Salt water in Perkins 4-154 oil sample

[hellosailor]

Starfish-
Unless you change the viscosity, usually the idle speed goes UP when you change to synthetic oil, because there is less internal friction stealing power and slowing it down.

The Moorings fleet guy: Was he also the Amsoil distributor for the island?<G>

[starfish62]

Oops. You're right. Said down when I meant up. Was an old 289 V-8 engine on a 1968 Mustang convertible I had since I was 15 (if that car could talk!). Had to adjust the idle down. The engine was quite happy with the change! I'm hoping for the same result on an old Perkins.

The Moorings fleet guy didn't sell the oil (I hear ya), but actually had it flown up from Papeete. I'm sure there are other synthetics as good or better (I think Mobil 1 is making a "heavy duty" diesel oil rated for marine, and I'm sure that's quite $$$good$$$, but I haven't looked into it or used it.) At the time Dominic recommended the AMsoil, I was trying to coax a 30-year old Volvo MD11c across the Pacific, and he was definitely trying to help me out.

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha Starfish,
Darn it. You mentioned a 289 Mustang. I had a '67. Darn.
JohnL

[starfish62]

I hear ya, John. Those 289's were incredible. Great little car, and I regret selling her (grad school), but she went to a good home. There is something special about having the top down at night.

[hellosailor]

this must be the FORD section of the forum.<G>
Had a '68 289 with the fancy hood but just the Windor (2bbl, hydraulic lifters) engine. One day I hear this beautiful throbbing V8 noise from someplace right nearby me...and realize the cheapass Midas Muffler it came with had fallen off and unleashed the real engine. A factory crossflow pipe set made a HUGE difference in gas mileage, too.

A crude POS in so many ways but so much FUN. And so many less things to wonder "how do I fix that?" about.<G>

[starfish62]

Would that have been that windsor that they put in the Mach 1's? Something like 351 ci? My aunt had one of those in the early 70's, and the car was scary fast. (We better talk about something nautical, or wheels is gonna lock the thread ;>)

So, I've decided that the first thing I'm gonna change out is the oil coolers.

[hellosailor]

Starfish-
No, the original (AFAIK) split was that the 289 block was sent to two assembly plants, Cleveland, or Windsor. The "Cleveland Injun" was the hot model, with mechanical lifters and a 4-bbl carb, pumping out significantly more hp than the plain 289-2bbl with hydraulic lifters from the Windsor plant. I can get to the manuals this week, but if you nag me next week I can tell you which engines/years shipped. By '71 or '72 the cars were getting awfully big and fat and the big engines were in the 428/429 class. I learned to drive stick on one of those, and was warned up front that the light on the dashboard and the buzzer in the car were there to make Real Damn Sure you knew you had shifted into reverse--not first. Drop the clutch in reverse, and you could do real damage to whatever used to be behind you. Miss the 2-3 shift, and the stick allegedly could break your wrist if you were gripping it--instead of palming it.

But hey, those big engines could sure tow a boat. (Nautical segway.<G>) That's why diesel engines don't trust me, and I don't mind gasoline. I know how to deal with it!

[Fishman_Tx]

Doesn't the oil cooler have an internal set of 'o' rings? Seems I remember something about that possibility if they were defective/blown....