2003 Chevy Silverado 100,000 miles v-6 engine, doesn’t use oil. 3,000 to 5,000 miles per month, almost all on the highway, haulin nothin heavier than my fat … oh never mind. I have been going 5,000 miles between oil changes, using regular oil (not synthetic). Am I hurting the motor? I get it changed at jiffy lube, so I don’t see what comes out.
“Put your creed in your deed.” Emerson
“When asked if you can do something, tell’em “Why certainly I can”, then get busy and find a way to do it.” T. Roosevelt
Replies
No in fact many manufacturers have started
suggesting five thousand mile.
I pull the dip stick out every thousand miles
or so and have a look tho.
I'd hate run low and not know it.
If there is any real danger it is letting those
Jiffy Lube guys under your hood. My dealer charges
the same and they wash my ride for free.
Edited 3/15/2008 9:44 am ET by Henley
FastEddie,
When will you be getting rid of your truck? If in the next two years? Then keep doing as you are doing and you should be fine..
If you intend to keep it 'til the cows come home then you would do better with a synthetic changed as frequently..
Synthetic costs twice as much as regular oil so it's not worth it if you plan on getting rid of it by 200,000, beyond that you're where synthetic makes a big enough differance to justify it's use..
The trick is oil gets contaminated not worn out.. remove the contamination and most oils are good enough.. what a synthetic gives you is a little bit of insurance.. I'll go into depth with an explanation if you'd like. (technical and boring)
"oil gets contaminated not worn out"
TRUE
So stay with the less expensive of the two. Why waste the $$'s on the synthetic.
Russell
"Member of the Jewish Carpenters Union"
Hunt doctor,
The reason for synthetics is the added protections they give.. On start up and in extreme conditions they afford enough added protection (if you keep vehicles to the end of thier life)
Normal oil is fine for the vast majority of users..
However, synthetics do afford greater resistance to squeeze out. (made up term) once you exceed the load capacity of conventional oils they sqeeze out and you have metal to metal conditions.. almost instantly you have scuffing and extreme high wear.
Only happens rarely and for most people easpecially people who trade reasonably often it's not worth it..
For the few of us with differant goals or uses those rare moments of protection are worth the added cost.
OK - It's your money.
How many Auto/Truck engines have you seen the insides of?
Russell
"Welcome to my world"
huntdoctor,
off hand more than a hundred..
Don't forget I race vintage sportscars, made my living for a while as a professional mechanic, and Have been involved in cars since I was about 5 years old..
Right now if you go into my shop you will find 5 V12's, 4 six cylinders (DOHC), 2 four cylinders, 1 model A Ford in various stages of assembly.. Plus my daily drivers.
Just the weight of my Snap On tool boxes is more than most pick-ups can legally carry.. That ignores all the rest of my machine tools and equipment
OK, slam retracted.
Russell
"welcome to my world"
I highly respect your opinions and posts on most things, but must take exception to your position on synthetic oil.
Your reasons sound good, and like other marketing-based reasons, are not much different from the thousands of urban-legend-style explanations that Madison Avenue churns out to stimulate consumption.
If you critically look at most of the claims that pass for fact on any number of products, you will find very little foundation in fact or experience.
For example, I can think of many "new and improved" products that have been through so many cycles of improvement in my lifetime that they should be darn near perfect. In reality, many products are no better than they were when I was a kid.
The truth of this holds for mass-production type household products put out by Proctor & Gamble and other big players as well as for items like tools, appliances, building products, and automobiles.
I popped the top on a 11.5 oz can of V8 yesterday. I guess saving that extra half ounce could be termed an improvement since it makes the can easier to carry and boasts less calories per serving. I think it is just baloney!
And I think synthetic oil is baloney - but I could be wrong!
Startup and extreme conditions are two scary terms that have been sold to the consumer and they work because anyone who uses them sounds like they have been studying metallurgy and lubrication at MIT.
Sasquatch,
Well I'm a tite fisted guy who would rather spend my money on effective stuff than buy hype.
What I talk about I know from personal experiance to be valid..
You are aware of my background in building racing engines aren't you?
