Re: Long cranking

["Fred Munro" <munrof@isys.ca>]

Raffi;

    The diff oil will not affect your engine's starting performance!

    The engine oil, however, may be a different matter. In cold
temperatures, the heavy 20W50 may slow down the engine's rotational speed
and make it harder to start, depending upon the condition of your
battery/cables/starter.
    Reminds me of a winter trip my brother and I took from mild & sunny
British Columbia to cold & sunny Ontario. He was driving a '62 Austin Healy
Sprite & I had a '63 VW bug. He was running 30W oil & I had to pull start
his car all the way across the prairies. We finally arrived in Kenora
o  -50 temperatures. In the parking lot of the motel he drained his oil on
the snow, rolled it up like a piece of tar paper, and threw it in a garbage
can. Try starting your car with THAT in the crankcase!
    The 5w30 he put in worked much better!

HTH

Fred Munro
'91 200q  261k km

-----Original Message-----
From: Raffi Tomassian <tomassian@glaserworks.com>
To: quattro@coimbra.ans.net <quattro@coimbra.ans.net>
Date: Wednesday, November 04, 1998 9:35 AM
Subject: Long cranking


>Dear Collective Brain,
>
>For 3 days now, some of them humid, some of them dry, I have to crank the
>engine 2-3 times for 4-5 sec. each time to get it to start.  Before it only
>took a second.  I know it is getting colder in the midwest but I and Greta
>('87 4kCSq) have been through 30 degree days before.  After starting she
>behaves just fine.  (And the new front bushings are making me a happier
>driver.  Thanks to all who suggested that.)  The symptom mysteriously
>coinsides with me changing the differential oil (I am embarassed for
>writing that) with heavier stuff.  I put in GL-5 85W140.  This is unrelated
>isn't it?
>
>On the other hand, the engine oil is Castrol GTX 20W50.  It, sure, is thick
>so what?
>
>The air filter is 2 1/2 mos/3000 miles old.
>
>Thanks appreciatively to all reading this.
>
>Raffi
>