On 2/3/2016 6:06 PM, wrote:


Oil is the lifeblood of the engine. It lubricates, cools, and cleans
the moving surfaces of the engine, preventing, or at least greatly
reducing both wear and corrosion.
Anyone who has worked extensively on engines can tell you what a
neglected engine looks like, and can tell the neglected from the well
maintained with his eyes closed.

A case I saw when I was wrenching was the boss called me over and wanted to
show me something. A Mustang with half a block missing. She got 22k out of
it without changing oil... Change oil? wuz dat?
Or all the Chryslers, Toyotas, VWs etc with the "coking" problem a
few years back. Not a single one was a vehicle that followed the
"extreme conditions" oil schedule with synthetic oil.
Not a SINGLE ONE.


I never changed oil in my '53 Mercury flathead V-8. Just added a quart
every few hundred miles.

Eagle wrote:
badgolferman formulated the question :
I have owned Toyotas for the past 30 years and been very happy with
them. I buy my cars used, typically 4-5 years old and keep them for
4-5 years or when they get near 200,000 miles. In each case I change
my own oil because it's cheaper, I can use the oil and filter I want,
and I don't trust the garages.

Last spring I bought a used 2013 Lexus RX350 with 16,000 miles. The
Lexus dealer had put synthetic Mobil 1 oil in it upon delivery and also
at the first free oil change 10,000 miles later. This past weekend I
was due for another oil change at 35,000 miles and did it myself this
time. I decided to go with Pennzoil Platinum Pure Plus 0W-20 after
researching synthetic oils. The Toyota oil filter came from Lexus and
the oil from Walmart. Total cost was under $47 for the filter and
seven quarts of oil.

Maybe it's my imagination or the effect of new oil, but I must say the
engine sounds quieter and my average gas mileage has climbed by a mile
a gallon.

Other than extended oil change intervals has anyone noticed a
difference when switching from conventional to synthetic motor oils?
Have you noticed a difference between different brands of oils?

I switched to Royal Purple synthetic in My 1998 Ford Taurus and noticed
a smoother running engine. It doesn't make sense, but that's the facts.
At oil change time, My 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee will get the Royal
treatment as well.

We use Motul or Redline.

On Wed, 3 Feb 2016 19:57:23 -0500, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

I never changed oil in my '53 Mercury flathead V-8. Just added a quart
every few hundred miles.

I had a 67 Chevelle like that. "Fill up the oil and check the gas"

On Wed, 03 Feb 2016 18:37:11 -0500, wrote:

After a few tries with mouse milk he paid a guy to pull the lifters
out and clean them. OK after that.

Mouse Milk ? WTF is that?

By the way, what is synthetic oil made from?

On Wed, 03 Feb 2016 21:05:21 -0600, wrote:

Mouse Milk ? WTF is that?

General term for any of those "miracle in a can" things they sell
people

On Wed, 03 Feb 2016 18:40:39 -0500, wrote:

On Wed, 03 Feb 2016 18:06:49 -0500, wrote:

Or all the Chryslers, Toyotas, VWs etc with the "coking" problem a
few years back. Not a single one was a vehicle that followed the
"extreme conditions" oil schedule with synthetic oil.
Not a SINGLE ONE.

"Coking"? Is that the car or the driver?

No I never heard about it.
The oil litterally turned to coal or diamonds in the oil
galleries,killong the engines. Was a serious issue on Chrysler 2.7,
Audi /VW 1.8T, Toyota 3.0, Saab turbos, and a few others.

If caught on time it was just slurge, which could be remedied. Once it
turned to coke, there was nothing you could do except change trhe
engine. Sometimes hot tanking the block would allow a rebuild, if it
had not grenaded or spun a bearing.

On Wed, 3 Feb 2016 19:57:23 -0500, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

On 2/3/2016 6:06 PM, wrote:


Oil is the lifeblood of the engine. It lubricates, cools, and cleans
the moving surfaces of the engine, preventing, or at least greatly
reducing both wear and corrosion.
Anyone who has worked extensively on engines can tell you what a
neglected engine looks like, and can tell the neglected from the well
maintained with his eyes closed.

A case I saw when I was wrenching was the boss called me over and wanted to
show me something. A Mustang with half a block missing. She got 22k out of
it without changing oil... Change oil? wuz dat?
Or all the Chryslers, Toyotas, VWs etc with the "coking" problem a
few years back. Not a single one was a vehicle that followed the
"extreme conditions" oil schedule with synthetic oil.
Not a SINGLE ONE.


I never changed oil in my '53 Mercury flathead V-8. Just added a quart
every few hundred miles.
Drive a trabant or Gogomobile, DKW or old Saab Sonet and you never
need to change oil OR top it up!!

