1000km: Engine Oil and Filter Change

As the engine is effectively brand new, Turner Engineering recommend the first oil change be carried out at 500 miles. Turners provide 10 litres of running oil for this stage. 

Running in oil has a higher concentration of zinc. This helps protect all of the components in the drive train (camshafts, rockers, pushrods etc). It also allows the piston rings to bed in correctly with the cylinder walls, preventing glazing of the bores. Glazing results in the honing on the inside of the cylinder wall to become less effective at returning oil to the crank case… thus it gets burnt = blue smoke.

Typically the viscosity of most running in oil is around 15W40, although the oil supplied Turners didn’t seem to have a viscosity rating… More on viscosity later.  

Turner Engineering stipulate certain driving styles be adopted during the running in phase… Normal urban driving (including motorway driving). Don’t flog the engine (low revs up steep hills) Don’t thrash the engine (unnecessarily high revs). Make use of the gearbox and do some runs under moderate load to help bed in the piston rings.

With all of the above criteria ticked off and the mileage limit reached… (and exceeded a little) it’s time for the first engine oil and filter change.

The workshop Manual specifies a 15W40 mineral oil. I managed to find a decent branded mineral oil locally, so stocked on enough to do 2 engine and filter changes. 

So what does the engine oil do?

• Reduces friction (obviously)
• Creates a barrier between metal surfaces
• Disapates heat from away from the combustion cycle
• Reduces oxidisation 

Viscosity: 

Motor oil comes in many different thicknesses (viscosity). Most motor oils available (outside of North America) follow the SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) rating… and it looks like this… “20W-60” (by way of example) 

The W in the designation stands for Winter. So, if we take the oil LGL needs, (15W40) “15W” relates to the low temperature viscosity at -15 degrees C. The second number, 40, indicates the viscosity at 100 degrees C.

There are 3 main types of motor oil available.

• Fully synthetic (manufactured in a lab).
• Semisynthetic (mix of manufactured and refined oil)
• Mineral (refined during the cracking process of crude oil)

The 2.25ltr petrol engine in LGL uses as a mineral oil. There’s much discussion as to the suitability of semisynthetic and synthetic motor oil in older engines but it all comes down to… “lubricate as per manufacturers instructions”… so we’ll do that then 🙂

That’s the science bit over and done with, time to get our hands dirty.  First of all… a large piece of cardboard is laid on the garage floor, because, with the best will in the world it’s going to drip. 

 

 

Best laid plans…

 

 

It’s a good idea to leave the oil to drain for a while… long enough to have a cup of tea and a digestive seems to be optimal. 

 

 

 

Now it’s onto the filter. Most engines these days have a screw-on cartridge filter. The body and filter are all one disposable item. The Series Land Rover engines have a separate filter housing and filter element. There is, however, an adapter available to fit a more conventional cartridge filter. Maybe one day…  

The filter is positioned at such an angle that it’s not unheard of for the unwary mechanic to end up with an armpit full of warm engine oil when removing the housing… Yes, it has happened to me on more that one occasion and yes, it’s as nasty as it sounds!

Although I do this kind of stuff infrequently, by that I mean I don’t make a living out of servicing cars, I always use a decent barrier cream and disposable gloves when handing old engine oil. All of the following can be found in used engine oil…sulphur, aluminium, arsenic, calcium, chromium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, potassium, silicon, sodium, tin, toluene, benzene, xylene, ethylbenzene… hence the barrier cream and gloves!

Whilst the engine is now totally empty of oil, the filter housing is still full. As it sits at an angle on the side of the engine block, as soon as the main bolt is unscrewed oil will start to leak out. 

 

So far so good. My armpits and wrists remain oil free. Best to let the oil drain off. Once again, the time required to do this is the same as it takes to make a cup of tea and have a another digestive. Coincidence?