Bentley GTC OEM at 3,000mi

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I just had my pH meter out so collected some values from oils around the garage:

Pennzoil Conventional 5w20 - 7.0
Mobil 1 0W30 - 7.2
Castrol GC 0W30 - 7.3
RLI 0W20 - 7.3
RLI 0W30 - 7.4

Now I need to check to pH on used oil just for fun.

The Bentley is in the lift area and I may just change the oil tomorrow. I will get some pictures from below.

aehaas
 
All were daily drivers. A few also were run on the track, but the same failures have occurred for elise owners who have never taken their cars on the track and have been gentle. ("gentle" being based on the ECU readout of the time spent on the high speed cam)
 
Originally Posted By: buster
Cars that ran on the track more often are going to wear out faster than those used more as a daily driver.

RI, of those cars mentioned, what oils are being used?


I don't know for all of them, but Lotus recommends 5W40 for the Elise, even though the recommendation from Toyota is 5W30. The factory fill is Havoline Synthetic 5W40. Most Elise owners in the US seem to use either Mobil 1 0W40, Castrol Syntec 5W40, or ??? Most Audi/VW owners are running Castrol Syntec 5W40, or Mobil 1 0W40.
 
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Originally Posted By: AEHaas
.......The Bentley is in the lift area and I may just change the oil tomorrow. I will get some pictures from below.

aehaas


Pictures will be cool.
Do you know of other Bentley GTC owners in the USA who do their own oil changes?
How much oil does the sump hold?
 
Here are some pictures during my oil change:


DSC1.jpg


DSC2.jpg


13 qts. of Castrol 0W30 GC went in. The filter was changed with the OEM Bentley product, a replaceable element.

I found some things different in the W12 engine with 4 wheel drive. The trans is well behind the engine. This is because the front diff in located - well - where the oil pan would normally be sitting in a wet sump engine.

The oil pan sits at the front of the engine. It is the transverse silver/aluminum pan that actually sticks out in front of the pulleys. The oil filter canister is the black cylinder at the left of the pan in the picture - passenger side of the car.

The poly-V accessory belt can just be seen up front. It is unusual because it is ribbed on both sides. I have never seen this before. It has no smooth side to it and all pulleys are grooved regardless of the direction.

aehaas

Nikon D3 w/17-35 2.8 lens
 
Interesting pictures. What is the purpose of the electrical connector on the driver's side of the oil pan? Is that for an oil temp sensor? Oil level sensor?
 
I am curious what sort of attitude a Bentley dealer has towards a new-Bentley owner who wishes to do his own maintenance. I imagine it's pretty unusual but maybe I'm mistaken. Get any funny looks? Is service information hard to come by? Do you explain your fascination with the lubrication/maintenance aspect of the cars and discuss these things with them? If so do you find they are well educated on the details of it? This would go for your other cars as well I suppose.
 
The wire on the bottom of the pan is for an oil level sensor.

I have a minimal relationship with the Bentley mechanics and service people though I have been given copies of TSBs and have access to service literature. It is all online but the pictures and diagrams are only visible on a computer running Windows 98. Vista and 2000 and XP can only show written materials so it is always difficult to do stuff with ease. I have downloaded the complete parts diagrams. This was when I had access to an old Windows box.

I have much more open access with Maybach, Lamborghini and Ferrari. I am on the phone with technical people from Ferrari North America at least monthly.

aehaas
 
Serpentine belts with grooves on both sides are found on many water cooled VW engines. I have seen them on the 2.0 NA, 1.8T, 1.9 TDI, and 2.8 VR6.
 
Originally Posted By: AEHaas
...............13 qts. of Castrol 0W30 GC went in. The filter was changed with the OEM Bentley product, a replaceable element............


I am curious why Bentley engineers chose a replaceable element, instead of a spin-on filter. Seems that a spin-on filter would be easier and quicker to replace in that location, than a cartridge.
 
Originally Posted By: RI_RS4
AE,

Definitely Mobil 1 0W40 with all that Boron. Ca,Mg and Zn look right

Your nitration climbed quickly, indicating that the rings are not yet sealed. I'd want to change the oil out and then drive the engine hard to seat the rings.

Silicon is also high. I'd want to get that out of there.
Where can you hold that puppy at WOT long enough to put a good load on the rings?
grin2.gif
 
Originally Posted By: RI_RS4
All were daily drivers. A few also were run on the track, but the same failures have occurred for elise owners who have never taken their cars on the track and have been gentle. ("gentle" being based on the ECU readout of the time spent on the high speed cam)
I wonder if the wear is from the car being a toy that is seldom used? My friend wants to buy a Ferrari and I really never pay attention to exotics as I really am not into cars though I can certainly appreciate them. Anyway the Ferraris all have low, low, low miles.
 
Originally Posted By: AEHaas
Here are some pictures during my oil change:


13 qts. of Castrol 0W30 GC went in. The filter was changed with the OEM Bentley product, a replaceable element.

I found some things different in the W12 engine with 4 wheel drive. The trans is well behind the engine. This is because the front diff in located - well - where the oil pan would normally be sitting in a wet sump engine.

The oil pan sits at the front of the engine. It is the transverse silver/aluminum pan that actually sticks out in front of the pulleys. The oil filter canister is the black cylinder at the left of the pan in the picture - passenger side of the car.

The poly-V accessory belt can just be seen up front. It is unusual because it is ribbed on both sides. I have never seen this before. It has no smooth side to it and all pulleys are grooved regardless of the direction.

aehaas

Nikon D3 w/17-35 2.8 lens


Nice pics. You can really see the extra bracing Bentley used underneath for the convertible model.

FTR, Mobil 1 0w40 is factory fill in all Bentleys.
 
Originally Posted By: Steve S
Originally Posted By: RI_RS4
All were daily drivers. A few also were run on the track, but the same failures have occurred for elise owners who have never taken their cars on the track and have been gentle. ("gentle" being based on the ECU readout of the time spent on the high speed cam)
I wonder if the wear is from the car being a toy that is seldom used? My friend wants to buy a Ferrari and I really never pay attention to exotics as I really am not into cars though I can certainly appreciate them. Anyway the Ferraris all have low, low, low miles.



I heard they were extremely unreliable as daily-driven cars, and I could understand that.


And JEEBUS! 13 QUARTS!
LOL.gif
My Yaris doesn't even use all four quarts... Although I guess, you have the equivalent of six Yaris's under your hood.
grin2.gif
 
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The rigidity of this car's frame is remarkable. It has almost no body flex that I can detect and I am one of the pickiest people in this department. The Murcielago for example, even though it is a coupe, has much too much flex for me. It is stiff, just not stiff enough for me. And it is not as stiff a frame as the Bentley.

The suspension is more tight on the Lamborghini. This is good. The suspension on the Bentley is much softer and this is good. But the difference in frame tuning is night and day.

This aspect of the Bentley is what amazes me the most about the car.

The Enzo has no frame flex. And the ride is fairly smooth.

aehaas
 
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