On Wed, 03 Feb 2016 20:17:38 -0500, wrote:

On Wed, 3 Feb 2016 19:57:23 -0500, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

I never changed oil in my '53 Mercury flathead V-8. Just added a quart
every few hundred miles.

I had a 67 Chevelle like that. "Fill up the oil and check the gas"
My first car - 1961 Morris Mini 850 -got 50mpg of gas and 25 miles
per quart of #50 with 2 or 3 cans of STP in it before I rebuilt it.
When I took the exhaust off and stood it in the corner of the shop
thick tarry oil oozed out the tailpipe.

On Wed, 03 Feb 2016 21:05:21 -0600, wrote:

On Wed, 03 Feb 2016 18:37:11 -0500, wrote:

After a few tries with mouse milk he paid a guy to pull the lifters
out and clean them. OK after that.

Mouse Milk ? WTF is that?

By the way, what is synthetic oil made from?
Most is made from dinosaur squeazings - some from dini-farts (natural
gas) and some from vegetable oil

On Wed, 03 Feb 2016 23:39:52 -0500, wrote:

On Wed, 03 Feb 2016 20:17:38 -0500, wrote:

On Wed, 3 Feb 2016 19:57:23 -0500, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

I never changed oil in my '53 Mercury flathead V-8. Just added a quart
every few hundred miles.

I had a 67 Chevelle like that. "Fill up the oil and check the gas"
My first car - 1961 Morris Mini 850 -got 50mpg of gas and 25 miles
per quart of #50 with 2 or 3 cans of STP in it before I rebuilt it.
When I took the exhaust off and stood it in the corner of the shop
thick tarry oil oozed out the tailpipe.

I had a LeBaron that was eating a quart of oil per tank of gas at
around 150k. It wasn't dripping and it wasn't smoking. I was not sure
where it was going.

On 2/3/16 8:17 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 3 Feb 2016 19:57:23 -0500, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

I never changed oil in my '53 Mercury flathead V-8. Just added a quart
every few hundred miles.

I had a 67 Chevelle like that. "Fill up the oil and check the gas"


+1 on my trusty '66 Beetle.

When I eventually sold it (back in the 70's), one of the clerks in the
company where I worked wanted to buy it. I warned her about the oil
burning and gave her a really righteous near-give away price on it. I
cautioned her emphatically and repeatedly to check the oil at every gas
up- telling her what would happen if she didn't.

A month or so after she bought it, she marched into my office and
demanded her money back because the engine had seized up. When I asked
her about checking the oil, predictably she admitted she hadn't- saying
she didn't think she really needed to despite my warnings.

I told her I was sorry but since she hadn't taken care of the vehicle
and done what I literally told her to do a half dozen times- including
even writing it on the bill of sale, the problem was hers, not mine.

Not surprisingly, opinion around the water cooler ran against me- slick
talking white boy taking unfair advantage and ripping off a "sistuh."

--
Life is tough.....it's even tougher if you're stupid.
- John Wayne

Wade Garrett wrote:
On 2/3/16 8:17 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 3 Feb 2016 19:57:23 -0500, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

I never changed oil in my '53 Mercury flathead V-8. Just added a quart
every few hundred miles.

I had a 67 Chevelle like that. "Fill up the oil and check the gas"


+1 on my trusty '66 Beetle.

When I eventually sold it (back in the 70's), one of the clerks in the
company where I worked wanted to buy it. I warned her about the oil
burning and gave her a really righteous near-give away price on it. I
cautioned her emphatically and repeatedly to check the oil at every gas
up- telling her what would happen if she didn't.

A month or so after she bought it, she marched into my office and
demanded her money back because the engine had seized up. When I asked
her about checking the oil, predictably she admitted she hadn't- saying
she didn't think she really needed to despite my warnings.

I told her I was sorry but since she hadn't taken care of the vehicle
and done what I literally told her to do a half dozen times- including
even writing it on the bill of sale, the problem was hers, not mine.

Not surprisingly, opinion around the water cooler ran against me- slick
talking white boy taking unfair advantage and ripping off a "sistuh."

You broke a rule. Never sell anything to friends/relatives. Don't even
give something free.

On Thursday, February 4, 2016 at 8:10:01 AM UTC-8, Tony Hwang wrote:

You broke a rule. Never sell anything to friends/relatives. Don't even
give something free.

Over the last 20 years I've fixed up or sold outright 3-4 cars and a Chevy G-20 van, usually with newly rebuilt motors or valve jobs.
Quickly found that I also "sold" lifetime free labor for any repairs needed as long as they owned the cars.
FYI: I no longer accept "free cars" that just need a "little work"

my 2014 toyota avalon requires Synthetic oil [in the manual]

i'm surprised your Lexus doesn't require it...?

my last car, a 2003 avalon, didn't require it,
and i tried it, but i wasn't driving much,
so decided it wasn't worth the extra cost...

marc

wrote:

my 2014 toyota avalon requires Synthetic oil [in the manual]

i'm surprised your Lexus doesn't require it...?

