Technical Oil for a TA

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Technical Oil for a TA

Mick F

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Hi guys, a bit of advice required please.

Our Sept 2011 TA 85hp has been with us for only a few weeks. Bought secondhand with 14,000miles on the clock with a full service history and was serviced by Fiat only in August.

I checked the oil level today after she'd been sitting in a level carpark for half an hour. The dipstick showed the level way down at the bottom.

I can buy some oil locally, no problem but I have some oil in an unused bottle left over from our 1.6L 16v Clio.

Fiat 500TA 85's need SAE 5W-40 ACEA C3 Synthetic.
I have some (according to the label) SAE 10W-40 ACEA A3/B3 Synthetic.

Can I top up our 500TA with this?

Thanks guys,
Mick.
 
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Your valves are controlled by your oil. You need the exact correct oil, no experimenting. It must have the correct Fiat approval on it (this may not be printed on the bottle, you might have to check online). There are any number of threads on here about TA oil.
 
Hi guys, a bit of advice required please.

Our Sept 2011 TA 85hp has been with us for only a few weeks. Bought secondhand with 14,000miles on the clock with a full service history and was serviced by Fiat only in August.

I checked the oil level today after she'd been sitting in a level carpark for half an hour. The dipstick showed the level way down at the bottom.

I can buy some oil locally, no problem but I have some oil in an unused bottle left over from our 1.6L 16v Clio.

Fiat 500TA 85's need SAE 5W-40 ACEA C3 Synthetic.
I have some (according to the label) SAE 10W-40 ACEA A3/B3 Synthetic.

Can I top up our 500TA with this?

Thanks guys,
Mick.
no dont only top it up with the oil thats already in it. mind you new tas are being sold with 0w-30 oil in it so consider that for your next oil change = )
 
no dont only top it up with the oil thats already in it. mind you new tas are being sold with 0w-30 oil in it so consider that for your next oil change = )
0W ???
How does that work?

The first number is the cold viscosity, and the second number is the hot (100decC) viscosity.

If I have 3ltrs of oil in the sump of 5W-40 and need to add 0.5ltrs of 10W-40
What is the resultant?

Dunno, that's what I'm asking.

Regards,
Mick
 
0W ???

How does that work?



The first number is the cold viscosity, and the second number is the hot (100decC) viscosity.



If I have 3ltrs of oil in the sump of 5W-40 and need to add 0.5ltrs of 10W-40

What is the resultant?



Dunno, that's what I'm asking.



Regards,

Mick


Why would you top up with the wrong oil??? Bizarre!
 
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I find it hard to actually check the readout on my TA dipstick, I purchased 2 litres of 'Selenia Pure Energy K 5W-40 MultiAir Engine Oil' the exact stuff recommended in the manual - was quite pricey too... But haven't been able to get a clear readout :(

Also I don't know what oil is currently in the engine, can you mix brands as long as it's the same type?! ?
 
Yep,
Same question really.

It's not bizarre to want to know facts.
I have some similar oil to what is prescribed, so all I want to know is what the facts are with respect to adding half a litre of 10W-40 to a nigh-on whole sump-ful of 5W-40.

I'm not intending to do a fill-up of 10W-40, just add some small amount to the engine oil already there.

I can't get a good readout either, just like AdyG is saying. I had to wait until I was at a level carpark to check the dipstick, and because you have to unscrew and pull out, and the fact the dipstick is (brown) the same colour as the oil and I have tired old eyes, it isn't that clear.

Just a dribble is all I'm asking, not a complete refill. :)
Not bizarre at all, just a common sense question.

Thanks and regards,
Mick.
 
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It's simple maths really.

If you have 3ltrs at 5W, so that's 6 x .5ltrs = 30 and add .5ltrs at 10 total is 40.

Divide 40 by 7 to get the average = 5.71. So you are increasing the cold viscosity number by .71. Will it make any difference? Who knows????? The oil will be slightly thicker when cold. When cold oil thickens and is harder for the engine to push it around when cold starting.

If it was me I would just buy a litre of the correct oil, no point in putting any extra strain on the engine. No matter how small.
 
Mick, don't mess about putting the wrong spec oil in. 5w40 acea c3 synthetic is what is supposed to go in it. As long as it meets that spec, then it will be ok. Petronas or Selenia or any other well known branded sythetic oil of the correct spec will do it.

As for checking the level, I always find it best on our own TA, to check it on a level surface 10 minutes after switching the engine off. I'm surprised by your admission that the car was apparently only serviced by Fiat in August and the oil level is on the bottom of the dipstick? We had our TA serviced 11 months after we bought it and it never went below half way and it was serviced at the end of August this year and the oil level is still ok and the car has done 2000 odd miles since then.
 