Any way, my experiance has shown me that synthetics do work.. they greatly increase the life of engines.
To most people who poorly maintain their vehicles, overextend oil changes, sell before the engine is worn out, etc. they aren't worth the added cost.
If that fits you then you are right.. change the oil at reccomended intervals and you are ok using conventional oil.
I've said that many times in this post..
However if you do maintain your vehicles, if 250,000 miles is just nicely broken in, you keep vehicles untill rust claims them from you, then synthetics are worth the added cost.
The first place is items like timing chains..
Those are splash lubricated and have no real way to get oil into the highly loaded areas of the links..
The second place is items like lifters..
As the cam slides against the lifter the squeeze out effect is very present.. Look at oil film thickness and oil discharge ports on the crankshaft. Oil is timed to be injected right prior to peak load.. the cam being splash lubricated gets no such timing.. and in fact is actually sheltered instead. considering the surface area involved and there is no "trap" for oil as in the crankshaft it's amazing that camshafts last as long as they do..
Replace either of those items and for all intents and purposes the engine is on it's way to the junkyard..
I change my own oil and filter about every 4-5,000 miles. That says a lot right there.
My last car was a 93 dodge caravan that I got 270,000 miles out with no major overhauls. The owner before me put a trany cooler on it. The waterpump went out and my daughter cooked it.
Yes I'm cheap. I replaced it with a Toyota minivan. I do everything with the minivan. The exterior I never wash. The interior I never clean.
I go to wallmart and buy their brand of 100% synthetic oil. It's the cheapest I've found.
I hope to get over 300,000 out of it. I don't see why not.
I have a question. The power steering pump has started to talk back to me when I back out the driveway when the engine is cold. Should I try changing out the fluid with synthetic? Is it worht a try? Everything else considered it would be the cheapest. Do you believe in changing out fluids like the power steering, coolant, trany? Do you think a power flush is neccesary? I was taught to just drop the fluid when it is hot and mixed up right after it is driven. I'm coming up on 200,000 on this one.
popawheelie,
A power flush saved me a new powersteering pump.. do be careful not to use ATF in there if the manfacturer calls for a special fluid. There is a differance..
I have found a differance in synthetics..
Moble 1 has been great but Amsoil and Castrol caused issues. I haven't tried Wallmarts' oil..
I can't remember what oil they use but Wallmart just re-packages somebody elses oil. It is %100 so I figure it's good enough for my minivan.
I'll go to the auto parts store and ask about power steering fluid. I found a store I like with pretty knowlegable salesmen.
"Wash, Rinse and repeat"
Marketing, marketing, marketing.
Do we need to say more?
Russell
"Welcome to my world"
Sasquatch,
If you were in the business and had seen as many engines in pieces as I have, you would be amazed at the difference between those that have been run on synthetic oil and those that have not. The attached picture is the valve train of my shop's 1983 Chevy S-10 pickup. It has 230K miles on it and last fall I did the first engine repair I have had to do since new. That repair was to replace the valve cover gaskets which had started leaking. I was so amazed at how clean the parts looked that I had to take a picture. The valve cover pic is after a 20 second rinse in the parts washer. The truck has had Mobil 1 in it since new, changed about every 6-7 k miles depending on how lazy I have been. It has probably gone 15 k several times. This is the 2.8 V-6 that everyone says is "junk"Bill Koustenis
Advanced Automotive Machine
Waldorf Md
Bill, I had the '81 S-15 with the 2.8 bought newI ran it on synthetic oil and lube. The only maint I had in 140K plus was clutches, tires, and brakes. Gave it to the kid and it got left behind someplace.I had a Suburban with 350 that I bought with 80K on it ( or 180K?) that had been a BLM in Alaska rig. I put synthetic in it for the next 80K and when it was rebuilt, the inside was just as clean as what your pictures show. Mechanic was awed by it.
I bent it up and traded it 8-9 years ago. Last I heard, it was still on the road running fine.Every rig I ever put synthetic into immediately got better fuel mileage. I switched my diesel to synthetic this winter and noticed the boost in power and drop in noise.
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I'm changing my 2 vehicles to synthetic.
