Hey guys,

My 1st gen TP magna is getting a bit of bottom end looseness and the chain is starting to make more noise... so I need to put some heavy oil into it to shut it up until I can take the sump off and have a good look at the crank bearings.

What weight and specs of oil is good to use in this scenario? What weight will provide good protection and what weight is too heavy?

Last service I used shell 25W50 on special at superpov.

Thanks

Dunno if heavy grade oil is gonna help too much but try Penrite 40/70 or something - can't remember exactly. Thats works better in old, worn donks. But if it's the chain making the noise, doubt it will help.

Yea the chain isnt too bad, just on startup. However the big end is just costing me oil pressure once the car heats up. Just need something a little less viscous. Ill have a look at the penrite. Cheers.

how can you tell if youre crank bearings are going, without an oil pressure guage i mean. Because i get this noise sometimes under accleration, i dunno how to describe it, kinda like a ringing, it has been there for ever, but i think its getting worse. Over the last 6 months ive had an oil circulation problem (the oil pickup was pretty clogged) so i was thinking maybe its the bearings between the crank and conrod?

Well oil pressure guage is probably the easiest way to go if your dash light isnt coming on. If the oil pressure is fine (light off) when the car is cold, and then drops substantially as the car heats up (light comes on), then you could have big end probs.

Well oil pressure guage is probably the easiest way to go if your dash light isnt coming on. If the oil pressure is fine (light off) when the car is cold, and then drops substantially as the car heats up (light comes on), then you could have big end probs.

penrite 50 is what i run my magna on and yeah its 40-70
25 bucks from supercheap

Is this normal? When i start it cold the lights on for like 2 - 3 seconds, but if i run it, then stop it for like 20 mins when i start the car the light goes off straight away. What im wondering is if the light being on for a few secs at the star is normal or not?

I run 20W50, and ive run 15w40 and that was alright, wouldnt a thicker oil take longer to lubriccate at the start, thats why they arent used in most cars?

i think i run shell 25w60 oil. but yes, i had put in some 40w70 (penrite) and it didn't do too much. although my chain assembly (guides etc) were stuffed and thats y the chain was so noisy. yes, the penrite stuff will take longer to lubricate engine components... it's not worth it. it is a shortcut to fixing "the noise" and it could end up being detrimental in the end (eg, if timing chain is noisy, its telling u something. trust me!!!) get it sorted so u can run the normal grade of oil. (i would recommend shell 25w60 for the 1st gens) it is thicker than most of the oils other cars use but not too thick to wait foreva for ur engine components to become fully lubricated. as u know, engine wear is most prominent wen the engine is not fully lubricated (ie, cold starts etc)

oh and Meph, wen i had the 40w70 oil in my car, the oil light would stay on for 2-3 seconds until it finally got moving. other than that, the oil light is never on.

it is pretty normal for most cars to have the oil light on for 1-2 seconds after a cold start. Another thing that affects this is the brand of oil filter used, some oil filters don't have anti-drain back valves and if the oil pump is worn this will allow the oil in the galleries to drain back to the sump, use a genuine or a repco/ryco filter, i have seen fords with coopers filters not have oil pressure over 3 seconds after a walm start. change the filter and problem solved.
If u want to get a rough idea as to what oil pressure u have without a gauge, when walm/hot turn the engine off and once it stops turning then turn the ignition back on and wait to see how long it takes the oil pressure to drop and turn the oil light on, a good tight engine will hold oil pressure (oil light off/ ignition on)for over 5 seconds after stopping, but over 1 second is ok.

oh and Meph, wen i had the 40w70 oil in my car, the oil light would stay on for 2-3 seconds until it finally got moving. other than that, the oil light is never on.

So in you're opinion thats too long?

I think i have to take out my oil pump and re-gasket it because i think the gaskets were damaged when replacing the timing chain, but i dont want to have to pull off the front of the engine again.

to what would you link the wires of an oil pressure gauge at a Magna?

I use some Castrol 50W 70 in my old celica - but thats just so it doesnt leak haha

mind you it is 30 yrs old and cops a thrashing every time i turn the key!!

Manual

I use some Castrol 50W 70 in my old celica - but thats just so it doesnt leak haha

mind you it is 30 yrs old and cops a thrashing every time i turn the key!!

Manual
50W70... that'll be bloody molasses!

the time it takes oil to goto the top of the engine is the cause of about 0.001% of engine wear. get the thick stuff to try quiet it down and help with some oil pressure problems but definatly start saving for the chain and bottom end rebuild!