First Service

The weather was good today (much better than the pessimistic forecast), so I was able to change the oil and filters.  It’s amazing how black and thin the running in oil was, though some of the blackness will be from the graphite grease that was liberally applied to all the bearings and seals on assembly.  The location of the sump drain plug on the rear left face of the sump is much better than it was on the older engines – it allows the oil to run straight out into a bucket, instead of splashing all over the front prop shaft and missing any buckets, pans and rags you put down to catch it.

With the old oil and filter removed, the new replacements were added.  I’m using “Drivemaster” oil, a cheap Comma Oils brand.  It costs about £13 for 5 litres of 10W40 semi-synthetic.  I’m using this as it shares all the same specifications as the expensive premium brands, but at less than half the price.  This oil will be used for 2,000 miles before having another change, at which point I’ll resume my standard schedule of replacing the engine oil at every 5,000 mile multiple on the odometer and the transmission and brakes every 10,000.  I’ll also be adding a Slick 50 engine treatement once normal servicing resumes.
The fuel filter also got replaced and bled.  The bleeding is even more important than usual with my modified fuel system as the spill return goes to the lift pump (to ensure the fuel in the filter is warmed when running on SVO), not the fuel tank, so any air in the system will be recirculated rather than purged.

With the fresh oil and new filters, the tappets were then checked and reset to 0.2mm.  Most of them had closed a little (0.17-0.18mm) as the engine settled in, and that may have eventually led to valve seat erosion in the long term if left.

With the fresh oil and filters, and the breathing corrected, the idle speed has picked back up and the engine has returned to the quieter and smoother running that it showed when first starting its running in.  Adjustment of the injection pump was not neccessary.  I have to say that I am very pleased and surprised by how marked the effects of the service were.