good oil for a 1275 metro engine

[cooper127588]

hey guys i need to change the oil in my mini and am wondering which oil is best ive been told 20w50 and 5w 50 but i would like some performance oil if possible also where the crankcase breather is there seems to be a leak coming from there :S

[taffy1967]

Any good quality classic 20W/50 oil will do the job and I'm assuming you'll be using the car on the road and not just on a racing track?

I've used Duckhams Q Classic 20W/50 for a few years and it's excellent. The thicker oil also helps stop oil leaks and thinner modern oil just isn't good enough for the humble A series engine. More so when it's having to share it's oil with the transmission. Also keep well away from synthetic oil as the baulk ring synchro's don't like it.

I'm told Duckhams Q Classic won't be available for long as Castrol have bought them out. But I've also heard that Castrol will be selling their own Classic 20W/50 type oil and it's more or less Duckhams only repackaged in a Castrol tin instead.

Apart from that there are loads of good quality stuff out there that's suitable for all real Minis, from the Halfords Classic oil that features a picture of a Mini on the front of the can, to Penrite, Millers, Morris or Comma Classic 20W/50.

But one of the best things you can do is treat the engine to regular oil changes.

As for the crankcase breather, have you tried removing it to see what's leaking from it? It could be a build up of creamy gunk and needs a good clean out?

[cooper127588]

thanks ive got the castrol 20w 50 oil


as too the crankcase breather where the bottom of the breather attachs to the clutch housing it doesnt seem to be sitting properly because of the brake master cylinder ive been told to take of the breather all together and buy a new one and fit it nicely to size ( cut the pipe so its just below the brake master but not sure if this will work ? ( theres a pic in the thread)

restoration of my mini mayfair called mayvis ) Not sure if the breather will come up in the pic tho :S

[taffy1967]

When the top engine steady bolt sheared on my 1990 Mini Cooper (which has the same type engine as the old MG Metro), I made do with one of those repair kit things from Mini Spares.

It also came with a special adapter for the crankcase breather, so it then didn't interfere with the engine steady repair bracket.

The adapter was basically a spacer which then changed the mounting position of the breather and it also came with a new paper gasket.

So I don't know if that would help you, or if you have got one of those top engine steady repair brackets fitted perhaps the last owner didn't do a good job of modifying the breather?

[ljonez]

the later 1275's had diffrent shaped breathers to clear the servo, its posible you have the older style where as you need the later type www.minispares.com/Product.aspx?ty=pb&pid=41641&title=CLUTCH%20HOUSING%20BREATHER%20F...

[cooper127588]

brill thanks alot also i have a pipercross filter on the top of the breather ive been told to take out all the stuff inside of the breather is this right ?

[ljonez]

Feb 11, 2010 1:32:56 GMT 1 @cooper127588 said:

brill thanks alot also i have a pipercross filter on the top of the breather ive been told to take out all the stuff inside of the breather is this right ?

remove the filter and plum the the breather back into the carb. those filters get saturated in oil quickly which stops them passing gasses thru which results in higher crankcase pressure ans blown seals.

no need to remove the wire/mesh from the inside just pour some petrol etc thru it to clean it out if its needed and it will be fine

[cooper127588]

ive been told by my mechanic not to use 20w 50 as its like treacle when cold so its really hard work for the engine to pump it round is there a different oil i could use that will do the same job as the 20w 50

[coedy]

.... anything less and your risking the gearbox as it shares the same oil...
I suppose you could stick in 30w40 (MINERAL, NOT SYNTHETIC) but I know what I've been using since I bought my car (6years ago) and I know what I'm going to keep using and that's 20w50 oil for Classic cars...?

all oil is thicker when it's cold. that's why your not meant to thrash a car until it's hot... Seems a funny mechanic...

[cooper127588]

thats what i thought maybe i should change the oil myself and see but she's loosing alot of oil whilst driving her and it could be from where the breather ontop of the clutchhousing is not sitting properly so its spinning out im abit concerned as im going on along jerny soon

[coedy]

well if its currently running on some thin stuff you'll probably find its leaking more than what it should from little small places (gear selector etc) that's what I found happened with mine when I put in 30w40 as an emergency oil once.

Im not sure about your breather problem though because I dont have one...

If your going on a fair run then just do an oil change, change the oil filter and if your worried about that breather then look into sorting it, I think Lawson and Taffy on here gave you some idea's about that.

Unless its burning the oil, not just dumping it everywhere?

[cooper127588]

its not burning oil it does drip abit on the floor but thats just the sump plug is worn and will be sorted at its next oil change (wasnt to bad at the last change) but as im going to the l2b run with you all and i wont be doing more than 2 stops i want to be sure that shes not running dry its really weird maybe ill just get my mechanic to change it and i think it will make a difference does it make it more silent aswell

[cooper127588]

is it castrol or halfords the 20w 50 or does it matter

[taffy1967]

It'll make it run nicer and setting the valve clearances (tappets) also helps. But to make it noticeabley quieter you'll need to add sound proofing.

As for your mechanic, well I expect he doesn't come across classic cars fitted with a 60 year old engine design very often?

There's more debate about the right oil here: -

forum.minicooper.org/showthread.php?p=97472#post97472

and here: -

forum.minicooper.org/showthread.php?t=12390

[cooper127588]

thanks ive bought halfords 20w 50 and will change the oil this week thanks every1

[cooper127588]

moss europe offer this from millers



Motorsport CTV 20w50
Alternatively CTV 20w50 can be used. It is a semi-synthetic version of TransM 20w50, ideal for fast road and competition use.

[taffy1967]

Feb 15, 2010 1:24:13 GMT 1 @cooper127588 said:

thanks ive bought halfords 20w 50 and will change the oil this week thanks every1

I've heard the Halfords classic oil is very good too. It's even got a picture of a Mini on the can.

[coedy]

Feb 15, 2010 1:33:56 GMT 1 @cooper127588 said:

moss europe offer this from millers
Motorsport CTV 20w50
Alternatively CTV 20w50 can be used. It is a semi-synthetic version of TransM 20w50, ideal for fast road and competition use.

I understand that Synthetic is bad, something about it containing stuff that's bad for certain metals, namely ones in the gearbox...?
(maybe baulkrings? no idea..)
Dont know if semi-synthetic is the same or not though...

The Halfords classic stuff in the tin is probably the stuff I will move to soon, gets good reviews on Mini sites.