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Date:         Sat, 23 Mar 2013 21:25:33 -0700
Reply-To:     Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Subject:      Re: '87 Westy - Oil Change, out of hibernation
Comments: To: JRodgers <jrodgers113@GMAIL.COM>
In-Reply-To:  <514E731B.4050402@gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

OW5, or,they don't make oil thin enough for those temps. ( almost anyway ) Power streering fluid won't even flow at temps of way below zero. You're right ...in those conditions cars have to be left running , even 24/7. Anchorage was paralyzed at 50 below about 12 years ago ..something like that. My subaru dealer is selling 0W20 as a normal engine oil for new subaru's. Even in normal temps.

On 3/23/2013 8:29 PM, JRodgers wrote: > All this oil talk got me to wondering what one would run at the opposite > extremes - like in REALLY cold! I can remember back in 1971 when I was > in Fairbanks it got cold as blazes. I don't remember the temperature in > town then - but north of town at a Prospect Creek along where the Alaska > Pipeline is, the temp on January 23 went to minus 80F - coldest ever > recorded in the US. Twice below the temperature at which kerosene > freezes. In Feb of 1947 in Snag, Yukon - it went to minus 81.4F - the > coldest temp ever recorded in North America - but I wasn't there then - > but I sure was for the Prospect Creek event. Try starting a cold engine > on a day like that. Cars were left running for days in many cases. Of > course many had block heaters too, and battery hot plates but it's tough > on engines at those temps. Anbd tires keep their flat spots all day. > Thermostats never open. But oil being oil - I guess it had to get warm > enough to lube - no matter what. But I still wonder what grade oils > would be best used. > > John > > On 3/15/2013 4:08 PM, OlRivrRat wrote: >> McNeely >> >> It appears to me that you & I (& I suspect lots of others(either >> direction)) may be interpreting the OwnersManual OilGradeChart >> differently ~ since the 20w-50, 20w-40, 15w-50, 15w-40 RangeBars have an >> ArrowTop on them I assume that means GreaterThan ~ I think that if they >> didn't want to recommend the use those grades above 90ºf they would have >> capped them Flat as they have done with the 10w-40, 10w-30 RangeBar. >> Also we should keep in mind that these specs are at least 30YrsOld ~ >> they may have been developed (more or less) from a CYA perspective ~ & a >> number of improvements have been made in the EngineLube Grading&Quality >> TestSpecs since then. >> When I look @ this chart it says to me if 15w-40 is OK to use >> off the UpperEnd of the Temps then a 10w or 5w or 0w-40 should also be >> OK to use in that same setting ~ Since theoretically a 40 "ShouldBe" a >> 40 no matter what the **w # is. >> You asked the ? "What do folks in Arizona do for running in >> summer?" & all I can say is that if I lived in AZ instead of NM I would >> probably try to get away with using a 5w-40 until my OilTemp&Press' >> Gauges told me to move up to 5w-50 & most definitely a FullSynthetic. I >> did live in AZ for 2.5Yrs back in the '60s as a USAF WeatherGuy ~ I >> recall many SummerDays with temps in the Mid120s ~ IIRC 128ºF was the >> highest ~ I drove a 51ChevyConvertable & then a >> 63.5FordFalconSprintConvertable in those days probably running SAE40) >> >> >> ORR ~ DeanB >> >> On 15 Mar , 2013, at 12:57 PM, Dave Mcneely wrote: >> >>> ---- Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@hotmail.com> wrote: >>>> Again, at 100C the 20w-50 should have higher viscosity than straight >>>> 40. Outside temperature has minimal effect on oil temperature unless >>>> the radiator is saturated or the effects of running the air >>>> conditioning or higher speeds for longer times takes over. >>> >>> Dennis, why did VW recommend the straight 40W for the highest >>> temperature range, rather than the 20W50, which was recommended for >>> slightly lower ambient temperatures? This is per my owner's book. >>> >>> mcneely >>> >>>> >>>> Dennis >>>> >>>> -----Original Message----- >>>> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On >>>> Behalf Of Dave Mcneely >>>> Sent: Thursday, March 14, 2013 5:51 PM >>>> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM >>>> Subject: Re: '87 Westy - Oil Change, out of hibernation >>>> >>>> OlRivrRat, thanks for the information. I do switch to the 40W for >>>> the hottest three months, and those are the months when I push the >>>> camper the hardest, also. I am following VW Vanagon owner's book >>>> recommendation. Forty