I see Halfords are selling a 5/40 synthetic oil for £19.99, any comments as to its suitablity.
Will there be any problems in going from semi-synthetic to a fully synthetic in a car with 68K miles, P reg.
If this message has appeared elsewhere. OOPs.
Many thanks in advance.
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A friend of mine worked in the labs for the oil company that supplies Halfords. He told me that the Halfords products are very good. He only left about a year ago, so there is a good chance the information still stands.
Andy
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Peter,
Andy is right. I have a current contact in Halfords H.O and know loads of their stuff is major OE supplier.
Their oil is fine. It might even be the same oil but I like the Ford 5/30 (or is it 5/40?) that HJ advises.
David
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Andy
So can you disclose the suppliers identity?
Another question - does anyone know who makes Vauxhall brand oil?
Spotted a poster in the local Vauxhall dealer.
10-40 Semi synth 5l about £15
Fully synth 5l about £22
Basic mineral was about £10
They'll get my business at those prices, as many of the 'brand' oils are in 4l packs and far more expensive.
Regards
John
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Well you'll be amazed to know John that our local supplier has been selling the Vauxhall semi-syn for £8.60/5l.
I pay him £5.95 for a top quality 15/40 or 10/30 mineral.
David
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Dave/David W
Some serious bargains there!
I have to say this was from memory so the prices are a bit vague, as is the viscosity of the mineral oil - sorry Dave! To be honest I'd even use the semi synth in the Minor.
As it was a pukka poster I guess these are full retail, so, David W you're doing well (trade?), but even at these retail prices well worth a look versus Halfords etc.
Regards
John
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No John these prices are actually at an enterprising small town garage that do my MOTs. Available to all.
As a matter of interest they have also just quoted the best price for four 165/65x13 tyres locally...even including the big boys.
More important I can help and make sure the jacks are used in the right places!
David
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FWIW leak from my Monterey rear crankshaft seal "got worse" after switching to fully-synth. Probably the effect of thinner oil (5-grade). A bit upsetting to see expensive oil leak away.
I read on these pages that an initial mid-interval change (3K?)is best after switch to fully synth on an old motor. Muck dislodged by the oil can block oilways, it seems. I stand to be corrected (just this once, though.... :-) )
rg
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I used Halfords fully synthetic last time I serviced my Merc, which has 199,000 on the clock. Service records up to 114,000 show Castrol semi-synthetic and that's what I've used since, but at 192,000 miles I used the Halfords stuff because it was slightly cheaper than Castrol Magnatec.
As soon as I poured it into the engine I was impressed with how pale in colour and light in texture it was. And I'm convinced that the engine seemed even smoother and slightly more powerful than before. I'd certainly use it again (now needs its 198,000 service - overdue!). It still looks god on the dipstick.
Pat
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Basic mineral about £10?
Bargain!
This is 10W40 I take it?
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Try Granville synthetic very cheap and you can get it from good trade based motorfactors. Or Miller oils as in these pages recently.
Bill
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A question that I don't think I've seen answered in the many synthetic/oil threads:
What is recommended for a clapped out, old, but big fuel injected engine?
Specifically a '89 2.0i DOHC Granada engine (over 150K on the clock, a lot of that stop start and short runs, and leaking a bit of oil from various places!)
Any suggestion on the best type/grade of oil.
(Bearing in mind repairs to the engine would probably cost more than the car's worth :-(
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What I was wondering was should you be downgrading the oil on an old/worn (but fuel injected) engine, rather than using decent oil? Especially if it might not have had the best oils during its hard life, and may be higher milage than indicated.
What concerns me are the comments regarding the "cleaning" effects of high performance oils, and their thinness, and what the practical effect of this would be in a worn engine, with deteriorating seals.
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Bogush,
I regard it as very important to use a quality oil in an older engine to give it the best chance of being an even older engine.
For your vehicle I'd use Ford's own 15/40 mineral oil which is available round here for less than £7. An absolute bargain for a good oil.
David
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Thanks All
I agree on needing "quality" oil, but the question is what type/grade.
I too have tried super de-luxe fully synthetic and found it just seemed to seep away.
So it seems to be a bad idea to upgrade oil on a worn engine, especially after reading some of the comments about that on other threads. And I doubted that on a well worn engine the same spec oil as on the new (run in) engine would be appropriate. But handbooks/manuals/selector charts don't seem to cover this point.
I'll give the Ford stuff a try next time DW.
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The "thinness" of modern oil is not measured by the "5W" or whatever, it's measured by the "/40". Modern fully synthetic oils isn't any thinner at 0w/40 (eg Mobil1) than 15/40 mineral oil at operating temperatures. The "nW" rating indicates how thin the oil is in start-up conditions, when "THINNER OIL IS BETTER" because it gets round quicker. The only downside of 0W/40 is that oil consumption during start-up is higher but that's ok because it's protecting the engine better.
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Hmmmmmmmmmmmm
That could have been the problem - do a lot of stop start/popping in and out/taxi service for the kids/friends these days!
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As a family we include a one owner 1990 Nova 1.2 with 100k on. It's whole life has been school run, shopping trips and teaching son to drive, twice (Don't ask!).
It was run up to 80k on Duckhams QXR 10W/40 API SJ, changed every six months. As it started needing an oil and coolant top-up between services, we replaced the head gasket and changed to Halfords Fully Synthetic 5W/40 which has restored oil consumption to negligible. No other engine work has been needed.
I would happily use Mobil1, 0W/40, from a technical point of view, but £33 for 4 litres is questionable on a £200 car.
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Never had a problem with any oil in anything,I just vary the change intervals,for instance:
No oil stays in any engine I possess,including the mowers,for more than six months.
If I have to put mineral in the diesels,xudt and HDi,then 3000 miles is enough,but you dont need to change the filter until 6.
Semi synth I run to 6k on the XUD,or 8k if I'm doing motorway runs and it looks ok on the dipstick at 6k.
But since you can now purchase B3 full Synth for eight quid per 5 litres in Auchan in Boulogne all this is now no more than boring historical detail.
Just go and fill your boot,decent french wine is no cheaper in france,so buy oil,which is.
I'm tempted to run the bloody HDi on old chip pan oil just to get it run in,still tight as a seized bearing at 5k,and producing nearer 90 than the ephemeral 110 bhp.
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from experience of several such engines it will be 30K+ before it frees up
but goo for 200K, with a little TLC
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I've never understood any logic in only replacing the oil filter at every other oil change. Surely the benefit of fresh clean oil is negated if it's being pushed through a dirty, partially clogged filter.
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If the filter is dirty, it should only be so on the outside (known for obvious reasons in the filter design trade as the 'dirty side'). If the filter is 'partially clogged' it will actually filter more finely than a new filter.
Also there is less risk of introducing foreign matter if the old filter is drained and refitted every other oil change rather than fitting new. Some cheapo filters have been known to contain machining residue, even swarf.
Unless the filter is too small for its duty (which might be if a cheapo filter was fitted last time) or is clearly of low quality, there seems no strong reason not to change the oil more often than the filter.
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The xudt has done 172k in 7 years on this oil changing routine and if anything,its actually better than its ever been.I'm going to try to get it to 250k.
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