<VV> Corvair Tall Tales ~ Is 'straight weight' oil better ?

[Dennis Pleau]

If your crankcase was filled to the top with water, even after the crankcase
was drained and refilled with new oil, there would still be a lot of water
in the engine.  The only way to get it out is to heat the engine up enough
to vaporize or convert the water to steam so it could be sucked out of the
crankcase by the PVC system.  

I picked 50 miles out of the air, but you would have to get to full
temperature and keep it there for a while.  I would do at least 50 miles and
then change the oil again if it was foaming.

I started working for a Union 76 full service station two days after my 16th
birthday (I got my drivers license 1 day after) in 1970, so I used Union Oil
10-40 in my Corvair for the three years I worked there.  I understand now,
it probably wasn't the best choice, but I never had any oil related
problems.

dp

-----Original Message-----
From: Charles Lee [mailto:chaz at properproper.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, November 01, 2011 5:55 PM
To: 'Dennis Pleau'; virtualvairs at corvair.org
Subject: RE: <VV> Corvair Tall Tales ~ Is 'straight weight' oil better ?

50 miles **AWAY** from that "service" station ?!?!?

Did he check your air too ?

As I remember, Corvairs required 'straight weight' oil, 30W or 40W, and
multi-grade was taboo?

Was it an 'urban legend' or was it true that, when 'generic' mechanics put
multi-grade oil in Corvairs, that the engine heat would break the oil down
and cause lack of lubrication and overheating ?

Today's multi-grade oil is better, but is it OK to use it in a Corvair?  I
look for single weight, but it's harder to find.

Charlie