It doesn't require it, but it's always had it.

My 2013 Lexus RX350 also doesn't require premium unleaded. Might have
been the first year back to regular from premium.

Shade Tree Guy wrote:
On Thursday, February 4, 2016 at 8:10:01 AM UTC-8, Tony Hwang wrote:

You broke a rule. Never sell anything to friends/relatives. Don't even
give something free.

Over the last 20 years I've fixed up or sold outright 3-4 cars and a Chevy G-20 van, usually with newly rebuilt motors or valve jobs.
Quickly found that I also "sold" lifetime free labor for any repairs needed as long as they owned the cars.
FYI: I no longer accept "free cars" that just need a "little work"

LOL! IMO, shade tree grease monkey days are over now.
Today's cars are more electronics than mechanics.

badgolferman wrote:
wrote:

my 2014 toyota avalon requires Synthetic oil [in the manual]

i'm surprised your Lexus doesn't require it...?

It doesn't require it, but it's always had it.

My 2013 Lexus RX350 also doesn't require premium unleaded. Might have
been the first year back to regular from premium.

That is why Toyota 3.5L has lesser numbers in engine tech specs. They
use that engine every where in their product line. I just take the car
to dealer service whenever MID pops service reminder. Only thing I do is
seasonal tire/wheel switch. Even this chore is getting harder dealing
with 19" wheels. I use tire dolly now for the job.

On Thu, 4 Feb 2016 09:09:44 -0700, Tony Hwang
wrote:

Never sell anything to friends/relatives. Don't even
give something free.

Words to live by.

On Thu, 4 Feb 2016 10:40:49 -0700, Tony Hwang
wrote:

Shade Tree Guy wrote:
On Thursday, February 4, 2016 at 8:10:01 AM UTC-8, Tony Hwang wrote:

You broke a rule. Never sell anything to friends/relatives. Don't even
give something free.

Over the last 20 years I've fixed up or sold outright 3-4 cars and a Chevy G-20 van, usually with newly rebuilt motors or valve jobs.
Quickly found that I also "sold" lifetime free labor for any repairs needed as long as they owned the cars.
FYI: I no longer accept "free cars" that just need a "little work"

LOL! IMO, shade tree grease monkey days are over now.
Today's cars are more electronics than mechanics.

That is over sold. The fact is the only thing that changed is the
shade tree mechanic needs a code reader or he has to go up to the auto
parts store for a free readout.
That actually made working on cars easier, not harder because 99% of
the time, the computer will nail the bad part if it is computer
related.
The rest of the wrenching did not change much. The reality is, a lot
of it like the good old "tune up" just went away. Plugs last pretty
much the life of the car for most people and there are no points to
burn. Timing is fixed and there is no carb to adjust.
If they just put a little access door to check/add oil and water, you
could bolt the hood shut.

On 2/3/2016 8:17 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 3 Feb 2016 19:57:23 -0500, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

I never changed oil in my '53 Mercury flathead V-8. Just added a quart
every few hundred miles.

I had a 67 Chevelle like that. "Fill up the oil and check the gas"


My '66 Chevelle got 16 mpg and that was on turnpike driving.

My first, a 10 year old '49 Chevy used a quart of both antifreeze and
oil every week. We did not measure mileage then.

On 2/4/2016 12:50 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 4 Feb 2016 09:09:44 -0700, Tony Hwang
wrote:

Never sell anything to friends/relatives. Don't even
give something free.

Words to live by.

Usually not a good idea to let them borrow things too.

Tony Hwang wrote:

Only thing
I do is seasonal tire/wheel switch. Even this chore is getting harder
dealing with 19" wheels. I use tire dolly now for the job.

When I bought the car I told them I didn't want the 19" wheels that
came with it. I knew they cost more, have less options, and would ride
rougher since they have less air in them. They switched the
wheels/tires with an 18" set on another unsold RX350. So far I've
rotated them twice myself. The dealer wanted a lot to do it.

On Thu, 4 Feb 2016 13:46:25 -0500, Frank "frank wrote:

I had a 67 Chevelle like that. "Fill up the oil and check the gas"


My '66 Chevelle got 16 mpg and that was on turnpike driving.


My 67 was more like 8-10 on the beltway but I was turning about 4400
RPM
It would do the first quarter mile in about 14.5 seconds tho.

(327 325hp with a Muncie M22 and 456 rear)
It was actually the 350HP Corvette motor with the Holley dual feed,
factory high rise manifold and low restriction exhaust.

This was an out of the box drag racer that was competitive in the
street stock small block class, cleverly disguised in a convertible
body with wood trim and no outward indication that it was bad. Except
for the loping idle and the 2.25" exhaust pipes.

