Oil change intervals

[madmaxx]

The plot thickens, now we are risking stripping a spark plug after stressing the spark plug boots. Ever hook the plug wires backwards. Please just drive the car there is no acid they are managed by the detergents in the oil once they form after 7k miles.







QUOTE=YerDugliness;1199763]Could we focus on this statement for a bit? My routine has me driving for 3 months (probably less than 1,000 miles, to be honest), then changing the oil and letting the car sit for the next three months. My oil change routine involves allowing the engine to idle until it is up to operating temperature (which is usually 180*), then pulling it into the garage for it's 3 month nap before it is started again.

First, I wonder if there is any measurable water content to the oil if I only start it after the oil change and then after putting it away I don't start it again for so long. My concern is that in that 10 minutes it idles, there might develop enough acidity to do exactly as described, eat away at bearings during the long sit-up. What do y'all think, is that a dangerous practice?

Before I restart the engine after it's three month nap, I pull all the spark plugs and operate the starter until the engine registers oil pressure...would rather have a pre-lube fitting or an Acusump, but those are future improvements.

I had always hoped that by changing the oil and then getting it into quick storage that I was ensuring that the old oil, with whatever acidity it might have developed over the 3 months it has been in use, would not be a factor during the storage. Am I fooling myself??

Cheers!

Dugly [/quote]

[Rick Parker]

Seems like a lot of guys are not getting their oil hot enough anyway?
I like mine right at 220-230

I don't know how to drive it and build a campfire under it at the same time???

I change mine once a year, it accumulates about 1200-1500 miles between changes. My concern has been that many (if not most) of us have the engines set up as the were, void of any emission devices, big Carbs (Webers, Double Pumpers, etc) and the rich mixtures encountered tend to allow the oil to become contaminated to some degree with fuel. This is one of the reasons that engines didn't really last a "Long" time compared to what is expected by today's standards, granted the oil formulations have improved greatly. I still get the "Warm Fuzzies" knowing the filter & oil are relatively fresh.

It's been mentioned here before: Each time the engine temprature warms up and cools it passes through the "Dew Point" and moisture is created.

[mdross1]

This one always makes think back to the days when working part time in a filling station,then there was some very cheap oil and quite a few people that regularly came in never changed theirs. These engines lasted a lot longer than the cars they were sitting in.
Always used synthetics and several times had oil analyzed never any issues.Daily drivers get changed once a year,Everything else depends on usage,certainly not every 3000.Motorcycles,tractors,and Cobra may go several years depending on usage.We enthusiasts have a much better feel for our equipment than the average joe for what works and what does not.I for one never take anything for granted truly enjoy maintaining all that we own,the reason is that good feeling I always get cruising through the shop knowing all the machinery is ready to go and 100% in tip top shape.The investments we have in our beloved creations is worth every minute spent keeping them in top working order.

[joyridin']

Originally Posted by YerDugliness

I drive for 6 months a year, try to miss the heat of summer and the winter rains down here along the gulf coast. It usually amounts to about 3 months in the spring and 3 months in the fall.

I change the oil at the end of each of those 3 month "driving seasons"...that way there is fresh oil sitting in the pan when I am ready to resume driving and I am not bothered with changing the oil before I can drive the car.

I don't care if I waste a bit of $$ changing my oil prematurely...this car is a dream come true for an old schoolteacher on a fixed retirement income, I like fiddling with it now and then and the expense of the supplies is diminished because I keep my eyes open for oil sales (usually very inexpensive and includes a filter) at the local automotive shops.

I had the valve covers off earlier this week...despite the drivetrain being from a 1989 Mustang GT, it looks factory fresh under the valve covers, no signs of ever having been neglected and forming sludge....I have no idea of total mileage, but in 3 years I have put 3,000 miles on it.

I would like to have the oil analyzed to get some info regarding how much wear the engine has suffered since it was put into service, but I tried to do this for my daughter when she bought a used car. None of the auto parts stores had the kits.

Patrick, you have a PM....

Cheers!

Dugly

That makes no sense. If anything, you should change the oil before you start driving. Why have new oil sitting in the pan collecting moisture and becoming contaminated?

[YerDugliness]

Originally Posted by joyridin'

That makes no sense. If anything, you should change the oil before you start driving. Why have new oil sitting in the pan collecting moisture and becoming contaminated?

Yes, I agree...therein lies my quandry.

Would it be better for me to drain the pan and leave it empty when I store the car? Would it be better if I were to leave all that used oil in the pan while it is being stored, then change the oil before I start it up? That seems to me to offer the worst-case scenario, all that oil with the contaminants and acids sitting there in the pan...doing who knows what to the metals in the engine, particularly the bearings.

The replica is stored in a dry, secure garage, but the garage is not temperature controlled.

I'm asking these questions b/c I seriously wonder what the best storage procedure would be. It just seemed to me that clean oil sitting in a pan for 3 months might be the best option...it seems acidity in the oil would be at its lowest level in fresh oil.

Maybe a dry pan is the answer, I certainly don't know.