My F-150 has synthetic in the rear end from what the owner's manual shows.I've always done the 3-4,000 mi oil changes even tho my vehicles are not used hard. My '91 Honda died at 320,000. My '93 Buick was in a wreck and the ins co. is totaling it even tho the engine is fine at 223,000 miles.
This with regular oils.I drive cars forever as you can see, and my 2 cars now '05 Altima and '04 F-150 4.2 liter will probably be with me 20 years. By then they'll be jerking the keys out of my shaky old hands.I want all the protection I can get plus extending oil changes to 10-12,000 miles.Attached is info I got from Amsoil dealer:
ALL
Oops....try again..new event for me. This is rather lengthy. In a nutshell the Europeans stress 10,000 mi oil changes.Also discusses the waste of oil in this country with all the quicky lubes stressing the 3,000 mi changes.And last, Mercedes Benz owners won a law suit because the American dealers weren't telling them that MB recommended synthetics.I can try to post the whole article if someone wants to see it.Pete
Synthetic oil may be the right choice for some, both those who can afford it and those who need it. My point, which I evidently stated unclearly, is that for most people, regular oil is the most economical choice.
In some areas you could characterize me as a guy who wears both suspenders and a belt - but over time, I have learned that regular oil, when changed on a regular basis, along with the filter, does a pretty good job.
That is just my opinion. I am not sticking a gun to anyone's head.
Sasquatch,
Your statement for most people is right.. I won't dispute that and I'm a strong advocate of snythetic's
Sasquatch.Agree with you. You can see the results I obtained with regular oil.I feel the cost will be about the same or even less by extending oil change frequencies.I just want to make sure my 2 vehicles make it as long as I need them.
Synthetics are better in many ways.Regular oils have improved over the years, and that's another reason it makes no sense to run to the Jiffy lube at 3,000 miles.Pete
Ok, just in case anyone cares ... I read the owners manual today. It says to change the oil when the "change oil" message comes on, or once a year whichever comes first."Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
"Synthetic oil may be the right choice for some, both those who can afford it and those who need it. My point, which I evidently stated unclearly, is that for most people, regular oil is the most economical choice."If that is your POV, the synthetic oils are far less expensive!You get better fuel mileage with them, which more than pays for the oil itself.The oil lasts longer so you don't change and throw it away as often as regular, so that makes actual cost about even.You will have far fewer repairs in a lifetime of running synthetics, so that is economical.There is only one way that regular oil can be seen as more economical.
That is at the cash register
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Piffin,
Just today I changed my oil to synthetic. As on a previous post, I always did the 3,000 change for many 1,000s of miles on many vehicles.This is an article from an Amsoil dist.
No, I am not a dist. just bot the oil for my 2 vehicles.
One other thing before the article. Think of all the containers and used filters going to the landfills. Thirty yearsago, oil companies and vehicle manufacturers were recommending 2,000 to 3,000 mile oil drain intervals. Today, the auto manufacturers have increased their drain recommendations significantlyBut despite the improvement in motor oils made during these past 30 years, and despite the fact that the same oils are used in Europe with much longer drain intervals, oil companies here in the U.S. are still promoting 3,000 mile drain intervals.According to the feature article in the March issue of Lubes & Greases
magazine, that represents the unneeded production of 300 million to 400 million gallons of engine oil every year! Who pays for all the unneeded motor oil? It's the motorists who change oil more often than necessary.And who profits from producing all this unneeded motor oil? The Oil
Companies who continue to recommend frequent oil changes!The article was written by David McFall, past president of the American petroleum Institute (API) and Automotive Editor for Lubes & Greases magazine. He minces no words in questioning the motives of oil companies,asking why their oils can be used for 10,000 miles in European vehicles while being recommended for only 3,000 miles here in the United States.Most of us already know the answer to that question. The oil companies don't want to see their market cut by at least half by extending drain intervals. They will stick to their 3,000 mile drain recommendations as long as the American consumers will keep buying into it, at an estimated annual cost of $1.5 billion, according to McFall.Oil specifications and drain recommendations in Europe are controlled by the vehicle manufacturers, with the oil companies having less influence than here in the U.S. Because of higher costs, Europeans are careful about wasting energy. They are also very environmentally aware. They would not