[quote="Jameswallace"]i dont know much about engine oil, i just put in what haynes manual says and thats it reallyquote]

Sounds good James - I think it's otherwise unecessarily over-complicating things. Mountains out of molehills, as the saying goes.

something like that!!!

but im currently running on a mix of 2 oils (ran out of oil and was waiting for the jcb oil to arrive at my friends) and had to buy this yukky stuff from the garagem god knows what it was but it was a get me out of trouble type thing as i had no oil in the garage what so ever (Even when car was in garage!!)
shall be doing oil change as soon as my new toy arrives (teng tool oil filter remover )

teng tool oil filter remover

What is it (looks like?) and why is it such a requirement? (please...)

its not by any means a requirement it just makes life easier

and i dont like stabbing a screw driver through the oil filter to move it to get it off but sometimes needs must and all....

i prefer that to the chain one people sell, as i found sometimes the chain cant get in the small gaps and also the plier type ones cant get in small gaps, and the one with a 1/2 drive bit are a bit fiddliy i find

Thanks James - I've yet to do an oil change, and when it happens, will see if the current filter removal tool I've got (just your common-or-garden strap type) will do the job. Main thing, I believe, is to not tighten the filter too much when installing the new one. Cheers: you can now have the rest of the night off !!

always grease the thread, and i only do it up very gently hand tight also....

because its thinner, more stable and ive got 40l of it stockpiled

no doubt its all beeen covered on the thread that got posted after i went to bed but diesel oil is of a better quality than petrol oils. >edit< of a similar grade

check the API figures on the can

Sean

I hear you Sean, not having a go at you but according to my Oil Sheik, it is sheer nonsense. They are no difference between petrol and diesel motor oil for cars.
It is nothing more than getting more exposure on the shelves

My understanding is that that isn't quite true. They're similar but not quite the same. Diesel engine oil has more detergent in order to keep contaminants in suspension.

The real issue with a lot of moderrn petrol engine oils is the removal of zinc dithiophosphate (ZDDP) additive. A lack of zinc can kill camshafts with flat tappets and pushrods very quickly through camshaft wear. I "believe" this is less of an issue with diesel spec oil. Mobil 1 is another oil that still has high concentrations which is why I've also used fully synthetic Mobil 1 in some pretty ancient engines.

250 is right. There are different types of oils for a reason. And the best oil isnt the oil with the newest/highest API-numbers.

Modern oils are made to function best possibly with modern engines and pollution req. A modern "high-tec super expensive" oil can in extreme cases be harmful to older engines.
I work with motorcycles, and on many engines, especially race-engines like KTM's, there are extremely important to use the right oil. Wrong oil can cause engine damage in short time.

Car engines are more "forgiving" on the oil, and you can get away with most oils without any harm on the engine. But there are incredible many "myths" out there regarding oil.
The most common is that the best oil is the most modern/latest oils. That is just wrong.
The best oil, is the oil that fits the engine the best. And on engine constructions older than, let's say, the 80's, a good "classic" oil might be a better choice than one made for the latest, modern cars. Modern engines have different requirements, so the oils are made to work with that.

The ZDDP additive as 250's talking about, is still kept in oils like Castrol Classic 20w-50. Cheaper classic oils might have less of the expensive additives, but if it is noticeable in use I have no idea. The Castrol Classic(and others) oil is a mineral-based oil, but will still be better choice for old car than "top of the line" oils for modern cars.

Diesel oils have special additives for the environment thats inside a diesel engine. It's not the same as petrol engines! Still, some like to use dieseloils because they have more of the old types of additives, especially some of the anti-wear additives, that was common in petrol engines in the past. They was reduced in modern petrol engine oils, because of environmental reasons, and modern engines are made to work without these additives. But when using dieseloils in petrol engines, there are the diesel-specific additives, and what they do for a petrol-engine. Probely nothing harmful, but probably nothing good either. Many oils are for use in both petrol and diesel, it's just a madder of compromises. In my diesel-van I only use engine oil that is for diesel only. And with the API classifications for the time when my car was new.

One more thing, when you hear people talking about how they have used the same oil for 10 years, and they wouldn't use any other. Well, the company making the oils makes changes to the blend often. They follow requirements from car manufacturers, environmental requirements and so on. "Super-fantastic Racing Rally GT 1" today, isn't necessarily the same oil as it was 2, 5 or 10 years ago.

Based on what I've learnt in my work and read on "the big internett". When reading tech-stuff on internett, I like to think that I have a good base of knowledge to be able to sort the "I believe talk" from the "I know" talk At least I hope I do
I dont claim to know lot's about oils, but this is what I've come to know and believe.