Oil Flush ??

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seamusdavis
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Oil Flush ??

Post by seamusdavis »

Hi all

After a scare earlier this summer when there was oil in the water all now seems ok. I looking to do a thorough oil change rather than just put it into the service guys I normally use, but had a couple of questions :

- Would you reccomend using an engine oil flush treatment or could this do more harm that good to old seals/gaskets etc.

- has anyone got a good oil recco or shoudl I just go for a classic oil of the correct viscocity

- in the past I have heard of storage oils that you put in when over wintering, anyone heard anything good or bad

Also who is coming to Goodwood Revival this year, all more than welcome to picnic BBQ with us.

rgds
shaun
Seamus
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tyang
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Re: Oil Flush ??

Post by tyang »

Hi Shaun,

I wouldn't recommend an oil flush, especially with an old car. I don't know if it would damage anything more than you wallet, however.

If you found water in your oil, you may want to consider dropping the lower pan (we're talking about your 330 right?). The bottom plate of your engine will drop down after removing the dozen or so 10 mm nuts. Be careful not to damage the gasket when you drop the pan, and you may be able to re-use it with a light smear of silicone. If it gets damaged, you can make one from a large sheet of gasket material.

Removing the bottom pan will allow you to clean all the mayonnaise like stuff caught in the oil baffles when water gets into the oil. Use a degreaser to clean things up, and reinstall. Most of the junk you would be after in a flushing will be found in the lower pan, and it would be far more effective using this method.

Any clean oil will be fine for winter storage. It's not the oil you have to worry about, but the water that can get acidic that condenses in the oil from using the car.

Castrol 20W-50 is what we use, but it can be a little thick if you're runnining her in cold weather.

Francois is heading to Goodwood, but I'm holding down the fort while he's away :-( . Maybe next year. Have a great time!

Tom
'63 330 America #5053
mark
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Re: Oil Flush ??

Post by mark »

Hi Shaun:

My wife and I will be at Goodwood. We arrive in London on the 13th and will make our way South on Friday.

Mark
69 365 gt 2+2, 12659
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Jimmyr
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Re: Oil Flush ??

Post by Jimmyr »

Shaun, In addition to Toms info on oil, a check of the source may be in order to prevent future problems. One easy service would be to retorque the heads; the usual cause of intermitent oil water problems. Jim
william
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Re: Oil Flush ??

Post by william »

Jim is spot on!

Retorque the heads this may very well solve your problems. I had a similar problem with my 250 a few weeks ago. After retorquing the problem seems to be gone, however I'm still using a raditor cap that is not holding much pressure. (The problem started when I replaced the old cap with a new one that worked) I plan to put the good cap back on before I have to park the car for the winter that way If I need to pull the heads I can do it when snow is flying. Good Luck!!!
William
1979 Avanti s/n Rqb-3016
1962 GTE s/n 3447
1960 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider 1495*09775
seamusdavis
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Re: Oil Flush ??

Post by seamusdavis »

Brilliant thanks, I will try re torque down the heads.

Is there a particular order to tighten them down in ? And what shoudl the setting be ?

I had an old mini cooper in the 80's and if you did not torque up the head in the right order it would pinch then blow the head gasket, that and the fact I was using myy dads old ex army torque wrench, fine for a tank but a little too much oomph for a mini

shaun
Seamus
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william
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Re: Oil Flush ??

Post by william »

I will have to check but the 250 GTE was something like 62-65lbs.

I was only able to torque to about 55lbs without fear.

I believe the 330 is less than the 250 GTE. I have the torque specs at home..just not available to me right now as I'm at work.
William
1979 Avanti s/n Rqb-3016
1962 GTE s/n 3447
1960 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider 1495*09775
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330GT
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Re: Oil Flush ??

Post by 330GT »

Hi Shaun,

The specs and order are in the 330 GT service manual. As a registered owner, you can download it from the registry (http://www.330gt.com/Literature/Download.htm) as a PDF file.

Regards, Kerry
Regards, Kerry
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tyang
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Re: Oil Flush ??

Post by tyang »

Here are a couple of thoughts on re-torquing the heads:

When removing the cam covers, there are two bolts on distributor side that bolt through the cam covers that need to be removed. We like to loosen the distributor and slide it back a little bit to make getting the o-ring back there in without cutting it on installation. Don't put the distributor angle drive out past the splined drives or else you'll be in for a lot bigger job!

If you're pulling the valve covers off, you might as well check for valve lash.

60-65 Ft-lbs. start with the nuts in the center of the head, and work your way out.

Get some thin sheet metal (about the thickness of a coke can) and cut it to fit over the square cut o-ring at the front of the cam cover. We use silicone to coat this area against the cam cover as the sheetmetal shim holds the o-ring in place and the cam cover is slid down on the studs. Make the shim long enough to pull out once the cam cover is seated. If you don't use a sheet metal shim, you risk having the cam cover dislodge the square gasket as the cover is seated. If this gasket is not in place, get ready for some big oil leaks!

Good luck!

Tom
'63 330 America #5053
seamusdavis
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Re: Oil Flush ??

Post by seamusdavis »

Great

Thanks for your advice everyone, I will do this job after I get back from Revival. From experience they always end up taking longer than planned!
Seamus
65 330GT 2+2 7131
jcwconsult
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Re: Oil Flush ??

Post by jcwconsult »

The advice to pull and manually clean the lower pan after water/oil contamination is really valid. When I had the issue due to a leak in one of the blind plugs in the cylinder head, the pan was completely full of the gooey froth. There is no way it will drain out properly from the pan with all those little baffles. My gasket did not survive, but it is an easy one to make. It was really worth the trouble to clean the pan. I also did an extra oil change after short mileage, to be sure to change all the oil from the little pockets in the engine that don't drain very well.
Jim Walker
365 GT 2+2 #12451
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