Baffled, confused and covered in oil!!!!!!

[chaterlea25]

Hi All,
Asking the question?
What brand and grade of oil is BB using?

There are some brands of "classic" oils on the market that are not suitable for our BSA bikes
As far as I can find out they are 're constituted blends? So have "heavy" additives which can form a thick slimey coating that clogs up gauze screens etc.

Swarfcut ? Asked about using modern multi grade oils in our BSA's,
As far as I know these do not have the zinc additive needed for cam/tappet lubrication as in BSA engines.
Attached pic of a sludged up tank filter that resulted in a main bush seizure

I only use Castrol 40 in the BSA's and their 20/50 in the MG

John

[limeyrob]

That is horrifying and should not be possible.  I've put a 20/50 from Smith and Allen in the BSA and Matchless, I buy it in bulk and use it in the 1970 Land Rover too.  My other thought was a straight 40 mineral oil.  After seeing your piture I will be keeping a very close watch on flow and sludge.
https://www.smithandallan.com/product/smith-allan-ultra-20w-50-mineral-engine-oil-3986
 

[Triton Thrasher]

Hi All,
Asking the question?
What brand and grade of oil is BB using?

There are some brands of "classic" oils on the market that are not suitable for our BSA bikes
As far as I can find out they are 're constituted blends? So have "heavy" additives which can form a thick slimey coating that clogs up gauze screens etc.

Swarfcut ? Asked about using modern multi grade oils in our BSA's,
As far as I know these do not have the zinc additive needed for cam/tappet lubrication as in BSA engines.
Attached pic of a sludged up tank filter that resulted in a main bush seizure

I only use Castrol 40 in the BSA's and their 20/50 in the MG

John

Goodness!  How long did that sludge take to build up?  Were oil changes neglected?

I change oil (synthetic 20W/50) and paper element filter annually, which is around 2,000 miles.  I can see the gauze, through the tank filler neck and no sludge builds up on it at all.  The wire mesh is shiny.

There is a small amount of settled-out black stuff on the bottom of the tank.  I’ve cleaned it once in 32 years.

[chaterlea25]

Hi TT and All,
I rebuilt the bike approx 10 years before it was sold on to the current owner, it had covered only about 4k miles in that time. The owner was well experienced in old bikes and  I very much doubt such "goo" could accumulate if the Castrol 40 I put in it oil had not been changed.. I have other anecdotal stories where these oils have gummed up crankcase pickup meshes resulting in wet sumping.

John

[Greybeard]

Chipping in with my experience. I fitted one of the modern flat screens in the sump along with a ally sump plate, fitted an external filter, serviced the anti-wetsump valve in the crankcase.
I bought a 25ltr drum of Morris's SAE40 oil and changed the bikes oil frequently. Over 10 years, no oil problems.

[bikerboy]

What brand and grade of oil is BB using?
------------------------------------------------------------------

I am using Moris straight 40 like I do in all my A10's. The oil on that A10 was changed about every 20 minutes or so 

On a great note I have road tested the bike 3 times now every ride was over 20 miles and my emergency oil container from the breather does not have a drop in it 

I think i can remove that and declare the bike fixed.

BTW it rides fantastically and I am super super pleased.

[bikerboy]

Well 1400 miles later and no problems I think its fixed for sure.

It was running with no strainer in the sump so I took the sump off and fitted one of my old standard sumps with strainer and it appears fine.

I was well pleased because altho it had not been started for 8 weeks when I dropped the sump there was possibly half a cup of oil in there so it does not wet sump at all as well.

Thanks again to everybody that commented and tried to help, this forum really is invaluable even to seasoned A10 owners, despite how much you experience you have there is still lots to learn from the people on this forum

[muskrat]

 

[RichardL]

Swarfcut ? Asked about using modern multi grade oils in our BSA's,
As far as I know these do not have the zinc additive needed for cam/tappet lubrication as in BSA engines.
Attached pic of a sludged up tank filter that resulted in a main bush seizure

I only use Castrol 40 in the BSA's and their 20/50 in the MG

John

John,

I realize this is an old post already, but curious. Does the Castrol 40 have the added ZDDP (zinc)?  I'm using Valvoline VR1 20/50 Recing Oil rated for push rods and flat tappets. Not sure it's street legal, but who's tasting (mmm, that's delicious!) https://shop.valvolineglobal.com/collections/vr1-racing-motor-oil/products/vr1-racing-motor-oil-sae-20w-50?bvstate=pg:2/ct:r&utm_source=google-ads&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=DTC_DSA_Racing-Oil&utm_agid=155129418909&utm_term=&creative=680461325921&device=c&placement=&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw5qC2BhB8EiwAvqa41nc8O6H2BVFitdEnTOlvGGVAgHZrfEitOiq4k1nODxQDcQltKgVDCBoCo3AQAvD_BwE

Richard L.

[Radlan2]

I am using Valvoline VR1 20-50 in 2 A10s and an A7 for about 5 years and am now using the "new" formula, all good so far. As I understand it oil with high zinc and other additives in "racing" oil are not suitable for road vehicles because they can damage catalytic converters and thus avoid claims against themselves. It is of course necessary in our old bikes for the extreme pressure at the cam and follower

[chaterlea25]

Hi Richard and All,
Yes the Castrol "Classic" range has the needed zinc and additives that are needed for "flat tappets" and the likes


John

[RichardL]

I am using Valvoline VR1 20-50

In my post about the VR1 racing oil I slipped and called it Mobil. Fixed now

Richard L.