On Wednesday, February 3, 2016 at 10:06:30 PM UTC-5, wrote:


By the way, what is synthetic oil made from?

Crude oil, exactly the same stuff regular oil is made from. The process is slightly different though and the mix of "anes" is much smaller.

On 2/4/16 11:09 AM, Tony Hwang wrote:
Wade Garrett wrote:
On 2/3/16 8:17 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 3 Feb 2016 19:57:23 -0500, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

I never changed oil in my '53 Mercury flathead V-8. Just added a quart
every few hundred miles.

I had a 67 Chevelle like that. "Fill up the oil and check the gas"


+1 on my trusty '66 Beetle.

When I eventually sold it (back in the 70's), one of the clerks in the
company where I worked wanted to buy it. I warned her about the oil
burning and gave her a really righteous near-give away price on it. I
cautioned her emphatically and repeatedly to check the oil at every gas
up- telling her what would happen if she didn't.

A month or so after she bought it, she marched into my office and
demanded her money back because the engine had seized up. When I asked
her about checking the oil, predictably she admitted she hadn't- saying
she didn't think she really needed to despite my warnings.

I told her I was sorry but since she hadn't taken care of the vehicle
and done what I literally told her to do a half dozen times- including
even writing it on the bill of sale, the problem was hers, not mine.

Not surprisingly, opinion around the water cooler ran against me- slick
talking white boy taking unfair advantage and ripping off a "sistuh."

You broke a rule. Never sell anything to friends/relatives. Don't even
give something free.

Yup, and that was the last time I ever did that!

--
It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If
you think about that, you’ll do things differently.
-Warren Buffett

On Wed, 03 Feb 2016 23:30:51 -0500, wrote:

On Wed, 03 Feb 2016 21:05:21 -0600, wrote:

Mouse Milk ? WTF is that?

General term for any of those "miracle in a can" things they sell
people
Actually there IS a product sold with the brand "mouse milk" - it is
a very fine penetrant that seems to be known only to aircraft
mechanics. I don't know the manudacturer offhand but I'll try to look
it up.
It is available from Aircraft Spruce.
Also see www.mousemilk.com
You can buy it from Anazon
http://www.amazon.com/Mouse-Milk-8-o.../dp/B0049C7170

It appears to be an unusual penetrating oil that is not effected by
heat. "Mouse Milk Oil is Recommended by AiResearch, Continental,
Lycoming, Beechcraft, and Cessna for use in freeing turbine waste gate
shafts."
From their advertising::
"Mouse Milk Penetrating Oil. Muscle in a hustle... for speedy help in
the removal of rusted and frozen studs. MOUSE MILK frees up cables,
slides, linkages and bolts. MOUSE MILK is unequalled wherever a
lubricant or penetrant is required.
MOUSE MILK will dissolve rust, relieve friction and resist oxidation.
MOUSE MILK has amazing creeping ability. Frozen nuts and bolts can be
easily loosened and removed after allowing MOUSE MILK to creep down
the threads and break up the rust and corrosion"



It's a bit over a buck an ounce in US funds - so definitely not cheap.

On Thu, 04 Feb 2016 00:13:35 -0500, wrote:

On Wed, 03 Feb 2016 23:39:52 -0500, wrote:

On Wed, 03 Feb 2016 20:17:38 -0500, wrote:

On Wed, 3 Feb 2016 19:57:23 -0500, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

I never changed oil in my '53 Mercury flathead V-8. Just added a quart
every few hundred miles.

I had a 67 Chevelle like that. "Fill up the oil and check the gas"
My first car - 1961 Morris Mini 850 -got 50mpg of gas and 25 miles
per quart of #50 with 2 or 3 cans of STP in it before I rebuilt it.
When I took the exhaust off and stood it in the corner of the shop
thick tarry oil oozed out the tailpipe.

I had a LeBaron that was eating a quart of oil per tank of gas at
around 150k. It wasn't dripping and it wasn't smoking. I was not sure
where it was going.
Had the same problem with my 1988 New Yorker (3.0 Mitsu-****ty). When
the catalytic converter started rattling and the car didn't pass
emissions I found out where the oil was going. When I dropped the cat
you could hardly see the car for smoke. (wallered out valve guides was
the cause)

On 02/04/2016 2:25 PM, TimR wrote:
On Wednesday, February 3, 2016 at 10:06:30 PM UTC-5, wrote:


By the way, what is synthetic oil made from?

Crude oil, exactly the same stuff regular oil is made from. The
process is slightly different though and the mix of "anes" is much
smaller.


AFAIK all the current commercial motor oils are processed crude as noted
but I'd say it's more than a "just slightly" different process.

There are fully-synthetic oils purposes but they're far more expensive
yet...

