Morris Minor Owners Club

Greetings comrades!
My manager has just bought herself a VW Touran that still has a couple of year's warranty, a condition of which is to be garage serviced. I've a few gallons of diesel oil left over from the previous Zafira and I see no reason not to use it the Traveller (its standard condition, ie loose but good).
I've been using Halford's red can Basic Mineral Motor Oil 20w/50 API SJ A2B2.
I intend to use their black can Enhanced Mineral Diesel Oil CF4-SJ ACEA B2 E2 and their gold can Part Synethetic Diesel Oil 10w/40 APICF SL ACEA B3A3.
I see no problems but thought I should check with you.
Thanks in advance, MikeN.

It's a top quality oil - however diesel oils contain high content of additives to absorb dirt/gunge etc - it may strip away the gunge that's sealing your pistons to the bores!! It's a slight chance - I would take it !
Did you ever fit that head Mike ?

The halfords stuff with SJ - that's labelled as 'basic' due to marketing, not due to quality and is actually good quality.

IMHO The 10/40 is too thin for an A-series and will reduce your oil pressure when hot. 15/40 is as low as I'd go and even then I'd only do it if I couldn't get a decent 20/50.
Diesel oil should have slightly different characteristics and also different chemical cleaners to a petrol oil, but how much difference it will actuall make in an A-series is beyond my limited knowledge. Certainly if the oil has good ratings it will be better than an oil with poor or non existant ratings.

Yes, I'd agree with Ray. That oil is certainly quality, but I would not use 10W/40 in a 1098 personally. Then there's the detergent issue, so I think I'd give it a miss for the sake of £6.50 for a can of the proper stuff, but it would probably be OK.

10W40 would be ok in winter. I think the original oil was supposed to be straight 30 grade - so 10W40 is better !

10W40 would be ok in winter.

on short journeys maybe, but not when your engine warms up fully.

I was of course thinking of a Scottish winter! Seriously - unless it's getting a hammering - it will be fine. I wouldn't waste the synthetic stuff though - in 2 years time you will need it for the VW.

Thanks for your advice, friends!
I'll take a chance and use the diesel oil and see what happens - push back the frontiers of science and all that. Oil pressure with 20w/50 at the slowest idle thats reliable (and a bit lumpy) is about 10/15 psi when the oil's about 75C (measured with a thermometer dropped down the dipstick hole) and about the same with 10/40 grade too. I've got no knock that I can hear when pulling hard, so I'll risk it.

Re the head Bmceccosse, I bought it much as a hedge against my unconverted head failing which has now done 40k miles without additive. I expected it to die long ago. Hope to change it this summer and report on its condition when replacing it with yours.
Thanks to all, MikeN.