Welcome to the Austin Seven Friends web site and forum

As announced earlier, this forum with it's respective web address will go offline within the next days!
Please follow the link to our new forum

http://www.austinsevenfriends.co.uk/forum

and make sure, you readjust your link button to the new address!

Welcome Austin seven Friends
This Forum is Locked
Author
Comment
View Entire Thread
Re: Engine Oil Grade

Just an addition to my last post.
The MIRA figures were from "Cam and Scuffing CEC L-31-T-81 test method.

Dennis

Location: Devon

Re: Engine Oil Grade

This post reminds me of the workings of the insurance industry. One sometime needs a basic product by law, and over and above that it comes down to how safe one feels 'winging it' versus using all ones money on extra product for perceptions of personal security or comfort.

Insurance companies make lots of money out of people like us.

I'm still sticking with Ruairuidh and Robert - cheap stuff, for a simple unstressed engine, and change often from what you can see and feel on the dipstick.

Putting molyslip in? Seems like would be better just to buy a better oil first!

Tony - interesting your reaction to it though. I'd always thought it seemed generally as per Dennis's post - seemingly worthy for an extra premium. Are you saying that good oils already have that sort of thing in them?

Re: Engine Oil Grade

This whole topic was explored at some length over 2 years ago. I still stand by what I posted HERE .

Ian Mc.

Location: Shropshire

Re: Engine Oil Grade

My ORIGINAL question was what to do with an engine that has not run for some time!
In particular should I risk not cleaning the strainer and simply drain out the old oil & put in a straight 30 or some sort of oil with High Detergent qualities, run it for a bit then drain & drop the sump & then clean the strainer? That latter is my gut feeling, but looking at the old oil might affect the answer!
My daughter once had a small used Volvo (with a Renault built engine) It ran every bearing it had & a few it didn't know about, when the oil pump clogged up with the crud that an HD multigrade oil (put in by the supplying dealer) had cleared out of the engine! I saw the debris & it was horrifying! The dealer paid up, by the way!
David

Location: Stratford upon Avon

Re: Engine Oil Grade

Hi David, it is generally considered to be a dangerous practice to put a high detergent oil into an Austin 7 engine which hasn't just been fully stripped and scrupulously cleaned, paying special attention to oilways.
I wouldn't personally entertain it.

Ian Mc.

Location: Shropshire

Re: Engine Oil Grade

Thanks Ian
There is my answer!
The niceties of oil selection will come later!
David

Location: Stratford upon Avon

Re: Engine Oil Grade

The Austin magazine published an article about an Austin Seven Owner who ran his car during the war (2nd WW) which was using about a pint of oil for every gallon of petrol. Due to lack of funds and shortage of parts he tried and was successful in using soap flakes and water instead of oil. He ran the car for two years, but in the end he was using half a gallon of soap mix to one gallon of petrol.

Re: Engine Oil Grade

Just curious....
Assuming that you have a new rebuilt engine and you have carefully broken it in with the proper break in oil, would the Austin seven engine run well and derive any of the benefits that a TOTAL synthetic 10/30 oil would offer?

Steve

Re: Engine Oil Grade

The original question seems to have changed.

For sludged Seven engines which have stood for decades, but with cleaned sumps, the galleries with oil jets still offer some risk. This may or may not be reduced with a low detergent oil. Hopefully such oils contain all the other beneficial additives. Once really hot non detergent oil is also likely to dislodge thick material.

Colleagues work on older cars. Recently a late 1950s Vauxhall and a 1960s Rover were run on current oils; one briefly, one more extended. The latter gave some pressure problems. When removed both sumps were very deep in sludge, but probably the first time ever removed. One intake was clogged but the volume of sludge would be a litre and more cf a few cc in a Seven gallery.

The last re refining process here more or less duplicated the original refining process. Some claim the used molecules are more stable.

As for the soap tale, particularly prior to anti rust additives, condensation water was the big enemy of Seven rolling bearings. Many Sevens crept about with retarded sparks to quieten things.

Most Sevens will expire due wear or some failure little influenced by any oil filter so the weight, expense, pressure loss and delay, non original appearance and complexity of a filter is questionable. A magnet will collect the timing gear dust. A filter will not protect the jets from debris already in the gallery. Sometimes useful to intercept silicon blobs and cork from the sump gasket. If so concerned with nil wear I am surprised so little mention of thermostats.

Location: Auckland, NZ

Re: Engine Oil Grade

Stephen,

The short answer is no.

Tony.

Location: Malvern, Victoria, Australia.

Re: Engine Oil Grade

So, if a synthetic 10W-30 offers no benefits to a 7 engine, what benefits does it have in a modern engine? Or a 60's engine?