Shall I steam clean? What Engine oil?

Hello Chaps.

Thought I'd get two questions for the price of one for my first on this new page.

ONE. I'd like to get my engine steam cleaned but I have heard bad things about the poor old electrics getting too wet?

TWO. What oil shall I use, I have no idea what the former owner used.

Peter.

I think steam cleaning is OK if you are careful - disconnect and bag up (freezer bags and ties should be ok) and exposed electrical connections, dizzy and other potentially susceptible bits.

Oil….. hmmm, probably depends a lot on the age / mileage of your engine and the condition its in. My car has about 150K on the clock doesn't smoke at all on startup or under acceleration, and pulls cleanly. Oil always stays pretty clean too. This is after about what looks like 14 years at least of regular oil and filter changes with just VW Synta Silver (the semi synth stuff).

Being the over cautious type I am though I will probably switch to fully synth after the engine rebuild, although its more for peace of mind than anything. In reality just about ANY modern oil with regular (6 month / 3000 mile) filter changes is going to keep your engine in good condition long after the rest of the car has fallen to bits  8O

I have heard that its not a good idea to use some of the "thinner" fully synths in older engines as you can suddenly spring small oil leaks where gaskets etc shrink, but don't know how much truth there is in that.

Buy a job lot of genuine VAG / MAN filters and a large drum of Synta SIlver and you'll be fine  :wink:

Chris

Agree with Chris on this one. You are better off using semi-synth synta silver and changing the oil frequently. Use the gold to cure any noisy hydraulic tappets.

Getting the oil from those large drums into that tiny hole can be fun  

I've always used the 'original' Castrol GTX - non synth stuff! As old engine and high mileage I think best way.

Yo all

Castrol now market a "GTX" specifically for "High Mileage" engines….Its supposed to look after your seals as well.  I've bought a bucketfull but I'm going to try it in my Riley Elf first…will let you know what I think.  

I used Mobil 1 synth exclusively in my USofA 16v Mk2 for about 130K and that never used a drop between (6K) changes…none of that white scummy stuff, etc…..Never bought it from the forecourt tho' ($6.50/qt) but from one of the "supermarkets" (Target) at about $2.50/qt).

GerTIe gets regular GTX but then its not a high mileage (!!!????!!!!***) vehicle at 102K.

Cheers

It was the 'high mileage' GTX I bought on the weekend. Is it just me or has oil got bloody expensive?! 8O

Whatever you do, don't buy Halfords own oil. I'm told it is made from oil left over from paint manufacture and have heard a few horror stories of engines blowing shortly after using it for first time! True or not I don't know?!!

I'd heard the Halfords fully synth stuff was the same as the Esso fully synth….. 8O

Personally I used Mobil1 for my nearly new '99 MX-5 and 5 years later after regular oil and filter changes it was always crystal clear and never used a drop between changes. On my old Mk2 16v I used to use the VW Synta Gold fully synth - was quite reasonably priced and the car never used any oil even at 120K, no tappet noise, just used to run smooth as silk!

I'l probably switch to Synta Gold again after the engine rebuild, but until then the Synta Silver does the job with regular filter changes.

Chris

Castrol GTX is a pile of shite!!

there's lots of posts about this oil on the club gti forum.

Just stick to the Synta Silver!!

if you have a makro card (its like a cash n carry style place) they do castrol magantec semi syth really cheep as standard and every other month normally have a offer on it making it cheeper still, i normally buy a trolley full as i use it in my impreza. In which the oil is changed every 3000 miles and i've never had a problem.
Always buy o/e filters and a new washer for the sump plug.

Quick update

got my engine steam cleaned over the christmas break. Looks really good and so much nicer to work on.

But.

Note that cleaning takes off good oil as well as bad. Accelerator mech started sticking. Re oiled it last night.

Peter.

I like Valvoline semi synthetic 10-40W and at 10 a tub at my local road and stage shop can't grumble.

Halfords oil is Esso re packaged. They have 5-40w synthetic on offer half price (?15 bargain!!!)

Keep dropping it every 3k -  jobs a good un.

I had heard that Halfords oil was left over from paint manufacture and was crap!!??

Had a quick surf Halfords Synthetic is actually Esso Ultron.
It will have to pass standards what ever even its distilled from paint manufacture left overs.

Its good to recycle anyway.

Its good to recycle anyway

You hear that Hairy!!

I went for Castrol GTX High Mileage in the end. It came in a nice container and was actually relatively cheap.

Any oil is better than no oil.

Peter.

Anyone tried the Quantum 15/40 that they sell in VW dealers and GSF? Seems to be the only brand of oil sold in VW dealerships so should be OK, but almost disturbingly cheap -  for 5 Lts  :? Also is it semi-synthetic?

Cheers

I use the Silver in mine as did the previous owner. The engine's done 70k and does not smoke one bit. I think using a good quality oil with regular changes should keep things in good order.

Simon

Cheers Simon

When you say 'Silver' are you referring to the colour of the container it comes in i.e 15/40 container is blue?

Cheers

Yes sorry. It's the Quantum Synta in the Silver bottle. It's @?14-15 for 5 Litres.

Simon

tallpete said

Its good to recycle anyway

You hear that Hairy!!

I went for Castrol GTX High Mileage in the end. It came in a nice container and was actually relatively cheap.

Any oil is better than no oil.

Peter.

I used that too! After doing an oil change on the weekend, I was surprised how much lower the oil temp is now!

Was also surprised that there were no metal filings stuck to the sump plug. (I assume they're magnetic?!) I'm not complaining mind!

I can clear the issue up over the halfords oil, as I used to work for the company.

Different ones come from different places. I believe the Fully and semi synthetic oils came from the same suppliers as castrol oils, it was just the lower grades of oil that came from a supplier I'd never heard of before.  Anyway it's all approved to the same standards as any other engine oil sold in the same catagory so personally I don't see a problem with it.

The only thing I would say is it is actually quite expensive when you compare it with other places you can buy oil. E.g their 10w40 semi synthetic oil (in the green container) was about ?17.99 for 5 litres from memory. You can buy an identical oil from Vauxhall for instance for ?12.99 for 5 litres (don't quote me on the price, it's a while since I've brought any, as I tend to buy in bulk!)

My golf GTi is currently running on Vauxhall 10w40 semi synthetic oil with no problems. Due for a change in about february.