Date: Thu, 6 Dec 2012 15:19:52 -0500
Reply-To: Jim Akiba <syncrolist@BOSTIG.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Jim Akiba <syncrolist@BOSTIG.COM>
Subject: Re: Oil Change. Zetec
In-Reply-To: <B20A5A61-2B8E-43CA-B7A6-E87756BBDA38@gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
LOL. Between guys like Craig, guys like Brady, and folks that just don't
care out of interest in other things, ignorance, or neglect you see what
we're dealing with. That's why we assume people are going to abuse their
conversions. But that's good, if you *do* take care of and actually
maintain it, it'll take you everywhere you wanted to go, and get you back.
We did several rounds of oil testing during turbo dev, to test the effects
of our fueling strategies in worst case scenarios on lubrication. This
involved two (one 11 months) torture tests on my van. Even with the worst
case scenario (30k, stage-1 clutch-in cold starts, no oil changes or
additions), the only bad damage was the thrust bearing which was expected.
It takes about 3.5 hours to change with the engine in the van. So not
horrible. Significant block wear, the aluminum main bearings still held
up remarkably well. Still not something you want to do, but seeing these
worst cases gives me great expectations for well maintained N/A engines.
This is also when we realized that for a zetec crank endplay is very
simple and revealing test as to past treatment when it comes to oil
changes.
It also taught me that remarkably, a zetec crank can walk out to .096" and
not start throwing rods. The spec max is .009" or 1/10 of what we
generated during the torture test. Jury is out on the permanent damage to
the turbo, but it's still happy in my van and not burning oil. The max
"real world" spec before crank thrust surface damage begins is around .036"
Even if you ruin the thrust surface on the crank like we did (which should
require a tear down and crank repair + rebuild or engine swap) you can pop
in a tri-metal thrust bearing and avoid an engine change/rebuild even in a
situation that any engine builder would tell you is impossible. We're
still tracking it, and it hasn't moved past it's "seating plateau" of .042"
in the last 6k miles.
Jim Akiba
On Thu, Dec 6, 2012 at 2:38 PM, Craig Cowan <phishman068@gmail.com> wrote:
> Please do not take what I am about to say as advice! It is simply what
> I've been doing.
>
> I have about 10,000 miles on my zetec a oil over the course of about a
> year and a half. I last pulled the dipstick to check in August, and that
> was the first time in about six months.
> I even moved this engine from a different Van in that time, and did not
> change or check the oil while the engine was on the stand.
>
> The engine has mobile 1 synthetic, and I put a new filter on it sometime
> last year. I may do that again soon.
>
> What am I tryin to prove?
> Nothing.
> The last oil analysis I had came back acceptably, and I just don't see the
> need to baby a $300 engine block. Oil isn't cheap these days, and I really
> hate changing it. Yes, I actually enjoy changing engines more than I enjoy
> changing oil
> Am I crazy? Maybe. Please don't tell me if I am though, it will ruin the
> surprise.
>
> Your zetec is built well. The bostig sump holds a lot of oil. Modern oil
> rocks.
>
> -craig
>
>
> On Dec 6, 2012, at 1:59 PM, JarrettAnthony Kupcinski <kupcinski@GMAIL.COM>
> wrote:
>
> > Every 5000 miles/6 months assuming normal operating conditions. 3000
> miles for extreme service conditions. The Bostig recommendation matches
> Ford's.
> >
> > -Jarrett K
> > 89 Westy powered by Bostig
> >> What did the engine manufacturer recommend for the engine when it was
> new in a factory installation?
> >>
> >>> Bostig recommends an oil change every 3 to 5K using synthetic oil.
> Since
>
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