Oil

[Austin-Rover]

I am planning to give my car a bit of a service at the weekend and I was wondering if anyone can reccomend a specific type of oil to use. Is there a type of oil that you would particularly reccomend having used it yourself - or does what I use not really matter or for that fact, make much differance?

Richard

:)

[SimonR]

Yeah, although it's a little more expensive than other 'basic' oils I always use Unipart 'Silver' part-synthetic oil which I get from the Rover Parts department. I find that it doesn't emulsify in my S-Series engine like others (particularly Castrol GTX) do. I guess your car has a 1.3 A-Series engine so it may well benefit from that as well. It's also a fairly high-spec oil and will keep your engine purring happily.

The other view (as held by my local scrappy man) is that 'You can put anything in that can't you...?' - not very useful.

Don't forget to top up the Carb dashpot. You can use anything for that - engine oil, vegetable oil, olive oil, corn oil etc. Just remember that if you use corn oil and drop some on the engine, when it gets hot it'll smell like you've been making popcorn :laugh:.

[MGTurbo]

Nice to see an up to date forum at last... For an A series with more than 50k, 15w 40 is ideal, Castrol GTX Magnatec or Duckhams. Halfords also do a good own brand oil made by Comma which is semi-synthetic and good quality.

Gareth
_________________
MG Maestro Turbo No. 446
200bhp @ 5137RPM/ 220LB Ft @ 3376 RPM (13.5Psi)
STD Air Filter, STD Intercooler
http://uk.geocities.com/mgturbo466/MGSIGLITESsmall.jpg

[D87 SMW]

Will this apply for my A Series engine with 91k? It needs it's oil changing soon.
Popcorn? Mmmmmmmmmmmm :laugh:
F170 GGT

[Austin-Rover]

Thanks for the advice about which oil I should use - I will buy some this week.

F170 GGT - surely your car will be okay with the oils mentioned above as your car is a 1.3 too.

Richard

:)

[MaestroMatt]

Any semi-synthetic 10W40 (or 15W40 if you prefer) will do for a Maestro or, according to the knowledgeable chap in my local car parts shop, any old Rover engine. FYI, He also said that Magnatec was pretty much the same as any decent semi-synthetic oil and not worth the huge price difference. All oil sticks to the engine - Magnatec is just marketed on that property.

I would heartily reccomend an oil system flush as well - just get a can and tip it in a couple of days before you do the service - it gets a lot more sludge out and will fee up any sticky engine parts. It also makes the oil a bit thinner so any oil leaks in the making will be shown up (as I found on my car!).

Oh, and do remember to put the sump plug in before you pour the new oil in. I wasted about a pint of decent oil the other day by being an idiot! :banghead:

[topgear]

an interesting note for you all - Not sure what to do with your old engine oil? heres a few ideas:

. Save it up til november 5th and have a cracking bonfire!

. Mix it with creasote and paint your fences with it. They'll last forever!

. Mix it with coca-cola - whos gonna notice the difference in taste or the think gunge?

[Mat_C]

>>I would heartily reccomend an oil system flush as well - just get a can and tip it in a couple of days before you do the service<<

I hope you don't mean drive it for a couple of days with flush in the oil - the engine is not supposed to be put under load (or even revved too high) with that in!

Mat :)

[MaestroMatt]

Depends on which one you use - the one I got said you could put it in the engine up to a week before the service and drive around as usual, and that was the advice from the chap in the shop as well. Having a compulsive nature, I couldn't wait that long and just let the engine idle for 20 minutes before changing the oil.

I had a nightmare of a job changing the oil filter as well - damned thing looked like it hadn't been off in about 5 years (during which time the car had probably done about 300 miles!) and wasn't responding to my gentle coaxing. In the absence of a chain wrench, I drove a screwdriver through the thing to use as a lever and while my mate pressed his foot on that, I wrapped a bike chain round the filter for purchase and twisted for dear life. It came off in the end, but not before the screwdriver had cut its way through half the filter before actually helping. It all made a hell of a mess...

[Austin-Rover]

Will an Oil system flush still work if the car is'nt being used. My car wont be moving until the weekend as it has a flat battery. I will also be doing the service this weekend, so if i buy something to flush the oil and put it in now will it be okay?

