V5 engine oil - which grade to use?

Baffled Spoon

Active Member
Nov 17, 2008
68
0
Glasgow
Hi all,

my 2002 Tolly V5 170 is dripping a bit of oil (sump looks fine, so I assume the drip is coming from the crankshaft oil seal as mentioned in the other thread linky to other thread).

Assuming the car is indeed dripping oil from the crankshaft oil seal which would be a gearbox out job to change, I think i'll just run the car as is topping up the oil when necessary untill I need a new clutch (so I can get the seal changed over then).

Problem is though I don't know what oil to use. Car was serviced at Seat Preston in January this year by the previous owner so I assume they will have used the recommended grade (whatever that is). Does anyone know which oil I need to top up the car then?

Cheers, Spoon
 

Baffled Spoon

Active Member
Nov 17, 2008
68
0
Glasgow
Thanks for the reply car guy. I managed to dig out the reciept from the last service the car had (done by the last owner in January this year) and phoned the garage and they use Shell Helix 10w 40 on most cars apparentley. Does anyone know if this is a synthetic or mineral oil, and is there any risk in mixing different viscosity oils (the garage couldn't tell me for certain what oil they used).

Thanks.
 

car_guy143

Active Member
Nov 9, 2008
183
0
Leyland, Lancs, UK
I don't think they would use mineral oil in a garage as it's poor stuff to be honest. I would say it's semi synthetic - the minimum reccomended for these engines i believe. It doesn't matter which brand oil you use to be honest but i use Comma or Havoline in some cars (Texaco). I wouldn't really mix grades if you're going to keep topping up the oil, try and stick to the same stuff if possible.
 
Feb 26, 2009
5,275
1
Wolverhampton
From a quick check on the interweb, the Shell Helix range covers various versions of oil so there's no clue there. However, its unlikely to be a mineral oil, probably either a semi or fully synthetic oil. My V5 170 will be fed fully synthetic from now on, I don't know what its history is like.

If you look at the ambient temperature recommendations for the various viscosities, you'll see that any 'standard' oil will cover the temperature ranges we get in the UK. So try and get 10w 40 if you can, but don't sweat it if you can only find 5w-40.
 

kewe

Active Member
Jun 20, 2001
814
6
Edinburgh
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Would it be worth trying a Stop Oil Leak product like Wynns? If it's the crankshaft oil seal that's leaking then I wouldn't fancy paying the cost of gearbox out labour to replace the seal. Might be worth a try unless anyone knows of any bad experiences with this stuff?
 
Feb 26, 2009
5,275
1
Wolverhampton
Would it be worth trying a Stop Oil Leak product like Wynns? If it's the crankshaft oil seal that's leaking then I wouldn't fancy paying the cost of gearbox out labour to replace the seal. Might be worth a try unless anyone knows of any bad experiences with this stuff?

I've never understood how a product like Wynns can tell the difference between a hole thats meant to be there and one that you want to plug up? And I don't think I'd like the idea of messing up the entire top end just because one of the channels was blocked...

I'd live with the stain on the drive and a constant supply of oil...
 

kewe

Active Member
Jun 20, 2001
814
6
Edinburgh
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I've never understood how a product like Wynns can tell the difference between a hole thats meant to be there and one that you want to plug up? And I don't think I'd like the idea of messing up the entire top end just because one of the channels was blocked...

I'd live with the stain on the drive and a constant supply of oil...

Seems a lot of companies make this product now (Bars, Wynns, Redex, Lucas, Slick) which doesn't of course mean it works but surely if they did mess with other parts of the engine there would be a lot of bad press going around which to date I cannot find.

The Bars version of Oil Stop Leak states:-

On External Leaks, the small Rhizex Particles first adhere to the outside areas of seepage and leaks and then steadily build inward toward the center of the opening. As the Particles come in contact with the outside air, they expand approximately 15% to form a smooth walled compression seal that continues to contract and expand consistent with the variety of metallic expansion rates found in today's modern cooling systems.
 
Feb 26, 2009
5,275
1
Wolverhampton
On External Leaks, the small Rhizex Particles first adhere to the outside areas of seepage and leaks and then steadily build inward toward the center of the opening. As the Particles come in contact with the outside air, they expand approximately 15% to form a smooth walled compression seal that continues to contract and expand consistent with the variety of metallic expansion rates found in today's modern cooling systems.

That sounds quite logical, but how does it tell the difference between outside air, and the air thats naturally in the engine oil channels? The oil system isn't like the water system, there are large volumes that are just air. If the oil system was 100% full, the crankshaft would never turn! Also, most vehicles come with crankcase breathers, what happens when the chemical gets to the breather?

I do totally agree with you though, if it didn't work they'd simply not sell any more, and the other companies wouldn't have bothered making it. Then again, 'slick 50' is the worlds biggest example of 'snake oil', and they sell gallons of the stuff to unsuspecting fools! (Hope I don't offend anyone here with that, I would hope no-one here has used it!!)
 

kewe

Active Member
Jun 20, 2001
814
6
Edinburgh
Visit site
That sounds quite logical, but how does it tell the difference between outside air, and the air thats naturally in the engine oil channels? The oil system isn't like the water system, there are large volumes that are just air. If the oil system was 100% full, the crankshaft would never turn! Also, most vehicles come with crankcase breathers, what happens when the chemical gets to the breather?

I do totally agree with you though, if it didn't work they'd simply not sell any more, and the other companies wouldn't have bothered making it. Then again, 'slick 50' is the worlds biggest example of 'snake oil', and they sell gallons of the stuff to unsuspecting fools! (Hope I don't offend anyone here with that, I would hope no-one here has used it!!)

:lol: I know where you're coming from mate and I'd be a bit dubious about using it too.
I wonder if the delta in air temperature inside and outside the engine may cause the reaction whereas constant warm air inside the engine wouldn't?
 

Baffled Spoon

Active Member
Nov 17, 2008
68
0
Glasgow
Thanks for the replies again chaps, I think I'll go for fully synthetic 10w-40 oil and just top up with that. Hopefully even if the oil already in the car is semi synthetic there won't be any adverse effects from mixing semi and fully synthetic oils of the same grade.
 
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