put up with the cost, waste, and environmental effects of changing their oil every 3,000 miles. They are very aware of the improved performance synthetic motor oils provide. To illustrate how the performance of synthetic oils are appreciated, please continue to read the following.Owners of Mercedes-Benz automobiles in the U.S. were recently awarded a $32 million settlement because they were not informed they should use synthetic motor oil. Mercedes utilizes a system designed to help owners lower maintenance costs and reduce the adverse environmental impact of used motor oil. The system extends drain intervals to when the oil actually needs to be changed, rather than at set predetermined intervals. They start with 10,000 mile drains and push them up to 20,000 miles, using synthetic motor oils!The problem occurred because these U.S. owners were told to use
conventional motor oils, which could not stand up to those extended drain intervals. According to the suit, this promoted more engine wear than if they had been using the originally specified synthetic oil. Now if that isn't a testimonial as to the superior performance of synthetic motor oils, I don't know what is! Thirty-two million
dollars is a tidy sum to pay for increasing engine wear, but the company did not dispute the fact that the drain intervals determined by their system were too long for conventional oils.McFall's article singled out AMSOIL as the only oil company actually
recommending extended drain intervals. He notes that the other oil
companies either don't make drain recommendations or stick with their 3,000 mile recommendation. Consumers must refer to their ownersmanuals, which almost always recommend more miles between oil changes than 3,000 miles for normal operation, or they can listen to their car dealers or oil change specialists, who push frequent oil changes to keep their cash registers ringing.Mercedes-Benz should be commended for specifying synthetic lubricants for their superior performance and for extending drains to minimize the adverse effects of used motor oil on the environment. As time goes on, there will be an increasing number of companies who will dothe same. But that won't happen if the oil industry doesn't change their thinking. They are actively working to keep the status quo, promoting many more oil changes than necessary, wasting precious resources, and creating the need to dispose of more pollutants in the form of used motor oil.
I used to be an Amsoil dealer so my synthetic experience is with that product.
My cars have been on Mobil One for ten years now and I just found an Amsoil dealer to hook back up with for the truck.What a lot of people don't understand about synthetics is the molecular structure of oils.
crude starts out having about 450-600 different kinds of hydrocarbon molecules mixed together when it comes up out of the ground. In the refining process, the approximately 40 similar molecules best for lubrication are culled out to make up that quart of engine oil. But of those, only about 4 specific kinds of molecules are really best for the job. the others work, but are sensitive to breaking down over time and heat, turning to carbon gunk in the engine.What the Synthetic manufacturers do is to manufacture those 4-6 molecules that are indeed ideal to do the job without breaking down under heat. Synthetics were first developed for jet engines back about the time of the Korean conflict when they were finding that conventional oils could not do the job for those powerplants.So the oil does not break down. It does get contaminated by moisture from condensation, metal filings from breakin, and dust entering through the carb or injectors that gets past the air filter. A good filter, changed every 5-6 thousand miles along with a new quart of synthetic will do a better job of keeping an engine clean and healthy than changing it all with regular oils every 3000 miles. The oil itself simp0ly does not wear out
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OK, I may give it a try at the next oil change on my diesel, if I can figure out which synth replaces 15W-40.
Sasquatch
Shell and mobil are the two I've heard the best reports on for diesel. However don't do it unless you are willing to commit to the program.
Silly to spend that much extra only to switch back and forth or sell the truck before the engine is used up..
read the viscosity numbers just the same
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"And I think synthetic oil is baloney - but I could be wrong!"On this one you are wrongForgive me for wording it that way, but it is just SO hard to say that frenchie is right, so I settled for you being wrong. ;)
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I run Mobil 1 exclusively. I once ran so low on oil in my '86 CRX that the engine actually started running strangely. I pulled over and the dipstick was dry. I added one bottle right there, then drove to a service station where i could buy enough to get it back to the line. Ran just fine again after that first quart.
About a year later I was rebuilding that engine, specificly because I was worried about the damage done by that incident.
