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[ians]

Historically it has been every 10K miles and cambelt changed at 80K

Its about to be put in the hands of a resident forum member who I am sure (from what everyone has said about him) will look after it 10 times better than any local garage.

I would say that 10,000 mile oil changes are not enough Gareth. I also do my oil and filter religiously every 3,000 miles, the old fella down the road used to have my old oil for his car

When I did 10k changes the oil was black every time - for me that is too long.   Even if modern semi/synthetic oils can take the mileage, you are still better off getting that sh1t out of your engine.

Personally I aim for every 5k, but building up to that with shorter intervals to start with on new acquisitions that haven't been serviced too well perviously.

[Gareth Lewis]

Historically it has been every 10K miles and cambelt changed at 80K

Its about to be put in the hands of a resident forum member who I am sure (from what everyone has said about him) will look after it 10 times better than any local garage.

I would say that 10,000 mile oil changes are not enough Gareth. I also do my oil and filter religiously every 3,000 miles, the old fella down the road used to have my old oil for his car

Hope you have a cash point near you! I think I may need it!  

[CaptainZok]

Historically it has been every 10K miles and cambelt changed at 80K

Its about to be put in the hands of a resident forum member who I am sure (from what everyone has said about him) will look after it 10 times better than any local garage.

I would say that 10,000 mile oil changes are not enough Gareth. I also do my oil and filter religiously every 3,000 miles, the old fella down the road used to have my old oil for his car

Hope you have a cash point near you! I think I may need it!  

Trouble is Gareth they still use the groat as a unit of currency in the Massive area.
I'm not sure of the exchange rate with the pound but I've a feeling the price of livestock affects it greatly.

[Gareth Lewis]

Historically it has been every 10K miles and cambelt changed at 80K

Its about to be put in the hands of a resident forum member who I am sure (from what everyone has said about him) will look after it 10 times better than any local garage.

I would say that 10,000 mile oil changes are not enough Gareth. I also do my oil and filter religiously every 3,000 miles, the old fella down the road used to have my old oil for his car

Hope you have a cash point near you! I think I may need it!  

Trouble is Gareth they still use the groat as a unit of currency in the Massive area.
I'm not sure of the exchange rate with the pound but I've a feeling the price of livestock affects it greatly.

Sorry but I think that is baaaaallocks

[NaughtyNigel]

Frequent oil changes do help to prolong engine life, but only if a good quality oil is used. A fully synthetic oil such as Mobil 1 will almost certainly have better film strength after 10,000 miles than conventional mineral oil when it is new, so frequent oil changes with a cheap oil are probably a false economy. Oil is also intended to get 'dirty', as that is how it removes combustion products, so a bit of darkening is to be expected after several thousand miles

However, one important point that nobody has mentioned here is driving style and 'mechanical sympathy':

As an example, racing engines must be warmed up carefully, as the oil must be warm to circulate properly, and tight fitting pistons can seize in their bores if they are heated up more rapidly than the cylinder block. (Note that racing engines tend to use single grade oils rather than multigrades). Any metal to metal contact between moving parts also creates heat, which cannot be carried away quickly enough by cold, slow moving oil, and may result in scuffing or seizure. Much the same applies to the large diesel engines used in ships and railway locomotives, which must be warmed up before being put under load.  

The small engines in private cars are less prone to these problems, but all the same, thrashing any engine from cold will wreck it, no matter how good the oil is or how often it is changed.

If you really want your engine to last the following should help:

Always allow a cold engine to run at fast idle (1000 RPM for the V6) for at least a minute or two before putting it under load. This is especially important in cold winter weather.

Drive the car gently (as if it is running in) until the engine is thoroughly warm. In the case of the V6 Omegas this is only three or four miles. However, if you live on a fast main road, and cannot drive gently for the first few miles, it may be a good idea to let the engine warm up for a few more minutes before driving.

Avoid driving at constant low speeds. Driving at a constant 56 MPH may save a bit of fuel, but over several thousand miles the cylinder bores will glaze.

Similarly, don’t allow the engine to idle for long periods of time. This is especially important for diesel engines, which will suffer glazed cylinder bores and high oil consumption.

Turbocharged engines should be allowed to idle for a minute or two after fast driving to allow the turbochargers to cool and run down. Shutting down the engine too quickly can leave the bearings without oil whilst the turbines are still spinning at high speed.

