Does nobody put Castrol R in their fuel anymore?
Much better than God farts,

 

Castrol R 30 is castor bean oil based
I used to use it in the 70,s and early 80,s on my motocross bikes has a really pleasing smell but is outdated

I switched in the early 80,s to Castrol tts synthetic it was like I just did an engine overhaul also not as smoky as the old R

You can buy 2 stroke oil which smells like strawberries yeah strawberries

Its the TC-W3 additive pack that you want if you are using 2 stroke as a 4 stroke fuel additive

 

I didn't suggest it was any good,just smells good.

Strawberries! Penelope Pitstop may use that!

 

I love the smell of R in the morning, almost as good as napalm. One can get still get a fix at a vintage car hillclimb; my recommendation is Prescott Hill in the Cotswolds where there will be vintage Bugattis burning the stuff out their tailpipes...

Anyway, back to engine oil for my X300:
previous nonagerian owner ran Castrol Magnatec. I think I can do better.
I have done a little research, and want to go Synthetic. My car has done 138000km/85000miles.
Jaguar Handbook seems to say anything in the 5W-30 to 10W-40 range should be fine (0'C to 35'C ambient temps here), and in 1995 there was no SN API grade (in fact, last time I fretted over oil 20 years ago I think SG was the greatest thing..), so modern oils should well exceed the design parameters of an AJ16.
I could go Mobil1, 5W-30 but they won't sell direct so I will be paying $95 retail for 5 litres and of course I need 5.5L !).
I could go for Valvoline MaxLife synthetic 10W-40, and the attractions are (1) the NZ wholesaler will sell 20 litres to me whereas Mobil NZ won't (dumb move Mobil), and MaxLife is supposedly formulated for engines over 75,000 miles (mine) which is appealing, but I get cynical with advancing age and that may be marketing hype.

What would the forum do?
What would XJR Andy do?
Advice welcomed, thanks.

 

Al,

I reckon you need to drink more and worry less.

The AJ16 is one tough engine, and any damage from whatever is already there, and no oil, grade or brand, is going to make a scrap of difference.

When I got mine at 143k kms, it lived in Canberra, Swiss embassy car originally, and I drove it home without much thought at all, its a Jag, so be it.

The receipts etc all had Valvoline Synthetic as the oil of choice, and the dipstick oil was clean at purchase.

Once home, and Grants post purchase MAJOR service, revealed a huge amount of "flaky sludge" throughout the engine, originally found in the camcover whilst replacing the top tensioner unit, and heaps (and I mean heaps) more in the timing cover when the chains and blades were replaced. Soooo, the PO was ripped off, bad luck, and I just got on with sorting it.

I scraped what I could out, and washed it all down with ATF, and out the drain plug. I then ran some el-cheapo oil with 1ltr of ATF added in the driveway for 1 hour, drained it, YUK, so did it again, not so yukky, and after 4 doings, fairly satisfied, so refilled with 10W/30 Full Synthetic, and went for a cruise interstate (about 2000kms round trip), and thats how it is today. Oil/filter changes every 6 months, nothing to do with kms travelled, and now at 203000kms, sweet as I would have expected.

Too thick an oil will do more damage in my opinion, especially when cold. Good pressure, but little/no flow, so bearings suffer significantly.

 

good, Grant
thanks
dont worry about the drink, I live in Hawkes Bay ( a bit like living in Hunter Valley or Barossa) - we have same longitude as Bordeaux and wines to match...
I think i will phone Valvoline NZ Monday morning.

 

Since you are contacting Valvoline anyways, you might like this one:

Valvoline.com > Products > OEM Endorsed Products > > Valvoline Premium Blue® Extreme Diesel Engine Oil

In the APAC region, it seems to be called "Cummins Premium Blue Range".

 

Plums, it's Diesel oil - surely not suitable for the AJ16?

I phoned the NZ Valvoline wholesalers today and talked to their tech guy - a good 10 minute talk, but he talked me out of their fully-synthetic! He suggested their semi-syn 10W-40, and fairly regular changes as my average trip is 15 km twice a day, which he thought was a short trip. On that trip I do highway speeds and often give it a bit of stick, so I have always thought the engine is fully up to temp, but he thought otherwise...

 

Diesel oils have high detergent levels to keep engines clean so they do and can be used in 4 stroke engines if the car is not driven lots high detergent oils can work wonders for cars
We used to use the Mobil delvac special in cars that had basically been round town cars to clean the inside of the engines
The new maxlife from valvoline is a pretty good product I am super happy with it for the transmission have a read about the maxlife oils and no need to waste money on synthetic oils synthetic modified is just as good

My old Yamaha roadstar 1600 was filled and serviced to 80,000 k,s with synthetic oils when the dealer sold I started doing my own services at home looked at all the synthetic oils because that's what the bike had always had
I ended up using a Dino oil specifically designed for big twin engines from torco oils in the states it transformed the bike the clutch felt better and the bike felt better

I have since sold the bike to my solicitor in Sydney it now has 120,000k,s on it and he say it goes perfectly the dealer he gets it serviced at tried to put synthetic back into it higher price better profit margins for the shop as well he said it been running sweet on the Dino oil I,ll just keep using it
The guys at the shop also said its the highest mileage roadstar they have ever seen but also the best as it had a warranty recall on the hard facing on second gear when they pulled it down they couldn't see any problems with the gears they still replaced it the same couldn't be said for bikes with lower k,s and poor service history's
just a thought

 

There are a lot of people using it in gasoline engines who love it.

