atlast Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 Sorry to bring this up again, but i have looked around the archives of this and other places and i'm still a bit confused as to which oil i should use. there seems to be a lot of conflicting views as to which is best. it appears the best option quoted always seems to be expensive, as if i'm right it should be changed every 6000m which will be at least twice maybe 3 times in a year and at £35 ish for 4ltr (why has it changed from 5ltr) to me thats a bit steep on top of every thing else. So should i really stick to the top end stuff or can anyone recomend anything else, and does it really matter on the sae 5/30 or can i use 10/40. is there any real problem using castrol gtx 10/40 for example which is around £19 for 5ltr. once again appologies for bringing up this old chestnut ps this is for an 04 defender td5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
q-rover Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 You could always change the oil less regulary and let it wear out 'quicker'. Infact why not just keep topping up with fresh oil every now and then, would save on completely changing the oil. How much is a replacement engine by the way? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smo Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 Just because people change it so often doesnt mean its nessecary - if the manufacurer is happy with 12k then its probably good for 15-18K before it becomes drastic, there will be a considerable margin on change periods as it dependa a lot on the use of vehicle and driving style. Stick to the recommended change periods and itll be fine, but do make sure you use the correct grade oil as it makes a big difference and TD5's dont want thick oil, this doesnt mean it has to be expensive though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monty Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 i use 10W40 oil in the 90 and my L200.....i have had no problems...i change it every 5000 on both. stay away from the likes of Halfords and stuff, and use the local autoparts places as I was able to get 5l of Shell Helix Plus (semi-synthetic) for £15.01 and a replacement oil filter for £5... this would have been double in halfords... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atlast Posted February 25, 2009 Author Share Posted February 25, 2009 i use 10W40 oil in the 90 and my L200.....i have had no problems...i change it every 5000 on both. stay away from the likes of Halfords and stuff, and use the local autoparts places as I was able to get 5l of Shell Helix Plus (semi-synthetic) for £15.01 and a replacement oil filter for £5...this would have been double in halfords... thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retroanaconda Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 I just follow what it says in the manual, can't really go wrong with that. Mine comes from Halfords, but only because I get trade prices (which are quite good on oil, filters etc) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 any good quality 10W/40 will be up to the job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimR Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 Changing the subject a bit, I was somewhat surprised to see Tesco's sell a value 20/50 oil for 1.80 a liter... (maybe it was half a liter). I can only get this in Halfords up here.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 Use the best oil you can afford, it's cheap insurance. Maybe look for a diesel specific oil, in this part of the world diesel oils are cheaper than petrol ones, including the premium synthetic diesel oils and they have a much more robust anti-wear package than their petrol specific counterparts and cope with the EGR much better. If I had a Td5 I'd be using a good diesel specific oil that met ACEA E4/E6/E7, or at a minimum a petrol/diesel oil that met ACEA A3/B4 in either an xW-30 or an xW-40. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smo Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 As long as it meets the required standards it doesnt matter on cost really, go cheap as you can because its all the same to meet the BS/EU/ACEA or whatever standards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger90 Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 well i use 20/50 thats made my fuchs. and i change it every 3000 miles.. and it only had 2 owners and that been done all it life it now getting on 200.000 miles and still running beutifly.. and thats a defender 200tdi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 As long as it meets the required standards it doesnt matter on cost really, go cheap as you can because its all the same to meet the BS/EU/ACEA or whatever standards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outdoor Ed Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 I have found that using better quality oil in my engine rather than the cheap stuff, makes my engine run smoother and get better mpg. So I would go with the opinion of "put in the best you can afford". But buy from a decent independent motor spot as you will most likely get it cheaper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeagent Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 I use regular 10/40 Diesel oil, from various different souces... Halfords/Costco/ASDA/Tesco.. I change it every 4-5K and my engine runs very nicely (done 155k) An oil change costs me about £17, inc filter, which is why i'm happy to do it 3-4 times a year... There is a lot of Bulls**t written about oils... i'd say changing a cheaper oil regularly is better than buying an expensive one and leaving it in there a long while. Oil degrades in many different ways, it absorbs water, suffers from heat degradation, suffers chain cleavage caused by motion, etc, etc... this happens regardless of weather its £10 or £50 for 5 litres... