Changing oil in a 617....
 

Hello guys! What's up? I've been wondering how to get the engine oil out of the the cooler. I've been using mineral oil in my engine and now I would like to switch to synthetic oil. AFAIK you shouldn't mix them, so I my best guess is that I have to remove all the oil that is in the engine, including the one in the cooler.

Am I right? Which would be the best way of doing this with out making a hell of a mess?

Thanks!

If I were you, I would not worry about the oil in the cooler. It is common to run into all sorts of problems trying to get it out. Just drain the oil while hot and overnight to get as much out as possible, fill with your latest concoction and enjoy.

for a complete oil changout, it's best to remove the valve cover, and wash down the springs and rocker with gasoline. kerosene will do in a pinch. pull the filter lid, and soak it in carb cleaner. wash out the filter can with gas also. pull the entire oil pan, and wash it out. soak the oil cooler line connectors in pb blaster or a similar thread lubricant over night, then again the next day. pull both ends of the lines and wash out the cooler lines, and the cooler itself. now inside the block there will be several oil passages with dino oil in them, so you will have to get some oil and flush out the passages with several quarts of synthetic through the oil pressure tap. completely soak the valve train in fresh synthetic then fill the cooler lines with fresh synthetic. reassemble all parts, replace the gaskets on the parts you took apart.



it may be necessary to replace the motor after this due to leaks and dry startups, but hey... the oil is all synthetic now.

oh, I'm kidding by the way.


drain filter, drain pan, fill with fresh cheapo synthetic, drive 100 miles, drain and fill with your preferred synthetic and go.
John

The very best advice in the world as I see it!--Flushes all the crud out...:fork_off:

I do have reservations about using a 'Fully-Synthetic' in these old design Diesels though...

I prefer a Good Semi-Synthetic, of 10-50 rating for Turbo-Diesels in my 617. Some of the Fully-Synthetics are a little on the 'thin' side for my liking...

But like most things in life, its a 'personal choice' thing.... :D

Thanks for your replies guys.

I want to start using Quaker State Full-Syntec for diesel trucks and suv's, in 15W40. A friend of mine changed to this oil in his 617 and got a compression increase of 10-15 psi per cylinder.

Switching to thisoil was kind of easy for him, because he was raplacing his cooler and hoses, aswell as the pan gasket and some engine seals.

He also noticed a reduction in oil consumption and engine blow by. Usually he had to pour a quarter in the engine between oil changes (3000 miles interval) and now there no significant oil consumption, maybe 1/4 of a quarter.

Could all this be true? I can't swear over this, this is something I didn't verified myself. He was using Pennzoil Longlife 15W40

Thanks!

It used to be true that synthetic oils would find all the leaks that are in your engine, and some that weren't.

Thankfully, those days seem to be behind us.

The only drawback is that soot accumulation in the older engines is fast enough you may not get full life out of the oil. It will reduce consumption as it's much higher viscosity hot, so won't pump into the combustion chamber so much (and that's why the compression may go up a bit.

Do not pour gasoline or kerosene or any other solvent into the engine, it's neither necessary nor particularly smart -- they are NOT engine lubricants.

Peter

isn't synthetic more for high revving engines? I always heard that it doesn't make sense putting synthetic in a diesel. In a BMW M3 maybe...

synthetic is for engines that get the oil hot. synthetic does not break down like dino oils do. also synthetic holds it's viscosity more true than dino oil does. dino tends to shear the viscosomers or whatever they call the long links that effect multiviscosity.
john

Oh good, another oil tread. :D

Synthetics also allow a wider range of viscosity (i.e., 5W40) that is not available in conventional oil. BTW, I would recommend 5W40 instead of 15W40 for year around use if you do go to a synthetic.

And they tend to pump better at low temps....but they tend to suspend additives less well...

And someone calls ME an oil change extremist!:D