Hi.
Since you have so much concern about wear on initial start up,
Maybe you should have a pre-oiler device on your engine...
With this system you can provide oil pressure to the bearings, before even
cranking the engine.
Scott
www.turbovans.com 
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
David Kao
Sent: Thursday, October 04, 2007 9:05 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Cold-start up oil issue..a solution

No. I am not concerned about "dry" wear on engine start up.
It is the oil weight of 20 at cold start question. Most engine
wear occurs at the first few miles after a cold start. Is 20W-50
good enough or is 5W-50 better for reducing cold start wear?
This may be a question during winter only. 5W-50 is not widely
available. I am using 10w-40.

Yes, I keep hearing that 20w-50 works fine. 10w-40 has worked very
well for me too. But is there a difference? What is the difference?
What is better for winter?

I know once the engine warms up there is no difference any more. But
the wear happened before the engine warms up. I heard that each cold
start wear equals the wear of 200 miles of driving. I think dry wear
contributes to the cold start wear too. But it occurs only for a few
seconds.

Thanks for the accusump suggestion. That's something I haven't thought
about. BTW, I look forward to hearing your new trip report soon.

David

--- Don Hanson <dhanson@GORGE.NET> wrote:

>   If you are concerned about minimizing 'dry' wear on engine startup, or
> perhaps use your Syncro at silly angles on rugged terrain, you may want to
> install one of these accusumps.  I had them in my racecars.  They are
pretty
> simple and an elegant solution to the short period of time when you first
> fire up, or if for any reason you uncover your oil uptake.
>   I suggest using the electric switched model, the one that activates as
you
> switch on the ignition.  Essentially, it 'pushes' 2-5 quarts of oil
through
> the oil galleries, pre-oiling the bearing surfaces before you turn the
motor
> over.
>
> http://www.accusump.com/
>
> Don Hanson
>

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