Fluids
by John Gibran
|
Lebanon land Rover Union publications |
Fluids
by John Gibran
It has been sometime now I wanted
to write a paper about the "fluids" that should fit our vehicules.
Well, here it is :
I want to talk about all kinds of fluids that are in our cars, from the water in the radiator to the lithium based grease on the hood retention clip. Let's start with the simplest :
-WATER:
Lebanon is known for its abundance
of water but beware; Lebanon's water is the richest in "calcai" residus
and sediments. So if you can, and if you care about the health of
your engine, use only distilled water.
An engine's life is in its temperature.
Always check the cooling system.
On the numeric side of the story,
around 10.8 liters of water is needed to fill up an empty cooling system
in a 4 cylinder engine, and around 12.8 liters for a V8 model.
Oops, I almost forgot about the
water in the windscreen washer. Never fill this to the top, but only to
3 cm less. Use a screen washer solvent in the container, this will assist
your wipers in removing the mud off our windscreens.
Last but not least, there is water
to be added in the battery. the question is, when ?
We live in a rather hot climate
area, specially in summer time, so check the electrolyte level of ALL 6
cells of the battery, this should be 3mm over the top of the plates.
So if necessary, top it up with distilled water only and only to reach
3mm above the plates.
John's hint : Free distilled
water can be obtained by catching up water coming out of an air conditioning
system. Usually people throw it away.
-ANTIFREEZE:
All Antifreeze are Ethylene-Glycol
based. In the "ingredients" part, make sure that it does not contain any
Methanol, if it does, then do not use it.
As for the quantity to put , follow
the procedure written on the antifreeze container (good tip).
Each brand has different mixture
for every single operating temperature range.
In case of doubt, use 50% water
and 50% antifreeze. This would give protection for at least under-26°C.
John's hint: Luckily for us, there
is not (yet) any antifreeze made locally in Lebanon, so no need to worry
about quality. But do worry about the life of it; in case you are buying
your product from a dusty place where the liquid sits in stock since the
phoenician age, you might wish to consider buying it from a more visited
workshop after all.
-ENGINE OIL:
Check it weekly or every 500Km
. The oil level must never go under the L (low) notch on the dipstick (left
side of the engine ! Huh)
The Engine should not be running
while doing the check up, and the vehicle should be standing on level ground
.
Note that there is an H (high)
mark indicating that we should not overfill. Serious engine damage can
occur if overfilled.
Now which oil to use in Lebanon
? Hmmm First of all, avoid the good great magnificent deals and offers
that go like :"with every oil check up, get a free washing...". What I
want to say here is, that cheap oil made locally or very near the border
at 1500LP / liter, is to be avoided. Now you can use it if you have
to, but then you should change it (along with the oil filter) after 500
Km.
The brands that Land Rover recommends,
that can be found in Lebanon are:
Duckhams Hypergrade
or QXR
Shell Super
Motor Oil or Gemini
Mobil 1 Rallye
Formula
Castrol GTX
ot TXT or Syntron X
Esso Superlube
EX2 or Superlube +
As for the famous SAE viscosity
it is very easy to understand:
an SAE for 5W/30 is for ambient
temperatures between -30°C to +30°C
an SAE for 10W/40 is for ambient
temperatures between -20°C to +30°C
an SAE for 15W/40 is for ambient
temperatures between -10°C to +40°C
an SAE for 20W/50 is for ambient
temperatures between 0°C and +50°C
an SAE for 25W/50 is for ambient
temperatures between -15°C and +50°C
I live in Beirut and I go occasionally
to Faraya or to the Cedars, so 20W/50 seems to be a winner for me.
Finally, let me end the Engine
Oil section with a true joke: a V8 engine will take 5.1 liters of
oil, and a 4 cylinder will take 6 liters.
Note: Extra oil of 0.7 liters is
to be added if a new oil filter is fitted.
John's hint: The quantity of oil
(in a V8) required to raise the level from the L (low) to the H (high)
is 1.4 liters.
P.S: if somebody knows how much is needed in
a 4 cylinder engine please email
it to me
-BRAKE AND CLUTCH FLUIDS:
Physically speaking, any brake
fluids having a minimum boiling point of 260°C will do. In other terms
DOT 4 white (abyad) will do.
Make sure personally that
the liquid is colorless, no blueish nor reddish should be accepted
even if the "engineers" at the gas stations in Lebanon say otherwise...
John's hint: Never allow brake
fluids to reach car paint or cloth. It never hurt my hands though.
-GEARBOX OIL:
Usually if there is no leak there
is no need to add oil, but a check up every 2 weeks (depending on the use)
is recommended.
For Refill use:
Castrol GTX
15W/50
Duckhams Hypergrade
15W/50
Mobil Super
15W/40
BP Visco 2000
-TRANSFER BOX AND STEERING BOX:
a check up every 2 weeks (depending
on the use) is recommended.
For Refill use:
Duckhams Hypoid
90
Esso Gear Oil
GX95/90
Mobil Mobilube
HD90
Shell Spirax
90HP
Castrol Hypoy
90
-POWER STEERING FLUID
This is the same red oil that goes
into the carburators (for carburator car versions of course)
it should not be overfilled either.
>From the brands found in Lebanon, Land Rover recommends the following:
Duckhams Q-matic
Esso ATF type
G
Mobil ATF 210
Castrol TQF
-GREASE
Well grease goes for the prop shaft,
front and rear lubrication nipples, ball joints, hubs etc...
A little bit of grease on the bonnet
pintle is useful too.
Check Grease, after every trail
or off-road journey.
John's hint: Do not lubricate the
door locks, they are "life" lubricated at the manufacturing stage.
-AIR CONDITIONING REFRIGERANT
Well to be honest I know nothing
about this , actually they are gases not fluids (Heh) I think it is Freon
12 or Arcton 12. But gases are the subject for another paper.
John's hint: The compressor of
the air conditioning has some oil that should be checked up and added if
necessary. All I know here is that this oil should be Waxfree.
Happy Rovering !
John Gibran 1999
Please email me your comments on:
comments@landroverunion.com