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neiltd590 Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 returning to the question- td5 oil- recommended oil is 5/30- 5/40w- service intervals are 12k and LR originally recommended Mobil 1 synthetic.- this is what they used to use at the dealers when i used to take it to them. now i do my own services i have used 0/30w (silver hook), 5/40w (halfords/mobil 1, and now 5/30w (unipart synthetic big tub) all synthetic. they is a lot of info re oils on internet - alot of which i dont understand but i think a lot of HGV now use longlife oil lasting 20,000+ miles and some fleets do oil tests to see if new oil is needed. using an expensive oil and dumping it at 5000 miles would be a false economy. but depends on your driving, load , towing etc i think. but a decent synthetic should last til the 12k service interval. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigSi110 Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 I use Castrol GTX Magnatec Diesel (10W/40) in my 300Tdi 110, changed every 3,000 miles. She's done 137,000 miles; the last 20,000 of which have been as above. I just find it very hard doing it any less often. So won't. The oil is reasonably-priced (Costco) and I buy Genuine filters in bulk to save more money. Factor in that I use that as a good excuse to check all underneath, re-grease props etc, check engine thoroughly, and it makes even more sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddy Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 I can't believe people who are changing oils that regularly still buy it in 5l containers! A 5 gallon drum really doesn't take up much space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike4444244 Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 Agreed! if you can get to costco and buy the 20L drums of chevron/texaco its about £1 per litre.... Thats what I have been using in all the cars for the last 5 years no probs Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeagent Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 I do generally buy the 20 litre drums from Costco, but from time to time buy smaller ones.. the Halfords trade card helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 returning to the question- td5 oil- recommended oil is 5/30- 5/40w- service intervals are 12k and LR originally recommended Mobil 1 synthetic.- this is what they used to use at the dealers when i used to take it to them. now i do my own services i have used 0/30w (silver hook), 5/40w (halfords/mobil 1, and now 5/30w (unipart synthetic big tub) all synthetic. they is a lot of info re oils on internet - alot of which i dont understand but i think a lot of HGV now use longlife oil lasting 20,000+ miles and some fleets do oil tests to see if new oil is needed. using an expensive oil and dumping it at 5000 miles would be a false economy. but depends on your driving, load , towing etc i think. but a decent synthetic should last til the 12k service interval. Yep, I agree. I've never run a TD5, but have run a number of other diesels, indirect and direct injected on various oils and it's relatively easy to go 20,000km with premium oils in the right conditions without the oil breaking into a sweat, particularly when the manufacturer recommends it ! FWIW I used to take a 'dirty' Nissan TD42T indirect injected lump out to 20,000km OCI's regularly. Oil analysis indicated the oil was more than fine at that distance and could easily have travelled another 10,000km, but we were well in front financially at that point, reducing wear and servicing costs over what had been used. (previously we were dumping 10.5 litres of oil every three weeks for the 5,000km service mandated by Nissan under warranty ) OCI's have since been reduced to 10-15,000km as it's usage has changed (lots of short tips) but it's still not bad for a 'dirty' diesel with over 300,000km on it now. Hell, it hasn't even had the tappets adjusted for 100,000km, they are still within spec. With the wear trends indicated so far, this engine will be with us for a very long time to come. Stick to manufacturer recommended specs re viscosity and service intervals and you should get a long service life out of your engine. If it's used in 'severe service' conditions, (short trips, towing in high ambients or used heavily off road for extended periods) shorten the oil change interval. Use common sense, but try and use the best spec oil you can afford if you want to keep it running for a long time with minimal wear. No oil will cope with dirt, coolant or any major contamination, if it's contaminated, dump it, but the premium oils resist oxidation, nitration and acidity far better than cheapy oils, and generally tolerate much higher spikes in engine temps, particularly with turbochargers than cheap oils. For this reason they will go further between changes without deteriorating as much as a cheap oil. It's a combination of better base stocks, and more importantly, a more robust additive package. This is where the premium diesel specific oils win out, they utilise a much more robust additive package than their petrol oil counterparts as they don't have quite the same restrictions put on them in terms of energy efficiency (they generally have higher HTHS thresholds) and catalyst contamination (although this is changing with the latest low SAPS oils, but the restrictions are being worked around with better quality/higher cost additives) End of the day, it's your call as an owner how you spend your hard earned, but it irks me when blokes say "oils are all the same", "just use xyz", "my engine is fine on coconut oil " when they haven't got the foggiest what the hell is going on between pouring it in and dumping it or what the differences may be between specific oils. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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