Changing Oil?

[nilejackson]

So, i have been told changing oil should be much more frequent in a Mini Auto.

I have a 998cc and would love to know what your recomendations for oils are... eg Viscosity, brand...

[metroauto]

Ideally a simple oil gives best results

Anything too synthetic will make the gearbox slip when changing gear

I have done a few oil changes on my Metro Auto's and used Morris 15/40 Oil and it has proved very successful.

www.morrislubricants.co.uk

It is also good once you have found a suitable oil to try and stick to the same brand

Apparently when doing oil changes on the Automatic you can never fully drain the oil as a small amount always remains in the gearbox.

[Admin/Founder 2]

Hi Nile
hopefully other will give their views too but allways use a Good Quality 20W50 mineral Oil in your Automatic

The handbook for Boris states to use 10w40
This is just too thin for the automatic gearbox and should be disregarded. I believe at the time they just standardised the lubrication instructions across the range which was fine for every other model but the Mini was a very different creature to the rest of their range and needs a different regime

Id be interested to see others recomendations on oils too as only by others testing the various brands will we find out which is best?

I personally used to use Duckhams Q 20w50 Mineral oil which for a lower priced oil is very good
Which for many years appeared like this and was green in colour.

Theyve now changed the pakaging and the dyes in the oil as its now yellow in colour


I now upon the advice of my Gearbox builder use Valvoline Race Oil
Valvoline VR1 20w50 Mineral


Allways change your oil every 1500 miles to give Transmission longetivity but certainly never let your oil changes go over 3000 miles

Always use a new filter they cost cost much either a unipart GFE 104 or 479 or ask your auto factors for alternatives.

And never use synthetic oils in an Automatic
I also wouldnt suggest cheap supermarket brands of 20w50 which are often cleaned and recycled Oil (just check out the colour of it) its rarther like tea coloured

hope this helps?

Huggz
Jodie

[kalkat]

Wise words indeed!

Emma

[asahartz]

Agreed with 20/50 oil. This is what the gearbox was designed to run with and the viscosity in an auto is critical. In our application it works twice as hard having to do the engine as well! so regular changes are vital. And never synthetic! (Not that you'd find it in 20/50 anyway).

[vpmetroste]

i also use millers classic as recommended by my auto repair man



his words "pathectic synthetic "

[Admin/Founder 2]

its ironic but when we first viewed Boris the oil had emulsified and seperated due to lack of use and being sat for a year

Once jumpstarted despite the old oil which i think was 20w50 he drove beautifully with smooth gearchanges and a sharp precise Kickdown ;D

Boris came from a 4x4 dealers they didnt really deal in Minis though they were kindly offered to flush the engine and change the oil & filter

Unfortunately they used the autodata system most garages have which advised them to use 10w40
Thinking they were doing us a favour they used synthetic too

I still think it had a part in the transmissions premature death
Weve also since found out flushing an auto isnt a good idea as the Torque Convertor keeps some of the oil back during oil changes
Including the Engine flush
Well Boris has since had a full Transmission Rebuild/Overhaul By Mra Minis in which the torque convertor was drained and from now on ill be using a High Quality 20w50 mineral oil only ;D

Huggz
Jodie

[nilejackson]

how much did the transmission rebuild cost?

Im hoping that nothing like that will ever happen to my baby but its always good to know!

[Admin/Founder 2]

£850

Ive seen rebuilds for £700ish and some upto £1k but expect to pay around £800 all in.

Of course if your handy with the spanners yourself you can get an exchange box for Around £500 if you willing to do the work yourself

I wouldnt suggest a self rebuild of the transmission internals yourself unless your clued up.

£800 might sound a lot but if you look after your newly rebuilt transmission it should last

Its lack of or very poor maintainance that useually causes premature death to them

Huggz
Jodie

[(minisniper)]

Hiya nile
I personally use Halfords Classic 20W/50 and I have had no problems with it and Molly drives lovely with it. Just don't forget to change your filter with every oil change and like others have siad don't go over 3000 mile mark.

[wozza]

I use Halfords Classic 20W/50 as well and have never had a problem and i totally agree with everyone else never go over 3000 miles without a oil and filter change

Joloke where did you get your reconditioned box from?
Just in case

[ovie]

Looks like I'll have to double the number of filters I've got, I've only be changing the filter every 6,000 miles.

