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Date:         Sat, 10 Jan 2004 02:41:29 -0500
Reply-To:     "Daniel L. Katz" <katzd54@YAHOO.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         "Daniel L. Katz" <katzd54@YAHOO.COM>
Subject:      Re: what causes low oil pressure

synthetic oil might reduce surface temperatures due to friction, which would be good, but should not make the van run cooler. i respectfully submit that something other than changing to synthetic oil was responsible for the falling temperature gauge described below. perhaps the van was running a little hot in town, and then, as indicated by the falling temperature gauge, cooled down a bit at cruising speed. in any case, cooler is not necessarily better, and the thermostat will always attempt to keep the engine at optimum temperature; in theory, even if all engine friction was eliminated, the engine would run at the same overall temperature.

dlk

On Fri, 9 Jan 2004 14:25:26 -0500, Steve Cotsford <Cotsford@AOL.COM> wrote:

>You are probably right that there is more clearance in the bearings and the oil pressure is lower and although high enough for the engine to run nicely, it sets off the buzzer etc. >I believe my engine is just like that too. Its a fact of life that engines wear out. >When the engine is working hard, the oil gets hotter and thinner and for a given viscosity, the pressure gets lower and the buzzer sounds at mid speed range. >By replacing the oil with full synthetic, the gain is twofold: >1 The engine runs cooler for the same load therefore the oil doesn't get so thin. Believe me you will see this on your temp gauge in about 50 miles. It amazed me to see the needle go down as I drove. >2 The synthetic oil of 15w-50 will retain its viscosity when hot to a value higher than 10w-40 so the pressure will stay higher. > >If you change the high oil pressure switch next to the water pump to the lower value or .8 bar I believe, instead of 1.5 bar, you will still get a warning for catastrophic pressure loss but not get the annoyance of the buzzer coming on when you really do still have enough oil pressure. I climb the Appalachians hard in very hot weather and still the buzzer stays off. >By all means put a pressure gauge on. I was going to but its such a pain that I never got a round tuit. I may never bother. > >Dont be afraid of oil leaks showing up. Only those that need fixing anyway will appear. When I changed my oil to Mobil1 15w-50 at 130k miles, the only leak I got was around the base of the distributor. A 30 cent O-ring fixed it. > >It will only cost $20-30 to change the oil over. Just do it !!! >Make your own experiences and conclusions. If you dont like it, switch back. Its not irreversible. I doubt you will though because I believe you will be happy with the results. > >cheers, >Steve Cotsford >Columbia SC


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