I have been to a RapidFit (Ford) garage to see about an oil change for my Rover 420SLDi Turbo. They recommend their 15/40 oil which appears to be a mineral oil, their 10/40 also seems to be a mineral oil and only their 5/30 is semi-synthetic. Rover recommend 15/40 or 10/40 to PD2 standard.
As I do not know the history of the car, I will not put mineral oil in it but the mechanic seems to think it is OK. It seems to me to be a backward step. I cannot find out any further information.
Any BR's help? Thanks in advance.
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"their 15/40 oil which appears to be a mineral oil, their 10/40 also seems to be a mineral oil"
I thought fully mineral oils are becomeing increasingly hard to come by nowaday, as they are usually reserved for use in classic car engines, in grades of 15/40 to 20/50 like Castrol XL Classic oil. Plus their performance is generally not as good for demanding modern engines. Is the 15/40 and 10/40 not semi synthetic and the 5/30 fully synthetic?
You say that it "appears" to be a mineral. What makes you think that?
I'm no mechanic, but it doesn't matter if its meneral or semi, etc, as long as it meets the relevant specification stipulated by Rover.
Sorry this isn't a definitive response, but hope it helps anyway
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If Rover recommend 15w/40 and Ford Supply it what is the problem?By the way you can still get(not at all dealers)Ford 10w/30 & 20w/50.
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Thank you for your comments.
Rover recommends 10/40 or 15/40 to PD2 standard (which I understand to be A2/B2). This I understand to be a semi-synthetic. I cannot imagine Rover recommending mineral oils in a modern car.
I spoke to the RapidFit manager and he gave me the impression the oils they sold were in fact mineral based. To use these would be a backward step. For the 15/40 oil they were charging £15.00 inc filter and for the 10/40 ~£24.00. If they could not guarantee the quality or type where does that leave me.
I have just bought the car and need to replace all the fluids in the next few weeks. Normally I would do most of the routine bits myself, buying a reputable oil from a supplier but circumstances dictate otherwise so I have to rely on others.
I have searched Ford's website for oil specifications but to no avail.
So I will be going to ATS, Shell Helix, Semi-synthetic 10/40 + filter for £22.99.
Thanks
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I understand Ford Oils are produced by Texaco and are semi-synthetic.
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Texaco-correct.Ford Formula "E" is 5w/30 and semi-synthetic but they also do a complete range of mineral oils.
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The A2/B2 spec is met by many mineral oils - it doesn't need a semi-synth. That said, the spec for your car was written a while ago, when oils couldn't meet the modern performance standards. There's no problem in using a semi-synth, or any oil to a better spec, and the ATS deal looks pretty reasonable.
JS
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Hi.
I would not bother argueing with the mechanic if the correct viscosity is put in ie 5w30.
Go and get it changed and stop quoting the handbook.
The hand book is probably out of date anyway.
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(iam not a mechanic)
Martin Winters
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There seems to be an element of confusion here. As has been discussed many time on this Forum, it is not wise to use mineral oil if synthetics have been previously used. It follows that if one buys a second hand car that it is safer to go for the synthetic oils unless the full history is known. Turbos are vunerable to problems if the wrong oil is used and they are also expensive to replace.
Due to the contradictory information issued by the RapidFit people, they could not tell me what oil they would use, was it in fact a diesel oil, a mineral oil or synthetic. I got the impression oil is oil. All I wanted to know was their oil up to spec.
Whereas the ATS man was fully informed, professional and exuded confidence and he showed me the spec. of the oil being used. All together a different set up.
I also think that as the car manufacturer knows his engines better than me I will use their handbook until proven otherwise.
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My 218sld turbo.Full history. runs ok on 10/40 comma oil.I wouldnt worry semi or mineral. done 3.5k miles no prob.My motor bought around 8 weeks ago mileage is steep.but do keep oil/filter change priority.biggest prob is turbo failure.due to lack of oil change.IIRC its 6k on these I choose 5k. better safe than sorry.Any corrections welcome?
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Was mech1
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If you can get an oil filter and oil (semi-synthetic)change for £22 at ATS its not worth bothering with DIY and you do not have to dispose of the old oil yourself either.
Agree with others stick with semi-synthetic
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National also do a semi-synthetic oil and filter change for £20 - just gone up from £15.
Ford use the 5-30w oil a lot because the 16v Zetec engines' valves used to seize up with higher viscosities and this was the only cure.
I notice too that it's a diesel engine (I know Rover used to use Peugeot/Citroen units at one time if not still) and this will also have a bearing on the choice.
Comma is owned, IIRC, by one of the big oil companies - can't remember which one - or is at least supplied with oil to rebadge under its own name if not.
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Here's an interesting forum for Rover owners, one of whom wants to know if it's practical to convert a 1992 K-series 214 manual to an automatic...:-)
www.rovertorque.co.uk/techeng.html
One on using synthetic oils in diesel engines:
www.leeric.lsu.edu/bgbb/7/ecep/diesel/a/a.htm
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