I have another question to ask about oil. I have a Wolseley 18/85 'S' mk 2 on a 'K' plate. It uses 20/50 motor oil and it does burn a bit of oil. I have been offered a drum of 30/40 engine oil for free and i was wondering if it would do any damage to the engine. The engine is an Austin 1800 'B' series with a 3speed auto box.
Regards,
Ash.
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30/40 should be fine in a moderate climate. In very cold weather run the engine at 1500 revs for a couple of minutes before driving off, using as little choke as you can. (I get that from the hand book of an old MGB) You should avoid a lot of short trips if possible. It sounds as if you will need an engine overhaul at some stage anyway if it is smokey. If the oil is free, it won't cost much to change it every 3000 miles!
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Hi Tristan,
The car has done 133,000 odd miles so i can't complain ! They used to burn a pint of oil every 600 miles when new, mine does it in around 250 miles so it's not too bad yet. It's a nice car to drive and it does 34mpg on a run. On the point of changing the oil every 3000 miles. I top it up so often that the oil doesn't have a chance to get that dirty, as i'm putting in clean oil all the time. Also, i only do around 5000 miles a year in it so it's not put under too much stress and strain.
Cheers,
Ash.
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Ashley
The main problem with the oil on offer is the cold viscosity of 30 - so Tristans dead right to suggest a gentle warm up. What is it though - most modern oils have much wider viscosity ranges - I suspect it could be quite old.
As for the oil consumption - yes, you're regularly replenishing the additives, but a well worn engine is putting a lot of contaminants in via blow-by. The filter should take them out, but you really can skip an annuaul change.
Regards
John
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Hi John,
The oil was originaly bought for a 2.25 Land Rover and the chap bought a 45 gallon drum full. He has used a quarter of the drum but has now sold the Land Rover and bought a Discovery. So he now wants rid of the drum. Some of the oil i have passed on another quarter of the drum to friends whom run old bangers, the rest i would like to keep for my car.
I have taken some oil out of the drum and left it to settle in a bottle, it looks clean but i have no idea how old the oil is. A workmate of mine has said that if the oil has been in the ground for a thousand years then there's no way the oil can 'go off' so to speak. I am unsure what to do really.
Cheers,
Ash.
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Ashley
Oil can eventually 'go off' by oxidation, but if it's been in a sealed can this won't be a problem, it's just that it's likely to be of lower performance than modern oils. Is there no label on the drum?
To be fair your car was built when oils were less good, but that's no reason not to use the later products. I run my Minor on 15-50, as these cars were designed with the higher viscosities (albeit about SAE 30) in mind. I've been told that 'you get more leaks unless you use thick oil'. It's rubbish of course. When hot, all oils are much thinner (lower viscosity) than when at ambient temperature. The double numbers eg 15 - 50 mean they are equivalent to a 15 when cold, so helping cold start and initial lubrication, but only thin to the same point as a monograde 50 when hot. So, I see no reason not to use them even in older cars. The lower top end viscosity will probably not cause lubrication problems, but may increase oil consumption, compared to a 20 - 50 which I guess your motor was built for. I had a 2.25 Land Rover for a while, and can't remember 30/40 being recommended. Strange. If it has no provenance I'd be wary of using it.
Regards
John
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Hi John,
I'm only going on what the chap has told me, it could be 20/50 for what i know ! When i asked him why he had it he told me ' it was going cheap so i bought it '. The Land Rover was a complete wreck, so i don't think he was bothered what he put in it to be honest. You were spot on with the oil that i should be using, it is 20/50. I'm just looking to save a few bob but i don't want to put my car at risk in the process. After what you said about the oil viscocity being dubious, i may let my garage owning mate have it to run his fleet on. Also, the drum has no markings on it at all. The oil may be free, but the risk is too high i think.
Ash.
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