oil questions for a V8S

[jensa]

Hi

Have some questions about oilchange on a V8S.

What oil should I use(59000miles)? And then I have read that you must change the oilfilter quickely on the V8 or the oilpump can go dry and the result is that there will be no oilpressure. So how “quick” should I bee, and is this a common problem on the V8.

Jens
Sweden

[ketvrin]

Hi Jens

I think I saw that for V8's you need to pack the pump with petroleum jelly or such like to effectively prime the pump. no doubt some V8'er will be along soon to blow that theory out of the water

K

[Barkychoc]

Don't get too worried - just change the oil and filter as you normally would, just don't take the filter off & leave the engine empty for any length of time, fit the new filter & fill with oil straight away and you should be fine - no harm in watching the pressure gauge at startup though.

You only need to pack the pump with petroleum jelly after a major overhaul - i.e. not a drop of oil in there, it can't pull the oil up out of the sump without some residual oil in there.

[tubbystu]

jensa said:

Hi

Have some questions about oilchange on a V8S.

What oil should I use(59000miles)?
Jens
Sweden

I use 10w 40 semi-synthetic because that is what Austec use at service time.

HTH

[Chimpaholic]

jensa said:

Hi

Have some questions about oilchange on a V8S.

What oil should I use(59000miles)? And then I have read that you must change the oilfilter quickely on the V8 or the oilpump can go dry and the result is that there will be no oilpressure. So how “quick” should I bee, and is this a common problem on the V8.

Jens
Sweden

Hi Jens,

Based on my experiences and the mileage of your car I strongly recommend you move to a decent 20w50 synthetic or semi synthetic.

My Chimaera developed a slight but noticeable tapping at idle when hot in the summer months.

Before I committed to a new cam and followers and with only 29,000 mile on the clock I decided to consult the TVR specialist that had serviced the car just 3000 miles prior.

I was shocked when they proudly told me they only use Shell Helix 5w40 when servicing the Rover V8 engine.

Nothing against Shell oils, but 5w40 is way too thin in my opinion.

It is also well known that engines running flat tappets need Zinc, many oil companies have stopped adding the long established Zinc additive known a ZDDP on environmental grounds.

So following a hunch I changed the oil for Millers CSS 20w50, a very high performance competition semi-synthetic oil designed for older engines.

The results were the following:

1) My slight tapping noise completely disappeared (Even when idling in traffic on a hot day)

2) The oil pressure at idle when hot went up from 15 to 28 lbs (running oil pressure remained at 33 lbs)

3) Oil consumption was reduced by 30%

I have no commercial interests in Millers but I have used their oils in many classic car engines including a highly tuned Austin Healey 3000 that ran hotter than my TVR!

Millers oils have always produced reliable and consistent performance for me & contain the recommended dose of ZDDP so you will enjoy proper old school cam and tappet protection too.

If I was running a Rover V8 through a Swedish winter I may be tempted to drop slightly at the winter end of the multi-grade to the Millers 15w60 fully synthetic oil to ease the strain on start-up.

Personally I wouldn't run a Rover V8 engine (with 30,000 miles or more) on anything thinner than a multi-grade with a winter rating of 15 and a summer rating of 50.

Hope this helps. Dave.

[jensa]

Thanks for your answers

the car is only used in summer.

based of your recommendations i will now move to a decent 20w50 synthetic, and i will have no worries with the oilchange.

Jens