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Originally posted by Rusty:

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He said "90% of engine wear occurs or is the result of cold startups", and cited wonderful advantages of warm oil on cold days.

He's absolutely right, except that cold starting wear improvements by heating the oil is an old wi--, er, fallacy - heating the oil reduces the viscosity and allows it to run off the parts.

Perhaps he really spoke of the virtues of warm engines, not just warm oil. I do know that airline recips had engine heaters, not just oil heaters at the cold stations. They blew hot air into the cowl and heated everything. I can't remember if the oil tank was given extra attention or not.

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BTW, believe it or not, castor oil is the Gold Standard by which any oil's lubricating properties are measured.

Yeah, smells neat, too. That is one of the reasons we attend vintage motorcycle road races. Between the premix in Bultacos and the externally lubricated hairpin valve springs, the aroma is intoxicating. Mix that with the sounds, and I am in Pig Heaven. When I raced a bike with castor oil on weekends, I learned that Blendzall did not store well once mixed. So, I used up the racing fuel in my street bike for daily use during the week. I got a lot of funny looks from folks who did not recognize the aroma.

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Fuel dilution in the crankcase is pretty rare, and in any event only applied to diesels (gasoline will evaporate).

Back when cars were carbed, it was not uncommon to the drain oil from a short trip car in the winter and smell gasoline in the oil. Never noticed it in summer. Of course, this could have just been poorly-adjusted chokes.

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The most susceptible time for fuel dilution is, you guessed it, cold starts (exceptions are air-cooled aircraft recips, which use the rich fuel mixture to contribute to cooling on takeoff).

We used a mixture of alcohol and distilled water for cooling on take off. The carbs actually made the mixture leaner when ADI was used. It improved the combustion process, and actually resulted in less fuel dilution than if it were not used.

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This is why a diesel-powered vehicle should GO as soon as all cylinders are firing.
Sadly air-dependent coaches don't allow that, but as soon as the shifter allows going into gear, do it - the torque converter will put a bit of a load on until the air is up to minimums. Then drive conservatively until near operating temps.

A lot of diesel drivers seem not to have gotten the word on that.

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We used a mixture of alcohol and distilled water for cooling on take off. The carbs actually made the mixture leaner when ADI was used. It improved the combustion process, and actually resulted in less fuel dilution than if it were not used.

Smaller (light aircraft, for example) engines don't have water injection, and in them, the mixture is overrich for cooling.

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A lot of diesel drivers seem not to have gotten the word on that.

Actually, I should have expanded that to include all engines, with ported or direct injection gaso engines the least in need.

BACK TO CHANGING OIL.I am going to have my oil changed at service garage just don't want to pay too much. First time I had it changed with Rotella and all filters' two oil ,one fuel one drier ,one tranny. There is one that goes to the cooling fan I don't know what that is.I paid $400.00 was that two much for having it done?
thanks
lenny

Mmmmmm....... i can change my oil and filter and both fuel filters and the tranny filter for around $100-$120. Of course my time is "free".