SWEPCO oil for Catalytic Converters

R

Richard

Member
Good Day all:

Discussion of SWEPCO Oil 306 in an IHC 345 engine.

I recently started up my 1979 Traveler after sitting in my garage since 1987. The engine has been broken in correctly (priming pump) and is finally back on the
road. I just got it registered and am a happy "original owner" camper. The engine has about 50 hours of garage time running (since I got it started in January 2021, I've been working on other things in the Traveler, so I would start the Traveler every 2 weeks or so just to keep the engine lubed)
Now that I got it back on the road, and since I live in Southern California, I had my exhaust system redone done to include a catalytic converter. As this is a 1979, any automobile built after 1975 requires a "cat" for passing emissions when being smogged every two years.

My question is this: since Zinc harms/affects catalytic converters, what type of oil/oil additive do I use? I certainly do not want to destroy my engine (or give it a short lifespan) In reading about SWEPCO engine oil, it contains a good amount of zinc (which is great for my engine) but is harmful to the "cat". I am about ready to change my break-in oil (500 miles) and want to have a good oil to use. I have read and understand the use of zinc and the quality of SWEPCO oil, but my dilemma is the zinc and the "cat". Unfortunately, the "cat" costs a pretty penny and I don't relish the thought of having to buy another one for quite a few years.

Any updates or insights your can lend would be greatly appreciated as I know there must be a solution out there. Thank you,

Richard
 
i have a thought take it for what you will

how much does your scout get driven ?
i have been around and worked in the car industry my whole life and i have never seen a CAT fail before around 100K miles. i think you will have many many miles before you ever have a problem with a bad CAT.

also for anything in the oil to harm the CAT the engine has to be burning alot of oil. do you think your engine is burning any?
 
well, ok.

I appreciate the response and also agree re: the length of time to ruin a CAT. The reason for asking in general is that I am curious about all of the oils out there on the market as of late. Just trying to get a consensus on who is using what oils and were there any brands that are a favorite for IH owners. As I mentioned, this engine has about 50-80 hours of run time in my garage (now on the road with break-in oil) and as the original owner from 1979, just wanted to double/triple check my sources. I am/was surprised that I have not seen a response from SWEPCO as this is their main playground.

Thank you for your input,

Richard
 
For what they're worth, here's my thoughts on the subject. In 1979, there were no low/no zinc oils and the cats survived. The engine needs the zinc and it's a lot more expensive to rebuild than to replace a cat. Use an oil with plenty of zinc.
 
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