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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - oil brand and additives and viscosity

I am about to change the oil in my 1500 that has sat for the majority of 15 years before I got it and put it back on the road. I usually use Castrol 5-30 since I am in Florida. I also use about a half a quart of Lucas oil stabilizer at oil change. Any comments on brand, viscosity or use of this additive? I am up for suggestions before I make the change. Also how many quarts with filter change.
Thanks in advance.
Jim
jt simmons

Jim,
The books call for 20w50. It's hot in Florida so why use a thinner (less viscuous) oil.
I'm not a fan of oil addetives, but Lucas products are usually highly rated. If the purpose of oil stabilizer is to maintain the oil when sitting for awile, then it couln't hurt to use it if you don't drive much. I wouln't use anything that thins my oil though.

Where in Florida are you? Ther are quite a few midgets around, but in such a big state its not often I see more than 5 or six at a show. Usually there ar 1-2 Spridgets and a few bugeyes.

Phil'hot=viscuous'
Phil

Castrol GTX 20W50, available almost everywhere, this was one of the original specifications. This is what I use.

Regardless of what brand you use, 20W50 should be used in conditions above 50 deg F, like in FL. Some prefer mineral oils over synthetics, remember though that once you go synthetic, you cannot reverse or mix with mineral oil as your seals will shrink.

Lucas oil stabilizer if you wish, for added overall protection.

If your car is without a catalyst, I would recommend a zinc additive such as ZDDP, available from MOSS or on ebay, will help the valve train as all oil sold in the USA is now sold without it. DO NOT use if you have a cataylst, it will ruin the cataylst.

If your cars oil tends to run extremely hot and oil breakdowns quickly, install an oil cooler, as 1500's tend to boil engine oil. Or change your oil more frequently.

Oil is approx. 4.5 quarts with filter. Buy 5 qts. and you'll have enough.





Ron Koenig

i am with phil here

15w40 is the minimum 20w50 is recomended
oil aditives are a no go area in my book

what was your oil pressure with that oil when hot?
Onno Könemann

Thank you for all the comments and suggestions. I am going with castrol 20w50. I was under the car today and the oil plug is stuck. I put my 11mm on it and tried all sorts of angles and tricks and had no luck loosening it. Is heating it up the next step?

Jim no oil change due to stuck plug
jt simmons

The oil pressure when hot is steady at 60 at about 800 RPMs when hot. This is with oil of unknown age and origin. It does not look too dirty on the stick, but am not going to drive until I can get it changed.

jim with the stuck plug
jt simmons

Jim,
60Lbs @ 800 sounds real good!
Try to loosen the plug when the oil is hot as opposed to heating with a tourch or heater.
I would say most of us use Castrol brand oil.
Phil
Phil

Phil
I tried loosening with hot oil and engine last night, no luck. Is the square head plug the common type or a replacment? I tried tapping with a hammer, both the spanner and the plug. I will try to raise the car high enough to use a extender on the spanner. I am a bit worried about stripping the head or shearing off the plug.

jim
jt simmons

The temp where I live (Mallorca, Spain) is 44 oC (111F) at the moment.
My oil pressure drops VERY low in traffic. I use 20/50.
Is there a better alternative for hot weather?
I use water wetter in the rad which brings water temp down quite significantly.
I have a kenlow fan which is on all the time at the mo.
Still, the upside is I rarely have to put the roof up! haha.



Mallorcaben

The square headed plug requires a special tool. I however have used a regular open ended wrench to get it off.

If the square head is rounding off... use a vise-grip or pipe wrench, so you can change the oil. I would recommend heating only as a last resort, and getting a new plug while your at it. The major distributors such as MOSS and Victoria British sell the stock square plug as well as magnetic upgrade drain plugs for the 1500.

Good Luck.

~Ron.
Ron Koenig

Valvoline VR-1 20/50. It's one of the few oils left that has zinc-phosphates in it. Zinc-phosphates lubricate the sliding cam/lifter interface. Most all commercially available oils no longer have zinc-phosphates because it kills catalytic converters. You can get VR-1 at most any auto parts store.

Or check this oil out....

http://classiccarmotoroil.com/
Jon Saylor

Ron K - who says (apart from you) that you cannot go from Synthetic to Mineral and vice versa or mix them or your engine's oil seals leak?

Are you perhaps confusing mineral oils with vegetable oils?
Daniel Thirteen-Twelve

with a 1500 Spitfire engine you need an oil cooler to go get groceries! I would not recommend running that motor with out one.