weight for temperatures running at the high >>>> end of the nineties, 20W50 for lower than that. 20W50 does great in >>>> winter around here, and in spring and fall, also does well in >>>> northern states in summer. It is just too damned hot here and in the >>>> SW and interior areas of the west. >>>> >>>> What do folks in Arizona do for running in summer? mcneely >>>> >>>> ---- OlRivrRat <OlRivrRat@COMCAST.NET> wrote: >>>>> Ooops ~ sorry about that McNeely ~ your email asking about >>>>> HighOP is immediately below Don Hansons email in which he says >>>>> >>>>> "After hard use on a hot day, my idle OP sits at about 25psi >>>>> with the >>>>> 15-40w oil. When I use 10-40 or 10-30, I see about 10psi lower at >>>>> speed >>>>> and a few psi lower at idle when hot." >>>>> >>>>> & that is what I was attempting to respond to but clicked on your >>>>> email by mistake & did not notice. >>>>> >>>>> I don't know the answer to your HighOP? ~ just off hand I'd say >>>>> your OP#s look quite acceptable overall ~ I would start getting >>>>> concerned if they dropped much below what you are getting now. Not >>>>> sure, though, why you choose to change to thinner oil (40w) for the >>>>> hot months (if those are the 3mo's you are referring to), if the >>>>> 20w-50 works OK for you in the Winter it should work just fine >>>>> YearRound. You really ought to consider giving a Synthetic a try (at >>>>> least for those hot 3mo's), I suspect you may be pleasantly surprised >>>>> by the results ~ Walmart has Valvoline or Mobil1(not recommending >>>>> just >>>>> informing) 5qtBottles for around $25 & usually many other good brands >>>>> as well. Good Synthetics don't have to be expensive anymore. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> ORR ~ DeanB >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> On 14 Mar , 2013, at 11:18 AM, <mcneely4@cox.net> <mcneely4@cox.net> >>>>> wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> Well, the question was, "What is too much oil pressure in a >>>>>> waterboxer?" So, I repeat the question: What is too much oil >>>>>> pressure in a waterboxer? Is it 65 psi, 70 psi? >>>>>> >>>>>> On startup, cold, 20W50 Castrol (I hate the company, but use the oil >>>>>> because I can't seem to find a better, and will not pay for >>>>>> synthetic for an engine that is supposed to run on non-synthetic >>>>>> oil), the OP on my 1991 Volkswagen Vanagon GL Campmobile with 2.1 >>>>>> with 170K miles runs at 60-70 psi depending on how cold it is. At >>>>>> home I garage it, and ambient temperature is usually around 50 F in >>>>>> winter. But then I park it outside when away from the house. But >>>>>> it has never pegged the 0-80 psi gauge. The pressure usually drops >>>>>> to 40 psi quickly as the engine warms up and holds around there. >>>>>> Summer is another matter, it usually drops to around 30 psi but will >>>>>> go lower on on long runs under hot conditions. I switch to 40W for >>>>>> about 3 months. >>>>>> >>>>>> So far as low OP, I don't see a problem there, except at idle it may >>>>>> drop to 10 psi or a tad lower after long hot runs. >>>>>> >>>>>> How much OP is too high?? >>>>>> >>>>>> mcneely >>>>>> >>>>>> ---- OlRivrRat <OlRivrRat@COMCAST.NET> wrote: >>>>>>> If I saw a 10PSI drop or even a 5PSI drop in HotOP from >>>>>>> 15w-40 to >>>>>>> 10w-40 or even 0w-40 I would Kiss that OilManufacture Goodby in a >>>>>>> HeartBeat. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> ORR ~ DeanB >>>>>>> >>>>>>> On 14 Mar , 2013, at 8:52 AM, Don Hanson wrote: >>>>>>> >>>>>>>> So, what is "too much" oil pressure in a waterboxer? mcneely >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> And, what is too much oil pressure in an inline VW motor? (ABA >>>>>>>> Jetta 2.0 >>>>>>>> liter) >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Mine, using 15-40 starts up cold with (3000rpm) 75-80psi, then >>>>>>>> when up to normal oil temp (~200f) the pressure settles at around >>>>>>>> 60-65psi (again, given a 3000rpm engine speed) I've wondered >>>>>>>> about the seemingly pretty high cold oil and engine oil >>>>>>>> pressure... >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> After hard use on a hot day, my idle OP sits at about 25psi with >>>>>>>> the >>>>>>>> 15-40w oil. When I use 10-40 or 10-30, I see about 10psi >>>>>>>> lower at >>>>>>>> speed >>>>>>>> and a few psi lower at idle when hot. >>>>>> >>>>>> -- >>>>>> David McNeely >>>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>>> David McNeely >>>> >>> >>> -- >>> David McNeely >> >


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