7 Years & 40k Service/OCI
- Thread starter Bailes1992
- Start date
I'm also skeptical. How much oil was in the crankcase? Maybe the wife got the oil changed since the hubby looks like a handyman of the year.
Oils in Europe are better, but the engines over there still burn oil. At the very least I think it was regularly topped off.
Oils in Europe are better, but the engines over there still burn oil. At the very least I think it was regularly topped off.
You're very negative on my threads Kris. Like telling me on my Duster thread that cleaning the engine bay regularly is going to cause the world to end. What's the matter? Anything you want to talk about?
Funny enough, I looked over the car last week breifly. The tyres were dangerously low on pressure, I think the front N/S was down to 8psi.
This car hasn't been touched for another 2 and a half years. Not quite sure how many miles it's done since. I can confirm the crank seal leak has reduced down to nothing. Not sure if this is due to the thicker oil I chose or due to the liquimoly oil saver. Both of them have confirmed that the bonnet has not been opened other than for the yearly roadworthiness test we have over here (MOT) and when I checked the dipstick last week it was dry. I topped it off with another 2 litres of oil (we were around my parents house and the only thing around there was Castrol Edge 5w30 LL) which brought it back to the max mark.
This car is unfortunately doomed. It's not looked after at all and they have no interest in looking after it. I almost feel like they need a big-bill failure to scare them into being more proactive with maintenance.
They keep going on about getting a Jaguar next but I keep telling them a Jag will not deal with the level of abuse this thing has received.
Did you do a UOA of the oil? TBN was ?? Maybe zero?
Thats because negative attracts positive
Oh yes, I’m sure that’s exactly what I had said, the world is going to end
Maybe a capital engine failure with the Jaguar will teach them a lesson for their second-next car....
Well 3 years later and 17,000miles and my Sister and her partner decided it needed a service again.
Opened the bonnet to this…
Being it’s a stretch belt I decided it would be wise to give that job a wide berth and tell them to take it to a garage.
Engine actually looked very clean internally still.
Little bit of varnish on the top of the dipstick, but I think that was there before…
Old oil drained…
New filter on…
And put in 4 litres of Maxlife 10w40…
Swapped out the spark plugs with some denso units…
Although the old plugs looked pretty good…
Also swapped out the air filter, this is the old one…
And same with the cabin filter…
Interestingly the last time I serviced it the engine had a bad oil leak from the rear main seal. I obviously went up to a 15w40 but also threw some Liquimoly motor oil saver in there and the leak has stopped dead! Hoping that the Maxlife will continue that on.
Opened the bonnet to this…
Being it’s a stretch belt I decided it would be wise to give that job a wide berth and tell them to take it to a garage.
Engine actually looked very clean internally still.
Little bit of varnish on the top of the dipstick, but I think that was there before…
Old oil drained…
New filter on…
And put in 4 litres of Maxlife 10w40…
Swapped out the spark plugs with some denso units…
Although the old plugs looked pretty good…
Also swapped out the air filter, this is the old one…
And same with the cabin filter…
Interestingly the last time I serviced it the engine had a bad oil leak from the rear main seal. I obviously went up to a 15w40 but also threw some Liquimoly motor oil saver in there and the leak has stopped dead! Hoping that the Maxlife will continue that on.
Why do the new spark plug threads look like that?
Is that anti-seize or thread damage?
It’s a ceramic anti sieze made by Febi Bilstein. I believe it was made by or for Mercedes for injectors and glowplugs.
OP. Thanks for renewing the original thread.
You made a common subject, neglect, a story containing suspense!
Regarding those "who will not learn": It always amazed me that people whose cars I'd top up REGULARLY, never got in the practice of checking their oil.
You made a common subject, neglect, a story containing suspense!
Regarding those "who will not learn": It always amazed me that people whose cars I'd top up REGULARLY, never got in the practice of checking their oil.
Would an oil like the Fuchs Titan GT1 with VW511 that you use in your Dacia not be a better fit considering the long drain interval that this car typically suffers?
Lol. That poor poor car only went 17k miles on its fill this time, my goodness... That oil filter location is awful as well.
Well 3 years later and 17,000miles and my Sister and her partner decided it needed a service again.
Opened the bonnet to this…
View attachment 250225
Being it’s a stretch belt I decided it would be wise to give that job a wide berth and tell them to take it to a garage.
Engine actually looked very clean internally still.
View attachment 250226
Little bit of varnish on the top of the dipstick, but I think that was there before…
Old oil drained…
View attachment 250228
Interestingly the last time I serviced it the engine had a bad oil leak from the rear main seal. I obviously went up to a 15w40 but also threw some Liquimoly motor oil saver in there and the leak has stopped dead! Hoping that the Maxlife will continue that on.
They had a really nasty bill during their annual inspection. I'd be warning them about a few issues for some time but was ignored. Then when it failed it's 'MOT' as we call it, I had zero time to do the work so they ended up forking out quite a large sum of money to put the car right. I also suspect that's what's kicked off this desire to service the car 3 years after I did it last. Good news is I've also convinced them to get the timing belt and AUX belt replaced.
Maybe, but my choice for Maxlife was wanting to continue conditioning the old malnourished seals. If I went with the Fuchs then I'd have ended up adding a seal conditioning additive and the oil change would have almost doubled in cost.
Worth mentioning that the Maxlife is an A3/B4 oil so has a TBN of >10 suitable for extended intervals.
If anything, it shows just how good out Euro oils are. The Tesco 15w40 I used was a budget A3/B3 oil meaning a TBN of <10 but >8.0 and yet it seemed to cope just fine with the 17k/3 year interval. There's certainly no sludge or signs of the oil being 'depleted'. I wish I could justify the cost of a UOA, but they're around £50 or $65 US over here.
3 years and 17.000 miles definitely IS an extended intervall..... /
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This was a fun thread to read!Car was running like a switch watch when I dropped it off. The needle of the speedo nudged 110mph on the 20 mile journey back to theirs, must have been faulty!
Do note that the saying is "Swiss watch", because the Swiss are known for...quality timepieces. Lol