When I had the bearings out on the workbench, I had to be careful not to get them too close to the new bearings. The problem - they looked exactly the same! There was 0 wear on the old bearings.Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
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Paul,
That is exactly been my experiance.. The Jaguar I race has a great big long 22 qt. oil pan and while it's well baffled before I went to the dry sump under hard braking (and you never fail to brake hard in a race), the oil would get away from the pickup. Upon hard acceration out of the corner it would take a moment before oil got picked up again so oil pressure dropped. Now you had to be watching the oil pressure guage really closly to notice it (in a corner during a race?) but once I caught that I understood. Normal practice for me was to drop the pan and replace the rod and main bearings following saturdays qualifing session.
One weekend we were sharing the track with the Indy Car teams because they'd been flooded out the previous weekend and One of the teams asked me if they could have my site. They were afraid that as soft as the ground was the hauler would sink in and they couldn't get it out in time to make Portland the next weekend..
I agreed to share and that night as I was buttoning up my engine late at night (early morning) they asked me why and I explained.. The Crew chief smiled and said he had the solution for me.. and handed me a couple of cases of Moble one..
Previously I started the race with 120PSI oil pressure and at the end I'd be down to 60PSI or less. With Moble one I could start at 120 psi and finish at nearly 100psi which allowed me to charge harder towards the end of the race when previously I'd been taking it careful trying to keep the engine together..
The Jaguar with it's big long 4.17 inch stroke needs a lot of oil pressure to stay together at high RPM.. (Yeh, I know 6000 doesn't sound high but it's higher than the factory red line on an engine that was designed during WW2)
It is not just a matter of oil pressure. You get your lubrication and heat reduction from oil FLOW which is far better with the slipperier synthetics
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Piffin.
Wow are you ever in the mood to pick nits'..
You can't have any pressure when the oil pump pickup is uncovered..
If you are saying that the thinner oil will flow back to the pickup faster you clearly don't understand the dynamics involved.. oil at racing tempuratires is near 210-230 degrees. At that temp its like water even with 50 weight.. Mobel 1 which is 30 weight isn't going to be any real significantly faster to be picked up..
If you measure it in time we're talking nano seconds differance at best.. too little to do any real good. However the synthetic oil which remains around the bearings with no pressure will slide longer before the before friction burns it off that's why the bearings were in better shape at the end of the race..
The real solution was the dry sump pump. I've now got 25 races since I last rebuilt that engine. when before I couldn't get a full weekend without replaceing bearings..
Hey - on this one I was not arguing or disputing what you said, only adding to it. You need both pressure and flow to lube an enginebut Stopped ports can mean a reading of very good pressure but with no flow you have little cooling or lubrication beyond what film is already present
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piffin
What I had explained didn't have an issue of stopped ports.. , to briefly summarize. under braking in racing conditions the 5+ G stopping will send the oil away from the pickup up into the front of the engine..
add cornering G's and it's several seconds before oilcan flow back to the pickup..
all this is in spite of heavy baffling in an engine designed by the factory for near these conditions..
The owners manual should have an oil change interval guideline for "regular duty" and "severe duty" driving conditions and the grade/type of engine oil.
A synthetic would be better, especially if you change it yourself.
There are products on the market with a 30,000 mile change interval. They work, I have used them in my own vehicle. I am also an AMSOIL dealer. AMSOIL offers 7500 mile rated, 100% synthetic oils that are price competitive with other premium brands.
The only way to know the state of the oil is through an oil analysis. A visual test tells little. As a side note, the analysis will prove that those K&N filters don't filter much due to elevated silicon content in the oil.
Highway driving is better for an engine, but sustained speeds (higher RPM) raise the oil temperature quickly. A good quality regular oil will do the job- if you know what you are getting from the quick lube place.
You may also pick up a little more MPG with the synthetic oils.
I agree with the K&N air filters not working. Had one on my Porsche 911 ,engine in back and live on a dirt road. There was always dust on the downstream side of the filter. You point about silicon in the oil proves it.
You should be fine especially considering the type of driving you do. Check your owner's manual to be sure. Motor oils have improved as have engines. I have mine changed every 5000 per the manual (Ford Ranger). Some GM products have oil life monitors that use sensors and an algorithm to determine when oil should be changed.
