Which engine oil - 200tdi ?

On a 200tdi, 'oil' is thought to be an engine treatment :-)

Any fairly good general purpose 20w50 type stuff will do, unless you have specific environmental circumstances, like very hot climate?

This engine is very tollerant of almost anything (and will run on parafin mixed with engine oil, chip fat and any number of other fuels). Change the filter twice as often as you change the oil and you'll get 250K miles with ease on cheap engine oil.

The official advice from launch of the TDi was to use oil to a minimum of the then current CCMC D5 which was the first SHPD oil. This rating is equivilent to the current ACEA E2 but the better spec E3 is so much better and so common these days that there is no excuse for using anything else. The viscosity should be 10w/30 or 15w/40. E3 is about equal to API CH4 so you can use any oil with any of these specs with total confidence. Just any oil will not do. At the very least it must be an oil suitable for diesel engines. Not all oils are by a long chalk.

Huw

Are you sure about that?

;)

Nige

I buy mine from Unipart- fleet turbo diesel approved 15w40 around £27 per 5 gall drum (if you turn up in overalls) Derek

Do you ever drive a Landrover in anything else?

Regards Stephen

I am not sure of the situtaion in the UK, but here in South africa all oils are defnintely not equal. Via a contact in Mobile I understand that the diesel lube 700, is most commonly used by big trucks etc, and is not prone to breaking down and loosing viscosity as time passes.

Agip, which I have always associated with Ferrari etc and would have thought was pretty good, is actially blended in a very back-yard type operation and whatever specs it carries are probably dubious at best.

This Huw fellow seems to know what he is on about and has good local knowledge and I would follow his suggestions. Annecdotally, I understand that the oils you use can have a huge influence on the engine life and more particularly when you engine is subjeted to heavy use, eg towing, high temps and high engine speeds.

Regards Stephen

On or around Thu, 20 Jul 2006 22:35:11 GMT, "Derek" enlightened us thusly:

Mine have been running on Q8 tractor oil. Modern tractors are high-tec these days, and the oil follows suit: 15:40 API CH4 and ACEA E3 from memory, plus a raft of other standards. Main reason is the price: local agri merchant sells it for about the same price as above, for a 25 litre drum. The 3.5 V8 in the dicso didn't mind it in normal UK weather either, though I'd have been a bit wary in the heat we've just had.

As a metter of interest, I wonder what constitutes 'high engine speed' in a Land Rover?

Anything between 10w/40 and 20w/50 will do - the actual "part number" oil is 15w/40 for Europe, but personaly I go for 20w/50 (260,000 miles). Avoid the very cheap supermarket oil (there's nothing wrong with it, it just doesn't have the scrbbers etc in it that a Good Thing with turbo diesels). There may be some merit in using an engine flush before an oil change, but most modern oils already have the scrubbers etc in.

We sell Morris Oil, because it's sensibly priced and good quality - very poular amongst fleet operators in these parts. And it's made in the UK.

Richard

Absolutely! I had Discovery built in the first six months of production in

Huw

...and tested on British test gear. But to meet ACEA specs, all oil has to be tested on British test gear....

Steve @ravenfield.com

On or around Fri, 21 Jul 2006 08:15:30 +0100, "William Tasso" enlightened us thusly:

Tdi is tuned to 4500 max ISTR. You don't normally run 'em that fast though, without ear defenders :-)

Thanks for the advice everyone, it is much appreciated.

On the subject of flushing the engine, I've never actually done that.........what's involved ?

Gavin.

Derek,

Do you get it from one of their Car Care Centres, or is through a bigger depot type place?

Cheers,

Gavin.

I got a bit lost after about the 5th acronym ;)

It varies slightly from product to product, but basically you pour some of it in, idle the engine for a while, then change the oil as normal. According to the publicity photos, your engine will then be geaming inside with not a trace of muck anywhere ;-)

Richard

My father will tell you the story of what happened when detergent oils were first being used in lorry engines, rather expensive and only for new engines, A drum vanished from a haulage yard, and a couple of weeks later one of the local wide boys was looking for a new engine for his car--not a trace of dirt, but obviously the oil-pressure warning switch had stuck. Oil level correct, oil pump working, but the light had stayed on....

Partco

Hmm. They are not really acronyms. They are the names of the Standards set for oil performance. API is the American Petroleum Institute while ACEA is something like European Engine Constructers Agency or similar, in French of course. The codes are the actual standard names or in the case of Mercedes the sheet or page numbers where the standard is detailed.

In the TDi case, I happen to know that a lesser oil than ACEA E2 is fine but not for 6000 miles of use. Again I have to emphasise that any oil used should have an appropriate diesel rating or standard.

Huw