Follow-Up to Camshaft Chronicles (2007)

This is further my article submitted to the British Saloon Car Club – OILY RAG, January/07.  As you know, my curiosity was peaked by our own experiences at the shop and within our racing group at VARAC, which you have been a part of. 

The article was initially written simply to warn our customers and friends about the dangers of running newer oil formulations in our old cars.  However, as time goes on, this topic becomes more interesting all the time.  I have had many comments and queries from all across the country and the US about the article.  It has been published in several car club newsletters.  

More recent research that I have conducted on the topic shows that more folks are becoming aware of the problem.  I have also learned how the zinc (ZDDP) acts inside the engine to form a sacrificial wear coating that protects the metals. 

·        “Even stock passenger cars can see pressure in excess of 200,000psi at the point between the lifter crown and the cam lobe contact” (Hot Rod article).  This makes me wonder what sort of pressures exist in racing applications where high-lift profiles and heavy valve springs are used.

·        “ZDDP ( Zinc dialkyl dithiophosphate) when heated in the high temperatures of the engine, decomposes to form an extremely thin layer of phosphorous glass over the engine surfaces which is referred to as “glassification”.  The new layer of glass is perpetually worn away and replenished, protecting the metal surfaces from wearing away.

·        Only 12% of the useful energy is used in current engines with about 10% of energy lost in friction.  In what may seem a counterintuitive idea, the frictional losses in the engines arise partly due to the use of ZDDP as an anti-wear additive that protects the engine but also results in higher friction.

·        Flat tappet engines, being older technologies require the superior wear protection provided by oils having adequate concentrations of ZDDP (at least 0.11 wt%). 

·        Newer technology engines employing a roller to camlobe interface are capable of operating on safely on lower concentrations of ZDDP (0.08 wt%) as provided by new energy conserving motor oils)

·        ZDDP reduction in motor oil has been driven by more stringent emissions legislation.  ZDDP has an adverse affect on catalytic converter efficiency.

·        Environmental legislation will advanced in the coming years and it will require auto manufacturers to both further reduce exhaust emissions and increase fuel efficiency.  It would seem reasonable to assume that ZDDP could be further reduced or replaced in motor oils as greater engine efficiencies are sought and new engineering solutions come on stream.

 ZDDP

 

ZDDP and Me

By Mark Macy, TRA Technical Advisor

 

It’s been all over the automotive blogs, chat rooms, discussion groups, and print publications for the past year.  The EPA has forced the elimination of ZDDP (Zinc Dialkyl-Dithio-Phosphate) from engine oil.  Are there consequences for owners of vintage autos, and our Triumphs in particular, or is this just the latest version of ‘the sky is falling’?

 

Motor oil is one of those HOT buttons that is always capable of starting a debate among car guys.  Most gear heads have a particular brand of oil that they feel is the best, and will debate the merits at length with anyone who doesn’t concur with their opinion.  But this latest debate among vintage car folks over the elimination of ZDDP is widespread and touches everyone addicted to motors designed more than 20 years ago.  You see, for most of the last century, the almost universal method to open and close engine valves was via flat tappets (solid or hydraulic lifters if you will), and the ZDDP additive was there to prevent or reduce wear between the camshaft and the lifters.  But ZDDP in the minute amounts of oil that will get burned and exit through the exhaust system will shorten the life of catalytic converters.  Thus the EPA mandate to eliminate ZDDP from engine oil, and the auto makers have responded by designing engines that utilize roller lifters or overhead camshafts, and have no need for the protection offered by ZDDP.

 

Motor oil has carried a performance rating from the American Petrolium Institute (API) since the days of horseless carriages.  Pick up any quality motor oil at your local auto parts store, and you’ll see the API logo on the bottle.  (I grew up with oil cans, and I’m still having trouble getting used to this oil ‘bottle’ thing!)  Automobile oils have a two letter service designation, which always begins with the letter “S”, and then works its way down the alphabet for the second letter.  Historically, the newest designations have always met the performance specifications of the previous ones, and so there was never an issue with using the latest technology motor oil in vintage autos, until now.  While ZDDP levels have been gradually reduced starting with SG oils in 1988, it is the latest SM designated oil with the total elimination of ZDDP has raised the concerns of all vintage auto enthusiasts who fear the worst for their cams and lifters.