I have owned jeeps for years.
None had less than 200,000 miles when I got rid of them.
I always changed oil every 4500-5000 miles
I changed to the oil for high milage oil at around 80,000 miles.
You should have a lot of miles left on your engine.
Dunno about your truck, but if you read the fine print in most auto manuals, the standard duty interval is 7500 miles or so, with the "severe duty" (lots of short trips, or hauling a trailer) interval being 3000.
The auto dealers have always "sold" the 3000 mile interval (I wonder why), but it isn't necessary (per the owner's manual) in most cases. 5000 miles is a good compromise.
If you read the definition of severe duty it is just about everything short of driving 100% highway miles.
At that rate per month, must be a lot of highway. Stop and go is the most severe. Keep it up, also rotate tires every other oil change and keep the pressure 5 psi above the rec. pressure. We routinely get 100 k or more out of a set of tires.
Mike
5,000 mile intervals are fine.
Highway driving doesn't contribute to oil contamination - cold driving does.
When I was in auto mechanics trade school, my engine instructor had been a test driver for Chrysler.
He was part of a team that was given new cars right off the assembly line and told to drive them for 100,000 miles without shutting off the engines. Of course, it was almost all highway miles.
Then they tore down the engines and measured the wear on all the internal parts. All were within original specs and the oil was like new. And this was back in the late 60's.
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He was part of a team that was given new cars right off the assembly line and told to drive them for 100,000 miles without shutting off the engines.
Wow, they must've changed the tires with the engine running. Neat test.
Wow, they must've changed the tires with the engine running. Neat test.
What, you don't think those 2-ply bias ply tires lasted 100K?
They must have had pit crews.
"He was part of a team that was given new cars right off the assembly line and told to drive them for 100,000 miles without shutting off the engines. Of course, it was almost all highway miles."I would hate to be the new guy who totals the car at mile 98,113...
Jon Blakemore RappahannockINC.com Fredericksburg, VA
All my vehicles are different. The 2005 Chevy van tells you when to change the oil, so I don't know what the miles will be.
My F150 every 5,000ish, its at 152,000 miles now and it does use a little between changes, but always has from new.
Chrysler sebring has the 2.7 V6 which also gets changed at 5,000. My old lebaron stated 7,500 between changes and before I sold it had 140,000 miles.
Trick is never to run out of oil!!
Eddie,
You should be fine. One of the good things about fuel injected engines is that very little extra fuel is used, so very little gets into the oil to contaminate it. I run synthetic in my Tahoe and have upped the interval to almost 10k now. The stuff still looks clean when it comes out.
If yours has the 4.3 Vortec engine, I would be more concerned with the intake gaskets leaking and it getting coolant into the oil. Keep a real good eye on it, if the oil starts to look milky, get the gaskets done pronto. You are doing good if its gone 100k and they arent leaking yet. Thats one problem with getting the oil changed at one of the fast food places, they probably would not even notice if it was milky. If you have to start adding Dexcool, then its almost certainly the intake gaskets.
HTH
Bill Koustenis
Advanced Automotive Machine
Waldorf Md
Mr Bill.
My 350 went over 250,000 before the intakes gaskets started leaking..
Mileage between oil change is one factor.. time is another.. I'll be changing oil (moble1 synthetic ) at about 1800 miles because it will be over 6 months since I last changed it. Too much time to build up acids.. gotta dump it..
Hey Bill, it finally hit me where you live! I drive through Waldorf all the time (well, once a week) going up 301 to DC. Do you have a shop in town?"Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Eddie,
I have a machine shop. We are right off 301 just about where the mall is, if you know that area. As you are coming North, it is the first light you get to in Waldorf. Bill Koustenis
Advanced Automotive Machine
Waldorf Md
I follow an old Caterpiller oiling engineer's advice. He was a verteran of the Alaskan Pipeline construction and learned quite a bit regarding extreme oiling principles.
Change every 6 mos or 3k miles.
5w-30 Havoline regular oil in all regardless of mileage...
except the Jeep. 10w-40 for summer towing.
