> DUH! It took me forever to figure out how to post something in spite
> of Scott Gardner's guidance.
"in spite of" or "because of"?? (grin)
<<SNIP>>
You'll love this last topic! With almost all modern vehicles running
> on 5w-30 oil and easily lasting 100,000 plus miles before major engine work,
> why are we running our MGs on 20w-50? Is the oil so thick that oil is not
> reaching engine parts during critical moments of cold starts? Would a
> 10w-40 oil be a better choice especially during the colder seasons? Is
> anyone out there running a different grade of oil besides 20w-50? What's
> your experience? Maybe it's just the fact that 20w-50 leaves smaller puddles
> on the garage floor. We've discussed the "hearts" of our cars enough let's
> go for the "blood" now.
>
> Tom Green
> 1979 MGB
>
Tom,
I think part of the reason for the thicker oil compared to newer
cars is that the newer cars have smaller clearances in the engine,
calling for thinner oils. I still haven't heard anything good about
10w-40. Seems that to get that wide of a spread in a conventional
motor oil requires the addition of a lot of fillers, and they tend to
break down pretty quickly. I've used Castrol 20w-50 for years in
several cars with no problems. The engine failure in the 'B' came
right after I changed the oil with straight 40w Pennzoil. I used the
heavier oil because I had noticed my oil pressure dropping on
extended highway drives, and my wife was going to take the car from
FL to TX the next day. Don't know if the oil choice was related to
the engine failure or not. I've also used Castrol 5w-50 synthetic
with no problems, other than its cost.
Scott
|