Hi All,
I have been trying to figure out which oil I should use to top up my TDV6 (pre first service). The manual says 5w 30 which I believe is castrol Magnatec. The only castrol magnatec I can find is 10w 40. There is a fully synthetic castrol oil called edge which is a 5w 30. Does anyone have a recommendtaion about mixing oils or viscosities?
thanks,
Anthony

Anthony, I use Mobil 1 5w-30 in my vehicle. I'll ask about mixing the synthetic vs non synthetic tomorrow. I have Defence's Chief Engineer for fuels and oils working for me so she should know the answer. I've never thought to ask. I couldn’t find out what oil was used originally so potentially mine had the Castrol oil as well. I used about 1/2 a litre between 0 and 12k and none from 12k to now at 20k

If just a top up, I realistically don't think there would be much impact.

Steve RRS TDV6 MY07 gone.
RRS TDV6 MY10 just arrived!

Thanks StephenW. I wouldn't be so worried if I hadn't just heard a horror story about a manufacturer (Alfa) not honouring a warranty on an engine claiming the wrong top up oil was used!

Anthony, even when you officially ask LR, you don't get an answer. Below is some now very old correspondence for which I have not had a reply (and they have been hastened).

Subject: RE: Land Rover Customer Complaint
Importance: High

Dear Stephen

Thankyou for contacting Land Rover.

Your concern has been forwarded to our 'Land Rover Customer Care Centre' for attention.

Our Owner Care Team will follow up your enquiry and be in touch with you in due course.

If you need to contact them directly in the meantime their free call number is 1800 625 642
and their email address is owners@landrover-customers.com

Once again, thankyou for taking the time to contact Land Rover.

Gregg Williamson
Land Rover Customer Service

-----Original Message-----
Sent: Tuesday, 21 December 2004 5:20 PM
To: LandRover
Subject: Land Rover Customer Complaint

My details:

Vehicle
2001 Land Rover Discovery TD5

Dealer and Service Agent
Rolfe Classic Land Rover
2 Botany Street
Phillip ACT 2606
02 6208 4133


On Monday 13 December, I had my vehicle at my local Land Rover dealer (Rolfe Classic Land Rover) for a 70 000 kilometre service. From what I understand, the 70 000 kilometre service is basically just an oil and filter change.

When I looked at the invoice in detail at home, I noticed that the Rolfe Classic Land Rover had indicated they had used mineral 20w-50 grade oil. The vehicle had been previously using fully synthetic Mobile 1 0w-40. This oil has been used from new and used at every previous service by Rolfe Classic Land Rover.

The following day I contacted Rolfe Classic Land Rover to find out why they had used this type and grade of oil. Rolfe Classic Land Rover said that the change to this specification oil was on instruction from Land Rover and that they have a letter stating so.

To confirm this, I then spoke to service Managers of the three main dealers in Sydney, Purnell's, LR on Crown and Trivett at Parramatta. All said they use oil with a 10w-40 or better and all recommended either part or fully synthetic oil as opposed to mineral oil.

All said they had received nothing from Land Rover indicating there had been a change to the required oil specification to use in Land Rover TD5 engines. All said the oil used by Rolfe Classic Land Rover was ‘too heavy’ and one service manager said that using a ‘heavy’ oil could damage the engine oil pump if used in cold conditions.

The owners handbook and workshop manual also both state to use either 5w or 10w grade oil for the climate the vehicle is used in (cool to cold – Canberra).

The following is extract from the Land Rover Discovery Series 11 Workshop Manual

CAUTION: Always use a high quality oil of the correct viscosity range in the engine. The use of oil of the incorrect specification can lead to high oil and fuel consumption and ultimately to damaged components.

I then contacted Land Rover Australia who provided the advice that 20w-50 IS NOT the correct oil for the TD5 engine. They contacted Rolfe Classic Land Rover and the dealer has subsequently changed the oil back to Mobil 1 0w-40.

I was also shown the `letter' at the local dealer. It was a single page listing all fluid types for all Land Rovers. It only had a part number for engine oil for the TD5 but did not have any grade or specifications listed. Hand written beside the part number was XHP (a Mobil product). This is the type of oil they used in my vehicle.

Of interest, Rolfe Classic Land Rover charged $52 for the oil. I checked at Kmart yesterday. The same oil/qty costs $24.

Also, I did think the vehicle had slightly more turbo lag after the oil change, particularly when cold. I thought I was being too critical, but have just talked to a friend who also had just had a service completed at Rolfe Classic. He believes his vehicle is misbehaving (more turbo lag when cold) after the service. He will be contacting Rolfe Classic Land Rover as well.

In summary, when I take my vehicle to the manufacturers authorised service centre, I do pay premium labour rates and premium prices for consumables, so I would expect the correct skills / parts / lubricants to be used. It is concerning and very disappointing that an owner must check and follow up on work done by an authorized Land Rover Service agent.

Can you please confirm and advise me on the correct oil to use in my vehicle?

Also, I am a member of the Land Rover Club of the Australian Capital Territory. We have around 60 members who have Land Rover Discovery/Defender vehicles. A number of these people have their vehicle serviced at Rolfe Classic Land Rover. Should they be advised to have their oil checked for the correct grade? RRS TDV6 MY07 gone.
RRS TDV6 MY10 just arrived!

Anthony, simple advice I received is that synthetic is better than dinosaur oil, however most synthetic derived motor oils (ie Mobil 1) are actually derived from mineral oils. Mixing synthetic with mineral or mineral with synthetic in any quantity is not a problem, however the properties of the synthetic oil would be lost. As for viscosity changes, in small quantities, there would be minimal effect. I hope this helps.

Steve RRS TDV6 MY07 gone.
RRS TDV6 MY10 just arrived!

LR do an oil just for the TDV6, works out as cheep as the main brands and no worries about warranty etc

Hi Cliff,
We don't seem to have the LR oil here.
I have decided to top it up with castrol magnatec 10w 40 as that seems to be the closest to original spec and I can't find 5w 30 anywhere. Interestingly the castrol edge fully synthetc is 5w 30 but I think it is a waste of money to use it as a top oil given the oil in there is semi-synthetic anyway.
General word from Landrover (Alto I think) is they use 15w 40 castrol for oil changes which they think is better suited to our climate, but my guess is they get it cheap. Trivett use a fully synthetic which I am guessing is the edge 5w 30.
My understanding of using thinner oils was specifically that modern engines were designed to use them in order to make the engines more effecient. Does the climate make that much difference? Any one else have an opinion on his?
cheers,
Anthony

In the end I didn't need to top it up and Trivett have used fully synthetic Mobil 0w 40 (at huge cost). They said I won't find that on the shelf, only Mobil1 10w 40 which is fine for top up but they said they would be concerned if I needed to top up before the next service. Lets see how it goes, it should run great when cold though!