MOTOR OIL ?

[Oasisbob]

After learning a certain oil change facility does not always change the oil filter when doing an oil change I went back to doing it myself. Things have changed on the motor oil shelf. So many choices. Synthetic, petrolium, blended. My question is if I go synthetic and need to add oil later can I mix petrolium with synthetic? What is blended? Is "high mileage" oil any different? Howq? Thanks for any info you may share

[rhagfo]

RAS43 wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:

If you want an even better filter for your RAM look into the AMZ/OIL - Donaldson Blue. Same filter Made in USA. The FleetGuard Stratapore unfortunately is now made in Mexico.

I would never change from the Fleetgard Stratapore fliter just because it was made in Mexico. It is too good a filter IMO. Great fleet experience.

I am not going to stop using Fleetguard filters because they are made Mexico. Heck the OEM shocks that I replaced at 255,000 on our 2001 Ram 2500 were made in Brazil and they were still working pretty good.

[philh]

valhalla360 wrote:


This is a story of not changing your oil...there is no mention of oil change places fraudulently charging you for a fake oil change.

But it is likely what happened in the other poster's story. Of course, when sludge oozed out, she didn't admit to going 50,000miles without an oil change, so she claimed she got them every 3,000miles in the hope of getting it fixed under warranty.

She produced oil change receipts for the dealership. They advised her to contact an attorney.

[Edd505]

jfkmk wrote:

I never said the $8/hr. junior mechanic assigned to oil changes is incapable of changing oil - it IS very easy - I said they don’t have the same interest in making sure it is done right that I do.

Reached oil change time and bought3 gallons of T6, took it in to have it changed. Came back when called & went outside to find 2 gallons on the floor???? New guy added the one gallon on a Ford 6.0 and never checked level. Had the shop manager come out and all he had to say was it was a new guy and likely is first diesel.

[cummins2014]

RAS43 wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:

If you want an even better filter for your RAM look into the AMZ/OIL - Donaldson Blue. Same filter Made in USA. The FleetGuard Stratapore unfortunately is now made in Mexico.

I would never change from the Fleetgard Stratapore fliter just because it was made in Mexico. It is too good a filter IMO. Great fleet experience.

I have no problem with it made in Mexico . I would hope it’s made to the same specs.

[JRscooby]

fj12ryder wrote:
"I’m confused by the second part....someone recommended changing wiper blades, you refused, the blades fell apart and you blamed the service manager?"

He said it was raining when he came in, and obviously the wipers were working, when he used them later, after being assured he needed new wipers, the wipers fell apart. Seems very coincidental to me. I'd think that the guy messed with them too, and I would probably have reacted the same.

The blade did not fall apart, it fell off the arm. There was no reason to take the blade off. Old or new, the blade should of been put on right so it would stay. I did not only "blame the service manager" but he is the person I talked to. I informed him that because I had to redo work his guy did, (and stand out in the rain to do it) in his attempt at up-sell I would no longer use the dealer.

[fj12ryder]

"I’m confused by the second part....someone recommended changing wiper blades, you refused, the blades fell apart and you blamed the service manager?"

He said it was raining when he came in, and obviously the wipers were working, when he used them later, after being assured he needed new wipers, the wipers fell apart. Seems very coincidental to me. I'd think that the guy messed with them too, and I would probably have reacted the same.

[jfkmk]

JRscooby wrote:

jfkmk wrote:

JRscooby wrote:
Change oil on millions of vehicles, likely to have thousands of mistakes. Change oil on 1 vehicle a month or less, easy to do it right, and the mistakes made will be fixed, not reported.

The other differenced is thed kid at the jiffy lube place, who was flipping burgers last week and whose main goal is to up sell whatever he or she can, has no skin in the game when it comes to your vehicle. When i work on my (or a friend's vehicle) I make sure I do everything correctly.

Most people that change their own oil brag about how simple the process is, but you don't think the guy that is paid knows enough to do it right? As to the "upsell" The last time I took my pickup in to the dealer, I pulled in while it was raining. Setting in waiting room, guy carries in wiper blades to tell me how bad I need new ones. I explained if I needed blades I would of seen it. 3 days later, get in dark and rain, turn on wipers, 2 swipes, blade falls off. Yes, the service manager heard about why they would never see my truck for anything I would have to pay for.

I never said the $8/hr. junior mechanic assigned to oil changes is incapable of changing oil - it IS very easy - I said they don’t have the same interest in making sure it is done right that I do.

I’m confused by the second part....someone recommended changing wiper blades, you refused, the blades fell apart and you blamed the service manager?

[RAS43]

Cummins12V98 wrote:

If you want an even better filter for your RAM look into the AMZ/OIL - Donaldson Blue. Same filter Made in USA. The FleetGuard Stratapore unfortunately is now made in Mexico.

I would never change from the Fleetgard Stratapore fliter just because it was made in Mexico. It is too good a filter IMO. Great fleet experience.

[Grit_dog]

Can't say I've experienced so many of these anomalies or concerns with oil changes. Which is weird, they must actually be anomalies and not really concerns, because I've changed a schittload of oil.
It's just something I do.
Drain oil (sometimes 2 min, sometimes 20), change filter.
Reinstall filter and drain plug (not necessarily in that order).
Dump the required amount of new oil down er throat and....done.

I don't look for excuses to change it 4x more than needed, no reasons to try to get every last mile out of it (most of the time, sometimes chit happens).
Don't obsess over brand of oil, but do believe in using quality filters.
I did lose the oil out of my snobike once and cold seized the piston even though the engine was nice n hot. That taught me to make sure I tighten ALL the drain plugs, lol.

