Best oil for 430MEL

[rrh24]

I am looking for recommendations on what oil to run in my 430MEL? The engine builder that did my 302 was adamant about using VR1 10-30 for that rebuilt motor. When I asked him about changing out the oil in the 430, he said the same oil should be ok for this motor.

I wanted to get some other opinions before changing.

thx

[simplyconnected]

This subject has been covered extensively. In order to answer I have to know if your cam is a flat tappet or a roller cam. I also want to know if your heads have hardened seats with stainless valves. - Dave

[rrh24]

Sorry....I've been searching but haven't been able to find any info on what viscosities and mfg. folks are running in their 430s. It appears this motor has the original intake, heads etc. on it with a legit 38k miles from what I've been able to track down. With that said, I could be incorrect but this would be a flat tappet and the seats won't be hardened. (Based off original SAE recommendations in the shop manual I'm leaning towards 20W-50 VR1)
thx again

[jopizz]

It doesn't matter what engine you have. What's important is whether you have hardened valve seats. If your 430 is original and the heads have never been rebuilt with hardened valve seats then you need an oil that has a high zinc (ZDDP) content. Many of us use Rotella T 15W-40 Diesel oil https://rotella.shell.com/en_us/prod...dHRlci9lbl91cw
It has enough zinc to lubricate your valves and is fairly inexpensive and easy to find. Maybe this chart will help.

zinc oils.jpg

John