Oil Consumption

Any engine can lose oil in three ways - leaks, worn pistons/rings, worn valves/guides.



Leaks Front/Rear Crankshaft Oil Seal - These require an ungrooved, rust free ground finish to run on.



Front Sealing Block/Rear Oil Seal Housing - As these are made from aluminium they are very prone to stripped threads.



Head Gasket - In the left hand rear corner, there is an oil feed to the rocker shaft. Use HYLOMAR round the hole for the rocker shaft oil feed. Pushrod Guide Tubes - (when fitted). You Tell Me!!!



Worn Pistons/Rings The only real cure for this is a rebore and new pistons, because if the pistons are removed from the bores, the block will need glaze-busting and new rings fitted. Worn Valves/Guides For some inexplicable reason, Triumph did not fit valve stem oil seals, relying instead on a very close tolerance between valve and guide to prevent excess oil loss. We have recently found valve stem oil seals that can be fitted to a range of our engines and have found them to be extremely effective in controlling the flow of oil down the valve stem (see pt no. HR631 Note this is not suitable for all engines)



Engine Life (Especially Spitfire 1500s) From our own experience we have one major recommendation to make to reduce the maintenence and prolong the life of any Triumph engine - use Mobil 1 Fully Synthetic Engine Oil. Once the engine has been run in and all leaks have been attended to, put Mobil 1 in and off you go fo 20,000 miles between oil changes. Wonderful stuff!