Discussion
Martin,
That's a very good question. When our engines were designed, car engine oils had sufficient zinc to lubricate them. Then, on this side of the pond, the Government found that the catalytic converters would not last as long as expected, due to the zinc; and so the oil companies were told to reduce the zinc content. The problem is with "flat-tappet engines; modern engines are designed to handle the new oils.
Here is a link:
http://www.carzwy.com/Why-use-a-high-Zinc-Oil-with...
On my boat I have switched to Joe Gibbs oil, which was specially formulated for hot rods & NASCAR cars. Others use Rotella, which is mostly for diesels (no catalytic converter)
I would like to hear from any experts on this, to see if there really is a problem without zinc in the oil.
Wilf.
That's a very good question. When our engines were designed, car engine oils had sufficient zinc to lubricate them. Then, on this side of the pond, the Government found that the catalytic converters would not last as long as expected, due to the zinc; and so the oil companies were told to reduce the zinc content. The problem is with "flat-tappet engines; modern engines are designed to handle the new oils.
Here is a link:
http://www.carzwy.com/Why-use-a-high-Zinc-Oil-with...
On my boat I have switched to Joe Gibbs oil, which was specially formulated for hot rods & NASCAR cars. Others use Rotella, which is mostly for diesels (no catalytic converter)
I would like to hear from any experts on this, to see if there really is a problem without zinc in the oil.
Wilf.
Oil - Most of the complaints here are about leaks !
The more modern synthetics, 15w-40 etc tend to leak out of the Cologne V6, as it was designed for good old 20/50, and even then it's not exactly oil tight by modern standards.
I use Castrol GTX for my wedge, and never had a problem (fingers crossed), but still get a few leaks. However, old engines from Europe probably still have some lead in them which might help with lubrication as well as valves, not sure. I know mine had a lot of 4 star leaded gas (98 octane) run through it.
Filters - the 'standard' large filter used in Fords was the same as the 1.6 and 2.0 OHC 4 pot engine (we called it a 'Pinto' engine in europe, often confused with the car itself in the US), and there is a slimmer one which is better for TVR, and it's a Renualt 16,17 or something like that. I believe the slimmer one is a Ryco Z71, Champion C108, and bigger one is a Champion C102. It was a common profile shared by quite a few different manufacturers as I understand, so others may fit too.
The more modern synthetics, 15w-40 etc tend to leak out of the Cologne V6, as it was designed for good old 20/50, and even then it's not exactly oil tight by modern standards.
I use Castrol GTX for my wedge, and never had a problem (fingers crossed), but still get a few leaks. However, old engines from Europe probably still have some lead in them which might help with lubrication as well as valves, not sure. I know mine had a lot of 4 star leaded gas (98 octane) run through it.
Filters - the 'standard' large filter used in Fords was the same as the 1.6 and 2.0 OHC 4 pot engine (we called it a 'Pinto' engine in europe, often confused with the car itself in the US), and there is a slimmer one which is better for TVR, and it's a Renualt 16,17 or something like that. I believe the slimmer one is a Ryco Z71, Champion C108, and bigger one is a Champion C102. It was a common profile shared by quite a few different manufacturers as I understand, so others may fit too.
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