Then, again, maybe Madmaxx might be right, drive it like you stole it, don't worry about it, deal with the issues that might arise IF they do arise...

Good discussion....more opinions, please.....

Thanks!

Dugly

[tirod]

Originally Posted by Rick Parker

It's been mentioned here before: Each time the engine temprature warms up and cools it passes through the "Dew Point" and moisture is created.

That's not quite true.

First, there has to be water present in some form to be able to condense. Once oil is heated beyond 212, water boils off, and the vapor passes out of the engine thru the PCV or valve cover breathers. It doesn't take long to boil off the few grams of water that were present, and once it shuts down, only a minor residue can form. It doesn't magically form from oil molecules.

What actually happens is keeping the car stored in an unheated area that allows it to warm during the day, and cool at night. Then the cooling metal of the engine and pan condenses what moisture vapor might have gotten back in - again, thru the crankcase ventilation system, which isn't configured to pass fresh outside air thru it when the engine isn't operating. Given enough cycles, some moisture may build up.

As will condensation inside your gas tank. Do you change your gas - regardless - every three months of storage? Secondly, why let the car sit idly by and slowly rot with inactivity? Tires age, hoses oxidize, the alcohol laced fuel attacks the rubber lining in the older standard fuel lines (called AN by some,) and water condensation attacks and corrodes the metal in tanks and lines, too.

If it's so important to change the oil every 300 miles to protect the bearings, why ignore the fuel system and it's much more likely catastrophic failure? If you fail to plan a cycle of periodic operation, you plan to fail. If acid sludge could build up in nearly fresh oil with 300 miles on it, how much more that gas tank full of fuel laced with water, alcohol, and all the corrosive additives? It's an industry standard now, fuel goes bad in 90 days.

Since changing the oil every 300 miles is the standard, when you park it - drain it out and leave it out. Refill when you get back to good weather. Same with the gas, drain it and run it dry. Gelled, corrosive fuel in the carb or injectors is worse than some lightly etched bearings.

BTW, you do use dry nitrogen in the tires, and deflate them once the car is on jackstands, right? Don't forget to seal the garage and purge it with nitrogen, too. Really saves on the vinyl upholstery and paint continuously oxidizing, it's museum standard.

And some of you were worried about the oil? Waste of money.

[Rick Parker]

I dare say that the oils in our cars rarely reach 212 degrees F while being driven. Unless you have something with heating issues. Therefore each time it is driven without the oil reaching 212 for a period of time my statement applies.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by Rick Parker

I dare say that the oils in our cars rarely reach 212 degrees F while being driven. Unless you have something with heating issues. Therefore each time it is driven without the oil reaching 212 for a period of time my statement applies.

In all the years I've owned her, my FE's oil temp has never reached 100 degrees Centigrade, and I've never had an oil report yet spot a drop of moisture. If I didn't know better, and I don't, I'd say just running her up to the usual 85-90 degree oil temp purges off any moisture that has condensed in there.

[JBCOBRA]

Oil does not really work like it is supposed to until it hits at least 212

[mdross1]

Think about what it must have been like back before oil filters and pressure fed oiling systems,not to mention the quality of the crude.Do you suppose they had these same conversations? Except for our tractors and garden equipment always store with fresh oil and know the quality of oil in crankcases.Course we all have our own agenda's.We gotta do what makes us feel right inside.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by JBCOBRA

Oil does not really work like it is supposed to until it hits at least 212

I took her on a reasonably spirited 50 mile jaunt today and managed to get the oil temp up to about 93 or so Centigrade, which is just about 200 Fahrenheit. I gotta believe that's good enough.

[JBCOBRA]

You are not beating it hard enough LOL

[w-lewis]

Many of our cars have oil coolers that perhaps keep oil too cool for street use. To heat it up, try taping a piece of cardboard over the oil cooler inlet. I did that to check my oil temp gauge to confirm that it works. Untill I tried that, the needle never moved and I wasn't sure the gauge even worked.

[Dwight]

I have a stroked 302 making about 500 hp at the flywheel. I have a 7 qt pan with a remote oil filter and no oil cooler.
On our retrip from the London Cobra Show a few weeks ago my oil was 240 for most of the trip(535 miles). It was close to 100 degrees that Sunday. My water is 195 to 200 all the time and the runs 225 to 230 most of the time.

Most of us don't drive a Cobra enough and a spring oil change is all that is needed. IMHO

Dwight

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by Dwight

... my oil was 240 for most of the trip(535 miles).

240? Dang, my soldering iron doesn't even get that hot....

[JBCOBRA]

240 will not hurt anything.

Originally Posted by patrickt

240? Dang, my soldering iron doesn't even get that hot....

[JBCOBRA]

under 200 is way worse than 230-250

[YerDugliness]

Originally Posted by JBCOBRA

under 200 is way worse than 230-250

...and I worry when the water temp approaches 200 .....guess I should (or at least "could") leave the fan off more .

Cheers!

Dugly

[patrickt]

I don't think it matters if the temp is 180 or 240. We're all just going to throw a clot and die long before our engines see any wear from any of this.

[CowtownCobra]

I think I changed it last year.....