--

wrote in message
...
.
The rest of the wrenching did not change much. The reality is, a lot
of it like the good old "tune up" just went away. Plugs last pretty
much the life of the car for most people and there are no points to
burn. Timing is fixed and there is no carb to adjust.
If they just put a little access door to check/add oil and water, you
could bolt the hood shut.

That is about right for most cars up to atleast 100,000 miles. Change oil
and check on the water and other fluids. I had a 91 toyota that I changed
oil twice a year and the factory said change the timming belt every so many
miles. I did have the water pump changed at the same time as it is under
all the covering and driven by the timming belt. Breaks, tires and a sensor
was all that I did to it in 200,000 miles. I did replace the plugs, coil
and wires while trying to find out what was causing the problem at 120,000
miles.

On Thu, 04 Feb 2016 16:18:08 -0500, wrote:

On Thu, 04 Feb 2016 00:13:35 -0500, wrote:

I had a LeBaron that was eating a quart of oil per tank of gas at
around 150k. It wasn't dripping and it wasn't smoking. I was not sure
where it was going.
Had the same problem with my 1988 New Yorker (3.0 Mitsu-****ty). When
the catalytic converter started rattling and the car didn't pass
emissions I found out where the oil was going. When I dropped the cat
you could hardly see the car for smoke. (wallered out valve guides was
the cause)

Same basic engine I imagine and I suspected the same cause. I traded
it on the Prelude and never looked back.
I did pass up on offers to sell it to a couple neighbors ;-)

On Thu, 4 Feb 2016 16:37:09 -0500, "Ralph Mowery"
wrote:


wrote in message
.. .
.
The rest of the wrenching did not change much. The reality is, a lot
of it like the good old "tune up" just went away. Plugs last pretty
much the life of the car for most people and there are no points to
burn. Timing is fixed and there is no carb to adjust.
If they just put a little access door to check/add oil and water, you
could bolt the hood shut.

That is about right for most cars up to atleast 100,000 miles. Change oil
and check on the water and other fluids. I had a 91 toyota that I changed
oil twice a year and the factory said change the timming belt every so many
miles. I did have the water pump changed at the same time as it is under
all the covering and driven by the timming belt. Breaks, tires and a sensor
was all that I did to it in 200,000 miles. I did replace the plugs, coil
and wires while trying to find out what was causing the problem at 120,000
miles.


Honda bundles a lot of stuff into their $1000 belt job. I am not sure
if I got plugs or not but I never replaced them.

posted for all of us...



On Wed, 3 Feb 2016 16:38:14 -0500, Tekkie® wrote:

posted for all of us...



On Tue, 02 Feb 2016 15:22:29 -0500, wrote:

On Tue, 2 Feb 2016 19:27:22 +0000 (UTC), "badgolferman"
wrote:

I have owned Toyotas for the past 30 years and been very happy with
them. I buy my cars used, typically 4-5 years old and keep them for
4-5 years or when they get near 200,000 miles. In each case I change
my own oil because it's cheaper, I can use the oil and filter I want,
and I don't trust the garages.

Last spring I bought a used 2013 Lexus RX350 with 16,000 miles. The
Lexus dealer had put synthetic Mobil 1 oil in it upon delivery and also
at the first free oil change 10,000 miles later. This past weekend I
was due for another oil change at 35,000 miles and did it myself this
time. I decided to go with Pennzoil Platinum Pure Plus 0W-20 after
researching synthetic oils. The Toyota oil filter came from Lexus and
the oil from Walmart. Total cost was under $47 for the filter and
seven quarts of oil.

Maybe it's my imagination or the effect of new oil, but I must say the
engine sounds quieter and my average gas mileage has climbed by a mile
a gallon.

Other than extended oil change intervals has anyone noticed a
difference when switching from conventional to synthetic motor oils?
Have you noticed a difference between different brands of oils?

I think some people obsess about oil a lot more than is necessary.
Change it every once in a while and use any API rated oil, you will be
fine.
99.99% of cars are junked for thinks other than oil related failure
and most people are not really that diligent about oil, particularly
the 2d and 3d owner of the car.

If you really want to see people who obsess about oil, go to one of
the boating BBs. They act like Yamaha and OMC have their own refinery
somewhere pumping out this $8-10 a quart magical formula oil.
Anyone who believes all oils are the same is very delusional. And
anyone who thinks changing the oil on a reasonable schedule is
wastefull is just fooling themselves.

Oil is the lifeblood of the engine. It lubricates, cools, and cleans
the moving surfaces of the engine, preventing, or at least greatly
reducing both wear and corrosion.
Anyone who has worked extensively on engines can tell you what a
neglected engine looks like, and can tell the neglected from the well
maintained with his eyes closed.