NN

[going crazy]

Historically it has been every 10K miles and cambelt changed at 80K

Its about to be put in the hands of a resident forum member who I am sure (from what everyone has said about him) will look after it 10 times better than any local garage.

[/highlight]

Any more clues, please?

[going crazy]

Frequent oil changes do help to prolong engine life, but only if a good quality oil is used. A fully synthetic oil such as Mobil 1 will almost certainly have better film strength after 10,000 miles than conventional mineral oil when it is new, so frequent oil changes with a cheap oil are probably a false economy. Oil is also intended to get 'dirty', as that is how it removes combustion products, so a bit of darkening is to be expected after several thousand miles

However, one important point that nobody has mentioned here is driving style and 'mechanical sympathy':

As an example, racing engines must be warmed up carefully, as the oil must be warm to circulate properly, and tight fitting pistons can seize in their bores if they are heated up more rapidly than the cylinder block. (Note that racing engines tend to use single grade oils rather than multigrades). Any metal to metal contact between moving parts also creates heat, which cannot be carried away quickly enough by cold, slow moving oil, and may result in scuffing or seizure. Much the same applies to the large diesel engines used in ships and railway locomotives, which must be warmed up before being put under load.  

The small engines in private cars are less prone to these problems, but all the same, thrashing any engine from cold will wreck it, no matter how good the oil is or how often it is changed.

If you really want your engine to last the following should help:

Always allow a cold engine to run at fast idle (1000 RPM for the V6) for at least a minute or two before putting it under load. This is especially important in cold winter weather.

Drive the car gently (as if it is running in) until the engine is thoroughly warm. In the case of the V6 Omegas this is only three or four miles. However, if you live on a fast main road, and cannot drive gently for the first few miles, it may be a good idea to let the engine warm up for a few more minutes before driving.

Avoid driving at constant low speeds. Driving at a constant 56 MPH may save a bit of fuel, but over several thousand miles the cylinder bores will glaze.

Similarly, don’t allow the engine to idle for long periods of time. This is especially important for diesel engines, which will suffer glazed cylinder bores and high oil consumption.

Turbocharged engines should be allowed to idle for a minute or two after fast driving to allow the turbochargers to cool and run down. Shutting down the engine too quickly can leave the bearings without oil whilst the turbines are still spinning at high speed.

NN

Do we need to take any special care before shutting down a 2.0 ltr petrol?

Also, I tend to allow the engine to warm up for a minute or so before I start driving but still feel the lack of power; should I wait longer before making a start?

[NaughtyNigel]

Do we need to take any special care before shutting down a 2.0 ltr petrol?

Also, I tend to allow the engine to warm up for a minute or so before I start driving but still feel the lack of power; should I wait longer before making a start?

I always like to let any engine idle for a minute or so after a fast run, just to give the hottest parts a chance to cool down before starving them of oil and coolant.  This should not be required for normal driving, but if (say) you have been driving fast for an hour or so on the motorway, or climbing a long hill at speed, a sudden shut down is probably best avoided (IMHO).

Engine power will be reduced after a cold start, as the fuel is not burning efficiently. Gentle driving should do no harm, but thrashing a cold engine is always a bad idea.

On older engines, the fuel rich mixture also tended to wash oil from the cylinder bores, resulting in rapid wear, but this is less of a problem with modern, fuel injected engines.

NN

[cam2502]

my 97 2.5 elite had 143k on when i sold it in january. ran as sweet as a nut,i would say even better then my 2000 elite with 78k !

[going crazy]

Do we need to take any special care before shutting down a 2.0 ltr petrol?

Also, I tend to allow the engine to warm up for a minute or so before I start driving but still feel the lack of power; should I wait longer before making a start?

I always like to let any engine idle for a minute or so after a fast run, just to give the hottest parts a chance to cool down before starving them of oil and coolant.  This should not be required for normal driving, but if (say) you have been driving fast for an hour or so on the motorway, or climbing a long hill at speed, a sudden shut down is probably best avoided (IMHO).

Engine power will be reduced after a cold start, as the fuel is not burning efficiently. Gentle driving should do no harm, but thrashing a cold engine is always a bad idea.

On older engines, the fuel rich mixture also tended to wash oil from the cylinder bores, resulting in rapid wear, but this is less of a problem with modern, fuel injected engines.

NN

Thanks, I will keep that in mind.