Oil Recommendation

[hengti 2]

Visited the rolling road yesterday

 

the operator picked up on the fact that the top end is noisy (which it always has been)

 

recommended using a thicker oil ("the thicker the better") to quieten it down

 

i've always used Duckhams Q which is a semi-synthetic 10/40

 

can anyone recommend a good quality oil for a high mileage (200k) 1.9 8v?

 

 

i'm in two minds myself - do i run the risk of experiencing other problems if i switch to a thicker oil?

 

 

thanks all

[newdean0 0]

there's some stuff called Castrol GTX high mileage that you can buy - it's 15W40. It's the same thickness as the stuff normally recommended for diesel engines.

[Jonmurgie 2]

You could try a search on this as there are several threads on oils etc. but my thoughts and recomendations would be to try something called Valvoline Racing which is a 20w oil that I've found very good in both my 8v and 16v engines... costs about £17 for 5 litres from my local motor factor

[Rippthrough 98]

there's some stuff called Castrol GTX high mileage that you can buy - it's 15W40. It's the same thickness as the stuff normally recommended for diesel engines.

 

 

No thicker than the stuff he has though surely?

[newdean0 0]

No thicker than the stuff he has though surely?

 

Yeah your right, I've been buying that stuff for a while now . It's actually the second number which tells you the viscosity at high temps.

[boombang 2]

I take it you've checked the valve clearances?

[Richie-Van-GTi 71 2 Cars]

Im using 15/40 and its quietened mine down a fair bit, even when hot.

[Rippthrough 98]

Im using 15/40 and its quietened mine down a fair bit, even when hot.

 

Your just masking a problem that's there though, not solving it.

you could perhaps go 10/50 or 15/50, but it's still not going to solve the problem.

[hengti 2]

^^^ this is what I'm thinking

 

how do I adjust the valve clearances - simple job?

[findlay 0]

Halfords do a old engine oil that I was going to use to run in my bottom end when I changed the shells - more because it was mega cheap than anything else and for 500 miles it didn't really matter what viscosity I used. It comes in a proper tin rather than a plastic bottle and I'm sure its 6quid for 5 litres. (green and yellowy kind of tin)

[Guest downsy]

how do I adjust the valve clearances - simple job?

 

You use a feeler gauge to measure the distance between the cam lobe and the follower. I'm not sure on the measurements but you can use different size shims under the follower to adjust gaps.

Edited April 6, 2006 by downsy

[Ahl 4]

Im sure David Baker (pumaracing ) commented before that the valve clearances on the exhaust valves were excessive on these engines caused a lot of the noise. He recommended setting them tighter.

 

[edit] here we go:

The OE spec exhaust clearance (0.4mm) is unnecessarily wide. I set them to 0.2mm to 0.25mm inlet and 0.3mm to 0.35mm exhaust. That's on any cam not just the std ones.

Next time I have a spare moment I'll measure the height of the opening ramps on the inlet and exhaust lobes on a 1.9. I have it from memory as being not much more than 0.4mm which is why I think they can get noisy if the exhaust clearances are even a bit too wide. Certainly when I use my own clearances they run whisper quiet as James (PHyR) can testify to.

Edited April 6, 2006 by Ahl

[hengti 2]

cheers all

 

I've done a little search and have noted that the cam and cambelt have got to come off if re-shimming is necessary (which it presumably will be!) - too big a job for me at the moment unfortunately as I haven't the time or the know how - or the money to get a garage job done

 

interesting reading about Puma's suggested clearances though - wouldn't have minded getting the garage to do this when the HG was done - that's hindsight for you though!

 

 

will either keep going with the 10/40 or consider putting some thicker oil in at the next change