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Pinto engin oil - whats best?
F1SJL - 8/9/13 at 08:53 PM

Hi all,

Ime new to this forum and new to locost ownership.

I've just acquired a locost running a 2.0 pinto engine. I'm guessing around 89 as it runs unleaded.

What's the best engine oil as I'd like to give her a service before she sees some road and track action

Thanks in advance

Steve

JacksAvon - 8/9/13 at 09:00 PM

valvoline 20/50

F1SJL - 8/9/13 at 09:04 PM

quote:
Originally posted by JacksAvon
valvoline 20/50


Thanks for the reply.

I'd have never thought 20/50 would be the correct choice. I was thinking 10/40

Ill track some down.

Thanks

FuryRebuild - 8/9/13 at 09:10 PM

I always ran Valvoline Racing Oil (that's actually what they call it).

It doesn't break down at higher temps and revs, and far outstrips the run of the mill oils.

britishtrident - 9/9/13 at 06:26 AM

5w/40 fully synthetic

mcerd1 - 9/9/13 at 07:41 AM

pinto's aren't that fussy really, most books say 15w/40 or 10w/40 for the standard engine (at least for the later engines) - my donor ran on tractor oil for over 100k (out of 151k total) and after a full strip and rebuild I couldn't find any sign of damage/excessive wear at all


some racers seem use 20w/50 on tuned engines, but you might not need anything that viscous
best to keep an eye on the oil pressure (assuming you have a gauge you trust) and work out which one is best for your engine by trial and error


whatever grade you get you sould be able to find a decent fully synthetic to give you the max. life for your oil/engine


[Edited on 9/9/2013 by mcerd1]

snapper - 9/9/13 at 08:42 AM

20/50 was original spec
I run it for good oil pressure, the thin stuff will escape from every gasket
Pintos not know for retaining oil, why ford painted them black

britishtrident - 9/9/13 at 11:28 AM

Actually Pintos are very fussy about oil the main reason is the oil feed to the camshaft, use a mineral oil and the oil feed to the camshaft clogs up.
Back in the 1970s in the Cortina and MK2 transit the Pinto had a dreadful reputation for eating camshafts, any one on the road with over 30,000 miles on the clock that wasn't clattering had already had the camshaft and followers replaced.

Ford changed the spec to10w/40 because the poor viscosity characteristics of 20w/50 at the cold end was starving the cam followers of oil after a cold start and together with increased detergent additives and improved cam and follower material specifications the life expectancy of Pinto cam shafts improved to an acceptable level.

For SAE Multigrade Oil viscosity rating the oil viscosity is measure at two temperatures 0c and 100c. If you have ever changed engine oil in sub-zero you will have notice a 20w/50 will be very reluctant to pour from the can, but a 5w/40 will still flow freely. This directly affects how long the oil takes to reach the camshaft after a cold start.

At 100c the 20w/50 will still be a little more viscous than the 5w/40 but the lubrication film strength of the synthetic 5w/40 will be much higher.

At 120c or over the 5w/40 is likely to be more viscous than the 20w/50 mineral oil.


The other big advantage of a synthetic oil over even the best mineral oil is that because they are not doped with detergent and viscosity index improver additives the characteristics of the oil don't deteriorate over time. Mineral oils have to be changed at 5,000 to 6,000 mile intervals because the detergent additives and viscosity index improves break down or are lost ---- use a 20w/50 oil long enough and it will cease to be a multi-grade become a black treacle like like straight SAE 50 oil.

The cheapest supermarket synthetic motor oils are made by a different process than the high end ester based synthetics but even these cheap oil will do a better job of protecting the rubbing surfaces and keeping the engine clean internally than even best mineral or semi-synthetic oil.

The main difference between the supermarket synthetics and the much more expensive ester based synthetics is that ester based synthetics will allow much longer intervals between oil changes. A few years ago a group on the internet had an extended test running using regular oil analysis to see how far the oil change interval could be stretched, a photo of the as new engine internals of a BMW engine that had had only filter changes and top-ups in about 140,000 miles convinced that synthetic oil was the way to go.

Mr Whippy - 9/9/13 at 11:37 AM

its best to regularly take off and clean the camshaft spray bar in petrol rather than rely on fancy oil not clogging it

mcerd1 - 9/9/13 at 12:06 PM

quote:
Originally posted by britishtrident
Actually Pintos are very fussy about oil the main reason is the oil feed to the camshaft, use a mineral oil and the oil feed to the camshaft clogs up

no doubt that a good synthetic oil is better, but as Mr Whippy says a regular check and clean of the spray bar (along with regular oil changes) will be enough for most standard(ish) pinto's

even with the best oil on the planet I'd still check the spray bar


my 'slightly' tuned one will be getting fed good quality synthetic but probably 10w/40 to start with rather than 5w/40 (i'll see how it goes)


[Edited on 9/9/2013 by mcerd1]

F1SJL - 9/9/13 at 08:01 PM

Thanks for all of you input.

Some conflicting opinions.

jacko - 9/9/13 at 08:45 PM

I use 10/40 full syn in my pinto
Jacko

nick205 - 9/9/13 at 09:46 PM

10w40 mineral oil and a filter from the local motor factors is fine - unless you're highly tuned and tracking/racing all the time.

Kit cars rarely cover many miles and even more rarely in the really cold weather.

Oil change at the start of the season and again half way through if you feel like it.

As per Mr Whippy's comment, removing and cleaning the camshaft spray bar at the start of the season is a good idea after the car has been sat for a while.