A case I saw when I was wrenching was the boss called me over and wanted to
show me something. A Mustang with half a block missing. She got 22k out of
it without changing oil... Change oil? wuz dat?
Or all the Chryslers, Toyotas, VWs etc with the "coking" problem a
few years back. Not a single one was a vehicle that followed the
"extreme conditions" oil schedule with synthetic oil.
Not a SINGLE ONE.

This was before the coking ; just an example as to cite. It was around 1975
IIRC. IIRC Scramsoil was the only synthetic at that time. My memory foggy....

--
Tekkie

dpb wrote:
On 02/04/2016 2:25 PM, TimR wrote:
On Wednesday, February 3, 2016 at 10:06:30 PM UTC-5, wrote:


By the way, what is synthetic oil made from?

Crude oil, exactly the same stuff regular oil is made from. The
process is slightly different though and the mix of "anes" is much
smaller.


AFAIK all the current commercial motor oils are processed crude as noted
but I'd say it's more than a "just slightly" different process.

There are fully-synthetic oils purposes but they're far more expensive
yet...

--




Pennzoil Pure Platinum Plus is made from natural gas. Most of the other
synthetic oils are made from a blend of conventional and very refined oils.
Castrol was sued by Mobil for false advertisement for their blends but the
judge sided with Castrol.

Wade Garrett posted for all of us...



On 2/3/16 8:17 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 3 Feb 2016 19:57:23 -0500, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

I never changed oil in my '53 Mercury flathead V-8. Just added a quart
every few hundred miles.

I had a 67 Chevelle like that. "Fill up the oil and check the gas"


+1 on my trusty '66 Beetle.

When I eventually sold it (back in the 70's), one of the clerks in the
company where I worked wanted to buy it. I warned her about the oil
burning and gave her a really righteous near-give away price on it. I
cautioned her emphatically and repeatedly to check the oil at every gas
up- telling her what would happen if she didn't.

A month or so after she bought it, she marched into my office and
demanded her money back because the engine had seized up. When I asked
her about checking the oil, predictably she admitted she hadn't- saying
she didn't think she really needed to despite my warnings.

I told her I was sorry but since she hadn't taken care of the vehicle
and done what I literally told her to do a half dozen times- including
even writing it on the bill of sale, the problem was hers, not mine.

Not surprisingly, opinion around the water cooler ran against me- slick
talking white boy taking unfair advantage and ripping off a "sistuh."

That is why I never do business with coworkers, friends or neighbors.
Selective memory.

--
Tekkie

On Thu, 04 Feb 2016 16:51:07 -0500, wrote:

On Thu, 04 Feb 2016 16:18:08 -0500, wrote:

On Thu, 04 Feb 2016 00:13:35 -0500, wrote:

I had a LeBaron that was eating a quart of oil per tank of gas at
around 150k. It wasn't dripping and it wasn't smoking. I was not sure
where it was going.
Had the same problem with my 1988 New Yorker (3.0 Mitsu-****ty). When
the catalytic converter started rattling and the car didn't pass
emissions I found out where the oil was going. When I dropped the cat
you could hardly see the car for smoke. (wallered out valve guides was
the cause)

Same basic engine I imagine and I suspected the same cause. I traded
it on the Prelude and never looked back.
I did pass up on offers to sell it to a couple neighbors ;-)
Mine had the heads replaced by Chrysler under extended warranty at
just under 100,000km because the guides were loose in the head - just
before I bought it. I replaced the heads again at 200,000KM when the
oil killed the cat - and I sold it at about 244,000 for $1700.
Bought it 6 years old for about $6000 - spent under $2000 in repairs
over 12 years and 140000+kms - that car didn't owe me a cent when I
got rid of it and I still got good money for it. (Mark Cross edition -
loaded with everything you could get on it - the original owner left
over $50,000 behind at the dealership)

posted for all of us...



On Wed, 3 Feb 2016 16:38:14 -0500, Tekkie® wrote:

posted for all of us...



On Tue, 02 Feb 2016 15:22:29 -0500, wrote:

On Tue, 2 Feb 2016 19:27:22 +0000 (UTC), "badgolferman"
wrote:

I have owned Toyotas for the past 30 years and been very happy with
them. I buy my cars used, typically 4-5 years old and keep them for
4-5 years or when they get near 200,000 miles. In each case I change
my own oil because it's cheaper, I can use the oil and filter I want,
and I don't trust the garages.

Last spring I bought a used 2013 Lexus RX350 with 16,000 miles. The
Lexus dealer had put synthetic Mobil 1 oil in it upon delivery and also
at the first free oil change 10,000 miles later. This past weekend I
was due for another oil change at 35,000 miles and did it myself this
time. I decided to go with Pennzoil Platinum Pure Plus 0W-20 after
researching synthetic oils. The Toyota oil filter came from Lexus and
the oil from Walmart. Total cost was under $47 for the filter and
seven quarts of oil.