[E_T_V]

I think people may be getting their wires crossed here a bit.

There are flushing additives to add to used oil which can be added before, and there is specific flushing oil which is used for 10 mins between oil changes.

For the record I'll put in my 2p worth as I hopefully have some understanding of what it is all about

Firstly cheap oil changed frequently is much better than expensive oil changed less regularly. (I won't go into the reasons here unless asked to just take it as a fact)

Always change the oil and filter at the same time.

Change the oil at least every 12,000 miles or 12 months. (6000 is much better)

Oil additives are in my view a bad thing or at least a complete waste of money. They can often cause more damage to the engine than do good. I'm highly suspect about the flushing ones too but I've no real knowledge of these. I think I posted the reasons on a similar topic on the old forum.

Always take the car for a good run before changing the oil and drain the oil whilst hot (take care not to burn yourself). If the oil is changed regularly then don't bother with any flushing oil or additives just bung the new lot in. (I've only used it once when I bought an engine from a scrappy that had been left dry for months)

As for what oil to use go for a cheap semi-synthetic as they are good value and do the job well. I tend to use Comma 10-40 stuff in everything I own.

As for what to do with used oil. Take it to your local recycling place/tip. They take it recycle it and sell it as cheap engine oil again.

Hope this advice might help a few peeps

Cheers

Dan

[Austin-Rover]

Thanks E_T_V, thats made things a bit clearer!

:)

[Wonko_The_Sane]

I bunged in a tin of "Wynns Oil Flush", and warmed H870 up for a few minutes before I drove it 2 miles gently to the garage and had my filter and oil changed.

What a difference! The oil that came out was thinned, but the amount of crud it took with it..wow.

New 10/40 oil in, new filter, start and idle..much quieter.

I'd recommend maybe once or twice using it...if you don't change oil often like me. It does remove more junk from the sump and it hasn't harmed anything.

More frequent oil changes are just as effective though..;)

I use standard 10W40 oil..sometimes 15/40 for topup. Depends what I have available. I DON'T recommend oil additives though..I put "Molyslip" in H870 when I had it...far from stopping rattles, I now have a rather vocal camshaft..grr..:banghead:

[E_T_V]

That is why I don't like using the flushing additives. They can work TOO well and remove too much. You can often find that half of your gaskets start to leak after using it! Especially old ones that aren't as chemical resistant as the new ones. :)

[Strandy]

There is also a smallish chance, so I've been warned, that these flushing additives can disturb crud that's been fixed in one place for ages - for it then to go on and block a narrow oil way...

However, I have used them to good effect in the past - much easier to drain the sump.

also, until recently, I used Castrol GTX, but for the last change I used the enhanced mineral oil from the halford range. Of the reviews I've read, these oils seem very good. :)

[CyrixDes]

I always use Magnatec in my MG 2.0i and found that the engine ran smoother than ever.

[Wonko_The_Sane]

I've heard good things about magnatec...my friend runs his mini turbo's on it. Isn't it a bit pricey though? I think I'd rather opt for the cheaper oil and oil changes.

I used magnatec once in my Renault 11...not by choice I add...my friend was doing the first service we ever did to it. I almost belted him for the cost! What was the point...the engine was at 300K already!:laugh:

That said..apart from rattly tappets..it didn't even smoke. Wet liner engines..gotta love 'em..:laugh:

[Mat_C]

I use Magnatec - its cheap as long as you dont buy it in rip-off britain. I get 5 litres for under a tenner in france (its called GTX3 over there). Much better than 4.5 Litres for 18 quid in halfords!

The cheapest place to get magnatec here is makro (about 11 quid IIRC)

[E_T_V]

The name magnatec always amused me. It implies it sticks magnetically to the engine which is absolute rubbish seeing as the pistons are aluminium! And oil is not in the least bit magnetic.

For what it is worth, most oils are much the same in my opinion, they all have to pass the same spec, just some are longer lasting than others and of course you pay for the label.

For top protection change it often, use good quality filters and consider fitting magnets to the drain plug or oil filters or both.

Also most people forget that most damage occurs from dirt sucked in through the air filter rather than from bits of the engine being worn away. So all those performance filters are fine but most let a lot of dirt though too.

I'll get off my soap box now!

