Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
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For what its worth I changed my oil on my 210k car first a 4k miles and every 4k thereafter and never had the engine repaired.
>>>Two old schoolers said change it early in case there is any "casting sand" in the engine<<<
Very, very, doubtful. First, most engine blocks are washed before maching operations to rid the casting of any sand. Although possible, casting sand would more likely be found in the water jackets, not on the outside surfaces of the block. In addition, its much more likely to find shavings from machining operations. If casting sand were in the oil system, you wouldn't have to worry about changing oil. 120 micron size particles are already lodged somewhere in an oil gallery causing a restriction that will show up later in the engine's life.
>>>One said new technology (engine and oil) make the early change rule obsolete ......The fourth said "follow the manual" ie. change at the recommended interval (3 or 6 K)......Could an early change be somehow detrimental, assuming you don't have break in oil?<<<
Some manufacturers use a 0W-30 or a speciality blend that is roughly eqivalent to 0W-20. Others ship a new engine with a conventional quality 5W-30 non-synthetic. The trend in recent years has been to use off-the-shelf recipes in a low viscosity blend without any additional additives included.
The recommendation to change the factory motor oil at the first regular schedule maintenance is the best advice, in my opinion.
As to causing damage by changing it prematurely, I don't think so. I would recommend not using a synthetic blend or full synthetic oil until after the engine has been run-in (broken in) for a while. This varies depending on manufacturer. Chrysler's V8s are generally longer break-in motors, so I'd use conventional motor oil for at least 10,000 miles. If it's a 4.7 motor, 15,000 or more.
Best regards,
Dusty
Are these wear metals? Why didn't the filter catch them?
Back to mixed opinions - some say it's best to get this stuff out of there, others say this "roughage" is what helps break in ("sand paper")the rough edges/fit.
Yes, they are. As to the filter, my experience over the past few years places filters in the same category as appendix, useless appendages on modern engines for catastrophic purposes only. They filter out almost nothing, today, the oil does all the work.
I have two 2004 Camry's and am considering using synth oil. Anyone have any experience with synth oils in Toyota's and would you recommend it?
If so, is there any particular brand that I should consider?
I live in the Washington, DC area.
Thanks!
The other synthetic brands that are bit harder to find but excellent are Redline, Amsoil, Royal Purple. The made in Germany Castrol Syntec is very good but hard to find (bottle must say Made in Germany) otherwise made in USA stuff is like the other mentioned. I found all this info on www.bobistheoilguy.com website.
Give Chevron Supreme a try, or their recent acquisition, Havoline. These products are produced by a very accurate and patented process of reducing large mineral oil molecules down to uniform and properly sized molecules of motor oil. "True" synthetics by definition are produced by taking small molecules and attaching them together into uniform and properly sized molecules of motor oil.
Note that the end result in each process is essentially the same.
Here are my questions....should a guy still stick to 3000 or go with the book every 5000 miles and what brand of oil is the Toyota brand? I have always used Castrol 5w30 on my other Toyota's.
this morning when i went to Walmart to get it checked, the service tech said he wouldn't be responsible if the oil pump went out to take it to a mechanic for them to check it out since Walmart only do oil changes and not repairs if something is wrong.
i did have some oil splatters about 2 months ago and used Stop Leak liquid, there was a strong oil smell through the car for almost a month. i was told about that time i needed the gaskets to be replaced which would be about $400.00 since they would have to take the whole engine down, replace oil, etc, etc.
i need some suggestions so when i go to the mechanic i have an idea and average price to pay.
thanks
First, letting the oil drop 3 quarts is really asking for trouble. So I would suggest that you upgrade your under-hood time, so that you are checking the dipstick far more often than you do now. In other words, a constructive habit-change. Hopefully, you haven't already got a damaged engine. Well, lots of noise and smoke and low oil pressure would be an indicator.
Secondly, the use of stop leak for oil leaks is another bad idea, and probably made the problem even worse. Well, now you know. Don't do that again, okay?
Third of all, I doubt that anyone could "drop your engine" for $400, nor should they have to. What a good shop can do is add a tracing element to your oil and then run your engine and shine a "black light" on it to see where the oil is leaking. In that way, they can determine where the oil is coming from and how much it would cost to repair.
Oil leaks are often tough to find, since the oil sprays all over the place as you drive. You might go to someone who knows cougars and their (bad) habits regarding oil leaks. Some cars leak specifically from certain known areas.
So to summarize:
1. check your oil a lot and NEVER let it run down.
2. Never use stop leak for oil leaks
3. Go to a shop that has the tools for oil leak detection, and get a detailed estimate. No guessing allowed!
Good luck with this.
It kinda sounds like a bit of neglect here. If a car is THREE QUARTS low, it's in trouble.
You can actually drain out all your oil and idle the engine for a while. I have seen engines purposely destroyed in wrecking yards by draining the oil and then laying a brick on the gas pedal. You'd be amazed how long they will run like that.
They're tougher than you think---which is why you really have to be hell bent on destruction to blow one up these days.
The Gunk , NAPA and other 2 dollar a quart flushes work as well as any of them .
Steve, (not the) Host
(regular oil, 7,500 interval)
I even remember the spark plug cleaning machines!
The engines are not hard on oil. Low revs, standard working temperature, no turbo. Most probably, the same with new 3.5l. However, I am using synthetic with my 98 Malibu (3.1l engine) for several years. With synthetic I am changing oil every 6 months; with natural oil would do it every 3 months. Had no problem with the oil; probably would not have with natural oil too.
The thought of hot oil burning my hand, arms, and whatever else doesn't fancy me too much. I've been under the car when it was hot before, and the oil reservoir tank or whatever you call it was really hot; I didn't dare change out the oil.
Are there any problems with changing the oil when it is cool? And how hot is the oil when the engine is warmed up, if you could be able to compare it with something? I've never been able to change the oil without getting some on me: the oil seems to shoot out right when I get the oil drain plug off, and it leaks out real fast when I take off the oil filter, so I don't see a way around not getting some oil on me.
Personally, I usually take a short ride to the get the coolant up to normal temp, and then do the oil change. The oil itself is warm to very warm, but not hot. It definitely flows out quickly. The drain plug is very warm to the touch, but not so hot that I can't hold it. I gently unscrew the drain plug from the sump. As it's nearing the final threads, I sort of twist it and pull it upward simultaneously. At most, I get a little oil on my hand - nothing serious.
Frankly, I think you might be a candidate for one of the oil plug drains like the type made by either Fumoto ( http://www.fumotovalve.com/ ) or Fram ( http://www.fram.com/ - then click on Sure Drain). Or possibly one of the vacuum extractors that work from the top. Failing that, Jiffy Lube...
Anyway, when I was talking about hot, I thought the oil would be hot enough to burn you where you'd have to go to the hospital or something, you know like you always see on TV about burn victims and they're always talking about 1st, 2nd, and 3rd degree burns or whatnot.
1 degree - red skin.
2 degree - blisters.
3 degree - deep necrosis of the skin.
4 degree - carbonization.
Equally important is how big is the burn (as percent of the whole body area). Smaller burns (10% and less) of the 1 and 2 degree do not require hospitalization.
Does hot oil fall under any of those burn categories? Or would it be like really, really hot water, where it burns when you first run your hand under it, but after a while you get used to it?
http://www.valvoline.com/qrz591dpoyu/step1.asp?rc=30C4A61BDD&- ec=F1A23D183D&ebay=true&coaid=213A19CE13EE