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Date:         Thu, 31 Dec 2015 15:38:22 -0500
Reply-To:     Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Dodged a bullet -- blowed the oil filter right off
Comments: To: Rocket J Squirrel <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
In-Reply-To:  <5685630F.7050303@gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"

Except for their motor cycle oils I am not aware of a 20w-50 Mobil 1. https://mobiloil.com/~/media/amer/us/pvl/files/pdfs/mobil-1-oil-product-specs-guide.pdf

Note page 2 has both the 15w-50 and now there is a 5w-50 oil available. For winter and in my non-vanagon European cars I was using the 0w-40 European formulae. Now that the 5w-50 is available that will be my winter oil for the Vanagons. I live in New York.

The Vanagon viscosity chart is just a bit dated but outside of some confusing items it is a good start. For winter operation the viscosity ratings are a bit limited. The SAE ratings are based on viscosities at a given temperature. Of the two numbers listed the lower (W) is related to the oils viscosity at 40C, (104F) and the higher number is reference at 100C (212F). The next important factor is the viscosity index. This is how the oil changes viscosity with temperature outside this range. For cold weather operation the next and most important rating is the pour point. At what temperature does the oil get so thick it cannot flow. Since most conventional oils have some waxes in the base this is a limiting factor. Think of Diesel fuel when it get so cold it starts to get wax crystals blocking filters and stopping engines from starting or worse shutting down while traveling. Most pump Diesel gets treated for cold weather use and truckers know to address this on their own.

This is where the synthetic oil can really shine. Even the high viscosity 15w-50 has a pour point of -39c, (-38.2F). This compares to the Castrol GTX 20w-50 of only -27C, (-16.6F). Also note the Mobil viscosity index is 160 as compared to the Castrol's 123.

I have to go now. I'll be back with some winter engine operation tips.

Dennis

-----Original Message----- From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of Rocket J Squirrel Sent: Thursday, December 31, 2015 12:17 PM To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM Subject: Re: Dodged a bullet -- blowed the oil filter right off

Well now. Let's look at my best choice for oil for this neck of the woods.

Summers here can easily hit 100 degrees F during the day and an overnight freeze is not unusual. Winters can go into the minus teens F.

The chart in the Owner's Manual shows for multigrade oils: 15F to 85F

SAE20W-50 & SAE20W-40: 10F to 85F SAE15W-50 & SAE15W-40: 5F to 85F SAE10W-30: -5F to 60F SAE5W-20 & SAE5W-30: -20F to 15F

I use Mobil-1 20W-50 for summer, 10W-30 for winter.

-- Jack "Rocket j Squirrel" Elliott 1984 Westfalia, auto trans, Bend, Ore.

On 12/29/2015 10:07 PM, Tom Hargrave wrote: > The manual already exists - Haynes is one of the publisher's. > > If you run multi-grade oil, like 10W-40 or 10W-30 you should not need to swap summer and winter oils. That's why multi-grade oils exist. > > And BTW, it's nice to know what actually happened to your filter - thanks. > > Thanks, Tom Hargrave > www.kegkits.com > www.stir-plate.com > www.towercooler.com > www.grow-sun.com > www.raspberryproject.com > http://goo.gl/niRzVw > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM] On > Behalf Of eve Appleton > Sent: Tuesday, December 29, 2015 10:20 PM > To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM > Subject: Re: Dodged a bullet -- blowed the oil filter right off > > Would someone please write an instructional book. Forget the bentley, obviously meant for the elitely mechanic minded... One which tells us to shift oil weights in the winter. 3 hrs waiting for a flatbed today on 167. Was on my way to work which is why i got the westy to begin with. $300 poorer (work loss), I'm hearing for the first time to lighten my oil weight in winter? GDit! What good is a maintenance budget if info like this slips thru the cracks? > Granted: turns out my exhaust pipe bracket let loose n whacked my oil > filter. Huge white plume of smoke, work loss, a freeze to the bones 3 > hr tow wait, n another 3 hrs more at mechanic (where i do considerable

> amt of the work), I'm left with uncertainty about the state of my > rings or valves. !##%!@€€**#! Is there an older lonely gent out there > who's mechanically literate n open to union based on vanagon love? I'm

> seriously considering pimping myself. I just can't quit my van but > need a preventative relationship, which nurtures reliability for my > love of work. It's the idiot guide or prostitution. Given the latter > comes with possibly restrictive consequences, would someone please > !!!! write the damn idiot manual. In seriously frustrated joy, tongue > in cheek, though not really.... eve > > > > > Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android > > On Mon, Dec 28, 2015 at 4:01 PM, Rocket J Squirrel<camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM> wrote: Okay, so it's my fault, but I think I lucked out. > > As temperatures drop down the freezing, and below, I change my engine oil to 10-40, a thinner grade. But this winter I got lazy. I admit it, I got lazy. > > Well, one cold morning last week I started the van and trundled down the street to go downtown, and was about a 1/2 mile from home when I noticed that the idiot light for the oil pressure was lit. And the aftermarket oil pressure gauge I installed a few years ago was at zero. They don't share the same sender or anything so I knew it was serious. > > I pulled off the main road and got out and looked behind the van and sure enough, a trail of oil behind me leading up to a small puddle under the engine. > > Triple-A flatbedded the van to Gary's Ole Volks Home here in Bend, and after an hour he called me and said that the oil filter had plain blowed off. > > So here's what happened: at these low temperatures, I reckon that the thicker summer oil was as thick as pine sap -- maybe amber -- resulting in very high oil pressure. > > The oil filter was not the stock one that I use. I installed a tencentlife oil cooler kit a few years ago, and it uses a banjo fitting that goes between the filter and the engine for oil send and receive (thermostat in there, too). The stock filter is too long to fit and he recommends a Bosch 3300, which I have been using. > > But the last time I replaced the filter, when I switched from winter to summer oil, the auto parts store was out of stock on the Bosch, and they offered the Wix. I never heard of Wix, but the guy said it was a good brand, so hey. > > Well, the mechanic was consternated by the shorter filter, said it was the wrong one, and that the threads looked like pipe threads. I picked up a new Bosch on my way over and took at look at the Wix, comparing it to the Bosch, and the threads in the Wix looked pretty poor. > > So I think I lucked out here. That high oil pressure was gonna blow out something, I'm just glad that it was a $6 oil filter. Otherwise, $75 for the work, nothing (other than subscription to Triple-A) for the tow. It could have been a lot worse. > > Engine sounds fine, I hope no damage was done. > > And what's the lesson, kids? Don't skip maintenance. And distrust Wix filters. > > -- > Jack "Rocket j Squirrel" Elliott > 1984 Westfalia, auto trans, > Bend, Ore. > > ----- > No virus found in this message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 2016.0.7294 / Virus Database: 4489/11256 - Release Date: > 12/25/15 >


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