Hello Folks,

I acquired my Multipla JTD a few months back (still like it). The guy who sold it to me said it was due on oil change (I know, the dipstick oil was black). But 6 months later I still haven't done an oil change because I couldn't undo the bleeping oil sump plug. A foot long wrench with 8mm hex socket aided by PlusGas wouldn't budge it. So... last week I went to the local scrapyard and cadged a 4 foot long pipe to fit over the wrench handle... I think the most satisfying sound to an amateur backstreet mechanic like me must be the sound of a well stuck nut under tension going CRACK -you've cracked it!

Oil change here I come... Don't you love a happy ending. Now to crack open a can in celebration (requires a 15mm forefinger on the ringpull). ;-)

Ta ta,

Mark

PS. Any idea why the oil sump plug on a Multipla is so heavy duty? -compared to the plug on any of my previous cars. Is there a nuclear reactor inside the engine or something?

Fresh Oil will be black after about 50 miles Mark
I put a Dowty washer on sump plugs, and wire-lock them.

A Dowty washer is Alloy, with a bonded rubber seal on the inside that protrudes slightly either side.

It means you can do the plug up without distorting/destroying the rubber seal.

Another option is to just use an o-ring, and nip the plug up by hand just enough to seal, but you need to wire-lock it so it doesn't come loose.

>>> Fresh Oil will be black after about 50 miles:
Well I never knew that!

>>> Dowty Washer etc:
Thanks BikeDoc, sounds interesting, I'll investigate.

>>> Wire-lock:
Like this? [ame]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safety_wire[/ame]

Mark

MarkX said:

>>> Fresh Oil will be black after about 50 miles:
Well I never knew that!

Click to expand...

Yep that's DERVs for you.

MarkX said:

Wire-lock:
Like this?

Mark

Click to expand...

Yep, although that example hasn't been done very well

Being an Aircraft Engineer, I tend to wire-lock a lot of fasteners, particularly on critical things like Brakes and Oil fillers/plugs.

BikeDoc said:

Fresh Oil will be black after about 50 miles

Click to expand...

Just finished the oil change. Make that: Fresh Oil will be black after about 6 miles! Previously I only had petrol cars so assume it's normal as suggested that new oil in a DERV is a diluted black colour.

No washer at all with the old sump plug -naughty, and a deep groove on the old sump plug suggests it has been chiselled loose at a previous oil change. Replaced with new plug and copper washer from my local motor factor (Dowty washer noted for the future, thanks BikeDoc). I won't tell you what FIAT quoted me for the same parts, but if I had a mortgage I'd now be on my second mortgage!

Added 300ml of Wynns Supercharge. Helped to quieten my old 121000 Polo. Might help with my 93000 mile Multipla...

Any opinions on oil additives chaps (or chapesses)?

Mark

MarkX said:

Any opinions on oil additives chaps (or chapesses)?

Mark

Click to expand...

Yes, avoid at all costs, often snake oil, and if they do work they can often down more harm than good.

I use ZX1 oil additive, change it every oil change 185k miles

Dr Denzelino Poblinski said:

I use ZX1 oil additive, change it every oil change 185k miles

Click to expand...

Thanks Dr. D. Just checked out the reviews of ZX1 on the Halfords website (Average score: 4.9 out of 5). Looks excellent. Will try next oil change.

Mark

MarkX said:

. . . Make that: Fresh Oil will be black after about 6 miles! . . .

Click to expand...

If you ran 'flushing' oil through it at each oil change, it might stay fresher-looking a little longer, there's a fair bit of old oil stays in an engine when you drain it, in the pipes, oil-ways, cooler (if fitted), sump, and all the little 'nooks and crannies'.

BikeDoc said:

If you ran 'flushing' oil through it at each oil change...

Click to expand...

By flushing oil, is that...

After I've drained off the old oil, fill up with some cheap clean oil, give the car/engine a runaround/blast for a bit to flush any old oil still lurking in the hard to reach places, and then drain that oil off, then new oil filter and refill with some good stuff?

Or is flushing oil something else...?

You can do that, but I was referring more to the flushing oil you add before you drain the old stuff out.
Flushing Oil

A word of caution with flushing oil. I destroyed the engine on my last car (Vauxhall Sintra) using flushing oil.
I had flushed, rinsed with cheap oil then filled with good oil but there was so much grot in the engine (I assume from infrequent oil changes by PO) that it collected in the sump, was drawn into the strainer and starved the engine of oil. (more or less instantly) Two of the big ends span - writing off the crankshaft and two con rods.
Not sure what lesson is to be learnt from this experience but I will probably drop the sump after flushing in the future for a good manual clean.
Pete

PeterTheUnGreat said:

Not sure what lesson is to be learnt from this experience

Click to expand...

Not to use these engine flushes.

People get to paranoid and cut up about them. Regular oil changes will be better than wacking all these random chemicals and acids in your engine.

PeterTheUnGreat said:

. . . there was so much grot in the engine (I assume from infrequent oil changes by PO) that it collected in the sump, was drawn into the strainer and starved the engine of oil . . .

Click to expand...

Most Easterly Pandas said:

. . . Regular oil changes will be better than wacking all these random chemicals and acids in your engine.

Click to expand...

If your car has had regular (at recommended mileage or sooner) oil and filter changes, then the use of flushing oil should cause no problems.
All you're doing is cleaning out a bit more of the crud than comes out with the old oil.

A neglected engine will most likely fail sooner rather than later anyway, if it has a lot of c**p in the sump.