Thread: Land Rover Defender and oils

Sorry, forgot to mention that you should plot the numbers on a Log-log scale. MOST oils will produce a completely linear response on a log-log scale (as long as they haven't begun to break down, etc). For example...



JD - you are forgetting that in motor racing, engines and engine oil reach very high temperatures, regardless of which climate they are racing in. Rally cars have died from overheated engines even in the ice of scandinavia.

Also, 80% of all oil R&D is done in the US and Germany. Contrary to popular belief, the US does get quite warm in summer - where I am it gets to at least 40° every year. Also, parts of the US get just as hot as OZ.

Originally Posted by rick130

at least a side effect of better low temp performance oils, particiularly full synthetic ester and PAO formulations is that they are more stable at high temps, mainly through the use of little or no viscosity index improvers. Castrol in Germany even went so far as obtaining esters derived from PAO's that are viscosity index improvers that mimic a base oil providing an extremely temperature stable fluid at any temp seen in a vehicle.
I believe their Syntrans gear oil uses this chemistry. It is the overuse of VII's in cheap mineral oils (and some not so cheap ones) for low temp performance, which as you rightly say we don't really need in Oz, that make makes them unstable at high operating temps.

When I killed my last race engine ten years ago trying to run it as an air cooled version it never seized, detonation melting a hole through a piston crown finally bringing me to a smoky stop.
When I stripped it the next day, nothing was salvageable, the bearings had melted, rods were blue, block was cracked through the webs, crank was blue, etc, yet it all still went 'round and 'round.
To me that was an impressive high temperature performance from my oil, which was a 10W-30 diester based synthetic.

Interesting story about running the race engine sans coolant/water .... a while back I HAD to drive a Volvo V6 with blown head gasket [they're re-known for it!!] back from Byron Bay to Sdney.....about 800 ks....you'd have to have stopped every mile to put about 2 Gallons of water [FORGET the correct 50/50 coolant mix!! ]...so I drove it without any thing in the cooling system on a 30deg day at about 90 kph on most of the Pacific Hwy, 100kph on freeway from about Kempsey on....hated the car and knew engine was totally f####d - so didn't care.....I was amazed that despite temp guage being off the dial and oil light on all the way that I got back to Sydney without any dramas......says a lot for Volvos maybe!....any way after that the car ran OK for local [up to 30 mins] runs for the next month before I sold it.....only usng water top-ups.....I guess engines and oils are just a lot better or have greater "reserves" than we expect or think!

Originally Posted by jake

G'day,

Anyone here using the following on a TD5 engine and if so how do you find it:

Mobil 0W/40 Engine
Castrol Syntrax - Transfer Case
Castrol Syntrans - Gearbox

My dealer uses Mobil 1 0W/40 in the engine. Apparently you can only buy this in drums though. I use Mobil 1 5-50 from the shops - the dealer, WSM and Mobil spec it as being fine for the TD5. The engine has only ever had Mobil 1 in it, and for the last 90,000km it's been fine. Thats no conclusion though.

Originally Posted by isuzurover

(snip)

JD - you are forgetting that in motor racing, engines and engine oil reach very high temperatures, regardless of which climate they are racing in. Rally cars have died from overheated engines even in the ice of scandinavia.

Also, 80% of all oil R&D is done in the US and Germany. Contrary to popular belief, the US does get quite warm in summer - where I am it gets to at least 40° every year. Also, parts of the US get just as hot as OZ.

No, I am aware that overheating in racing happens regardless of climate - but most of us use oils that are not developed for racing. I'm aware that parts of the US get warm - I have spent time in West Texas in Summer, and did one field trip in Nevada in mid summer - and I have a brother lives in Houston, whom I visit occasionally, and get weather comments from more often - but the centre of gravity of the US car industry is in the colder parts, and as for Germany...
John

how can i test to see when my oil is starting to break down....?
is there a simple test i can do at home......?



does anyone here know how to check for this.....?
its all good to change the oil every 5,000kms instead of every 20,000kms.....
but if the oil isnt lasting even this long.......or if i want to do a teat to see how long it actually lasts....
ie....will it last for 20,000kms in a diesel engine......or will it break down at 5,10 or 15,000kms......?

Originally Posted by DEFENDERZOOK

how can i test to see when my oil is starting to break down....?
is there a simple test i can do at home......?



does anyone here know how to check for this.....?
its all good to change the oil every 5,000kms instead of every 20,000kms.....
but if the oil isnt lasting even this long.......or if i want to do a teat to see how long it actually lasts....
ie....will it last for 20,000kms in a diesel engine......or will it break down at 5,10 or 15,000kms......?

when I as in the US and involved with boats, it was not uncommon for engine oils to be regularly analysed....tells you condition of oil and what [e.g. metals from bearings or engine parts- cylinder walls/piston material etc]...oils - even non-synthetics kept for very long engine hours.....it was/is quite common for truck lines and machinery operators in mining etc to analyse their oils and lubricants for condition of the actual lube itself as well as telling you state of your engine.

yes....but thats not something i can do at home.....
what i really want to do is see how many kms i get before the oil starts to break down.....
if i get 10,000kms before it breaks down then i can delay my oil changes from 5,000km intervals to say 7 or 8,000kms.....

Originally Posted by DEFENDERZOOK

how can i test to see when my oil is starting to break down....?
is there a simple test i can do at home......?



does anyone here know how to check for this.....?
its all good to change the oil every 5,000kms instead of every 20,000kms.....
but if the oil isnt lasting even this long.......or if i want to do a teat to see how long it actually lasts....
ie....will it last for 20,000kms in a diesel engine......or will it break down at 5,10 or 15,000kms......?

Very good Question!

How often do we change our oil to early or 'for nothing'

When does oil stop doing it's job?
Do frequent oil changes increase the life of the engine?
We would all like to think so!
If the manual states 10,000kms, will a 5,000kms oil change increase the life of the engine or are we just wasting money.

THe technical data displayed so far, while most of it being way over my head has been informative and a good impression of who follows this Forum.