Oil Top-up?

Soldato
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I went to Halfords which didn't have the oils on that Opie website either. Looks cheaper online though. I guess I know where I should buy this stuff for next time. They have cool words like High Performance and TITAN too!

Castrol Magnatec 10W40 - This looks familiar.
 
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Soldato
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Seriously, you're fine.

I know it is not much, but Halfords recommend the stuff you've bought for your car.

Mixing oils is not ideal, but neither is putting in 5L+ of the correct grade and mixing it with the several years worth of crap contaminated oil that is leftover in the engine even after putting the sump plug and filter, but I'm sure none of the "OMG, Read the Manual!" crew even think about this when they book their car in for an oil service.
 
Soldato
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They should flush out all the oil when doing an oil change, not mix it with whatever crap is in there at the time :(
How hard would it be to do that?
 
Caporegime
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Mixing oils is not ideal, but neither is putting in 5L+ of the correct grade and mixing it with the several years worth of crap contaminated oil that is leftover in the engine even after putting the sump plug and filter, but I'm sure none of the "OMG, Read the Manual!" crew even think about this when they book their car in for an oil service.

Not quite sure what you mean?
 
Soldato
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Not quite sure what you mean?

Simply removing the sump plug and oil filter will never get all of the old, contaminated oil, nor will it get rid of all of crud that has decided to attach itself to the walls of the engine over the past several years.

People sometimes get worked up about mixing engine oil, but completely forget that even a sump full of fresh engine oil just after a change may very well be mixing with the very same engine oil that the car rolled out of the factory with within a few hundred miles.

I'd like to know just how many of the guys who have jumped on the OP for not getting specifically the right oil have flushed their engine oil even once?
 
Caporegime
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Engine flush can cause more issues than good. Unless you are suggesting I dismantle my whole engine, have it chemically cleaned and reassembled?

Regular oil changes with the right grade and ensuring the level is correct is more than enough.
 
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Soldato
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Serious amount of doom mongering going on in here!!
Semi syn 10w40 Castrol Magnatec is fine.

Mk4 golf has a level indicator / mutifunction display.
I know this because my old dear smashed it off on an exhaust box lying in the road (along with half the sump pan) :rolleyes:

Oil pressure will be fine with the mix of oils. It hasn't got to fly!!

Stop worrying
 
Soldato
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Engine flush can cause more issues than good. Unless you are suggesting I dismantle my whole engine, have it chemically cleaned and reassembled?

Regular oil changes with the right grade and ensuring the level is correct is more than enough.

This is where people tend to disagree. Personally I don't see how many issues can be caused - Any crud that is dislodged is going to end up in the sump, it has then got to get though the mesh of the oil pick-up and THEN get through the oil filter. Personally, I cannot see this happening.

As for Regular oil changes being enough - See the state of your oil 500 - 1000 miles after an oil change. On a used car that has seen a few miles, that "fresh" oil will probably look just as black as the stuff that you drained off 1000 miles ago.

For me engine flushes hold two benefits, the first being that it gets rid of any crud left over in the engine and the Second being that you know exactly what is in your engine. After a few engine flushes I KNOW that my engine is as much Halfords 5W50 Fully Synthetic oil (my oil of choice) as possible and is not being mixed with left over Castrol/Mobil/Fuchs stuff put in years ago.
 
Caporegime
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I changed my oil 1000 miles ago and it still looks quite golden, certainly hasn't gone black yet. Then again I keep my changes pretty regular. I don't trust engine flush at all. After flushing the engine, won't it be like running the engine on no oil for the first few miles since you have flushed all the lubricant off every moving part in the engine away?
 
Soldato
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I flush my engines using diesel (Yes, straight out of the pump diesel) mixed with a bit of Diff oil to give it a bit of weight/body.

For the Love of god I don't drive it with the mixture in the sump! Just have it idling for 30 minutes watching the oil pressure gauge like a hawk, drain and repeat until I'm happy (usually after the third time).

The second the engine is cranked and Mr. Oil Pump gets to work everything that needs to be coated in oil is practically dripping with the stuff, so no worries there :).
 
Permabanned
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Flush is fine and there is generally not one grade of oil for a car, there will usually be a range depending on the climate of the country you are in.

going a grade either way is not an issue, and if the 2.0L engine is known to use oil, going up a grade is more than likely the smart move.
 
Soldato
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Err I need to put more oil in my car, is it drinking it or is that normal? I probably haven't even done 1000 miles since I topped it up.

What is the right/best oil I should be using? Halfords checker suggests 5w30, 5w40 and Opie Oils suggests 5w40. I don't understand grades, which is the best of those lot?
 
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