Engine, gearbox & Diff oils
 

Hi guys,

Just a bit of advise on which oil everyone is using or recommends for UK weather in a JDM. I will be using fully synthetic Motul & have been advised 10w/30? again different advice on gear and diff oils!

I know there are numerous threads but they are mainly for our US friends and there weather & usage conditions are totally different to ours, plus different gearboxes!

The oil was changed less than 1000 miles ago in Japan & looks like its straight out the can still! Im having the car totally serviced in the next few weeks when I can get a ramp free for a day and want to change all the oil, brake fluid, coolant as well as belts, water pump etc. I have just fitted an STI panel filter in the standard airbox, midrange is much better and it revs through the range much more quickly, im 50/50 if the cost is really worth it but I know im not giong to have the MAF problems from something like K&N or loss of power with a cone filter and the STI filter is a fully proven upgrade.

The car has only covered 70K (miles) and had a cambelt change at around 55K (miles) but as its only a 3rd car and will be used for a 3 week blast accross europe around May time I might as well change everthing in 1 go and its done for the next couple of years and no worries! (touch wood lol)

The last person I know who did a sustained high-speed blast across Europe came back with a sick gearbox.

You getting this, Ron??:rolleyes: :D

Darren, Subaru owner's manual gives ranges of oil, from 5-30 to 10-30 to 10-40. They caution in bold :
"SAE 5W-30 is not recommended for sustained high speed driving"

With your Europe trip in mind, and the English climate, I would advise 10W-40, and I would also advise Lucas oils, better base oil in it.

The diff oils front and rear to match this temp range is 85W. 90 would be OK, but thick in winter. Use 85W I reckon, or the broader range of 80W-90 if you like.

Likewise, with the experience of other members as a warning, do not, repeat NOT, do Europe without fitting the additional ATF oil cooler on the car. Ignore at your peril. The recommended ATF is Dexron 11, but most people use Dexron 111.

Also take note that the power steering reservoir does not use power steering fluid, which is brown, but ATF Dexron 11 which is pink. This is important, better to have it right.

You should also bleed all the brake fluid and replace with fresh from a new can of Dot 4 or Dot 5. I see you are planning to do that.

Hey I whizzed past Chester this morning at 1 AM heading for my ferry on the M54 I think. Nice town, Chester, one of the nicer places in England.

Joe:) :) :)

Hiya Joe,

Cheers for that, basically what I had in my mind from digging around but always better to confirm from people doing the same.

I am having 2 oil coolers sent over from Japan with electric pumps and stats that is a highly recommended mod out there on these boxes.
I am in the process of buying an sti typr R V limited couple Impreza less the engine and may look at using the running gear and adjustable diffs & 5 speed box if the guy is not going to use them on his re shell.
Ideally im looking for a damaged sti 7 to bring in to use the running gear & 6 speed box & brembo brakes. ( It is possible to fit them, seen the pics )
My box is 100% at the moment so im not in too much of a hurry.

Chester is not a bad place, unless you live out of the area & want to buy a house or park lol

Hi Darren,
I use motul oil 10-40,in my uk 96 SVX,dexron 111 in the auto box,75-90w in the front and rear diffs.

You may have trouble locating a water pump,mine leaked- I tried most of the major motor factors and Subaru uk,and none could supply one. I ended up buying one from Subaru in America,it was inferior to the UK one (no provision for the water/oil cooler sandwich block) but was easily modded.

Good luck with the Euro trip,I did 9 countries and 1,800 miles in 11 days last summer, across the alps(Stelvio pass) FANTASTIC. Never had any problems,my SVX has no extra tranny coolers.

Mal:)

I am sure that there will be many interested to learn full details regarding this mod. particularly regarding the electric pump. This would appear to be a new approach. More information would be appreciated. :)

Hi Trevor,

Its actually something new to me but a few of the tuning guys have been using the set up mainly on drift cars and track day toys.

Basically its a pull-push secondary pump that it triggered by an adjustable thermostat that fits on the feed line to an oil cooler with a pressure control valve. I guess the basic idea is to give a higher flow rate and get the oil through the cooler more quickly

I guess its worth having a look at when the next batch arrives so I put my name on 2 of them, they see no reason why it would not work on an SVX box & I cant see it being worse than the current set up.

Any veiws or negatives that spring to mind?

Another little trick I came across this weekend was on a very highly modded R33 GTR Skyline, the air con was being used with a set up in a custom made box type frame with the element like on the back of your fridge freezer located in front of the engine oil cooler in the front bumper.
Not quite sure how it would be that effective, I would not have thought the air would have time to be cooled to any great degree at speed unless the idea was for stationary cooling after a run.

Thanks Darren,

Can't see why it would not work, or anything wrong with the idea. The thermostat control means that the transmission could be held as normal, and the auxiliary system would come into circuit should the temperature become excessive. It should not be required continuously, so that an electric pump seems a good idea and makes control simple.

When you take delivery you will no doubt get full technical information, which I am sure will be of interested to all members. It would appear to be a good set up for anyone towing a boat or caravan.

Trevor. ;)