What oils & grease to use.

[almondminor]

I am new to the classic car scene, and having difficuilty working out from the handbooks what new oils/grease to use, is there anyone who can advise which oils/grease to use on what parts & intervals, My car is a 1098 1964 4 door. Thanx.

[jagnut66]

Hi,
I shop for these at my local 'Motorserv', they sell grease cartridges which will fit the standard hand pump action grease gun, a good selection of oils for the diff etc., and a very good 'Comma Classic' engine oil, which is available in three types (I use the one with a picture of a Morris Minor on the can strangely enough.............. )
Basically for the engine though you want a good 20/50 oil.
Your local motorists shops have served me very well whilst owning classics. Pop into one for a 'browse', I find the staff very helpful too, should you want to ask questions.
A Haynes Morris Minor manual will help with lubricant specifications too and if you can get hold of a workshop manual all the better. You may find one on eBay.
Best wishes,
Mike.

[bmcecosse]

You don't need to 'buy' a workshop manual.......

[moggiethouable]

As for grease I like Magnalube, sticks like the proverbial
http://www.magnalube.com

[jagnut66]

Just been having a browse through mine, I was advised to use engine oil in my old Morris gearbox, which I did and it never let me down (I use semi-synthetic in my type 9 these days) but the manual advises otherwise.
Looking at what it lists for the gearbox, I believe SAE 90 is the specification currently still available (I don't think some of the 'Esso' / 'Mobilube' / 'Shell' oils listed are still available or at least I haven't seen them, although I'm sure I've seen 'Duckhams' still on the shelves).
Regards,
Mike.

PS: I was very lucky to be given a BMC workshop manual by an old mechanic who was retiring and there have been times when I've found it invaluable. So you are right you don't have to 'buy' one but if you come across one it's a very useful thing to have.

[bmcecosse]

You can 'come across' one without leaving the comfort of your fireside.... And SAE 90 is only for the sidevalve gearbox - A-series box uses SAE 30 engine oil - or 20W50 will do fine too.

[jagnut66]

As for grease I like Magnalube, sticks like the proverbial

Are you recommending this for gearboxes and diffs then?

[jagnut66]

You can 'come across' one without leaving the comfort of your fireside.... And SAE 90 is only for the sidevalve gearbox - A-series box uses SAE 30 engine oil - or 20W50 will do fine too.

You are right, I was on the wrong page.... there is more than one section on lubrication ......
Good job I took the advice I was given at the time then and used engine oil!!

[moggiethouable]

As for grease I like Magnalube, sticks like the proverbial

Are you recommending this for gearboxes and diffs then?

Nope, engine oil in the gearbox, hypoid oil in the diff.
The grease for all the grease nipples including the steering rack and the handbrake cable, assuming you have the original cable with grease nipples, not a pattern jobbie.
All works very nicely on my 1098.

[jagnut66]

Ah, I see.

[lowride stepside]

straight 30 in the winter straight 40 in the summer

[mike.perry]

I thought that most of you tucked your cars away for the winter

[jagnut66]

Mines not afraid of the snow.

Mind you, I do drive like an asthmatic ant when it's really bad!

[tomas.geoghegan]

Hi Simple just go on to Ebay And order 20/50 oil And use for gear box and Engine.
Tomas

[Matt Tomkins]

or, on a budget, wilkos 20w50 is only £9 a gallon

[lowride stepside]

I thought that most of you tucked your cars away for the winter

skinny tyres no power and rubbish brakes makes for the perfect car in the snow

[tomas.geoghegan]

or, on a budget, wilkos 20w50 is only £9 a gallon

if your on a budget for the extra £10..get the best to help save on an engine rebuild. later on. makes sence!
Tomas

[lambrettalad]

thats good advice ,flush out with wilco ,fill with other

[chesney]

There is talk that Wilko and Halfrauds own is the same stuff, so you may be flushing it through with the exact same oil
For me it's not worth paying for the expensive stuff (although as it happens there is only £1 difference between me buying Wilkos and Halfords 20/50). Still get Wilkos though .
It's oil for goodness sake! I remember reading somewhere that someone ran an A series non stop with no oil to examine the effects (this was a while ago), it lasted surprisingly long, the crank gave in eventually I think and the engine was later used for parts!
It all gets swilled round the sump, gets fed to the rockers, gets into the bearings. If the fancy tin makes you feel safer engine wise, then do it, but if you are using it to save on an engine rebuild then you had best fit a new oil filter every 50 miles too and change the timing chain and sprockets every 1000 miles etcetera, 'just in case'

[lambrettalad]

chesney is this a t' Yorkshire thing?