That will probably be either the water radiator or air con condenser that you can see, depending on whether the car has air con or not. A grille would certainly afford some protection. Prices start at £21 for a Lockwood stainlesss steel perforated grille.
Yes it has got air con…thanks for the link…will check them out
5w40 oil in a mk1 ?? are you sure??
thats a modern oil in an old engine…I would have thought a semi synthetic 10w40 a safer bet, especially in an engine thats unknown in terms of service history.
My mk1 was a bit neglected when I bought her…had the tappet rattle from cold…a good engine flush and a couple of oil changes later shes as good as new and the oil stays clean between 3k oil changes.
as for cam belt noise…it might just have a gates belt kit on…they seem to be a bit noisey from cold sometimes…I was concerned about mine at first but it goes away. does sound like a straining alternator though…
What is the theory behind this thinking?
5W-40 will be a little bit thinner when cold and will make the engine easier to start from cold and reach the HLAs sooner. If 5W-40 starts pouring out of the oil seals when cold then the engine is well past its sell-by date and no other oil grade is going to make it better.
well…the thinking goes kinda like this: in an older engine thats got a question mark over its recent service history you dont know what state the engine internals are in. (likely to be very dirty!)
if you go sticking a modern synthetic thin oil in there its going to be full of detergents and other cleansing agents. Thats not a good idea as it could lead to blocked oil ways and all other sorts of problems.
I have always found that the original oil specs are best kept to, unless its a freshly built engine with clean sludge traps and a clean sump.
its also a potential problem of oil pressure…on older engines they like a thicker grade as they age…too thin an oil will be too thin as it gets hot…you lose oil pressure.
I reckon a semi synth of 10w40 about right for a higher milage mk1 unless its recent recon.
I do a lot of work with classic cars and oil’s always a concern of new owners…and i always try and pass on the importance of keeping it clean and using the right stuff.
So what oil do Mazda recomend for a MK1 ?
Cheers
Steve
I’m not buying that. Just about all engine oils have detergents as part of their additive pack nowadays specifically to prevent “black death”. Here is an interesting excerpt from Castrol’s marketing blurb for their GTX High Mileage oil:
GTX High Mileage provides complete protection:
You need to do your homework on multigrade labelling, mate. 5W-40 and 10W-40 have the same viscosity when hot. “W” means winter and refers to the oil’s viscosity when cold. The problem with older engines is poor oil pressure and leaking oil seals when the oil gets hot and thins out. A decent fully synthetic oil is preferable in this respect as it is relies less on viscosity improvers and is thus less
likely to shear and reduce viscosity over time.
Don’t be fooled into thinking that a Mazda mutli-valve engine designed and built in the late 80’s is going to have the same bearing clearance issues as a “classic” engine such as the BMC A-series.
I think that you will find a lot of owners here with high mileage engines that are using Mobil 1 0W-40 without issue.
Interesting conversation…I do have the full service history that came with the car and I will check with the previous owner just to confirm about the oil.
my understanding is that it’s best to continue using the same oil and service at same intervals. am I right about this chaps?
If your valve train is not covered in black sludge and your HLAs are quiet then there is no real reason to change to a different kind of oil if you are happy with it, although I haven’t seen any concrete evidence yet that switching to a fully synthetic oil (if you have not already done so) will actually harm your engine.
I have no idea what kind of oil was used in my engine for the first 13 years of use in Japan. It has used fully synthetic oil since it was imported into the UK in 2006 and it doesn’t appear to have suffered for it.
My car lives outside all year round and I prefer a 0W-40 or 5W-40 for easy starting when it is below freezing point outside. I change it every 6 months.
I put some Castrol Magnatec 5W30 in my '93 1.6 mk1 today. That is the grade of oil that Opie oils recommend. How does that compare to the grades above. I had noisy HLA’s as car has not been used much. I do not know grade of old oil as I have only just bought the car. I put in a engine flush for half an hour to help clean engine. HLA noise is now away as far as I can tell. will have better idea tomorrow when car has been sitting overnight.
I stand by my comments lads…I wouldnt put a full on synthetic oil in an old unknown engine…
your more than welcome to if you like. its your car after all.
I am aware that the 40 part of the oil spec means its the warm bit (glad I went to college and got my mechanical qualifications before i started work in the motor trade…) the point I was making was the older the engine the less good a modern oil will do it, unless its a fresh rebuild.
if people are using mobil 1 then great…its a good oil for a modern clean engine. its also a very expensive oil and a lower spec would do just as well (like mobil super 10w40) but I’m not gonna call anyone out for using expensive oils. I certainly wont use cheapo own brand oils in my cars. the latest 5w40 oils are designed for modern engines and extended service intervals.I certainly wouldnt call a twenty year old engine modern! multi valve it may be but its still an eighties design.
as an old garage mechanic once told me as a young apprentice…any oils better than none at all.
Our Golf Mk5 is on a time and distance service schedule (oil change every 12 months with the mileage we do). This requires a 5W-40 oil. If we had not opted out of the default “extended drain” service schedule then it would require a “long life” 0W-30 oil.
I’m puzzled niggle…you seem to be going outta your way to pick holes in everything i post (and just you too…strange that…)
is there some problem you have with me i’m not aware of? I see your local…is it a personal problem you have ?
by all means pm me if you would like to get something off your chest.
Guys, this has been argued many times before, neither argument has ever, to my knowledge, been proved scientifically. My 20 year old Roadster runs fine on fully syth Mobil 5W50, a lot of guys use Magnatec, and would probably use Duckhams 20/50 if they could find it…such a lovely colour
…lets move on.
If you, Hotrod want to talk to Niggle about the issues here, maybe do it via e mail or PM.
I’m going to lock this one, the original posters question has long since been answered—