ENGINE OIL RENEWAL

1

With the Bentley raised on Prestige Services’ two- post lift, Rob volunteered to get stuck into servicing, so long as the mechanics kept an eye on him. Armed with the official drain plug tool, he slackened the sump drain plug for the engine oil. 2

The Bentley’s all-aluminium 6.8- litre V8 engine holds up to 10 litres of oil, so a suitably sized drain bowl was positioned underneath the drain plug and sump. Whilst the old oil was draining, the aluminium washer for the drain plug was replaced. 3

The oil filter is accessed from underneath the front area of the engine bay. Rob tried using a filter strap, but needed more grip, so he switched to a pair of water pump pliers. Gripping the base of the filter avoided crushing it and eventually it slackened. 4

The old oil filter was a genuine component, and so too was our new one from Flying Spares. Rob added a smear of fresh oil to its seal, which reduces the risk of this dragging and tearing when you tighten it up. He then fitted and tightened it by hand – you should never use a tool to fit an oil filter. 5

After refitting the drain plug, Rob carefully poured in four litres of Castrol fully- synthetic 0W-30 engine, then opened a second container and added almost four more. It holds 10 litres all told, but you can generally only get up to around 90% of the old oil out even if the engine is hot because some remains trapped. You can detach the oil cooler to extract a little more. 6

The oil level on the dipstick was at the halfway point, so the engine was run and we looked for leaks before switching off and checking the dipstick again. A little more oil was then added to top it up to the full mark.