Messages

1

General Topics / engine oil

« on: March 22, 2009, 08:30:01 AM »

I graduated from MMI so i'm really supposed to be bike tech even though i work on cars now LOL. but anywho they always talked about how using car oils in motorcycles is the worst idea ever because the engines have such close tolerances. the oils won't be able to stand the harsh environment. but as for motorcycle oil in cars not to sure. i know a quart of synthetic oil for a bike is like 18 dollars so it would not be worth the money at all.

You might want to read this Motorcycle Consumer News article. Some automotive oils may cause problems in some bikes with wet clutches, but the issues have nothing to do with the so-called "close tolerances" of motorcycle engines.

2

General Topics / engine oil

« on: March 21, 2009, 10:00:53 PM »

your aluminum, chromium, iron, copper, lead, tin     counts on this graph are really high. Thats what you need to be looking at when you get these graphs back. You should try syntec or redline the counts of all these materials is way lower.

How did you reach the conclusion that those numbers are "really high"? Read the UOAs again- with the exception of iron in the MS3 UOAs, every metal number is at or below the universal averages for these engines. And if you read Blackstone's comments you'll find that they didn't find any red flags either.

3

General Topics / 1993 318i se e36 m42 - cooling system problems

« on: March 10, 2009, 06:56:09 AM »

The heater valve is electric, so the engine needs to be running or the key needs to be turned to the running position. You can test the thermostat but if I were you I'd just replace it. Why risk it?

4

General Topics / engine oil

« on: March 10, 2009, 06:50:31 AM »

My 318ti has over 112,000 miles and gets oil changes at @7,500 mile intervals; a look under the oil filler cap shows that the camshafts and upper cylinder head area are completely free of sludge and varnish. Ditto for my 1999 Wrangler which gets 8,000(or annual) changes. Yes, I'm bit of an oil geek, but when all is said and done it boils down to what OCI you are comfortable with. In my case I believe that an OCI of 5,000-9,000 miles-depending on the car-is perfectly safe. My UOAs bear this out; here are my two latest reports for the X3 and Mazda:

5

General Topics / 1993 318i se e36 m42 - cooling system problems

« on: March 09, 2009, 06:34:06 PM »

A thermostat CAN be damaged by overheating, and there may also be more air in the system. Did you turn the heater controls to full hot before you refilled and bled the system? I'd try bleeding the system again with the front of the car elevated a bit; park the car on an incline with the front facing uphill.

6

General Topics / engine oil

« on: March 07, 2009, 10:46:41 PM »

i change oil every 3000 or when ever i look at it and see how burnt it might be. Better to change more often than a long time, allways better in the long run and ur car performs smoother, but yea some people just dont car and take it the limit, oil also turns into acidtic acid over time thats not good eather

With all due respect, you simply cannot evaluate the condition of your oil by its appearance. I have a used oil analysis performed at every oil change of my wife's X3 and my Mazdaspeed 3(MPS to our British friends). I run Mobil 1 0W-40 in the X3 and the UOAs indicate that a 9,000 mile oil change interval is perfectly safe. I run Mobil 1 5w-30 in the Mazdaspeed and the UOAs show that a 5,000 mile OCI is very conservative- even after the car has seen an HPDE or two. In my opinion you are literally pouring money down the drain when you change synthetic oil every 3,000 miles. If you insist on changing your oil so frequently I'm certain that any conventional SM-rated oil will prove to be more than adequate.

7

Engine + Driveline / Are any of you using a "clutch stop" in the floor board?

« on: March 29, 2008, 01:17:32 PM »

I went with the UUC clutch stop and I love it- though a DIY solution will work equally well.