If you are having heat issues here I would recommend getting rid of your mechanical fan and installing an electric one on your radiator. Forget about the thermal-controlled switch, just have it wired to the ignition so its on when the car is.

I do not remember what type of oil I ran in my 1500's in my 78 but I could not stand those motors and replaced them with a 1275 which has given me no problems. I always had low oil pressure until 1200rpm or so, yours sounds great.

MAJOR WORD OF CAUTION!!!
Do not hold the clutch in except to shift in a 1500cc!!!

NEVER SIT AT A RED LIGHT WITH THE CLUTCH DEPRESSED!!!
The thrust washers in a 1500cc are weak and when you press the clutch in you press the crank forward which will cause wear, if your thrust washers start to wear before you know it you will have low oil pressure due to the big end bearings of the rods wearing/falling apart at which point in time you need to replace the big end bearings as a cheap fix that in my opinion is wrong when you should tear the whole motor apart and rebuild it the right way and pin your thrust washers in place!

If you ever hear the slightest amount of a knock stop and get the car towed, I can show you photos of a 1500cc I had that dropped the big end bearings in the pan; its ugly!

Reason why your oil pan drain plug is seized: Water is heavier than oil and that is what has been sitting on your drain plug for the last who knows how many years. Try getting it off any way possible and get a new plug. If you screw up the plug and the pan is all sorts of screwed up I've got a spare pan here in Melbourne if you want it.

I hate spitfires
-Stefan
Stefan

Stefan
Thanks for your 1500 info. I had never thought about the oil/water theory as to the reason for the stuck drain plug.

jim
jt simmons

Oil is killing our cars.Anyone with pushrod engines
will find some interesting reading at www.svmgcc.org
Sacramento Valley MG Car Club. click on MG Tech Tips, More Tips, Oil is killing our cars.
Norman
N Speak

I always thought it was the life blood of the engine.
Daniel Thirteen-Twelve

Synthetic motor oils swell the oil seals for better sealing, this is an excellent improvement. The only problem is that people are running into seal leaks if they switch back to conventional (mineral) oil.

Stay with synthetic in your engine once you use it. There are several threads in the archives on this.

Ron Koenig

Jim- I broke down and bought the special wrench from either Moss or VB. It works great and you can put a pipe or something on it if you can't get it loose by hand. Also, when I reinstall my drain plug, I use teflon tape on it. That really helps when you have to take it out again. HTH
Tim Michnay

Jon

Definitely switching to Valvoline VR-1...just read some product info...appears to have enough zinc-phosphates to properly protect our older engines...my converter is getting ready to hit the trash heap anyway!

Thanks for the info,

Dave
DL Rhine

Just dumped the Castrol GTX & refilled with Valvoline VR-1...took a spin down the freeway, when I got back home the engine sounded noticeably quieter...go figure.

This really must be good stuff...hadn't even thought about zinc and older engines, all my other vehicles are relatively new and I use Mobil 1 with good results.

Thanks for the tip, Jon.

Dave

DL Rhine

Your Welcome Dave,

"the engine sounded noticeably quieter...go figure."

That's just the engine's way of saying Thank you! ;)






Jon Saylor

Jim,

You can go buy a square socket for your socket wrench to get the oil plug out.

You may not find a four-point socket, but an 8-point should be easy to find. Sears usually has them if you have one of those near you. Otherwise, try an auto parts store or any good tool supply place.

Charley
C R Huff

I broke down on Tuesday (after my wife commented on the MG oil project being a time drain) and tried the jiffy lube idea. They could not get the plug out but offered to siphon it out, as they are having to do that with the new BMW's. I told them to use 4 quarts of oil as I was planning on topping off with Lucas oil stabilizer. By the time I got home (3 miles) my oil presure had dropped at idle (800) to 35 from a steady 60 and I had developed a leak around the pan. After waiting a few minutes to cool down (both me and the midget) I checked the oil level and it is about an inch high on the dip stick. They must have not gotten all the oil out before adding the 4 quarts. I am now in the process of getting my own siphon pump to remove some of the oil, as I do not want to drive it back with the excess oil and am not sure what they would do anyway.
Question, Am I lucky and may just need a new seal around the pan or with the drop in pressure have I blown a seal somewhere internally? There was no oil leak prior to the oil change.

thanking you in advance
Jim with a time and money stuck drain plug
jt simmons

This thread was discussed between 26/07/2009 and 07/08/2009

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

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