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It's normal for oil (synthetic or conventional) to turn black with time. The oil is doing it's job. Particles that aren't captured by the oil filter are suspended in the oil instead of depositing of engine parts.
Thanks for the feedback. It still bothers me how the oil turns dark so fast. My mother used to own a 90 talon with the 2.0 non-turbo motor and the oil was still clean at 3000 miles. My cars a whole different story. I would feel more comfortable changing the oil every 1500 miles, but then again, I would have to go to the shop every 2 weeks and dish out 50 bucks. That would addup after a while.
guitarzan,
I've been sticking to valvoline full synthetic since most shops around here offer it. Have'nt tried castrol yet. Maybe I'll pull out the tool kit this weekend (if it's warm) and give it a try...
Whats is the test they ran?
You can probably get a better price from an independent autoparts store if you buy a bunch of them. I bought 12 (6 for me and 6 for my friend's Tercel - same filter) and got a ~30% volume discount.
It's funny though that I just found out you are the author of the following quote:
You can usually determine if there is sludge
inside the engine (the type of sludge caused by a
leaking head-gasket) by looking under the oil cap
or by swiping your finger inside the valve cover.
There is a guy in Camry2 topic claimed that "most 1992+ Camrys have sludge problem" based on he found sludge inside 30+ (now is 50+) Camrys oil caps. And also make a theory that it's because most Camrys have bad valve guide system and therefore burns oil and engine is going to seize by those burned-oil sludge. He used your quote several times to support his claim, I am not sure you should be happy or feel bad about it. Anyway, it's nice to talk to you.
I've been reading throughout the differing threads contained by this board, and have a question regarding oil change intervals. Someone with a VW said it was dangerous to change the oil [especially the break-in oil] at less than 7,500 mile intervals.
I have a 6 month old Honda Civic, and I change the oil every 3,000 miles [even though the manual says to do it every 3750]. My experience with my former Civic led me to be more manic about insuring that I stick to oil changes at 3,000 miles. With the old Civic, I'd let it go to 4 and sometimes 5,000 miles between changes, and the engine started burning oil after 110,000 miles (which is YOUNG for a Civic).
So, now I'm religious about doing it every 3,000 miles. However, a new question has been raised from reading prior posts: am I damaging the engine by changing the oil at 3,000 mile intervals instead of 3,750 like the book states?
Does changing the oil too regularly affect the engine adversely?
Help! The car has 15,000 miles {alot for only 6 months of ownership) due to long work commutes.
I need this car to LAST well into 200,000 miles.
i use syn (mobil 1) in my bimmer and in my f-150. mahle filter on the bimmer. mobil 1 filter on the truck. bimmer gets changed every 8-9k (a little over 3 months for me). truck gets changed about every 4k, which is about a year, i don't feel comfortable going much longer than a year.
-Chris
since the enemy of the engine is HEAT, it's more important to flush the radiator at regular intervals or more than regular intervals to guarantee long engine life.
anyone agree/disagree with this?
Rather, I believe the two are complementary.
Cheers,
TB
How does 2 or maybe 3 radiator flushes over 100,000 miles compare with 20-33 oil changes? In other words engine coolant breaks down in 30-50K miles while engine oil breaks down in 3-5K miles.
This is consistent with a relative's NYC taxi cabs where the Checker went 500,000 miles before being done in by a bus and the Chevy Impala went 350,000 before retiring because of a bad computer.
It is a new formula that has a magnetic molecules in,it makes oil stick to the engine (not flow on the bottom of the engine when engine is cooling off).
Every time you turn your engine on it is lubricated (engine does not have to work dry until oil gets everywhere)
What do you think ?
Castrol is stating that it can extend life of the engine ,and it is highly recommended for city drivers (engine on and off many times).
Is it a no-brainer ?
what causes the oil to break down in the first place? I think we agree that the answer is Heat.
Maybe we need to re-look at how often we change the engine coolant.... that's all i'm saying. maybe the coolant breaks down faster than what our owner's manuals state; after all - i change the oil more frequently than recommended by Honda.
1) engine oil and coolant are 2 different things, so you can't assume that heat affects both in the same way. also, they are working in two different environments (oil *in* the engine, coolant *around* it (for lack of better terms)), and the contaminants are quite different in oil (combustion byproducts, etc.), vs. coolant (virtually none, or else you've got other problems).