You can rely on this:

The API SM rating is a gasoline engine rating.

Interestingly enough, if you wander around the Valvoline faq section for synthetics, they say that the use of synthetics does not allow extended change intervals.

 

.. I am back on that old chestnut after 3 months, 'Oil'.

My X300 has done 142000km, 8000km by me since I bought it 6 months ago.
I had an oil change done nearly 5000km ago, and the oil is fairly brown now, but not black. But enough to suggest that there is some blow-by at the piston rings.
Since all the helpful posts earlier in this thread I have been well-educated by a diesel mechanic regarding the detergents/additives in Diesel engine oils for trapping particulate carbon from combustion. I think that may be what I need.
However 3 months ago I bought eight 4 litre packs of Castrol Magnatec on special, so now I want to use this up. I am tempted to use it up with regular 5000km changes, new filter each time. That should give me about 4 oil changes, 20000 km over 2 years at current mileage rates.

What would others do? Use up the Magnatec, or sell it and convert to Diesel engine oil? I mainly want engine longevity...

 

The recommendation for diesel engine oil all begins with the observation that it has higher detergent capabilities and that it "can" be run in gasoline engines. If a gasoline has higher detergent, then its lubricating properties are necessarily reduced by some amount, presumably small. If you have a sludging problem, or reason to believe the engine is dirty inside, it might have benefit. Your report is that you are using your car and not subjecting it to the occasional use that might cause sludging. These engines go 300,000 miles, so you really are not even solidly into the "high mileage" range. And I never saw any indication of sludge under the valve cover; the last time I was in there was at more than 250,000 miles.

I do not understand why folks want to believe the tribal knowledge on a internet forum is somehow better than the product recommendation from tried and legitimate manufacturers. Use a gasoline oil in a gasoline engine. Determine if you wish to spend the additional money to extend the interval. And if you are changing the oil at 5000 km, then the interval means nothing to yo9u. Jaguar recommends 10,000 miles.

 

It might (but probably won't [grin]) put your mind at ease to know that the AJ16 engine is famously durable to begin with and requires no unique diet to live a long, healthy life.

Mine has 235000km. I change the oil every 8000km-9000km. Considering how sweetly and quietly it runs, and that consumption is a mere one quart every 6500km, I anticipate getting 320000km from this engine with no internal failures.

My single standard for selecting engine oil is "Which name brand is on sale today?".

Since the engine is apparently quite happy with whatever oil it's fed I'm free to concern myself with other things. "When will the next coil failure occur?", for instance

Cheers
DD

 

Interesting thread...............

Nice to see that at least a few people have realized that fretting over brand name and type is pretty much pointless- the engines couldn't care less.

I belong to the whatever's cheapest brigade.

 

I use Amsoil products, fully synthetic., specifically their 10W-40 SL spec oil:

AMSOIL SAE 10W-40 Synthetic Premium Protection Motor Oil

I run the car year round, and our temps go from -30C to +30C so I'm happier with fully synthetic oil.

I change oil oil once a year in the fall, as I get our family fleet ready for winter. I also did an engine flush with Amsoils flush product prior to using Amsoil for the first time.

 

To be honest I ran "Walmart" "super tech" full syn in my then new 99 Explorer Limited, only becuse it was full syn for around $17 for 5 quarts and I did some research on it's origins..always used it up till I sold it last October with 195K on it, it burned NO oil at all and had NO leaks or even a wet spot on it underneath...it was actually kind of uncanny how clean that engine was when I sold it! The only reason I run Mobile 1 now is because my local Walmart sells it for $22.95 for 5 quart size, just picked up two tonight.

 

I don't think all oils are made equal. While its true that the AJ16 engine might be built like a tank and may go on with Crisco cooking oil in it, I have heard chains rattles seen varnishes that some oils leave behind, even with regular oil changes. My AJ16 engine takes Mobil 1 High Mileage 10w40, my AJV6 takes Mobil 1 5w30 and Amsoil Z-Rod 20w50 on the V12. They are all changed between 5-6k miles regardless of what the suggested interval is. I am not very confident of "highly extended" service intervals or "sealed for life" parts that Jaguar prescribes.

The oil and intervals I use are based on the fact that I: a)take small trips ,even in the daily driver X type-work is less than 5 miles away-and the temperature in my area.

 

I am with you Spikepaga. I don't subscribe to the 'oil is oil' school.
I was unaware of Mobil1 High Mileage, and don't know if it is available in NZ - I will enquire.
Meanwhile I think I will use up my stock of Magnatec with regular oil changes. I do 10 miles each way to work,most of it at 50-70mph. local temps 0-35'C
Then I will change to something like M1 High Mileage, or a diesel oil with additives.
Thanks

 

I don't think anyone here has asserted they are.

But I'm not sure our engine know that ...or even care

Cheers
DD

 

Most assuredly they are not all the same. Some boutique oils cost far more than others without fancy labels or huge advertising budgets. And, no the cars still don't care.