Dan

[mgdavid]

odd, I never saw any implication with 'magnetic' - I always thought the name was made from magna, Greek for great, and tec - technical.:rolleyes:

[Wonko_The_Sane]

E_T_V-

I never thought about magnets...oops..good idea! Thinking back, i have one fixed to the sump pan of the autobox that I recovered from a speaker..same reasons..it holds any metal debris VERY firmly between services.

I know you can get magnetic sump plugs for mini's...would these fit a Maestro?

Also, off topic here...does anyone know if a mini dizzycap would fit a 1.6 S series and work..? I've seen some nice looking transparent ones..;)

[Maria]

Yeah, I like the look of those too :) I also like the alloy carb dashpots.

[Wonko_The_Sane]

I keep meaning to polish mine up...I know you can get them as shiny as the covers with a bit of elbow grease..:)

I just thought..I have a spare carb in the garage on the table...I forgot that! Perfect..I'll give it a shot when I think about it..;)

I promise..no LED washer jets though..:laugh:

[E_T_V]

I remember reading this which I thought was quite good. I don't agree with everything this guy says but he has some really good points about your oil.

http://www.chris-longhurst.com/carbibles/engineoil_bible.html

Take a look if you've got a spare moment.

Dan

[AlexC1981]

Thats a very interesting point E.T.V. made about flushing chemicals damaging the head gasket.

Some of you might remember on the old forum i posted about getting loads of white smoke coming from the exhaust. It only started the day after i put some Hot Shots into my petro tank!
I think we might have the awnser at last!

[hornmeister2000]

and consider fitting magnets to the drain plug or oil filters or both.

What does this do?!

[Alan the Vanner]

Collects any (metal) foriegn objects in the oil, doesn't it?

[hornmeister2000]

Oh, I see. Doesn't the filter do that? Never mind - can't do any harm, so I'll get some at the weekend!

[Peter Davies]

A lot of good advice from Dan (E_T_V) - the key is FREQUENT oil changing, it is far more important than which oil you use. With low mileage cars chamnge twice a year regardless of mileage.

As for the old oil, ideally recycle it if there is somewhere close to; I treat my wooden fencing with it, stops it rotting! The old trick was to mix engine oil into creosote to make it last longer, however, creosote is now banned by the EU.

[E_T_V]

yes the filter does remove all large foreign objects. However it only removes them once they've gone through the oil pump. Also oil filters only effectively filter particles down to a fixed size, smaller particles pass straight through. A magnet attracts all (ferromagnetic) particles to it. Most modern gearboxes have magnetic drain plugs as they don't have a filter. Some people attach magnets to the oil filter too, which has its pros and cons.

Either way if I see any magnetic sump plugs about I'll be fitting one to all my vehicles, (either that or raiding an old hard drive for stupidly strong magnets to fix to the end of my existing plug)

[Dave]

I made a magnetic sump plug - got a spare plug from the scrappy, drilled out a 5mm blind hole down the centre - and epoxy'd a round bar magnet into the hole, it protrudes about 3mm.

I fitted this to my new engine 40,000miles ago - first couple of hundred miles i change the oil and the plug had done a great job at sweeping up loads of small fragments of steel, now every 3000miles I change the oil and it has just a few smaller fragments attached to it.

Dave.

[John]

You can magnetise the sump plug by stroking it with a magnet the same way every time and using the same pole of the magnet.

[Dave]

I imagine the cycling heating/cooling of the engine will soon demagnetise it tho? Not much more effort to glue a permanent magnet in.

Dave

[tony]

you can buy a band that slips over the oil filter with ,i think 4 or 6 magnets in ,just the job:)

[hornmeister2000]

Originally posted by tony
you can buy a band that slips over the oil filter with ,i think 4 or 6 magnets in ,just the job:)

Where can you buy these?

[E_T_V]

Can I just add a brief word of caution about these bands that slip over the filter.

They are great provided that they are never moved or removed during the life of the filter. If they are moved/removed/drop off then they have the potential to dump a whole lump of metal crud into your engine all at once causing who knows what damage. Why no-one makes filter with magnets embedded in them I don't know.

Also please note that you have to make sure your magnet stays magnetic at the temperature of hot oil (upto say 140 deg C) otherwise in use it'll do nothing at all :D