Advice needed for Maverick engine oil.

[David G Rand]

Could somebody please advise me if the following oil is suitable for my 1996 Maverick GLX LWB 2.7L diesel estate.

"Castrol Magnatec 10W-40 A3/B4. Part synthetic, suitable for petrol and diesel cars."
That's all it says on the can (4 litres) and makes no reference to being suitable for turbo charged engines. I bought it from Halfords and was told at the store that it was the appropriate oil for my engine, but I've since heard that Halfords are not always to be trusted.

David Rand.

[Monaro Pete]

I bought 20 litres of 10/40 semi synthetic a few months ago & since done a few oil changes. She runs fine on it. You'll be ok with that :thumb2

[David G Rand]

Monaro Pete,

Thanks for that info Pete.

David Rand.

[terranosaurusdoug]

Rustic will hopefully be along soon, he has the best kept Maverick in the known universe, rumours are he's had it from new :nenau, he will be able to tell you what you need to know anyhow :thumbs

[jims-terrano]

See if you can get full mineral oil rather than semi synthetic. Mine runs far quieter with mineral oil, Banshee put me onto that trick:thumbs

[perelaar]

10W40 should do it, but I have to concur with Banshee, engine is more quiet with mineral oil. Just changed all the oils on mine.

[Monaro Pete]

I'm gonna throw a spanner in here,
I have recently changed my oil & used a semi (no puns please). I did notice that she's quieter since the change, this is the second change with this oil. The last time she was quieter than before when I used a different oil.
I'm beginning to think it depends on the manufacturer of the oil :nenau

[jims-terrano]

Nothing wrong with semi and it's what most garages will fill with but the old tech of mineral oil does seem to quieten the old tech engines down a heck of a lot.

[Monaro Pete]

Reading what people have said about oil & what you should use has made me wonder about Minerals, Semi & Fully Synthetic. So I've done a little searching & found that It's fine to use a Fully Synthetic oil in an older engine. As long as it meets or excides the manufacturers requirements.
It would seem that just because an engine runs quieter it doesn't mean it's healthier.
As a for instance my mate changed his oil in his old 52 2.6 Omega & used a Fully as opposed to a Semi Synthetic. His engine was much noisier than before. He asked an expert (someone he knew) & he was told it will be perfectly fine with the Fully, but if you want it quieter go back to a Semi.

In fact we would all be better changing to a Fully Synthetic.

I shall be trying a Fully Synthetic for the next change to see what the results are :thumb2

What are your views?

[terranosaurusdoug]

My dad used to have an Astra, 1400 petrol on a J plate, noisy as owt for first mile or two, then he started putting mobil1 in it and it was quiet as a mouse after, one second, literally!!!!

[solarman216]

Any new oil will be better than old contaminated oil, I cannot say about oil quietening the engine as my hearing is shot, but I can say my 1975 Listers run better on mineral than synthetic, with synthetic they use a bit, but not with mineral, no idea why, I still have 50 ltr mineral for next oil change but not sure if I can get more, Rick

[terranosaurusdoug]

Any new oil will be better than old contaminated oil, I cannot say about oil quietening the engine as my hearing is shot, but I can say my 1975 Listers run better on mineral than synthetic, with synthetic they use a bit, but not with mineral, no idea why, I still have 50 ltr mineral for next oil change but not sure if I can get more, Rick

What are you using the listers for Rick?, they make a great sound don't they :D

[Banshee]

I've said it once I'll say it a hundred times.

Mineral is so much quieter than semi and I'll always use it and those who have tried it swear by it too :thumb2

[solarman216]

What are you using the listers for Rick?, they make a great sound don't they :D

gen sets, one 2 cylinder that runs a 24 volt bus alternator that can output 150 amps @ 24 volt = 300 amps at 12v to give an idea.

the other a 3 cylinder that drives a 10 kva 240 volt alternator for general use.

Rick

[rustic]

Rustic will hopefully be along soon, he has the best kept Maverick in the known universe, rumours are he's had it from new :nenau, he will be able to tell you what you need to know anyhow :thumbs

Normally I would have responded straight away, but my priority is to rest as I start to recover from my first dose of Chemo. :doh

Anyway, I have written loads on this forum about oil over the years, normally I would do a search of past threads and link to them.
I tend to use Castrol GTX semi synthetic, either 10W40 or 15W40 based on which is the cheapest at the supermarket at the time lol... How un-tech is that lol. People who have gone below 10W have noticed increased oil consumption.

I originally used mineral, I was quite happy with that over 12 years ago, but I got the impression from posts on this forum that there were advantages to going semi, since there was a price swap over, and semi became cheaper, I decided to swap to semi.
Basically there was no other reason for swapping really.
You also have to consider that my Mav rarely gets a true cold start, it is kept in a double garage, integral to the house, had it been stored outside in deep mid winter, I would have gone with the lower viscosity 10W40 rather than 15W40

I must admit, I have a couple of spare rads, swapped out for others like towel rads, it did cross my mind to fit them in the garage lol...
I was working in the down stairs loo, which is side on to the garage replacing a small rad with a towel rad on the wall opposite the loo, it would only take just two "T" pieces, a couple of holes in the wall, bit of copper pipe... It was a freebie option really. But I would have had to find another home for my pair of 13'aluminium ladders lol.

