2.9L Servicing

[Spathodus77]

Hi,

I'm about to attempt my first service on the S and had a few questions before I get stuck in a purchase the required parts.

1) What oil do most people use. I know that the bible recommends synthetic mobil 1, but, is this really required for an engine that was designed so many years ago?

2) Does anyone know what car the fuel filter is from, or alterantively, a part number and filter manufacturer that I can quote at the motor factors?

3) When I order the rocker cover gaskets from the Ford dealers do I just need to tell them that the gaskets are for a Granada 2.9L or will I need to quote a year of manufacture for the 'granada' as well?

Thanks for you help.

Ralph.

[kenpage]

ralph a number for the rocker gaskets motorcraft 1651474 they are standard 2.9 granada make sure they have 8 bolt holes in them....the fuel filter nos bosch 0 450 905 601 or fram ph 2854 the ford part no is efg 32 all are the same dont know on the oil not got that far yet

[trickjohn]

Hi - I used mobil 1 and found it to be to thin - oil leaks and a more noisier engine, therefore I changed to a high quality ford recommended oil for the engine- mind you mine is a cosworth.

Best Regards

[S3Swiss]

Magnatec in mine - done 95k so should be run-in by now! Hoping the 'magnetic molecules'(!) keep it coated a bit better during the time between runs. If I was using it everyday and had the engine rebuilt to new tolerances, I'd probably use a fully synthetic oil then.

[tvrgit]

1 I wouldn't use Mobil - it's too thin for an engine of that era (especially now that it has a few miles under its belt). I use a semi-synthetic I buy from the local motor factors - can't remember it's exact spec but it's made by Granville.

2. I think it's just the standard Granada fuel filter IIRC.

3. The rocker cover gaskets are standard 2.9 Granada (any year) - as others have said, make sure it's got 8 holes (the 2.8 only has 7 holes but I don't know if the gasket is otherwise the same shape - I don't think it is). Ford gaskets are more expensive but they have little metal pins embedded in the cork that prevent you overtightening the bolts and squashing the cork out - cheaper gaskets can be a pain as they are just cork which compresses under bolt tension and eventually leak again.

[Barkychoc]

Mobil 1 comes in 2 flavours - 0/50 which is the recommended one and is like dishwater, and 15/50 which is thicker and what I use in the V8. I am considering switching to something good quality but a bit cheaper though.

[V8ish]

Barkychoc said:

Mobil 1 comes in 2 flavours - 0/50 which is the recommended one and is like dishwater, and 15/50 which is thicker and what I use in the V8. I am considering switching to something good quality but a bit cheaper though.

Agreed, I just carried out a service on mine just for my own peace of mind. Fresh Gearbox oil (SMX-s), oil filter, Engine oil and new cambelt.

The engine oil alone (Mobil 1 15/50) cost me £85 for 6 litres!!! Its not cheap, but then again, its only once year. Mines a V8 by the way.

Personally I am completely baffled by the amount of myths flying around about oils and the price vs quality debate. Therefore I simply go on the naive approach of "if its expensive its gotta be good....hasnt it?"

[ketvrin]

The oil filter is a standard Sierra/granada/scorpio fitler but of the fat/squat type like this...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/OIL-FILTER-ESCORT-RS-COSWORT...

if you are in any doubt, take your old one to a factor to compare... you dont have room to fit the longer/thinner type.
alternative parts list shows Crossland 547, Coopers Z501, Fram PH2854 Intermotor 47741 or Unipart GFE264

I used Millers semi-synthetic 15w50... cheap and good quality.

K

[clarenceboddiger]

Now I expect to get slated for this, but I always use a 20w50 cheapo oil (£6.95 for 5L) from my local factors.I do this based on a discussion I had with a friend a few years back who worked at Manchester University, they had done various studies on the 20w50s available at the time and found there to be marginal difference between the expensive and cheap versions, his only recommendation to me at the time was don't wait till it needs an oil change, change it before it needs one. I have always changed my engine oil every 3-4k using these "economy oils" and I have never had any oil related problems. I do appreciate that more modern designs of engines work on much smaller tolerances and as such require different spec' oils, in those instances I would not hesitate to use whatever viscosity etc is specified, but I would still go for the cheaper range and change it more often.

[Barkychoc]

clarenceboddiger said:

Now I expect to get slated for this, but I always use a 20w50 cheapo oil (£6.95 for 5L) from my local factors.I do this based on a discussion I had with a friend a few years back who worked at Manchester University, they had done various studies on the 20w50s available at the time and found there to be marginal difference between the expensive and cheap versions, his only recommendation to me at the time was don't wait till it needs an oil change, change it before it needs one. I have always changed my engine oil every 3-4k using these "economy oils" and I have never had any oil related problems. I do appreciate that more modern designs of engines work on much smaller tolerances and as such require different spec' oils, in those instances I would not hesitate to use whatever viscosity etc is specified, but I would still go for the cheaper range and change it more often.

I think you may be right - I think all a lot of the oil additives do is make it last longer by breaking down the muck in the oil.

[tvrgit]

I think you're both pretty much right - the more expensive modern oils help to promote the "extended oil change intervals for new cars, so that the salesman can say "look it only needs serviced once a year" or something. Also, more modern engines probably do need higher-spec oils for various reasons: to prolong life, to minimise power loss, to minimise emissions etc.

The S Series engines are, let's face it, not exactly modern. I use a decent spec oil (Granville 15w40 semi-synthetic - £15 for 5 litres from my friendly motor factors) and change it every spring - ie 4000 to 5000 miles or so. The inside of the rocker covers etc are still clean, no black sludge or "mayonnaise". The old oil is usually black, but if it came out clean after that mileage, I'd be worried that it wasn't cleaning carbon and other contaminants out of the engine properly.

The engine doesn't (well hardly) leaks oil, and if I used a thinner one, or a synthetic, I'm sure that it would be pissing out everywhere - that's if the oil pump could actually work up enough pressure to get watery stuff properly round the engine at all.

In my view, there's a balance, and an oil that's too thin can do as much, if not more, damage as an oil that's too thick.

Half decent oil, change regularly, save your money.

[Spathodus77]

Thanks for the advice. I think if I had gone the Mobil 1 route I would have purchsed 2 x 4L containers which would have been £90 - I'II definitely go down to my local motor factors and pick up some cheap 15w50 oil to try.

I'm intending to service once a year with minimal mileage so the oil will be changed frequently...

Ralph.

[Barkychoc]

Mobil1 often turns up on ebay - all assuming it is genuine of course. Who can tell??