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New engine oiling Q's

dan f.

NAXJA Forum User
Location
La Mirada, Ca.
hey fellas,
i recently put a new engine (4.0) in my '89. since start up its been on dinosaur oil and i'd like to eventually run mobil 1. my question is: when can i (or should i) switch to synthetic? also, which oil filter do you guys recommend. i keep hearing more people saying that fram is crap, i believe you, but why?
thanks im advance,
dan f.
 
How recently? Allow 5-10Kmiles for suitable break-in and wear-in (there is a small difference between the two, and both are important!) before you switch. If you switch too early, you may actually not get as much power as you could due to the rings not being lapped-in to the cylinder walls - that's why a little friction in the beginning is important.

As far as filters, I tend to use Wix when I can find it. Fram is a last resort, but they have the advantage of being available anywhere. One of your locals should have Wix filters (check the smaller outfits or NAPA,) and they're worth the effort...

5-90
 
Wix

Wix are great filters but you can buy the NAPA silver made by Wix (same filter) for less.
 
NAPA

I spent 9 years in Union City and had to drive to Fremont to get to the NAPA store. I can't say I miss the traffic but the chinese food was much better.:)
 
thanks guys,
i think by now i probably have a little more than 1000 miles on the motor (maybe less). next oil change i'll go w/ the napa, but when should i use the syn? 5-90, it sounds like i really gotta give it some time, right?
keep the ideas comin'
dan f.
 
On the other hand Corvettes and a few other such cars come from the factory prior to break-in with synth already in them. It's actually not too slippery and the rings will lap in. Seen it done on bikes.

Sarge
 
Didn't say to forget your break-in period. But the synth will still allow the rings to wear in and seat. It will also cope better with any heat spots during wear in. We used a infrared heat thermo gun and would run the motor until the hot spot got to a certain temp (can't remember what it was right now) and shut the motor down. As we cycled the motor thru the temps equalized thru-out. That particular motor is running damn good, being abused now and still burning the back tire off....over two years of a very abusive rider after a 2000 mile break-in. It has never had anything other than da' fake stuff in it.

I personally believe in a break-in period but am not so locked in on what oil to use. I've run everything from super cheapies to real expensive and as long as the oils are changed at decent intervals then no problems. I'm not real good at tracking the change intervals either as I typically run no gauges and use the color as in indication. Yet I ran a rebuilt yammy motor on $0.80 qt oil for 100K miles with no problems. Oil was changed roughly every three weeks after break-in. During break-in was like this:

1st change at 15 hrs. 2nd at 45 hrs. Then another after one week. One more in two weeks. During that time no speed held constant and usually under 55.

*grin* Altho I do have a good bud who finishes his motors, rolls the garage door up and blasts off like the motor already had many miles on it. His idea is to ride it during the break-in like your gonna ride it after. Not sure I can honestly say whether it has an impact or not as he regularly runs his HD way past 6000rpm and those motors don't like that.

Sarge
 
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He he ...

Like the saying used to go, "Break it in fast if you want it to run fast."

That's actually true, in my experience. What they don't tell you is that "run fast" means it runs through oil fast -- back in my racing days, the guys who "broke 'em in fast" always seemed to burn copious quantities of oil, and trail a smoke screen everywhere they went.

BMWs come from the fatory with synthetic in the crankcase. Good enough for me.
 
Fram Filters

I did a highly scientific investigation and sawed a few fram filters open. The filter media looks less dense(fewer pleats) than AC or Bosch and the flanges at the ends are paper instead of metal. They just look cheap. The anti-drain back valve doesn't usually work. On the Jeep I could hear it dumping when I cut the engine off. If the oil drains back its from the dirty(incoming) side of the filter.

On the other hand I ran a Nissan SR20DE engine 185K miles on Fram Filters. I wound it up to 7200RPM (7500RPM redline-fun car)about every other time I drove it. Changed the oil every 2.5K to 3K miles-ran Penzoil-never gunned it cold. It didn't start burning until 155K and then only 1 quart between changes. I ran that little Sentra SER until we had a run-in with a left turning van. The van snatched out one of my half-shafts and broke the transaxle. I bet that motor is still running though.

Run what makes you feel good. I use Bosch because I sawed one open and I like the way the insides look. Do a search on filters and there's a roundup of Fram, Motorcraft, Wix, Mopar, and AC filters thats interesting. Fram is low on the comparison of filter surface area. Mopar, Wix and AC are better.
 
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