Hi all
I am sure this should have been discussed previously, but I am finding it difficult to locate the thread.

What grades and types would you recommend on the below?

Please note that the car is a 240 '67 and is being used in Athens, Greece

- engine oil
- manual gearbox with O/d
- differential
- spark plugs
- radiator fluid

cheers,

Nassos

 

It's been covered before. Here & elsewhere.

Engine ~ I would use an SAE 5W-40 full synthetic fully approved against Mercedes Benz 229.5

Engine Oil - THE INTERNATIONAL JAGUAR "S"-TYPE REGISTER FORUM

Gearbox/OD ~ GL4 SAE 90 (you are in a warm country ~ if change is stiff cold you can use an SAE 75W-90) (Not for Moss box ~ that uses SAE 30 engine oil ~ you don't have). You can use GL5 in the gearbox but GL4 will be a little more kind to the synchro cones.
Rear Axle ~ GL5 SAE 90EP

You can buy from any major reputable oil company.

 

Thanks @Glyn M Ruck

5W40 wouldnt be too low for Greece?
Usually in Athens we have temps between 15 and 42
Dont you think that in this case I should go for the 50 summer
As for the winter viscosity I understand that the lower it is, the best for my engine when i start it up and is cold (less frictions if i am not wrong)

 

No ~ not at all. These engines do not want to run on treacle. With a 5W-40 your engine is seeing an SAE40 hot. That is more than thick enough & was Jaguar's maximum oil viscosity recommendation in "Tropical" conditions ~ normal "Summer" they specified an SAE 30. Too thick restricts flow & thus cooling. Read my comments on the Register.

 

Nassos, you also asked about spark plugs and radiator fluid.

FWIW, on spark plugs, I initially used NGK BPR5ES (the default choice for our cars), but switched to NGK BPR5EIX. The BPR5EIX is an Iridium plug and does seem to be long-lived, resistant to fouling and reliable in a whole range of temperatures and conditions. These are both resistor plugs, so you don't need resistor plug caps.

On radiator fluid, I use 50% distilled water and 50% ethylene glycol (blue) antifreeze. I can't say I have sought out a particular antifreeze product, but its most important function for me is corrosion prevention, so I change it every two years. I use distilled water to reduce limescale build up. In many areas of the UK, our tap water contains a lot of lime.

I would always defer to Glyn on engine oils. I have mostly used 20W50 oils in the 6,000 miles/4 years since my car has been back on the road, mainly I guess because that's what my dad put in it back in the day. My experience has broadly been:
1. Mineral oils do not seem to cope with the heat generated by my engine, especially during heat soak (though I admit this may be compounded by me using a SAE50 oil).
2. So-called 'Classic Oils' don't seem to measure up to the claims on the labels. One oil I had to change after 500 miles because it fell out of grade.
3. A synthetic oil is always going to be better able to cope with the temperatures under the bonnet of these cars.
4. You will always be balancing flow vs pressure. SAE40 may be the sweet spot for your car to give >40PSI at 3,000rpm, with adequate flow (which you can't measure, but if Jaguar thought 40 was okay back in the day, it should be okay today).

 

Sorry I did not answer all your questions. I would usually recommend an OAT or HOAT extended life coolant but with no surge tank on these cars the top up rate would make this an expensive option. For your ambient conditions, as Orlando says, the important thing is to keep an adequate concentration of corrosion inhibitors in the system. Corrosion & scale inhibition is crucial in these Jag engines.