Some TA's do use oil a lot faster than others, but I would imagine, from trying to check the level on the Parents TwinAir, that the awful dipstick has more to do with it than the actual level.

I use a lint-free washing up cloth, like the cheapo blue & white patterned ones, fold it over a few times and then press the dipstick against it, then sit the dipstick next to where I've pressed it to work out how high the oil level is. That's the only way I seem to be able to get a reliable reading, particularly when the oil is within the first 8-10,000 miles and not got very dark coloured.

If they're not going to fit an electronic oil level gauge (which my 2000 Punto and 2004 Stilo had) you'd have thought they'd have used a metal dipstick or at least a yellow plastic one that you could actually check the level on. Fitting an oil coloured dipstick on an engine which is so specific to oil condition and level is a proper balls up.
 
Some TA's do use oil a lot faster than others.....

I wonder if that is due to the way some are driven? Ours is driven quite sedately, never has the rocks revved off it and rarely does the ECO button come off either. Some may think that boring, but we've noticed the mpg is ever increasing as the miles go on. At the rate we're going, we might even reach the heady heights of 50 mpg with normal commute to work and town running.

I will admit that the dipstick isn't the easiest to read on the TA, but it isn't that difficult either, but that is my opinion and I'm sticking to it! :devil:
 
I wonder if that is due to the way some are driven? Ours is driven quite sedately, never has the rocks revved off it and rarely does the ECO button come off either. Some may think that boring, but we've noticed the mpg is ever increasing as the miles go on. At the rate we're going, we might even reach the heady heights of 50 mpg with normal commute to work and town running.

I will admit that the dipstick isn't the easiest to read on the TA, but it isn't that difficult either, but that is my opinion and I'm sticking to it! :devil:

My TA is treated much the same way, though I'm still in the low forties as far as MPG is concerned.

If you wipe the dipstick before 'dipping' it it's pretty clear where the oil is. Hardest thing for me is unscrewing the bloody thing - It takes a pair of pliers to crack the initial seal (I nearly dislocated a thumb trying).
 
It's not like that at all.
Hi Maxi,
What IS it like then? ;)

I've been reading this website regarding oil:
http://www.driverstechnology.co.uk/oils.htm
The stuff I have in the shed has been there for years and years, it seems such a waste to have it there when all I would do is change the cold viscosity a bit.

No doubt I won't do this, and I'll buy the correct 5W-40 in the next couple of days, but it seems a good reasonable question nevertheless.

As for the Fiat service, looking at the service records, I was wrong about saying August, sorry for misleading.

Rosa was serviced by Fiat:
Brand new PDI 23 Sep 2011
14 Mar 2013 at 6,880miles
19 Feb 2014 at 10,726miles

She's now done 14,500miles, so that's a tad under 4,000miles since the last oil change.

Thanks guys,
Mick.
 
The stuff I have in the shed has been there for years and years, it seems such a waste to have it there when all I would do is change the cold viscosity a bit.

Notwithstanding the fact you are going to buy the correct oil to do the top up, but concerning 'aged' oil, I've just a couple of weeks back had a complete sort out of my own shed. I found at least four litres of oil, a mixture of 5w30, 5w40, some gear oil and some ATF, and when I opend the 5w30 that was in there, (it had previousl been opened and used a long time ago) it came out milky. Condensation had got into it and rendered it useless anyway undoubtedly from being in there for at least the last eight years.

Just as a note, oil you buy off the shelves in the UK, has a fill date stamped on it. Sometimes you'll find that the really cheap oil you can buy off the auction sites, is quite old stuff. ;)
 
Bought some! :)
I nearly bought a 1ltr bottle, but instead bought a 5ltr bottle.
It's not cheap, is it! :eek:
£30 odd!
No doubt I could find some cheaper at a budget place, but anywhere of that nature is a camel ride away.

Last time I bought any engine oil it was Gastrol GTX or Duckhams 20-50 for the Minis back in the 1990s. I've never bought any oil for the Clio as it has been serviced locally from new, and the bottle of 10W-40 I have for it was gratis when the car had her first service over 13years ago.

I've not poured any oil since my 20-50 days, and this 5-40 is very thin, almost like 2stroke oil.

Any road up, Rosa has now been given 750mls of new oil, (as it's 1ltr from bottom to top of the dipstick marks.)

Some more of the 5ltrs will be used for the next oil change and the residue to be used for subsequent top-ups.

Thanks for listening,
Mick.
 
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