PR6 Oil & Filter Changing.
Discussion
Good Evening All,
I'm new to Radical and have recently acquired a PR6 to run in the Clubman's Cup,but my mechanical ability runs to relatively routine maintenance only.How do you guys change the oil??, there is a drain plug on the dry sump tank,but it's not really very useable without removing the sidepod, or do you remove the union from the dry sump tank to the motor, and by the way, where's the oil filter???.
Many Thanks,
Doug Carter.
I'm new to Radical and have recently acquired a PR6 to run in the Clubman's Cup,but my mechanical ability runs to relatively routine maintenance only.How do you guys change the oil??, there is a drain plug on the dry sump tank,but it's not really very useable without removing the sidepod, or do you remove the union from the dry sump tank to the motor, and by the way, where's the oil filter???.
Many Thanks,
Doug Carter.
Hi Doug,
What I do & would say is the easiest / best bet is to purchase a vacumm oil extractor from somewhere like machine mart (£40-50 ish) & just suck it straight out of the drysump tank, straight after you turn the engine off, having warmed it up for 5-10mins to thin it out a bit. Then change the oil filter. To my mind its not worth the effort to remove all the oil lines /oil cooler & drain what little is in the drysump pan as long as you are treating the car to regular oil & filter changes.
Every 2nd or so oil change its worth un-screwing the two mesh strainers hidden behind the large bolt heads in the dry sump pan to check for any debris that may have worked its way down, mainly silicone sealant bits & generally only shortly after first install in my experience.
What I do & would say is the easiest / best bet is to purchase a vacumm oil extractor from somewhere like machine mart (£40-50 ish) & just suck it straight out of the drysump tank, straight after you turn the engine off, having warmed it up for 5-10mins to thin it out a bit. Then change the oil filter. To my mind its not worth the effort to remove all the oil lines /oil cooler & drain what little is in the drysump pan as long as you are treating the car to regular oil & filter changes.
Every 2nd or so oil change its worth un-screwing the two mesh strainers hidden behind the large bolt heads in the dry sump pan to check for any debris that may have worked its way down, mainly silicone sealant bits & generally only shortly after first install in my experience.
Oil filter is down low under the exhaust header side of the engine, i.e. just behind the bulkhead separating engine from the cockpit area. Its easy to see if you remove the under tray & hang the car from a beam in the garage then slide down the length of the car from the rear towards the front.
Living life on the edge, I don't bother with the axle stands bearing in mind the structural calc said the beam was good for continual use with 2 tons, brand new certified 1T Yale beam trolley / chain block combo & 2t nylon sling (7:1 safety factor)
However if your using a wooden roof rafter to suspend the car with a length of rope or old ratchet strap, axle stands sound like a very wise move indeed!
However if your using a wooden roof rafter to suspend the car with a length of rope or old ratchet strap, axle stands sound like a very wise move indeed!
On my PR6 we removed the undertray, undid the big union at the bottom of the dry sump tank SLOWLY.........and allowed the oil to seep out until we were in a position to ensure the gush hit the drainer ( it comes out quick and horizontal !! )
Oil filter was simple job locating ( where DSL said )loosening it with ratchet strap or similar and again let the oil seep...we obtained the proper socket from Powerted which makes the job very simple. It also means that after hand tightening the new one you can nip it up accurately.
I've tried the Machine Mart thing that DSL mentioned on my road car and it works very well EXCEPT it needs repriming half way through the job. DON'T believe its sucked everything up at the first "pumping "...
Oil filter was simple job locating ( where DSL said )loosening it with ratchet strap or similar and again let the oil seep...we obtained the proper socket from Powerted which makes the job very simple. It also means that after hand tightening the new one you can nip it up accurately.
I've tried the Machine Mart thing that DSL mentioned on my road car and it works very well EXCEPT it needs repriming half way through the job. DON'T believe its sucked everything up at the first "pumping "...
the frequency of oil changes.. and the accurate time between changes probably varies a fair bit..
personally I would do every 60-120 minutes of hard run time.... that will probably be 1-2 wk ends racing depending on race duration, testing etc...
if you are track daying, and not necessarily 'on it' 90%+ of the time, quite a few hours could be done, and truth be told.. even racing you could also do much more than 60-120 minutes of hard use.... but everyone will have their own comfort zone on what they think is reasonable.. the way i look at it is oil is relatively cheap compared to the overall cost of racing/maintenance.
personally I would do every 60-120 minutes of hard run time.... that will probably be 1-2 wk ends racing depending on race duration, testing etc...
if you are track daying, and not necessarily 'on it' 90%+ of the time, quite a few hours could be done, and truth be told.. even racing you could also do much more than 60-120 minutes of hard use.... but everyone will have their own comfort zone on what they think is reasonable.. the way i look at it is oil is relatively cheap compared to the overall cost of racing/maintenance.
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