Which engine oil?

Nostrodamus said:
I did real Nigel's post and looked at the specifications. From my basic knowledge what it is saying is that the newer mineral oils do what the older ones did and more. It is the more bit I am worried about as Vyv mentioned some of these later additives can cause problems.

I have also been to the local Lidel here and they do not sell engine oil.
Most of the engine oil I have come across here is unknown to me as I say so I am going on the API but they all seem to be the more modern mineral oils ie CL-4
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Yes it's believed that the latest synthetic oils contain additives that can cause premature wear in some parts of some engines, the best advice its to avoid these IF your engine manufacturer has not specified their use, see (Latestarter and his writings throughout this forum, stick to the spec and recommended oil change regime you cant go wrong) but anyway all the advice in this thread is good.

The additives in any oil are "synthetic" so don't be put off by clear labelling only straight oils with no additives are pure mineral oil - but you don't want that; the additives in the correct spec oil are beneficial.

In which case as others have suggested armed with a list of OK specs follow a few tractors till you find out where they are serviced, just ask around, the info will be there, the workshops will have bulk oil but read the spec on the tins, you will find a basic mineral oil - perfect for your application.

BP, Mobil and Shell all supply basic spec oil along with lots of others. In my experience in Greece and Turkey garage forecourts only stock expensive oil - so that's (often/usually/always) full on synthetic - not what we want.

oh and take your own container
 
Marsupial,
Thank you for that and it is a clear as it gets... just find oldest spec mineral oil I can.
Best I have found is in a supermarket.. Shell Helix CF so I will go with that.

Once again thank you to all who contributed and I have learnt a lot.... basically nothing is as simple as it sounds.
 
Nostrodamus said:
Vyv does always give good replies on his specialist subject.
Finding CD grade oil is becoming more difficult and I only tend to come across CF. When abroad I have found a lot of the oils use API or something and what the equivalent APi to CD is I don't know.
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CD is an API standard. It is now obsolete and very difficult to get. API CF mineral oil base is what you want - look at Vyv's web site and don't think you should listen to Captain Fantastic and his ideas for using Synthetics....... Avoid!,
 
Chris_Robb said:
CD is an API standard. It is now obsolete and very difficult to get. API CF mineral oil base is what you want - look at Vyv's web site and don't think you should listen to Captain Fantastic and his ideas for using Synthetics....... Avoid!,
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Additives that make up synthetic oils is a relatively recent technology. When the MDll was made, additives such as anti-foaming/detergents/anti-corrosive/anti-oxidants and other compounds were unknown; we had to rely on thick oils which were loosing their lubricating characteristics very quickly; we now have them so lets use them for the benefit the old engines. My old Mercedes has done 324,000 miles on the right synthetic oil and regular oil changes. Also, synthetic oil will clean your engine inside (decarbonise) therefore you will see that the oil looks black quicker. The only negative of synthetic oils is that it will attack certain rubbers.

However, nothing is wrong with the old oil, (it is just inferior), for as long as it is the correct viscocity for the engine and undercoes regular oil changes.
 
CAPTAIN FANTASTIC said:
Additives that make up synthetic oils is a relatively recent technology. When the MDll was made, additives such as anti-foaming/detergents/anti-corrosive/anti-oxidants and other compounds were unknown; we had to rely on thick oils which were loosing their lubricating characteristics very quickly; we now have them so lets use them for the benefit the old engines. My old Mercedes has done 324,000 miles on the right synthetic oil and regular oil changes. Also, synthetic oil will clean your engine inside (decarbonise) therefore you will see that the oil looks black quicker. The only negative of synthetic oils is that it will attack certain rubbers.

However, nothing is wrong with the old oil, (it is just inferior), for as long as it is the correct viscocity for the engine and undercoes regular oil changes.
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Strongly disagree with your thinking. Engine manufacturers stipulate certain grades of oil and using the wrong type will invalidate waranties, as was pointed out by Thornycroft when I installed our new engine. Unless synthetic is specified don't use it.

Supermarkets often have their own brands and branded oils and in Nostro's case he will find Galp Multidiesel off the shelf in Pingo Doce or Jumbo in Portugal, at a sensible price.
 
Graham,
I am going to the hyper Pingo thing this morning to get some oil. I just have to remember to take my reading glasses otherwise I cannot read the API anyway.

Just wondering how many people reading this thread have wondered to themselves what oil they put in, what the API was and are now considering doing an oil change, just to be sure.
 
Nostrodamus said:
Graham,
I am going to the hyper Pingo thing this morning to get some oil. I just have to remember to take my reading glasses otherwise I cannot read the API anyway.

Just wondering how many people reading this thread have wondered to themselves what oil they put in, what the API was and are now considering doing an oil change, just to be sure.
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i aways read the API spec & buy the cheapest that meets it
 
sailorman said:
i aways read the API spec & buy the cheapest that meets it
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One of the advantages of forums like this is for people like me without engineering knowledge to be able to learn from others so I can get it right. If by asking the original question others have also learnt a little more then so much the better.
 
Nostrodamus said:
One of the advantages of forums like this is for people like me without engineering knowledge to be able to learn from others so I can get it right. If by asking the original question others have also learnt a little more then so much the better.
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Sm oils will often meet an API of branded oils 3 times the cost
when my previous car was serviced the garage tried to charge me £60 for oil that was available in Asda for under £15. the garage buy 45 gallons in a drum
 
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CAPTAIN FANTASTIC said:
The only negative of synthetic oils is that it will attack certain rubbers.
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Confused thinking I'm afraid. Synthetic lubricants have a variety of different compositions for different purposes, for example non-flammable for certain industries, or extremely high temperature stability, in aircraft engines. In many cases these are esters of various types, and they may well react with some plastics and rubbers. The synthetic base oils for high performance automotive lubricants are polyalphaolefins, which as I said earlier, are hydrocarbons just like mineral oil but with a more closely controlled molecular weight. They do not attack rubbers used in automotive seals, which would clearly be an impossible situation. In fact, most motor manufacturers have extremely strict specifications for oils, one of which is that there is no softening or other damage to the seals in their engines. Type approval is not issued without compliance to every requirement.
 
nigelmercier said:
Do you still have your last container of Volvo oil? If so, could you post all the codes on it?
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The last oil used was Morrisons but the container was disposed of with the last oil.
Just been to the supermarket and bought 2 x 5lt oil, API CD..... cheapest there as well at 12.99 euros for 5 litres. No I am well happy so please don't anyone post anything about being the wrong oil as you will spoil my day.

Once again thank you for the help and education.
 
Nostrodamus said:
The last oil used was Morrisons but the container was disposed of with the last oil.
Just been to the supermarket and bought 2 x 5lt oil, API CD..... cheapest there as well at 12.99 euros for 5 litres. No I am well happy so please don't anyone post anything about being the wrong oil as you will spoil my day.

Once again thank you for the help and education.
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Oooooooooooooooo wouldnt use that :D far too cheap :)
 
Viscosity?

With the risk of further heating the discussion: I own a 3GM30F from 1994, gone 1500 hours. Spex says API CD, 15W40.
I have actually found an API CD oil, but viscosity is 20W50. Assume this difference is of minor importance. Am I completely ignorant?:confused:
 
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