Rated pressure is NOT what seperates internal parts. That is the job of "shear" resistance in the oil. Flow is most important to supplying fresh, cool oil to an engine internals. Heavier grade oils are tougher to push through the system.
Mileage 230k, 175k, 145k with nary a problem.
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American Heritage Dictionary
Slightly off topic, but related.
It has been suggested that I try a product called Xado, added to the oil one time [in three doses] that is supposed to fill worn areas in engine parts and last for 60,000 miles or more. Claims to reduce fuel consumption by 5-7%.
Typical snake oil, I thought, but before & after dyno testing in Germany on a Toyota 4 cylinder car with 141,000 km on it looks pretty good; compression up 25%, HP at the wheels up 10%.
http://www.xado.co.uk/brochures/Xado_Toyota_Yaris_Test.pdf
If increased horsepower = increased mileage, a $110 treatment at 6% improvement should save me $250+ per year for 5 years on my Econoline E250 with 83,000 miles - more if gasoline keeps going up.
Would you take a look at the linked site and tell us what you think?
brucet9
Wow! I linked onto that site, my computer flashed the know capaitbiities issue warning and then I lost the whole thing.. I've now got a worm or something that has my memory stuffed and I've got to figure out how to erase it. I went from using less than 15% to over 88% use.. somethings wrong and I don't know enough computer to solve the problem..
I may be wrong, but I don't think you can get a bug just by viewing a pdf file. I viewed it without any glitches
JSan,
It's most likely me.. I am a real troglidyte when it comes to computers. But I used to have a policy of never clicking on links that I recently lifted after several successful links.
I've had a computer ever since the old model 88 and never had much trouble untill I connected to the internet.. since then I've bought an average of a new computer every other year because of junk and stuff I can only assume come from the internet.
I bought all the anti virus stuff and even stay on OAL because they have helped me in the past when things got really ugly..
Frankly when I get this off I am going back to my old policy.. it's just not worth it..
troglidyte? Ahh, no wonder you got a worm. Must a been a long lost brother trying to hook up with you. I hope you gave him a warm welcome =)
Just kidding! Since you said you buy a new PC every other year, you must be using XP as an OS? Try using the restore function and see if that corrects the glitch.
If you are unfamilar with using restore, post back and I'll tell you how. It's easy
He probably just had a CPU spike from the PDF loading acrobat..happns all the time.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
"Success is not spontaneous combustion, you have to set yourself on Fire"
Really? I look at pdf files quite often and never had a CPU spike happen.
He mentioned a worm which I thought was only possible when using the software to create a pdf, not view one.
Learn something new every day, thanks
I get those too, especially with PDFs. The reader is a very busy memory hog
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What operating system are you using?
You might be able to shut down by pulling the plug and then when you reboot, you should have the option to start with the last known safe configuration.
If you are not using a virus protection program, Avast is free online.
Sasquatch,
That's how I got back up at all.. something is working because I'm slowly getting some memory back.. I'm down to 85% memory use rather than the previous 88% Wow! am I ever glad I bought as much memory as I could stuff in here..
No worms at any site I link to. I visited it just before I posted, just to be sure that it was the right one. As someone said, "you can't get a worm from opening a pdf", but anyway, my updated Norton Antivirus would have warned me if there were a virus and quarantined it.BruceT
brucet9
I really don't know what happened. I'm a real luddite when it comes to computers but whatever softwear I've got has the memory down to 50% so it's slowly being taking care of..
97 FORD F-150 4X4
202,207 mi. changed every 5000 after it reached 125,000 I started to use slick fifty instead of the fifth qt of oil so far so good
Zeeya
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I have Sprinter, it tells me when it's time to change (usually 10k miles). The dealer does it, so if there's a problem they can't pass the blame. It takes 12 qts and costs about $125. I put about 20k on a year.
when the lifters start rattlin, (that at about 18000-20000 miles), then it's time for the oil change
sawzall.
I'll bet you buy a lot more times than I do.. That advice indicates that you really don't understand the load camshafts are under.. Long before the lifters rattle you need to change oil..