The ultimate Engine, gearbox and axle oil guide + Coolant and brake fluid guide!
Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2018 4:35 pm
I'm not dead, i literally forgot this forum existed for a little while
Anyhow i wrote this up a few weeks back, hope it's useful and settles a lot of mysteries and questions.
I do not claim to be a professional expert, but i have been studying on this on my own, for more than 3 years now, reading lots of literature on engine lubrication and cooling.
I do not write this with the intention of this being some sort of bible, just something to guide you based on my knowldege of these subjects.
-- ENGINE OIL --
Some people might say you can run classic cars like Capris on almost any oil you like ( Wrong!!! )
The main reason for that statement being wrong is called :
Zincdialkyldithiophosphate
Z D D P
( ZDDP )
Zddp, Zddp is a molecule or compound or whatever you want to call it of Zinc and Phosphorous.
Zddp does one main thing in engine oil : it protects the flat tappets and cams in older engines like all Capri engines from wearing.
The contact between the camshaft lobes and their respective tappets are the part of the engine by far with the most friction inside an engine, the pressure in small spots between the cam lobe and its tapet can exceed 100.000 PSI!! yes, one hundred thousand pounds.
So what is the matter with Zddp?
Zddp used to be added in engine oil in generous amounts, between 1000 and 1400 parts per million during the 70s and 80s.
However in the 90s it was found that Zinc was damaging to catalytic converters, so for the past 20+ years the amount of it in most oil has been getting lower and lower.
Modern engines don't need Zinc almost at all, because the camshafts are roller type with low friction.
We are at a point now where most oils contain between 800 and 900 parts per million of Zinc, some as little as 600, 1000 is acceptable for our engines, but 800 or 600 are far too little.
Over the last years more and more classic cars are reporting issues with cmahsaft and tappet wear due to this.
- What should i do about it?
If your engine is standard and well run in, your engine will probably be fine on most oils, but it never hurts to be sure and use a high zinc oil.
Use an oil that is known to have high Zinc, here is a list of oils that atleast i know for sure have atleast 1100ppm of Zinc :
1 - Valvoline VR1 20W-50, 5W-50 and 10W-60, ( 1300ppm Zinc )
2 - Millers Pistoneeze 20W-50.
3 - Any Penrite oil.
4 - Any Morris Classic oil.
5 - Almost all Millers 20W-50 oils.
6 - Classic Oils original Heritage 20W-50 and Hot Hatch 10W-40, ( 1300ppm of Zinc )
7 - Comma X-Flow Type XS 10W-40, ( 1100ppm )
8 - Comma X-Flow Type MF 15W-40, ( 1100ppm )
9 - Shell X-100 20W-50, ( 2000ppm Zinc )
10 - Shell Rimula R4X 15W-40 ( Diesel oil, meets petrol specifications, 1250ppm Zinc )
11 - Westay Classic motor oil 20W-50 ( Unknown, claims high Zinc )
12 - Comma X-flow Type MOT 20W-50, ( 1100ppm Zinc )
13 - Mobil 1 5W-50, ( 1100ppm Zinc )
14 - Mobil 1 10W-60 ( 1300ppm Zinc )
15 - All Joe Gibbs Racing Driven oils.
16 - All Amsoil Z-Rod series oils
17 - Most Motul oils.
18 - Most Agip Eni-i sint oils.
You will see on this list :
Comma Classic 20W-50
Halford Classic 20W-50
and Castrol XL Classic 20W-50
do not appear.
These oils despite being called "Classic" contain too little Zinc ( 600-800ppm and have very old specifications, i would not use them in my car, use them at your own discretion.
Viscosity :
I can only make recommendations on viscosity for standard engines or naturally aspirated modified engines.
Pretty much all engines used originally in Capris :
Kent Crossflow 1300,1600
Pinto OHC 1600,2000
Cologne V4, 1300,1500,1700
Cologne V6, 2000,2300,2600,2800 and 2.8i
Essex V4, 2000
Essex V6, 3000, 3100
Can use viscosities such as :
10W-40
15W-40
15W-50
20W-50
10W-60 / 20W-60
Always use the thinnest oil that gives you good hot idle viscosity, if your hot idle viscosity is good on 10W-40, you don't need anything thicker unless the engine burns or leaks a fair bit of oil, 20W-50 mineral oils are the safest best for old high mileage engines.
Do not use oil flushes, they can dislodge large amount of sludge that can fatally block your oil pump pickup.
( 5W-50, 10W-50 and 10W-60 Synthetic oils are only really needed for very high performance Turbo engines )
Change your oil every 3000 miles, ( 5000 km ) once a year regardless of mileage, filters can be left on for a couple years if the car is sriven 1000 miles a year or less, use genuine Ford oil filters when you can.
