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MG TD TF 1500 - Oil change.... weight?

I don't want to assume the weights in the 62 year old owner's manual still hold true.

What weight oil are we using in the crank case for 3 season driving? I'll be adding a ZDDP additive.

While I'm at it, trans and rear? What's best practice?
MAndrus

I don't know what ZDDP additive is but I do know that some oil additives swell cork , rubber and neoprene gaskets.
G Mills

For what its worth I have switched from VR1 racing oil to Brad Penn 20W50 for my flat tappet engines. Both oils are good for flat tappet engines but the VR1 is a high detergent oil and would get black in a little more than a 1000 miles. Brad Penn has a very good web site for information on their products.
F. Driver

Virtually all oils in 20W-50 weight, which is right for our cars, have adequate ZDDP. If you add more, you can damage the engine.

I use Valvoline and Chevron Supreme, 20w-50, which are 0.012% zinc. That's more than enough.

See http://www.nonlintec.com/sprite/oils_and_zddp.pdf and especially http://www.nonlintec.com/sprite/oil_myths.pdf.

There is no point in using racing oils or diesel oils as some people recommend. These oils are not formulated for passenger-car use, and are just not appropriate. The idea that "if it's OK for racing, it must be really good for ordinary cars" is just not right. The oil formulations are different, based on expected service, and what's good for one is not good for the other.
S Maas

I was under the impression that zinc had been eliminated from motor oil because it damages catalytic converters. If Valvoline and Chevron Supreme has enough content, I'll go with that.

I've been breaking in and running 350 small blocks with flat tappets for decades. Zinc or a ZDDP add-in is a must to condition and preserve the cam lobes.

Rollers (or a toughened cam) are pretty much universal because of the lowered zinc in oils.
MAndrus

I use 20/50 VR-1 in the MGB and the TF. I also use it in my truck, which has 251,000 miles on it and the engine has never been touched. Brad Penn is excellent oil, it's just a pain for me to get. PJ
Paul S Jennings

G Mills:- ZDDP stands for Di-Alkyd Zinc di-thio Phosphate.

For the many many years that American cars used push-rod/tappet engines, ZDDP was part of the standard engine oil to minimize wear of the cam-follower faces of the tappets.

It was found as M Andrs has indicated, that ZDDP did indeed have a detrimental effect on catalytic converter life.

So when America switched almost entirely to OHC engines (the current Corvette being one exception), GM for one, felt that ZDDP was no longer needed. (Read what Corvette owners say (http://corvettes.about.com/od/basicmaintenance/qt/ZDDP_Oil.htm.)

So the EPA took advantage of the situation and basically, banned ZDDP in most regular motor oils. But from what I have been able to read, ZDDP is gradually creeping back into the specs of regular motor oils

Despite what has bee said, printed and displayed, I am not qualified to evaluate or judge the process, so just to be safe, I continue to err on the safe side of the issue and add a little extra STP Additive to each oil change to my MGs.

Gord Clark
Rockburn, Qué.
Gord Clark

No, that's just not true. ZDDP was never banned or eliminated. It was reduced, to extend catalytic converter life. "Starburst" oils are in the 0.06-0.08% zinc range (sorry, earlier I should have said 0.12%, not 0.012%), The higher viscosities used by older cars often have higher concentrations.

The ZDDP concentration started out around 0.04% zinc and increased gradually over time to meet engine demands. It was raised in the 1970s to approximately 0.10% zinc because it was a cheap, effective antioxidant, not because it was needed to prevent wear. The later reductions simply returned the oil the the level that had been determined as safe, and other materials were used as antioxidants.

I'd suggest reading the Olree article linked above.
S Maas

SM ass

Grateful for your critique.

As I indicated, I'm not qualified to make a judgement. There are so many individuals taking their own side that it all seems to conflict and I don't know what to believe. Reading more articles, just muddies the waters.

So I play it safe.

Gord Clark
Rockburn, Qué.
Gord Clark

Unless of course, the added zddp puts your concentration into the range that is actually harmful to your engine's innards. Regards, tom
tm peterson

Here we go again. The archive has plenty on this one which falls into the category of "the more we learn the less we know"... Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

Well, I wondered how long it would take for someone to stoop to a personal attack. Sorry if reality inteferes with preconceived ideas, but that's what happens sometimes.

This is not a matter of opinion; it's a technical issue with underlying technical reasons. Just listen to the people who know something, ignore the ones who are guessing, and the answer becomes clear.

But sneering comments attempting to ridicule someone's name don't add much information. They just show the character of the writer.
S Maas

Thought I had a lifetime supply of Castrol 50 weight.
Guess I have lived longer than expected ...and not sure what I will do next time.
Supply is diminished... and no closer to a good answer on what to use next tyme!
David Sheward 55 TF1500 # 7427

S Maas-
If you are referring to Gordon's post above, I don't believe he would intentionally miss spell your user name like that. I think it is a typo or an auto correct feature run amok.
-David
D. Sander

I have to agree with Dave
That would be very much out of character for this Forum
Rod.
R. D. Jones

I have used Kendall GT-1 20-50 for many years, as my local auto parts shop (the only small locally owned one left) has carried it for years. It has lots of zinc in it. Interesting links above, the jury is still out on this. Seriously, obviously a typo. Yikes. George
George Butz

That would be very much out of character for Gord ..always been a gentleman here. Typo for sure.
David Sheward 55 TF1500 # 7427

Starting last summer I switched form Castrol GTX 20/50
to Kendall GT-1 20-50.
For the first time in my experience of MGing my cam followers were galled. Only been in the USA for 19 years and prior to that had always used Duckhams 20/50 (since 1964) with no problems. I ran the TD in England and Germany far more than I do here, due to the hard winters in Maine.
In Europe both my TD's had been daily runners. Not sure if that has any bearing on the demise of the followers here but I have only seen, or indeed heard of the issue, since coming to the US. No doubt the problem may have been around long before I got informed. Changing cam followers every 5000 or 10000 miles had never been part of any conversation I have had - ever.

Rod.


R. D. Jones

This thread was discussed between 05/02/2015 and 08/02/2015

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