Irritations - dump here thread

There are many factors that affect engine wear and oil life. My diesel generators used to get an oil change every 1000 running hours regardless of whether they needed it or not, but 20 years ago we started to use an oil test centre called "Kittywake". The oil changes were extended to between 2-3000 hours and articularly leaky engines never needed their oil changing, as they were continuously topped up with fresh!

The parameters we looked for in the oils were water content, fuel dilution, acid content and alkali reserve. Providing none of their limits were exceeded the oil was regarded as good as new. We also carried out monthly spectrographic analysis on the oil to see how much metalic wear was happening inside the engine. The oil sampling saved us thousands of dollars in oil, the spectographic analysis saved us from several catastrophic failures!

I remember seeing a couple of years ago oil sampling kits on the counter of one of the big car accessory places. The idea was that you filled a little bottle with with your sump oil then sent it away for testing. When the results came back they would tell you the state of the oil and wether or not you needed to change it. The only drawback with this system was the cost; I seem to recall it cost about twenty bucks! Only really worth it for synthetic oils as for $20 you can change your oil anyway.

Interesting.

Well, when fully synth oils topped $100 per 4l retail I went back to mineral oils for my motorbikes.

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Originally Posted by rsser

Interesting.

Well, when fully synth oils topped $100 per 4l retail I went back to mineral oils for my motorbikes.

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Have you considered Slick 50 or the (Aussie) Nulon equivalent? I used Slick in all my bikes and it saved me an engine rebuild once...

...Back in the UK I rode from my home in Portsmouth to my Parents place in Lincolnshire (around 600km) on my 1977 Honda CB400/4F2. The next day I was riding into town when my oil light came on. The oil was low, but not that bad. I parked up, did what I had to do in town and bought a 2L bottle of oil. No matter how much I poured in (eventually till it came out the filler) the light wouldn't go out. So, knowing that there was plenty in the sump, I rode the bike gently back to my parents place.

On investigation I found that the oil pump had totally pooed itself; the shaft had nearly pulled out of the casing. I had to travel to the next city by train to pick up a 2nd hand pump. I fitted the pump, flushed all the debirs out of the sump and rode her back Down South to home.

When the engine got stripped down there was no appreciable wear on any bearing anywhere. The top end is lubricated by a second tiny pump outboard of the main pump and the camshaft ran in the bare alloy head (no bearings); even this area was unaffected by the oil loss.

So, I completely and utterly trust these PTFE treatments. Both mine and SWMBO's cars have been Nulon'd; my 1990 Jackaroo is about the go round the clock....for the fourth time. Plus I change their oils every 5000km!

I chose Nulon over Slick as a) Nulon is cheaper and b) it's 'Strine!

I use Nulon of every car I buy. It started when I used it on a second hand Mitsubishi I bought when first married. I got over 300k with only a ring change. When I traded it in the dealer did not believe me, as they had a tendency to blow motors around 100k.
It had the 1800 saturn engine, 4 cylinder and had the Nulon in the motor, gearbox and diff.

Yeah, I used to use Nulon. Recall an RACV test where they treated an engine, emptied the oil and drove the car to Sydney.

Have also read some of the debates. An opposing view is that that stunt could succeed without the treatment. Also that a filter will pull the PTFE out of the oil anyway.

Oh dear, the oil debate.

Is your forester the current body ? I bought one last september and am mildly disapointed.

The electronic throttle control is from annoying to dangerous.

The gearbox is the worst in a modern car I've ever driven. You ahve to go back to moss boxes to find something more awful.

The paint chips and scratches if you look at it from 10'.

Oil:

Base stock and additives.

Base stocks can improve the stability of viscosity over temp changes. Poor base stocks are fortified with stabilising agents which break down over time. Base stock itself does not. Synthetics deliver more stable viscosity over wider temps thus can be thinner at ambient. Can be less wear at startup but advantages on older motors dubious.

Main reason to change is contamination, especially acid build up.

Filter takes out 10 micron plus which is the stuff that does the most damage. Does not filter chemical contaminents.

Modern engines run tighter tolerances and better metalurgy = less particulate contamination AND less blow by. This is the main reason for longer intervals, but marketing plays a part. Remember if it's still going at the end of the warrantee it's your problem from then on.

Wear is proportional to revs and to a lesser extend metals.

Additive effectiveness and $ return varies.

Damian, mine's the previous model. Its manual box is pretty notchy and that appears to be normal. Yes, disappointing. Cruise control works pretty well in my book

Someone once quipped that the American Army fleet ran on Wynn's.

Now does that speak volumes for Wynn's or volumes about the poor quality of American engineering??, OR both?

The previous ones seem demonstrably superior. I expect the toyota influence...

Another irritation that has just reared its ugly head again: Publishers who release reference books in paperback format. :~

Yeah.

Can always rip them up, hole punch and fit in a ring binder. Then just take the relevant pages out to the shed.

I found online a PDF of my motorbike's factory workshop manual. About 500 pages. Printed a copy for myself and one for a mate with the same model. But there'd be at least 50 pages throughout of warnings in bolt print and text boxes. Almost on a par with 'careful your spanner does not slip or you may injure your fingers.'

Apart from that the tech instructions were quite good for amateurs like me.

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Originally Posted by Woodwould

Another irritation that has just reared its ugly head again: Publishers who release reference books in paperback format. :~

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I have no problem with reference books (i.e manuals, not biography, encyclopedia etc.) being in paperback form, I just the publishers would have them spiral bound so they would lay flat.

I'm not concerned about manuals and other publications which are destined for workshops and ultimate destruction; it's the expensive historic reference books that are often out of print and difficult to locate. I want to keep those books in mint condition for eternity, but paperbacks always tend to get dog-eared and turn tatty quickly.

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Originally Posted by Grumpy John

I have no problem with reference books (i.e manuals, not biography, encyclopedia etc.) being in paperback form, I just the publishers would have them spiral bound so they would lay flat.

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Soft covered books can be made so that they lie flat but it's more expensive.
I get irritated by the size of paperbacks. They are getting bigger yet the print stays the same or is smaller. Even my optician can't keep up with the trend.:D
Cheers,
Jim

Twice this morning I've seen insidious religious messages in people's signatures. You have no idea how tactless and offensive they are to others not of your persuasion or of no religious persuasion at all. Keep these personal beliefs to yourself! :((