Maybe oil and oil changes lost their luster early on since I did like 10 of them twice a week and more sometimes.

[rhagfo]

Cummins12V98 wrote:
"they could not change my oil because the drain plug took a special tool and I would have to go to the dealer to get my oil changed...."

PLEASE do tell what this "SPECIAL" tool is????????

Well my special tool is a short 3/8” socket extension. It fit bit the 2001 5.9 and the 2016 6.7. LOL!

[JRscooby]

harmanrk wrote:

JRscooby wrote:
Not to say anything about the oil, but a 5 gallon bucket of oil? I change mine every 3 months and it takes 5 qts. That means from the time I open the jug until I put the last in the engine is 9 months. And another 3 months I'm expecting it to protect my engine. (For a while I would buy a 55 gal drum, leave drum in pickup, put a MT in with it. Could back up to a truck, pump new oil in the engine. Dump drain pans into the MT, and never need to move a full barrel.)

I five gallon bucket of oil is not at all out of the question. Modern Diesels in the larger pickups are 13 quarts (+/-). That's over 3 gallons per change. Also keeps in mind there are markets for oil in tractors and heavy trucks where 5 gallons is not a complete change.

Grit dog wrote:
So what’s the point Scooby? You buy 55gal drums of oil for your (old) gasser every 3 months because you either put on a lot of miles or have OOCCD , obsessive oil change compulsive disorder. (Likely since you through in the snippet about temperature matching the plug to the pan, lol)
But somehow this downplays someone who’s attempting to help by posting a good deal on oil in bulk?
Just cause you’re used to semis, hardly no one else buys drums of oil for personal use.
So why the negativity?

I posted that when I was using a lot of oil each change, I would buy it in a big drum. And maybe if I had a little 13 QT diesel I would think about a 5 gallon bucket. But more likely I would by a case of 6 one gallon jugs. Getting a low price on good oil is not a bargain if there is a chance the oil will be contaminated before it is used. Is it negative to point out this might be a issue? After all some people like to drop the oil out of a engine that has been unused all winter before they take a trip...
As for " Likely since you through in the snippet about temperature matching the plug to the pan, lol)" let's look at

harmanrk wrote:
As for oil place horror stories, mine is pretty straightforward. Lived in an apartment for a while and could not change my own so had to use a quick lube. Bought a house, and on the first time changing the oil in my garage, had a the threads from the Aluminum pan attached to the steel plug. I'm not saying the tech (pimple faced highschooler) in the pit CAN'T do it right, just as other have said, at 8 buck an hour, they don't care about my car, as much as I do.

I have also had issues with threads in pan, cracks around the drain hole, used cheater pipe or mpact because my wrench was not long enough, after I had others change oil for me, or did not take that extra few minutes. Sure steel will seize to aluminum, and you can heat the aluminum around the plug to help it release, but I think that the colder plug tightened into the pan makes it worse. I never have had a issue when I put the plug in finger tight, put new oil in the engine, then tightened the plug.

[Cummins12V98]

wilber1 wrote:
OEM spec oil and OEM spec filters according to manufacturers schedule. No one has ever given me a good reason to do anything different.

Some European cars have oil specs of their own and you use something different at your own risk.

I had a 2004 VW TDI and its pump duse engine had an oil spec that was different from other VW's. There was a big placard under the hood saying using anything else would invalidate the warranty. This particular engine used the camshaft to increase injection pressures and a specific additive was used to protect it from increased wear.

I gave you two better than OE filters for your RAM above. You going to change now?

[wilber1]

OEM spec oil and OEM spec filters according to manufacturers schedule. No one has ever given me a good reason to do anything different.

Some European cars have oil specs of their own and you use something different at your own risk.

I had a 2004 VW TDI and its pump duse engine had an oil spec that was different from other VW's. There was a big placard under the hood saying using anything else would invalidate the warranty. This particular engine used the camshaft to increase injection pressures and a specific additive was used to protect it from increased wear.

[BenK]

yup, getting harder and harder to find clothes made in the USA anymore...the world has shrunk and an okay thing for me. Bet Costco Dog's on that...take your shirt off and tell me where it is made...fun jawing that and okay to lose that $2 buck bet...

Have found that current 'better' engine oil filters are all in the >25 micron spec.

The Biggest difference is in their by-pass (leak down) and filtration material (holding capacity and loading). No real info I'd trust found so far...pure marketing stuff, but since they talk about that, it is most likely the differential between them

Getting down to nits like the engine oil itself. Past days when there was a huge difference are gone.

Personal choice between the top tier offerings. Still like NAPA Gold and added AAA club card discount. Plus there are many and open on Sundays where dealers are NOT

[cummins2014]

Cummins12V98 wrote:

blofgren wrote:

BenK wrote:
Time to research engine oil filters again.

Wonder what the best/better filters spec is for particulate size they filter down to

IIRC, WIX (Napa Gold) and PureOne were good to >25 microns. Anyone have that data?

We were using WIX at work and had 2 of them leak; 1 very badly that almost took out the engine on the truck. We went back to Motorcraft and haven't had an issue since. I only use OEM on my vehicles (Fleetguard on the Ram, AC Delco on the Yukon, and Honda on the MDX.) I think the peace of mind is worth it for the little bit extra.

If you want an even better filter for your RAM look into the AMZ/OIL - Donaldson Blue. Same filter Made in USA. The FleetGuard Stratapore unfortunately is now made in Mexico.

What!!!!, same place as your truck, the horrors :R