29 replies to this topic

[sheddd]

right, ive been searching everywhere, and there isnt a clear answe as to what oil to use!?

its a 998, 48thou on clock, been on road 2 month after 9 years of storage, so deffo needs a oil change.

so, what oil to use?

from what i gather 20w50 is best to go for, but apparently thers a better oil but 2 things,

1 i heard that it damages your cat, but i dont have a cat on the mini so that wouldnt be a problem
and
2 i dont know what oil that is!?

can sumone please enlighten me!?

thanks

[lrostoke]

You will probably now get plenty of replies some telling you to search its been asked a 1000 times, others stating one oil or another.

The most popular answer seems to be

20/50 mineral oil. personally I used Halford Classic 20/50 although have used Duckhams but the Duckhams only comes in 4.5 litre tubs and you need a bit more for a full oil and filter change.

[Pooky]

The 'other' oil would be 10W40

[Guess-Works.com]

on the older engine ( older being more mileage ) 20/50 is probably best used as it can stave off the engine rebuilds for a few more miles...

On a fresh engine I would not dream of using it.

[Ouster]

So on a fresh engine you would use 10W40? This point doesn't often come up, that's why I'm asking - and also because I have a freshly rebuilt engine going in soon!

[jaydee]

On a fresh built engine seems that a good 10W40 synth is the way to go as the 20W50 is way too thick for brand new rings/ends. Again, plenty of differnt opinions there..

[gav]

On a fresh built engine seems that a good 10W40 synth is the way to go as the 20W50 is way too thick for brand new rings/ends. Again, plenty of differnt opinions there..

Never use synthetic oil on a fresh engine build...

Jon why do say that?

[jaydee]

Thats why i said 'seems'. I've been told that when we were building our 1293..
By the way i used unipart run in oil, then swapped it at less than 1k miles for a 10W40.
Anyway theres a common nonsense about synths, they're good at low tomperature and holds pressure when overstressed, so cant see why they're bad on fresh engines. Its the old engine which needs mineral oil and regular changes, other synths or 10w40 in old tired engines will leak everywhere and the oil itsfels will get dirty in no time.

[sheddd]

i dont get it though, what difference does it make to the engine/gearbox if its 20w50 or 10w40?

my engine's well, idk what my engines like, but 48 on clock so its hardly high milage for a 88 city?

[jaydee]

i dont get it though, what difference does it make to the engine/gearbox if its 20w50 or 10w40?

my engine's well, idk what my engines like, but 48 on clock so its hardly high milage for a 88 city?

Thats not a very high mileage, but how many miles you did, and how many the previous owners did?
Use mineral 20w50, like miller or castrol.

[gav]

Thats why i said 'seems'. I've been told that when we were building our 1293..
By the way i used unipart run in oil, then swapped it at less than 1k miles for a 10W40.
Anyway theres a common nonsense about synths, they're good at low tomperature and holds pressure when overstressed, so cant see why they're bad on fresh engines. Its the old engine which needs mineral oil and regular changes, other synths or 10w40 in old tired engines will leak everywhere and the oil itsfels will get dirty in no time.

Because it will never 'bed in' properly, use mineral with as little additives etc as possible then change to a better oil.

[sheddd]

well the milage is genuine as its only had 2 owners from new, and that was my grandad and my dad then me, so guess thats 3, but its been kept in family and fully serviced till storage.

so will the halfords classic motor oil do? the 20w50?

[Cooperman]

I will never use anything but 20w50 unless I drive in arctic conditions.
The problem is not the engine, it's the gearbox having to share the same oil. Now, the basis of the Mini gearbox goes back to the Minor and A35 gearboxes which required an 80 grade gear oil. So using engine oil is and always has been a compromise.
A quality 20w50 is really necessary for the gearbox and, so long as you keep that oil changed regularly and don't rev it whilst cold it is fine.
On my rally Minis I always use Valvolive Racing 20w50, but on road cars I use Castrol 20w50.
The 'don'ts' are: don't start the car with the clutch pushed down, don't rev it too high until the oil and water are warm, don't sit with the engine running and the clutch down, don't forget to change the oil/filter every 3000 miles or less, when you first built a new engine, don't fire it up until you have at least 25 psi pressure on the gauge by turning it over with the plugs out.

[jaydee]

Thats why i said 'seems'. I've been told that when we were building our 1293..
By the way i used unipart run in oil, then swapped it at less than 1k miles for a 10W40.
Anyway theres a common nonsense about synths, they're good at low tomperature and holds pressure when overstressed, so cant see why they're bad on fresh engines. Its the old engine which needs mineral oil and regular changes, other synths or 10w40 in old tired engines will leak everywhere and the oil itsfels will get dirty in no time.

Because it will never 'bed in' properly, use mineral with as little additives etc as possible then change to a better oil.

Sorry if i wasnt clear enough, i'm not talking about running in the engine, as stated above i use the chap unipart for running in (its 20w50 by the way).
Was talking about the oil to use after running in the fresh engine.
About gearbox, some experts says 10w40, some others 20w50, as i rule of thumb i never use thin oils on old engines to be safe, and leave the discussion to the gearbox doctors.

[taffy1967]

The Minis gearbox is very harsh on the oil that's shared with it and the engine, it's virtually like a blender and thin or synthetic oil isn't as suitable as a classic 20W/50 oil which was recommended on all Minis by BMC from the word go.