 

Now I have to admit that I was skeptical of all this doom and gloom talk at first.  Then as I’ve learned more about just what ZDDP is, and what it’s supposed to do, I remembered some Triumph engine problems that have been discussed over the past few years.  The problems, which have been reported by several different individuals, concerns the rapid wear and almost total destruction of the camshaft and lifters in freshly overhauled engines.  Up to now, this problem has been blamed on ‘reproduction’ lifters (tappets) which are too ‘soft’ when tested on a Rockwell hardness tester.  But now I’m starting to believe that this might have been the first appearance of a lubrication problem, and the new reproduction parts were the quickest and easiest place to lay the blame.

 

So now that I’m starting to believe that this ZDDP thing could be a real problem, what can we do about it?  There have been a number of possible “fixes” suggested already, but deciding on the best one is going to fall back on personal taste, providing even more fodder for oily discussions among motor heads.  One quick solution that’s been suggested is to use diesel motor oil that contains enough ZDDP to fend off the premature cam & lifter wear.  But diesel motor oils carry completely different API ratings which begin with the letter “C”, and they also contain additive packs which were designed for the diesel’s unique characteristics, and may not be totally appropriate for use in gasoline engines.  To me, this is almost as scary as running my Triumphs without ZDDP, so personally I won’t even consider this as an option.

 

In the wake of all the fears over potential engine damage, oil supplements containing ZDDP are going to start showing up in catalogs and store shelves in a big way.  Each will claim to have just what your car needs, and only time will tell if they solve the problem or amount to nothing more than modern day snake oil.  Without a performance rating system such as the API designations for oil, there is really no way to substantiate the claims of the manufacturers’ marketing departments until your engine lives another 10,000 miles or so without self destructing.  I’m not willing to let my TR motors be the experimental test bed for these additives, but please be sure to let me know how it all works out in yours!

 

The third and final option, and the one that I’ve decided to pursue, is to find some gasoline engine oil that still contains ZDDP and meets an earlier API rating than SM.  You’re probably not going to walk into the nearest Auto Zone or Pep Boys and find this oil on the shelf, but it is available if you do a little bit of digging.  You should also know that the days of buying your TR oil for under $3.00 a quart are over, but the $5 something it will cost is no different than buying the ‘cheap’ oil and adding a $10 supplement to it.  (Here’s another one I’m having trouble with, because I can still remember selling oil for $0.30 a quart, and that included the tax!) 

 

I did a quick search on the NAPA auto parts web site (www.napaonline.com), and with a little luck I found that I could search the engine oils by API ratings, brand, or by weight.  You have to get pretty deep into the web site before this becomes available, so I’ll give you a road map to find it.  From the NAPA home page, select browse PartsPRO SE Catalog.  Then every time you see “Browse by Category”, select the following options in this order; Chemicals & Car Care Products, Oil Grease & Lubricants, Motor Oil – 1Qt/1Liter Universal.  From there you’ll be able to search for an appropriate vintage car motor oil, and read all of the specs associated with it.

 

I was delighted to find that for the straight 30W and 40W oils that I use in my Triumphs (and as recommended by the factory manuals) NAPA still carries SL, SJ, and SH oils in their own NAPA brand, as well as from Pennzoil, Quaker State, and Valvoline.  You’ll have to get the part numbers from the web site and then have your local NAPA store order a full case (12 qt) for you, but the peace of mind will more than make up for the small effort required to obtain it.

 

I’ve been a Valvoline guy for nearly 40 years now, so I was happy to find their VR1 racing oil with SL, SJ, SH ratings available from NAPA in both SAE30W and SAE40W, and I ordered a case of 30W.  When I picked it up from my local NAPA store, I was extremely happy to see “ZDDP additive provides tough anti-wear protection” on the outside of the case, and a similar statement on each bottle.    While this issue and the debate it has caused is far from over, I can at least rest easier knowing that a solution I’m comfortable with is available, at least for now.