<font color='black' size='3' face='Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif'><font size="3">When I was in college (back in the Pleistocene) I had an MG that would start in any weather. When it was really cold I would start the car and the oil pressure come up for a second or tw and drop to zero when all the oil got pumped up into the engine. I would shut it down and wait a few seconds and restart and the cycle would repeat. Typically, on the third try the oil would stay up and all was good with the world.<br>
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But that was really cold weather. 40 deg F should not make the oil so thick it would not flow down to the sump. Maybe you should pull the valve cover and check for a build-up of sludge.<br>
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BTW, oil came from seaweed. Coal came from land plants. Makes sense. Liquid fuel from liquid based plants, solid fuel from celulosic plants.<br>
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<div style="clear:both"><font size="4">Dave Massey</font><br>
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<div style="font-family:arial,helvetica;font-size:10pt;color:black">-----Original Message-----<br>
From: TERRY SMITH <terryrs@comcast.net><br>
To: Triumph Mail List <triumphs@autox.team.net><br>
Sent: Sun, May 14, 2017 7:15 pm<br>
Subject: [TR] New One<br>
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Okay, so I made the switch today. Drained the Mobil 1 10-30 full synthetic, replaced the oil filter, and put in 4.5 quarters of Valvoline VR-1 20-50 racing oil. <br>
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Aside: I wonder if the dinosaur it came from ever raced? Maybe it was chased by a T-Rex. Wonder if my average driving speed is more or less than the full-tilt speed of a T-Rex? Probably doesn't matter. Most oil comes from plant material, doesn't it? And those plants, like Ents from Tolkien, go pretty slow, I think? Unless it's a tree limb that drops in the wind on your windshield. That happens pretty fast....<br>
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Oh well. Anyway.<br>
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I started up after the oil change and, as ever, watched the oil pressure gauge.<br>
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It didn't move.<br>
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It kept not moving.<br>
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It kept not moving some more.<br>
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I shut the car down. This didn't make sense. I had poured new oil in but now no oil pressure.<br>
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Pulled the dipstick. No oil showed. What???? Pulled the oil cap from the valve cover. Oil was still near the top. It hadn't drained down. What????<br>
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So what the heck. Garage temp is in the 40's (it snowed last night--double ugh), so the 20-50 VR-1 was apparently so thick it took lots of minutes to drain into the sump where it could prime the pump and pressure the system. At least I think.<br>
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Question: while this lends credence that oil will stick longer to cylinders, do I have to worry in NH cold weather about VR-1 being pushed through the pistons and into the tappets soon enough after start up to avoid damage? Or did I experience an issue exclusive to fresh oil change?<br>
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Weird!<br>
Terry Smith, '59 TR3A TS 58667<br>
New Hampshire<br>
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