Oil for 4a084

[n4wsp]

What kind and wight oil is every one using in there 084? Thanks Steve

[Duane Scarborough]

Steve,

A good question.

I've got a premium brand SAE 30 oil in mine. I think that brand preference is just that, a matter of preference.

BTW, I live in North Carolina, and will be running in warm weather almost exclusively. If you're going to run in very cold weather, you may need to look into it more.

The 4A084 tech manual refers to some obscure reference.

There was a similar question on the Yahoo 084 user's group a long while back, and the recommendation was SAE 30 for "normal" conditions.

One of the key points that I learned was that you need to change the oil and filter regularly, at about every 50 hours of operation.

These are technically air cooled engines, but a lot of thier cooling is from the oil flow. Have you noticed how big the oil pan is on a 4A084, compared to similar displacement engines? And the external oil return lines from each head?

The oil needs to be changed regularly.

Since we strip all of the air cooling duct work off, and the crank fan, an added external oil cooler would be a good idea as well.

Duane

[n4wsp]

It is hard to beat a good straight 30 weight. I used 20w50 in my airplane it had a 0200 in it.But i was thinking maybe a20w40 0r50 motorcycle oil like i used in my air cooled Harley witch runs preity hot in the summer time.

[Duane Scarborough]

Steve,

You've got the right idea. A Harley "looks" like an air cooled engine, but it also uses it's oil for a large part of it's cooling.

They have a dry sump design, with 2 oil pumps, and an external oil tank, to cool the oil, which in turn cools the engine.

The 4A084 does NOT have either a dry sump, a scavenger oil pump, or an external oil tank.

But I think you're on the right track.

If you'll be operating in very low temps, you'll need a low temp blend, like 5W30. If you'll be operating at very high temps, you'll need something like 20W40, or 20W50.

30W is supposed to work fine for normal use.

Duane

[n4wsp]

Thanks for the input. I will be driving from Florence Al. to Indianapolis in the morning to pick up a new o84 engine. I will order my hull in about a weak from Chuck. Thanks again Steve. By the way the N4WSP is my Ham radio call.

[Duane Scarborough]

n4wsp kinda' looked like a call sign.

Driving from Florence Al. to Indianapolis (and back home) is a LONG ride. You must have got a real deal on that engine.

BTW, you won't regret dealing with Chuck Rackley. He's a straight shooter.

Duane