventional oil. My Pop had a Corvair. Wish he would have kept it until I got my license - but he traded it for a 70 Chevy Nova which I eventually got as a hand me down. Oh well, not complaining

My dad had a '52 F-1 that i grew up with. 239 flathead V-8, 4spd granny gear fully NON syncro transmission, 4.10 rear..... always hoped i would get that truck 🥹 color was black

 

[Chops]

My dad had a '52 F-1 that i grew up with. 239 flathead V-8, 4spd granny gear fully NON syncro transmission, 4.10 rear..... always hoped i would get that truck 🥹 color was black

Hopefully that old ‘51 is still on the road somewhere as a “rat truck”

And if not a rat truck - maybe a “resto-mod

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