MTFCA Forum

Wanting to change the oil in our 1926 T Pickup and was looking for advice on the type of oil to use. Looks like it takes 4 quarts (3 in trans & 1 in engine)
Any advice would be appreciated..

It takes 4 quarts all through the oil filler at the front of the engine. The engine and transmission share a common sump. Type of oil is a more complicated issue as there are as many opinions on that as there are different oil types available. I run straight 30WT detergent in my rebuilt engines and 30WT non detergent in original engines.

As Russ T Fender said there are lots of opinions about what type of oil that should be used in a Model T engine.
Today’s oil is way better than what was used in the Model T era. With that said I use HD 10-W30. I buy the house brand at Wal-Mart, Autozone ,TSC and etc.
An older worn engine whether it’s a T or not you might want to use a straight weight 30W oil. Your choice.
There isn’t any need to buy any exotic expensive oil for a T.
Your T wouldn’t know the difference. My opinion among others.

To add my 2 cents worth, which might be refuted by someone, but to me is common sense. In an engine which has been rebuilt, I would use 10W30 detergent oil of any brand. The reason for multigrade oil is that the oil tends to be thinner when the engine is cold and will begin to flow into tight spaces to lubricate the parts much more quickly when you first start the car. But as the engine warms up it does not thin out as much as a lighter weight oil and so will give a more constant oil film for lubrication. As stated above Walmart oil is fine. For an old engine which has not used the detergent oil, you might fine a lot of sludge inside, which can be determined if you remove the inspection plate and look around. In that case a non detergent oil might be safer. If you find the engine to be relatively clean, then the detergent oil will keep it that way. The important thing is frequent oil changes at least every 1000 miles. Since I don't put a lot of miles on mine, I usually change before an extended tour, such as a week or several days of driving. Be sure to check oil before each day's driving, because the T's quite often drip or burn oil. Better to check than to run low on oil.

Concerning synthetic oil. Some might differ in opinion, but since the T runs the same oil in the engine and transmission and gets dirty quickly and sometimes is contaminated with band sediment, the value of synthetic oil is wasted. Synthetic was made to be run in modern engines with a filter and lasts far longer without breakdown. Fine in newer cars, but with the frequent changes in a Model T, in my opinion is a waste of money
Norm

Thanks for the advice, looks like we are good to go.
Always great to know there is a wealth of knowledge out there.....

A small amount of oil will remain in the engine even following a thorough drain. Due to this, you may find the engine/transmission refilled somewhere around 3 1/2 and 3 3/4 quarts. A new, dry engine will digest the entire 4 quarts.

In reality, the car will not notice if you put in the full 4 quarts, though. Myself, I open the upper petcock and fill until it starts running out and then save the remainder to top off when some has leaked out or burned off through driving. Very excessive over-fill will usually result in smoking and possibly fouled plugs, so don't do that...

You didn’t say but IF your ‘26 pickup has been sitting without running for a very long time, I’d bet there’s a form of sludge in each of the 4 dippers. If that’s the case, remove the pan inspection cover and clean ‘em out. If confident there’s no sludge, Jack the front axle up 5-6 inches to drain those dippers before filling w/ new oil..my 1 cent worth