Maybe it's my imagination or the effect of new oil, but I must say the
engine sounds quieter and my average gas mileage has climbed by a mile
a gallon.

Other than extended oil change intervals has anyone noticed a
difference when switching from conventional to synthetic motor oils?
Have you noticed a difference between different brands of oils?

I think some people obsess about oil a lot more than is necessary.
Change it every once in a while and use any API rated oil, you will be
fine.
99.99% of cars are junked for thinks other than oil related failure
and most people are not really that diligent about oil, particularly
the 2d and 3d owner of the car.

If you really want to see people who obsess about oil, go to one of
the boating BBs. They act like Yamaha and OMC have their own refinery
somewhere pumping out this $8-10 a quart magical formula oil.
Anyone who believes all oils are the same is very delusional. And
anyone who thinks changing the oil on a reasonable schedule is
wastefull is just fooling themselves.

Oil is the lifeblood of the engine. It lubricates, cools, and cleans
the moving surfaces of the engine, preventing, or at least greatly
reducing both wear and corrosion.
Anyone who has worked extensively on engines can tell you what a
neglected engine looks like, and can tell the neglected from the well
maintained with his eyes closed.

A case I saw when I was wrenching was the boss called me over and wanted to
show me something. A Mustang with half a block missing. She got 22k out of
it without changing oil... Change oil? wuz dat?

That wasn't all she did wrong. How was the oil light on?

I don't have the history what she did... It could have had the original
break-in oil still there. WE towed it to our bay and I don't know the end
result.



--
Tekkie

wrote:
On Thu, 4 Feb 2016 10:40:49 -0700, Tony Hwang
wrote:

Shade Tree Guy wrote:
On Thursday, February 4, 2016 at 8:10:01 AM UTC-8, Tony Hwang wrote:

You broke a rule. Never sell anything to friends/relatives. Don't even
give something free.

Over the last 20 years I've fixed up or sold outright 3-4 cars and a Chevy G-20 van, usually with newly rebuilt motors or valve jobs.
Quickly found that I also "sold" lifetime free labor for any repairs needed as long as they owned the cars.
FYI: I no longer accept "free cars" that just need a "little work"

LOL! IMO, shade tree grease monkey days are over now.
Today's cars are more electronics than mechanics.

That is over sold. The fact is the only thing that changed is the
shade tree mechanic needs a code reader or he has to go up to the auto
parts store for a free readout.
That actually made working on cars easier, not harder because 99% of
the time, the computer will nail the bad part if it is computer
related.

Not true unless you have a reader/scanner costing like couple Gs.
Cheap code reader can't read all the codes(generic, manufacturer
specific, ABS, SRS). Nail the bad part? Some times yes. Not 99% of time.
You're so simplistic big time. If you short something fooling around
Poof! ECU goes. Then how much for replacement? I have a mid level
updatable reader/scanner. Telling you from own experience. My back is in
electronics. Even taught 12V electronics at local tech college as a
volunteer. I help neighbors when they have CEL on their dash.

The rest of the wrenching did not change much. The reality is, a lot
of it like the good old "tune up" just went away. Plugs last pretty
much the life of the car for most people and there are no points to
burn. Timing is fixed and there is no carb to adjust.

Timing is fixed? wrong. ECU adjusts timing real time back and forth.

If they just put a little access door to check/add oil and water, you
could bolt the hood shut.

Can be done with additional option if driver wants it. Why bother MID
will tell oil status, color yellow or red with message. When you have
red, watch out.

wrote:
On Thu, 4 Feb 2016 16:37:09 -0500, "Ralph Mowery"
wrote:


wrote in message
...
.
The rest of the wrenching did not change much. The reality is, a lot
of it like the good old "tune up" just went away. Plugs last pretty
much the life of the car for most people and there are no points to
burn. Timing is fixed and there is no carb to adjust.
If they just put a little access door to check/add oil and water, you
could bolt the hood shut.

That is about right for most cars up to atleast 100,000 miles. Change oil
and check on the water and other fluids. I had a 91 toyota that I changed
oil twice a year and the factory said change the timming belt every so many
miles. I did have the water pump changed at the same time as it is under
all the covering and driven by the timming belt. Breaks, tires and a sensor
was all that I did to it in 200,000 miles. I did replace the plugs, coil
and wires while trying to find out what was causing the problem at 120,000
miles.


Honda bundles a lot of stuff into their $1000 belt job. I am not sure
if I got plugs or not but I never replaced them.

So you don't notice the difference between new Iridium plugs and worn
out old ones? Ever compared two under high power mag. glass? I replace
them when clock hits 100K Km.

wrote:
On Thu, 4 Feb 2016 16:37:09 -0500, "Ralph Mowery"
wrote:


wrote in message
...
.
The rest of the wrenching did not change much. The reality is, a lot
of it like the good old "tune up" just went away. Plugs last pretty
much the life of the car for most people and there are no points to
burn. Timing is fixed and there is no carb to adjust.
If they just put a little access door to check/add oil and water, you
could bolt the hood shut.