That is it for oil
- COOLANTS -
All engines originally used in Capris have cast iron blocks and cylinder heads, and usually copper / brass heater cores.
This makes coolant selection SIMPLE.
The best type of coolant for Capris are IAT ( Inorganic Acid Technology ) Coolants.
This type of coolant is the traditional green or blue coolant you see in most places, they contain Borates, Silicates, Phosphates and Nitrates, they protect cast iron and copper / brass very well.
However, never go by colour alone, always make sure what type it is because the colours are afterall just dyes and manufacturers can dye them however they like
This type of coolant should be changed every 2 YEARS, and should be mixed between 30-50% with DISTILLED WATER for the best protection, if not bought premixed.
I would not recommend personally using Organic Acid Technology coolants that meet VW spec G12 or G12+, because of their lack of silicates, which can corrode brass / copper heater cores.
G12++ and G13 OAT coolants do contain silicates which amkes them ok to use in cast iron engines with brass and copper, but it's best to stay with traditional green or blue IAT coolants.
Evans Waterless coolant : i do not recommend Evans Waterless Coolants personally, i have looked into tests that have done to it which clearly indicate it transfers heat significantly worse than normal coolants, and its effects on the long term on copper and brass are unknown, use traditional Green or Blue IAT coolants, which are much, much cheaper and are proven to give good protection for many years.
-- BRAKE FLUID --
"What brake fluid should i use in my Capri" ?
DOT 4, if you've bought a Capri or any other car and do not know what brake fluid it has in it, use DOT 4 as it's what it most likely has in it.
DOT 5 and 5.1 brake fluids resist heat better than DOT 4 or DOT 3, but the entire brake system has to be emptied if you are going to use it.
-- GEARBOX AND AXLE OILS --
While i cannot recommend a particular brand or viscosity for each and every gearbox and axle, there are two fundamental things you must know :
GL-4 GEAR OIL : GL-4 gear oil should be used in GEARBOXES, and in Gearboxes only.
GL-5 GEAR OIL : GL-5 contain phosphorous, these oils are meant exclusively for AXLES, using GL-5 in a gearbox will corrode the brass synchros in them and cause rough shifting and crunching noises.
Remember , LSD axles requile oils with special friction modifiers or usin an additive.
Change both gearbox and axle oils at least every 5 YEARS.
Anyhow i wrote this up a few weeks back, hope it's useful and settles a lot of mysteries and questions.
I do not claim to be a professional expert, but i have been studying on this on my own, for more than 3 years now, reading lots of literature on engine lubrication and cooling.
I do not write this with the intention of this being some sort of bible, just something to guide you based on my knowldege of these subjects.
-- ENGINE OIL --
Some people might say you can run classic cars like Capris on almost any oil you like ( Wrong!!! )
The main reason for that statement being wrong is called :
Zincdialkyldithiophosphate
Z D D P
( ZDDP )
Zddp, Zddp is a molecule or compound or whatever you want to call it of Zinc and Phosphorous.
Zddp does one main thing in engine oil : it protects the flat tappets and cams in older engines like all Capri engines from wearing.
The contact between the camshaft lobes and their respective tappets are the part of the engine by far with the most friction inside an engine, the pressure in small spots between the cam lobe and its tapet can exceed 100.000 PSI!! yes, one hundred thousand pounds.
So what is the matter with Zddp?
Zddp used to be added in engine oil in generous amounts, between 1000 and 1400 parts per million during the 70s and 80s.
However in the 90s it was found that Zinc was damaging to catalytic converters, so for the past 20+ years the amount of it in most oil has been getting lower and lower.
Modern engines don't need Zinc almost at all, because the camshafts are roller type with low friction.
We are at a point now where most oils contain between 800 and 900 parts per million of Zinc, some as little as 600, 1000 is acceptable for our engines, but 800 or 600 are far too little.
Over the last years more and more classic cars are reporting issues with cmahsaft and tappet wear due to this.
- What should i do about it?
If your engine is standard and well run in, your engine will probably be fine on most oils, but it never hurts to be sure and use a high zinc oil.
Use an oil that is known to have high Zinc, here is a list of oils that atleast i know for sure have atleast 1100ppm of Zinc :
1 - Valvoline VR1 20W-50, 5W-50 and 10W-60, ( 1300ppm Zinc )
2 - Millers Pistoneeze 20W-50.
3 - Any Penrite oil.
4 - Any Morris Classic oil.
5 - Almost all Millers 20W-50 oils.
