"How long should or could this engine last?" Almost indefinitely, if you change the oil every 5k! It will almost certainly outlast the rest of it...
So will it last even longer if you change the oil after every trip?
|
.. there was also some HJ advice to leave the non-synthetic oil supplied for 10K, THEN use regualar fully synth oil changes
Anybody enlighten me as to why this could or would work better than just changing it after 5K with sythetic?
|
Because you do actaully need a teeny bit a wear in an engine to get everything properly bedded down and matching.
------------------------------
TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
|
Because you do actaully need a teeny bit a wear in an engine to get everything properly bedded down and matching. ------------------------------ TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
In fact I remember an old Top Gear piece about the early Golf GTIs running better after some 30 or 40k miles. What TVM says makes sense as the components will wear together to create optimum running fits.
H
|
Yep, I remember that too. They reckoned as they got older they got faster.
Although my mate´s Mark II Golf Gti 16V isn´t that fast now, not since it blew up at 180 KMH on the Autobahn.
|
Ah but whats the difference between acquiring this "tiny bit of wear" over 30K (by changing the oil!) rather than 15K (by not!), for example extending the engine life from 200k to 215K
I'm happy to admit I may be wrong, but the explaination given convinces neither me nor my engineer mates. Surely wear is wear?
|
"Ah but whats the difference between acquiring this "tiny bit of wear" over 30K (by changing the oil!) rather than 15K (by not!), for example extending the engine life from 200k to 215K"
Because it doesn't stop wearing at that point, so you don't add 15k, you double 200k.
I was visiting a garage-owning acquaintance some years back, and he had a VW on the lift that had died from black sludge. Trouble is, he said, too many owners think these things don't need servicing...
I have to admit that I don't really get the counter-arguments to frequent oil changes. They're cheap, quick and easy, and do nothing but good!
|
|
Cheap to change? not if you use VAG dealer supplied TDI PD oil
|
Oil's the stuff wot stops yer motor destroyin itself. Oil's strong when it's new and gets weaker as it's used. Ergo, changing it before it gets too weak is a good idea, no? And changing it before tnere's any chance of it being seriously degraded is an even better idea, yes?
www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/faq.htm?id=13
www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/faq.htm?id=34
www.carbibles.com/engineoil_bible.html
Getting a main dealer to change your oil is gross waste of money. If you have a choice, do it yourself or go to Kwik-Fit, ATS, etc.
|
To use a cliché, changing your own oil "is not rocket science". It doesn't take long and you can get 5 litres of fully synthetic for about £25 if you shop around. Add in an oil filter and a pair of disposable gloves and it will be less that £35.
And importantly, you'll know it's been done properly with decent oil!!
|
How long does the Endura-e engine last in my Ford Ka, if the oil was changed every year? I know it'll become more tappety happy as the milege piles on, but i do about 6-7k a year with a mixture of journeys. Do Ford still use bulk oil HJ metions in his book? W5/30 wasnt it?
--
Its not what you drive, its how you drive it! :-)
|
The Endura E is a very long lived engine, cos there is nowt to go wrong. I ran a 1.1 Fiesta (HCS engine as it was called back then) up to 93,000 miles. Yes it a. was very tappetty and b. drank oil due to a leak, but I got rid of the car cos of rust, not the engine.
The leak meant I had to put in a pint every 500 miles, but at least this meant the oil was always fresh!
|
|
Engines usually outlive the physical or economic life span of the car. I doubt any car is scapped these days due to engine failure, apart from maybe cambelt problems, which are usually owner negligence as the car drops to its fifth or sixth owner.
|
So - still no answers as to why a non-synthetic helps the engine bed in and prolongs life compared with new synthetic every 5-6K?
I have the same view when marathon running - I use the first 2 miles as the warm up - doesn't need any special treatment?
|
My girlfriend has a Ka - 1998, one lady owner from new, services approx every 10,000 or annually. Getting a bit tappety now, occasionally dripping a bit of oil, occasionally blowing a little smoke on startup. But then it's done 160,000+ miles, with just a clutch, 1 sump gasket, 1 exhaust, 2 throttle sensors and associated wiring loom as replacement parts. Doesn't get thrashed from cold (though once warm it does get used hard sometimes) and does plenty of long runs. I'm expecting it to get to about 200,000 before it has to come apart for anything, though the bodywork may not survive long enough for that. May well need a pair of sills for this year's MOT. Still giving 40+mpg and reliable service though.
Just goes to prove - regular servicing, plus letting em warm up and warm down will make a motor last well.
|
I think that a well maintained engine in most cars will do 200,000 miles. Usually it's the car itself falling to bits or something expensive failing that sends a car to the scrapper.
My dad's old Mondeo 2.0 had well over 200k on the original mechanicals when the (original) clutch started slipping and effectively wrote the car off. It didn't smoke, rattle or knock, and still pulled like a train.
Cheers
DP
|
My girlfriend has a Ka - 1998, one lady owner from new, services approx every 10,000 or annually. Getting a bit tappety now, occasionally dripping a bit of oil, occasionally blowing a little smoke on startup. But then it's done 160,000+ miles, with just a clutch, 1 sump gasket, 1 exhaust, 2 throttle sensors and associated wiring loom as replacement parts. Doesn't get thrashed from cold (though once warm it does get used hard sometimes) and does plenty of long runs. I'm expecting it to get to about 200,000 before it has to come apart for anything, though the bodywork may not survive long enough for that. May well need a pair of sills for this year's MOT. Still giving 40+mpg and reliable service though. Just goes to prove - regular servicing, plus letting em warm up and warm down will make a motor last well.
Updated info - still tappetty but running generally sweet, passed 3 MOTs but needed quite a bit of work for this one. They've said for her to take it in and they'll give it a once over first next year to see how economic it will be. But still doing reliable daily service at 185,000 and counting.
|
|
Welcome back and thanks for the update.
The Ka is much maligned: if they are as rust-prone and unreliable as some make out, how come there are so many pre-2000 ones still running around? And they're a hoot to drive. SWMBO had one in 1998 and elder daughter had two in a row soon after that: I don't think we've had anything as nippy as that since. And they are surprisingly relaxed at motorway speeds.
|
|
