The proper way to change oil.

[dan2286]

The way I look at it is that I paid a good amount of money for the car, so I take care of it. Its kinda like an investment, takin care of it will hopefully prevent me from spending alot more money in the long run for costly repairs. I also use Mobil One in my car and change it at 3000 miles, if you think about it, the oil change is only 10 or 15 bucks more expensive. And using synthetic is not depleting our oil supply either(I think it does not use any crude oil in synthetic). I really wouldnt trust goin over 3000 miles in a GM product in most cases, I have seen alot of them that sound like crap over 100000 miles because people dont maintain them. Hondas are a different story, I have seen them run bone dry on oil, and still sound fine :? .

I have seen alot of manufactuers coming out with change oil lights that say they moniter the quality of the oil, but will go off every 7500 to 10000 miles no matter what. My car has one and seems to go off every 5000 miles. Ive always wondered if that is some kind of scam by the manufactuers to make the engines fail sooner so people have to buy more new cars.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

I am moving closer to the 300k mile mark by the day on my Nissan, and have owned it for 10 years. That is on one engine, with the only things changed being the valve cover gasket, crank seals and harmonic balancer. That is also with 90% of that mileage being from pizza delivery, but I take pretty good care of my cars, even if they are a total beater. My last Sentra was super-ugly, but I fixed any leaks right away, and kept the engine spotless. never mind that the body was 4 different colors ( 5 if you count Bondo pink), and that it had wheels from 4 different cars of various ages, the car was well maintained.

 

[HFX]

I am moving closer to the 300k mile mark by the day on my Nissan, and have owned it for 10 years. That is on one engine, with the only things changed being the valve cover gasket, crank seals and harmonic balancer. That is also with 90% of that mileage being from pizza delivery, but I take pretty good care of my cars, even if they are a total beater. My last Sentra was super-ugly, but I fixed any leaks right away, and kept the engine spotless. never mind that the body was 4 different colors ( 5 if you count Bondo pink), and that it had wheels from 4 different cars of various ages, the car was well maintained.

Functionality before looks. Not something a lot of people do now days.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

I rarely have a choice. I choose cars for functionality vs looks because if it fails to run, then I don't work that day. I hated being seen in the thing, and tinted the windows 5% in the back and 20% up front just so no one would see me. It just would not die, and I could not afford to replace it. It did, after all, see 50+ mpg on the Tampa to Daytona run several times, and fuel mileage like that is a wonderful thing.

 

[megaladon6]

dan, the way the GM light work is that it monitors your driving and how it will affect the oil. i don't trust them either because the go too long.
so you know, they have tested synthetic and found that there's no difference between a 3k or 6k mi oil change. so you could switch to 6k changes, save some money, and not lose any longevity. if YOU want.
i forget who does what but, some companies do use crude oil to make the base stock. others use coal oil for the base stock. the advantage there is that the US is "the saudi arabia of coal".
the thing is that motor oil is pretty much just motor oil. it's the additive package and puity that makes the difference.

 

[kingcolbert83]

guys it sounds crazy but oil is actually thicker when it is hot and running through the engine. It is good the in some way prime an engine when doing an oil change because you have removed all the oil and if you just go and start it up the top will be try and cause friction which in turn raises your rate of part failure and the engine life.

The way they taught us in school is to disable the fuel system and turn the motor over for like 10 seconds, then do it again for like 10 seconds. Connect everything back and you will see your check engine light stay on for like a second instead of longer like it usuall does. My teacher that taught me this has a patent for nascar so im sure he knows what he is doing.

 

[srercrcr]

Thicker when hot, eh? Have you ever changed oil?

 

[megaladon6]

actually he's mathmatically correct. the measured viscosity is higher at higher/operating temps(-30 or -40) than at colder/winter temps (5w- or 10w-). this is due to special polymers added to the oil. however, in an engine/real life outside of a lab, it does flow faster when hot. honestly, oil viscosity numbers is something i have NEVER understood.

 

[Derision]

actually he's mathmatically correct. the measured viscosity is higher at higher/operating temps(-30 or -40) than at colder/winter temps (5w- or 10w-). this is due to special polymers added to the oil. however, in an engine/real life outside of a lab, it does flow faster when hot. honestly, oil viscosity numbers is something i have NEVER understood.

To my understanding, the fact that it's also under pressure whilst in a running engine mucks about with things.

Confusing, though... yes.

 

[kingcolbert83]

Thicker when hot, eh? Have you ever changed oil?

yes i have changed plenty of oil as i go to school for auto technician.