getting used to griff
Discussion
Having owned the griff 500 for about a month now, I have been to south wales for a week and have been enjoying the roads and have put quite a few miles on her, but having lived with it continously for 7 days there are a few niggles that have surfaced that I would like some advice on.
the most worrying being oil and coolant consumption, the water needs topping up after every 200miles or so, sometimes the whole expansion tank needs topping up, and the oil needs about a pint every 700 to 800 miles or so.
I can`t find any water leaks , but intend to replace the hoses this autumn, as for the oil, if I boot it a bit you can smell something briefly afterwards, but cannot see any smoke from exhaust, I`ve had someone follow me to check this and all seems okay.
I cannot see any oil leaks on the engine, but the previous owner was using castrol magnatec 10/40, would an oil change to mobile 1 help solve the consumption problem.
the most worrying being oil and coolant consumption, the water needs topping up after every 200miles or so, sometimes the whole expansion tank needs topping up, and the oil needs about a pint every 700 to 800 miles or so.
I can`t find any water leaks , but intend to replace the hoses this autumn, as for the oil, if I boot it a bit you can smell something briefly afterwards, but cannot see any smoke from exhaust, I`ve had someone follow me to check this and all seems okay.
I cannot see any oil leaks on the engine, but the previous owner was using castrol magnatec 10/40, would an oil change to mobile 1 help solve the consumption problem.
Clive,i dont know if you have a serp engine or not,but on a serp the water level in the expansion tank sits only an inch or so off the bottom of the tank(based on the two i've had).If you pot more than this in the tank it simply gets wasted out through the pressure cap,and this will look like your loosing water!!
On the oil front,if you used a more suitable grade you might well see your consumption drop.Ideally you should use either a 10w/50 o a 15w/50 oil,10w/40 is a bit thin when hot,and you will get through more of it.If you used around 500ml/1000 miles dependant on driving style and mileage of your engine,then i would say that would be fine for oil consumption with the correct grade.Both of my griffs have used 500ml/1000 miles,or less,down as low as 300-400ml,but thats at very low mileages.
All in all it sounds like you probably have little to worry about
On the oil front,if you used a more suitable grade you might well see your consumption drop.Ideally you should use either a 10w/50 o a 15w/50 oil,10w/40 is a bit thin when hot,and you will get through more of it.If you used around 500ml/1000 miles dependant on driving style and mileage of your engine,then i would say that would be fine for oil consumption with the correct grade.Both of my griffs have used 500ml/1000 miles,or less,down as low as 300-400ml,but thats at very low mileages.
All in all it sounds like you probably have little to worry about
on the oil front I have changed to silkolene pro s 10/50 oil from www.opieoils.co.uk. Very impressed an the consumption has gone down quite a bit. That's for a 4.3 so it may be different for a 500. But Silkolene is a good oil and you can get a discount by mentioning pistonheads. There's a thread on the General TVR forum specific to this oil.
on the oil front I have changed to silkolene pro s 10/50 oil from www.opieoils.co.uk. Very impressed and the consumption has gone down quite a bit too. That's for a 4.3 so it may be different for a 500. But Silkolene is a good oil and you can get a discount by mentioning pistonheads. There's a thread on the General TVR forum specific to Opieoils.
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