6 - Classic Oils original Heritage 20W-50 and Hot Hatch 10W-40, ( 1300ppm of Zinc )
7 - Comma X-Flow Type XS 10W-40, ( 1100ppm )
8 - Comma X-Flow Type MF 15W-40, ( 1100ppm )
9 - Shell X-100 20W-50, ( 2000ppm Zinc )
10 - Shell Rimula R4X 15W-40 ( Diesel oil, meets petrol specifications, 1250ppm Zinc )
11 - Westay Classic motor oil 20W-50 ( Unknown, claims high Zinc )
12 - Comma X-flow Type MOT 20W-50, ( 1100ppm Zinc )
13 - Mobil 1 5W-50, ( 1100ppm Zinc )
14 - Mobil 1 10W-60 ( 1300ppm Zinc )
15 - All Joe Gibbs Racing Driven oils.
16 - All Amsoil Z-Rod series oils
17 - Most Motul oils.
18 - Most Agip Eni-i sint oils.
You will see on this list :
Comma Classic 20W-50
Halford Classic 20W-50
and Castrol XL Classic 20W-50
do not appear.
These oils despite being called "Classic" contain too little Zinc ( 600-800ppm and have very old specifications, i would not use them in my car, use them at your own discretion.
Viscosity :
I can only make recommendations on viscosity for standard engines or naturally aspirated modified engines.
Pretty much all engines used originally in Capris :
Kent Crossflow 1300,1600
Pinto OHC 1600,2000
Cologne V4, 1300,1500,1700
Cologne V6, 2000,2300,2600,2800 and 2.8i
Essex V4, 2000
Essex V6, 3000, 3100
Can use viscosities such as :
10W-40
15W-40
15W-50
20W-50
10W-60 / 20W-60
Always use the thinnest oil that gives you good hot idle viscosity, if your hot idle viscosity is good on 10W-40, you don't need anything thicker unless the engine burns or leaks a fair bit of oil, 20W-50 mineral oils are the safest best for old high mileage engines.
Do not use oil flushes, they can dislodge large amount of sludge that can fatally block your oil pump pickup.
( 5W-50, 10W-50 and 10W-60 Synthetic oils are only really needed for very high performance Turbo engines )
Change your oil every 3000 miles, ( 5000 km ) once a year regardless of mileage, filters can be left on for a couple years if the car is sriven 1000 miles a year or less, use genuine Ford oil filters when you can.
That is it for oil
- COOLANTS -
All engines originally used in Capris have cast iron blocks and cylinder heads, and usually copper / brass heater cores.
This makes coolant selection SIMPLE.
The best type of coolant for Capris are IAT ( Inorganic Acid Technology ) Coolants.
This type of coolant is the traditional green or blue coolant you see in most places, they contain Borates, Silicates, Phosphates and Nitrates, they protect cast iron and copper / brass very well.
However, never go by colour alone, always make sure what type it is because the colours are afterall just dyes and manufacturers can dye them however they like
This type of coolant should be changed every 2 YEARS, and should be mixed between 30-50% with DISTILLED WATER for the best protection, if not bought premixed.
I would not recommend personally using Organic Acid Technology coolants that meet VW spec G12 or G12+, because of their lack of silicates, which can corrode brass / copper heater cores.
G12++ and G13 OAT coolants do contain silicates which amkes them ok to use in cast iron engines with brass and copper, but it's best to stay with traditional green or blue IAT coolants.
Evans Waterless coolant : i do not recommend Evans Waterless Coolants personally, i have looked into tests that have done to it which clearly indicate it transfers heat significantly worse than normal coolants, and its effects on the long term on copper and brass are unknown, use traditional Green or Blue IAT coolants, which are much, much cheaper and are proven to give good protection for many years.
-- BRAKE FLUID --
"What brake fluid should i use in my Capri" ?
DOT 4, if you've bought a Capri or any other car and do not know what brake fluid it has in it, use DOT 4 as it's what it most likely has in it.
DOT 5 and 5.1 brake fluids resist heat better than DOT 4 or DOT 3, but the entire brake system has to be emptied if you are going to use it.
-- GEARBOX AND AXLE OILS --
While i cannot recommend a particular brand or viscosity for each and every gearbox and axle, there are two fundamental things you must know :
GL-4 GEAR OIL : GL-4 gear oil should be used in GEARBOXES, and in Gearboxes only.
GL-5 GEAR OIL : GL-5 contain phosphorous, these oils are meant exclusively for AXLES, using GL-5 in a gearbox will corrode the brass synchros in them and cause rough shifting and crunching noises.
Remember , LSD axles requile oils with special friction modifiers or usin an additive.
Change both gearbox and axle oils at least every 5 YEARS.