Back to oil...I would certainly not go for fully synthetic oil.
hope it helps,
Rustic

[Blocky10]

You ole skin flint Rustic. If you loved her that much you'd have under floor heating:lol

[terranosaurusdoug]

Great reply as always rustic :thumb2 I hope you're not feeling too rubbish mate!

Yes it would be very simple to add a rad to the garage by the sounds of it, if the downstairs loo has a basin why not add hot and cold too :D

[elty001]

I use castrol gtx 10w40 semi synthetic from mine and monaro Pete's local cheapo shop.
Not the cheapest but works for me:thumb2

[Monaro Pete]

I've been reading & learning. It would seem that if like me you change your oil regular (I change mine any where between 1500 to 2000 miles) then there is no need to use a Fully Synthetic. Even though Fully Synthetic is the same Viscosity, say 10W40 or 5W30 it will make your engine more noisier, this is because of all the additives that are added when it's refined. The oil runs better & therefore finds it's way into the smaller gaps easier. Though because of this if you have a seal that's breaking down, it will find it's way through easier too & you may find an oil leak.

So if you want to extend your change intervals, use a Fully, but look our for leaks & you'll more than likely have a slightly noisier engine (this is not harmful).
At the end of the day it's what you can afford at the time.

One piece of advice I will give is never buy an expensive oil & skimp on the filter, this is just a waist of time & money. Buy a decent branded filter & not the cheap Chinese crap on eBay.

[rustic]

You ole skin flint Rustic. If you loved her that much you'd have under floor heating:lol
Yep... I am tight... no doubt about it lol...:lol:lol I had actually thought about tiling the concrete floor, not sure what a trolley jack would do to that lol. It is painted, but most has flaked off. :doh

...
Yes it would be very simple to add a rad to the garage by the sounds of it, if the downstairs loo has a basin why not add hot and cold too :D

Aghhh..... I have done that already...:doh:doh Hot and cold water with a drain... no sink as yet, but our old washing machine is in the garage, and I can plumb it in as and when... but to be fair, it takes up a lot of room :eek: I had to rearrange the spare fridge, freezer, washing machine, so I could get the mav to go 8" further in so my mobility scooter can tuck in behind the Mav. Had I not gained the 8" the washing machine was toast lol.
So why did we keep the washing machine? it started to mark clothes and rub the door seal, I replaced the door seal, it was slightly better, but we though we would delegate it to cat bed washing, lol, as when we washed the cat bedding, the machine used to block up, since then the cat died, and the washing machine stayed. You forget why you keep somethings sometimes, it just seemed a good thing to do at the time lol.:doh
That is only one side of the garage, on the other side there is a filing cabinet, camping trailer, on end, floor mounted saw bench, engineering work bench all my tools... the yeti

A bit full. When we bought the house, I saw it as a garage with a house attached lol.:thumb2 Not far from the truth... ok I admit it... that WAS the reason.We even drove the Mav into the garage to check it went in... It did, so we bought it.


EDIT To add, the kids and the wife liked the house too, but for different reasons, never understood that lol...
:clap:clap
Uncle Rustic

[Blocky10]

but we though we would delegate it to cat bed washing, lol, as when we washed the cat bedding, the machine used to block up, since then the cat died
Uncle Rustic

You do have to remember to remove the cat first though:augie

[macabethiel]

Way back in 2000 I started using Total Fully Synthetic 5W/40 oil in my petrol engined vehicles as it was priced at £17.99 incl VAT for 4 Litres at CostCo.

I bought it later on in the 20 Litre Tubs as it was even cheaper sadly they seem to have discontinued the Total Fully Synthetic at our branch. I put some in my late Mums old Micra the old pre-Blobby shape slab sided model model she had then.

It was fine with no real change in engine noise but it leaked oil on the front crank seal for the first few days. I put this down to it being thinner and more searching. The leak stopped after a few days or so never to return.

I was later told by an Oil Guru that it was not because the oil was thinner but that later Synthetics have special additives that help retain engine seal plasticity for the new generation of silicone based type seals.

[terranosaurusdoug]

Aarrgghhh rustic, I've just thrown out a perfectly good stainless steel sink with swivel mixer tap and waste and plug, I kept it for months but nobody wanted or had a use for it, almost broke my heart to chuck it :(

[David G Rand]

Many thanks to all you for your info.
It seems that full mineral is best but as semi is acceptable and I already have it, that's what I'll use.
Solarman, I ought to have mentioned the oil bit during my masterclass!

Regards.

David.

[solarman216]

All my engines have mineral oil, Rick

[Monaro Pete]

It's not what you know, but who :augie :naughty

Been given 20 litres of 15W40 today. Shall be saving that for the next change come the warmer weather :D :D

[Banshee]

It's not what you know, but who :augie :naughty

Been given 20 litres of 15W40 today. Shall be saving that for the next change come the warmer weather :D :D

Mineral?

[Monaro Pete]

Mineral?

As it happens, yes. For free, I ain't complaining :D