Technical Which oil should i use? Brava 1.8

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Technical Which oil should i use? Brava 1.8

scrobert

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Hello well i bought some castrol gtx for the oil change, but i did not realise it was 'mineral'. would it be okay to use it? 10-40w. and i do change the oil every 6 months ish.

Reason i bought it because i thought it was a great deal for 5 litres only 10 pound. and it says its good for stop start driving and high temperatures.

car came with no history so no idea what sludge is in the engine atm but theres mayo appearing and i want to change it for fresh start. theres a selenia sticker under the bonnet but i dought thats whats in there....

Also its got an oil leak (the undertray is covered in oil) so im not spending 45 quid on castrol edge or something lol.

Oil is really confusing for me... i paid 18 quid for semi sythetic eurolite and carlube before that 10-40w for my old car but that was an old engine type. (94 polo)

thanks

rob.
 
That's okay but it doesn't last as long, so every six months is a good idea. Personally I'd use semi-synthetic instead..

If you have mayo on the oil cap, it could mean that the head gasket is gone, have you given the car a once over?

Do you know where the oil is leaking from, because tbh I'd get the oil leak stopped before you change the oil (When I had a leak I lost 3 litres in 2 days, so even that £10 bargain won't help you)
 
That's okay but it doesn't last as long, so every six months is a good idea. Personally I'd use semi-synthetic instead..

If you have mayo on the oil cap, it could mean that the head gasket is gone, have you given the car a once over?

Do you know where the oil is leaking from, because tbh I'd get the oil leak stopped before you change the oil (When I had a leak I lost 3 litres in 2 days, so even that £10 bargain won't help you)

Mayo under the oil cap doesn't always mean the head gasket has gone. Short journeys, stop and start, car not being used much will eventually cause mayo to form on the inside of the cap due to condensation. So I wouldn't stress out just yet.

Oil leak will probably be the sump plug or oil filter not correctly tightened. Make sure you renew the copper seal under the sump plug when you do the change.

Aslong as the oil is the correct grade and specification (10-40W) then it doesn't matter what oil you use.
 
Ah, thanks Joske :) Always thought it was always head gasket!

When I had an oil leak it was my oil pressure switch, so that might be something to look at if you don't find any problems with the filter or the sump. However, as it hasn't been serviced in a while, chances are it's probably those two :S
 
Joske what is the main difference between mineral and synthetic?

In laymens terms...

Mineral oils will be good during the initial periods and their performance will deteriorate more after use as compared to synthetic or semi synthetic oils. Cars running mineral oil will need to be serviced earlier than cars running semi synthetic or synthetic oil.

Semi Synthetic and Synthetic u can feel a change in engine smoothness, smoothness at high rpm and gives u added protection during cold starting of engine due to which less wear and tear of engine components.

As long as you keep to correct grade your fine. I always use Selenia as I find my car runs alot smoother and quieter, even though it is a diesel there is a difference.
 
Oh cool, thanks Joske. The guy before me used mineral oil in my Bravo and I was a bit concerned... But now I know :) Selenia's very expensive though isn't it?

Yeah Selenia is very expensive, im sure other Semi Synthetic oils do the same job. After I put Selenia in my car i noticed a difference straight away and never looked back at other oils.

That reminds me i'm due a service soon. :)
 
Thanks alot everyone for your input, i was not expecting many replies but this is great :D

Well i will take the undertray off tommorow and have a look, im book an mot for friday, slight oil leak not going to affect it right? oil level hasnt dropped so it could have been there for ages for all i know.

Ive owned it since feb and its been sitting but drove up an down the driveway every week and im taking it out on friday.

Yes i will be doing oil change proberly next week if i can afford the oil filter an new sump plug.

Ive had the head gasket go on my old car, i was driving round on coffee lol. but i used to do alot of short journeys(literaly 2 mins down the road etc) and still will aswell due to no job. so i will expect abit of mayo, hopefully alls well with the engine. I did the head gasket on my old vw but the engines are just a few bolts to undo.

i saw selenia on shop 4 parts for about 25 quid. but for somone whos unemployed is alot to pay.

Another problem i noticed is they mainly sell oil in 4 litre bottls an im sure i read the brava has 4.5 capacity
 
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lol well the clue was in the title, 1.8 :D

Am i not supposed to have one? i think its dropped abit so needs attention anyway.

I was wondering if i was missing an engine cover but i dont think i am.
 
you're right, you will need more than 4 litres, would be helpful for top up too. From what I remember when I ordered Selenia before (for a 2 litre 16v turbo lol) it was harder to get top up oil. But then again that was from Fiat and they could "only order in bulk" :p

Adrian the 1.8's have this nifty little undertray with a little compartment you have to unbolt to get to the sump :D
 
12volts i mean valves ftw!

Does this have relevence to my topic because im totaly confusednow?


ah well really having no service history no point in me running it on selenia, i think of head and shoulders and that film evolution everytime i say that lol, do fiats have bad dandruff ? :D. i might aswell just use the mineral for now an get a filter.

I havent looked in costco for ahwile so they may have better deals than makro next time i get oil.
 
Does this have relevence to my topic because im totaly confusednow?


ah well really having no service history no point in me running it on selenia, i think of head and shoulders and that film evolution everytime i say that lol, do fiats have bad dandruff ? :D. i might aswell just use the mineral for now an get a filter.

I havent looked in costco for ahwile so they may have better deals than makro next time i get oil.


Duckhams 20-50 Motor Oil upto 3/4 ...then top it up with Synthetic :p
 
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