synthetic

[balbright]

I have a reman engine in my Manx 2. It has around 5000 miles on it now? What's your opinion on switching it to synthetic oil and what weight would you use?
Thanks so much.

[carlos del carpio]

I read/hear about this on other forums..the true synthetics have cleaning properties/additives to it. With older engines, sometimes sluge and gunk are removed from seal areas, etc. This is why some people have said that turning to synthetic made the engine 'leak'.. since it's a new engine, I wouldn't worry.

Now, the longetivity? Dunno how it stacks up against regular oil. I know synthetics work longer since the 'tunes' of modern engines run cleaner...again, I dunno how it would work around an air-cooled engine with a carburettor setup!

Hm...did you get a new case with your re-built engine?

[Buggy1]

Thats actually a good VW question Bob.

If you using an older engine you could do the following:

If you rebuild it for any reason, really clean every part and heat the parts and soak them in an additive. I won't mention a brand causee I don't want to start a internet war but they are avaliable from your local auto store, this bonds with the metal so parts work together with out harmonic friction. ( long story ).

If you building a new engine pre heat the new parts and soak them in the additive and it will bond and give you longer running parts.

You can also take out the harmonic balance problems by adding a "Gene Berg Harmonic pully" to the front end to help balance the crank - this alone really helps those engines.

Then using synthetic oils work great - NEVER PUT 10 weight oil into the VW engine, the machining is not that tight and the engine will fail real quick.

For the basic engine, 20 - 50 oil is a real good for year round use.

Neal

[balbright]

Well, here's where I'm coming from. Harleys are air cooled. I know for a fact that Harley really recommends synthetic in the 88 twin-cams. I have 3 friends that have the earlier "Evo" motors and they run sythetics. They tell me they run cooler. In oru Peterbilt 18-wheelers, the rear ends and transmissions run synthetics. 50 wt, trans and 75-90, rears. They come from the factory with sythetics and if you change the gear oils every 150,000 miles, Eaton Corp will warranty them to 750,000 miles. That says alot to me. I'm sure my engine has well seated by now. I just don't want to make a big mistake and was wondering if any of you use synthetics. I'm already running it in my transaxle.
NEAL!!!! Get off this forum and rest. Just kidding!!!!!!!!!!

[balbright]

Oops. Sorry Carlos. I forgot to mention you. I have no idea if it came with a new case. I really doubt it. I have the paperwork that came with the buggy when I bought it and there's a receipt for the engine and warranty papers.
I just like the little engine. It'll cruise out there all day and maintane a decent 60 to 65 mph [ barring any huge hills ] and still get me 30 mpg. 1600 dual port running 87mm jugs, 100 Engle cam, stock heads, 009 distributor with Pertronic ignition, Bosch blue coil and a 30pict carb.
See ya, fellers