That is about right for most cars up to atleast 100,000 miles. Change oil
and check on the water and other fluids. I had a 91 toyota that I changed
oil twice a year and the factory said change the timming belt every so many
miles. I did have the water pump changed at the same time as it is under
all the covering and driven by the timming belt. Breaks, tires and a sensor
was all that I did to it in 200,000 miles. I did replace the plugs, coil
and wires while trying to find out what was causing the problem at 120,000
miles.


Honda bundles a lot of stuff into their $1000 belt job. I am not sure
if I got plugs or not but I never replaced them.

That is water pump, valve gap adjustment. Tune up is separate service.

On Thu, 4 Feb 2016 17:01:02 -0500, Tekkie® wrote:

posted for all of us...



On Wed, 3 Feb 2016 16:38:14 -0500, Tekkie® wrote:

posted for all of us...



On Tue, 02 Feb 2016 15:22:29 -0500, wrote:

On Tue, 2 Feb 2016 19:27:22 +0000 (UTC), "badgolferman"
wrote:

I have owned Toyotas for the past 30 years and been very happy with
them. I buy my cars used, typically 4-5 years old and keep them for
4-5 years or when they get near 200,000 miles. In each case I change
my own oil because it's cheaper, I can use the oil and filter I want,
and I don't trust the garages.

Last spring I bought a used 2013 Lexus RX350 with 16,000 miles. The
Lexus dealer had put synthetic Mobil 1 oil in it upon delivery and also
at the first free oil change 10,000 miles later. This past weekend I
was due for another oil change at 35,000 miles and did it myself this
time. I decided to go with Pennzoil Platinum Pure Plus 0W-20 after
researching synthetic oils. The Toyota oil filter came from Lexus and
the oil from Walmart. Total cost was under $47 for the filter and
seven quarts of oil.

Maybe it's my imagination or the effect of new oil, but I must say the
engine sounds quieter and my average gas mileage has climbed by a mile
a gallon.

Other than extended oil change intervals has anyone noticed a
difference when switching from conventional to synthetic motor oils?
Have you noticed a difference between different brands of oils?

I think some people obsess about oil a lot more than is necessary.
Change it every once in a while and use any API rated oil, you will be
fine.
99.99% of cars are junked for thinks other than oil related failure
and most people are not really that diligent about oil, particularly
the 2d and 3d owner of the car.

If you really want to see people who obsess about oil, go to one of
the boating BBs. They act like Yamaha and OMC have their own refinery
somewhere pumping out this $8-10 a quart magical formula oil.
Anyone who believes all oils are the same is very delusional. And
anyone who thinks changing the oil on a reasonable schedule is
wastefull is just fooling themselves.

Oil is the lifeblood of the engine. It lubricates, cools, and cleans
the moving surfaces of the engine, preventing, or at least greatly
reducing both wear and corrosion.
Anyone who has worked extensively on engines can tell you what a
neglected engine looks like, and can tell the neglected from the well
maintained with his eyes closed.

A case I saw when I was wrenching was the boss called me over and wanted to
show me something. A Mustang with half a block missing. She got 22k out of
it without changing oil... Change oil? wuz dat?
Or all the Chryslers, Toyotas, VWs etc with the "coking" problem a
few years back. Not a single one was a vehicle that followed the
"extreme conditions" oil schedule with synthetic oil.
Not a SINGLE ONE.

This was before the coking ; just an example as to cite. It was around 1975
IIRC. IIRC Scramsoil was the only synthetic at that time. My memory foggy...
My brother bought a 1965 Valliant back around 1970 or 1971.. 4 door
sedan, automatic trans, 225 slant six - a real "ceam puff" with low
mileage - somewhere around 65000 miles as I recall, but the valves
were just a bit noisy so he decided I should adjust the valves for
him. When we got the valve cover bolts removed it took a rubber mallet
to get the rocker cover off, and you could hardly find the rockers and
valve springs for all the crud in there. It looked like the only oil
change it had ever had was the one done just before my brother bought
it. We scraped out as much crud as we could, then washed it down with
kerosene and I adjusted the valves. We changed the oil before he left,
but in hindsight we should likely have run it for about 20 minutes and
changed it again (and mabee even run it with kerosene in the crankcase
for a short while). He didn't make the 10 mles home before the oil
light came on and the engine made a very large rattle. When I pulled
the motor out the next week, the oil pickup screen was totally plugged
with crud that had washed down from the rocker area.. Not too much
was salvageable.

Found out ONE thing that could kill a slant six - - -.