[andyn]

I've used Miller Transverse M for many years on everything from a 120 Bhp 1430 to our 998 auto no problems at all.

[minithirtyauto]

You can get nearly another pint of oil out if you reomve the spark plugs to lower the compression/stop the engine starting! and then turn the engine over on the starter motor for 5-10 seconds. This will relase the oil that the Torque convertor hangs onto. Personally I think it good to stick to the same brand of oil, helps reduce any cross contamation. Also best to let engine run for a few minutes after changing the oil before slecting gears.

[Admin/Founder 2]

Dec 31, 2009 14:34:35 GMT minithirtyauto said:

You can get nearly another pint of oil out if you remove the spark plugs to lower the compression/stop the engine starting! and then turn the engine over on the starter motor for 5-10 seconds. This will release the oil that the Torque convertor hangs onto. Personally I think it good to stick to the same brand of oil, helps reduce any cross contamination. Also best to let engine run for a few minutes after changing the oil before selecting gears.

I have heard this Before but somehow cannot bring myself to turn over the engine with no oil in it

I know its not really turning it over as such but still cannot bring myself to do it

Spot On about sticking to One Brand of oil too
Best to make sure your prefered brand is easily available too as nothing worse than getting used to a specific oil only to find its hard to get hold of it

[minithirtyauto]

Turning the engine to get an extra pint of oil out does scare me too
I have done it a couple of times tho especially when I'm the new owener of a mini and don't know what oil has been used before.
Just checked to find out where I learn that little tip, it was from an article mini world printed "on buying a used auto" not sure which year and month as I only have a fax back. Graham Packer used to be Bristol Mini Centre is quoted as saying "the secret of a good oil change, is to remove the low tension wire from the distributor and operate the starter motor for 5- 10 seconds" This will spin oil trapped in the torque converter ino the sump and out of the drain plug. Failure to carry out this procedure will leave around one or two pints of old oil in the gearbox.

As i've said I've only got an old fax back, does anyone have a copy of this article, maybe miniworld would let us put it up on the forum?

[kiwihcn]

A tip worth trying I think!!

[mowogdave]

There was an article on autos in mini mag a few months ago... I'm new to the forum so not seen it around but would be good to post if anyone got it handy?

In there was a comment about all the oil that gets left behind and it surprised me there was a fair bit!

Last time I changed my oil thought it would be a good idea to do a "flush" - but using the same 20/50. It used more oil, sure. But it did seem to get a fair amount of extra muck out. When I re-filled the oil was vastly cleaner than it had ever been on previous changes.

So I'll probably try this again next time if it helps prolong life even if it costs more... but then again oils not that expensive relatively....

[mollymoke]

Hi all,
Sorry to drag up an old post.
I agree with the 3000miles change, but wanted to know about laid up periods?
My auto Moke really only comes out in Spring and sometime in Autumn will go back in the shed, generally it only does 2 or 3 thou miles per year so I change it when I bring it out.
Just did so last night, cleaned it up started and a quick run to warm her up, dumped the oil and filter. Ready for some sunshine as we have a few days over 20c forecast this week!

So am I doing the right thing? It means it only gets changed yearly!

[manuel]

Running your car up to normal temp before changing your oil helps.
I drive my left wheel up onto a block of wood, or halfway up a ramp to tilt my car to the right by 5 or 6 inches, the drain plug is not level with the bottom of the sump and a bunch of dirty oil just sits there if you don't tilt it.
If you buy your filters from an online vendor buy in multiples, shipping charges for 1 filter is usually about the same amount as 4 filters.
Make sure you have a magnetic drain plug.

[jime17]

Sorry to resurrect a really old thread but i'm sure I read on mra site that 20w50 in older auto minis but 10w40 in newer
Unsure why the difference. Would be interesting to know. I'm wrestling with the decision at the moment.

[notamini]

I like to be safe and dump in some cheap department store brand 10/30 or 10/40. Run the engine for a bit and then change up to the 20/50 and a new filter.
Molly Moke.
You are probably doing the right thing except that, personally, I would change her up before I stored her and not when you pull her out of storage for the season. Contaminated oil sitting in the engine will cause you a great deal of harm, especially on any rubber in the box ass'y.