2) engine oil and coolant do two different things, coolant doesn't have to lubricate and suspend contaminants, it's sole function is to carry heat away.
3) it's easy to check to see if your coolant is still up to the task (get a specific gravity tool). oil is a lot trickier.
i could go on, but i think other than the fact that oil and coolant are both fluids, you can't really compare them.
-Chris
But, igloomaster, I sense that you agree ...after all, you were playing the devil's advocate.
I would like to add that, if an engine has been overheated in the past such that the boiling action caused the coolant to develop a "muddy" appearance, it's advisable to change the coolant more frequently. This is because some of that contamination is likely to continue to occur even with no further overheating.
Harry
I also think that question has been discussed earlier in this topic and in the archived Part One that is linked in post 0 here.
Pat
Community Leader/Maintenance & Repair Conference
I've come up with a maybe not so unique solution.
I recently switched to synthetic in my 89 5.0 mustang which by the way has 173k miles.
I did this at 170k and have decided to change the filter only (adding a quart back for what was in the filter) at 3k mile intervals until I reach 9k on the original change then I'll perform another complete oil change and start the cycle over.
Benefits?
This technique can roughly equal the cost of the 3k dino change especially if you have it done at any type of express lube center. I'm factoring in that I do the filter only change at home and let the express lube center do the complete change.
Changing the filter myself at least 2 out of 3 times I don't have plan my day around a visit to express lube center. Finally,(for the environmental conscious) 3 dino changes in my stang generates 15 quarts of used oil vs. 7 with my synthetic technique.
I hope I've at least sparked some thought and I'd like to see some feedback.
Cheers,
JB
I have been a jet engine mechanic for 15 years and was a car mechanic before I choose to work jets. We use nothing but pure synthetics in all of our jets and that is for one primary reason.....HEAT they stand up to the excessive heat that a jet engine generates. This because of there man made molecular structure making them more uniform and allowing all molecules to flow with minimum resistance thus reducing heat.
Anyway,
My personnel change procedures on my 97 Caravan and 95 Cabrio are as follows, every 6 months filter and every year oil and filter. I use a synthetic that is guaranteed against oil failure for one year or 25,000 miles which ever comes first. I have used this oil since purchasing both vehicles new and have had no problems and have always exceeded the manufactures MPG ratings.
Anyone out there using the Amsoil Dual Remote Filter system???? Any feed back would be appreciated.
I personally do not have a problem using an oil filter for up to 5000K miles. Since I don't mind the cost of changing the oil as much as spending time underneath the car, I also change the oil at the same time I change the filter. I realize that I could use synthetic oil for at least 7500 miles, but it doesn't matter to me at that point.
I usually don't keep my cars long enough to really find out the effects on the engine, but a friend of mine who follows a similar schedule keeps his well above 150K miles.
Otherwise, I do see an MPG increase with synthetic oil, albeit a very small one.
I look at them as all being the same.
Synthetic motor oil
Your host, Bruce
QUESTION: My owners manual for my new toyota echo recommends 5w-30 for colder climates/ best mileage. The toyota dealer mechanic told me they just use straight 30w for new cars. I only drive 2.2 miles to work so my engine has a disproportionate # of cold starts (not so cold, so. calif.) per mile. If I'm understanding this right, that would indicate use of the 5w-30 particularly. Experts? thanks...
-Chris
DUMB dealer. Use 5W-30!
that being said, i use syn in both my bimmer and my truck. it's not THAT much more, and it buys me a little piece of mind. i know for a fact that they start easier and MUCHO quieter in the cold weather with syn.
ever see the mobil1 commercial (with the dueling banjos theme) where they put the oil in the frying pan?
as far as the consumer reports taxi cab article goes, that has to be taken with a grain of salt. you don't drive your car the way these are driven (well, maybe YOU do, but i don't). after their initial startup, they run constantly. engine wear is most significant when you start your car, which you do probably a lot more than the cabbie does. i believe there was even a disclaimer on that article to that effect, i could be wrong.
good luck.
-Chris
Its the only test that exists that is not based on market hype.
They say change at mfg recommendations (7.5k for example) and that all oils with the API label are the same.
I believe them, tho it upsets all our faith in "our pet oils" based on hype and the fact we like the color of the can or price, or whatever, like my dad used it etc.
Any comments?
I would not be too concerned about the "generic" filter on the Civic but, even with the Mobil-1, I would change oil and filter fairly often and feel very confident of long engine life.
Bruce