Recent content by khittner1

Change it. Depending on the conditions where the cycle sat, there’s 5 years worth of condensation moisture in your cases, and in the oil, along with the combustion byproducts from those miles 5 years ago, or whenever you put those miles on. If you did three 450 mile days, or 700 2-mile trips...

Shelf life of oil? It’s oil. From dead dinosaurs. Plus some additive chemicals that are suspended/encased . . . in oil. Shake before pouring, if doing so provides greater confidence. It should be OK in a Harley for the next few million years.

The E-P Duracells are all that I've put into my cars for the past 10+ years. Never had a failure, but I get nervous about them after 6 or 7 years, and just replace them then. I haven't had to use my jump packs on any of my own car batteries---the neighbor's car/battery is a different matter.

Color difference is likely not an indicator of the OE's dirtiness. Your Venza's factory filter had activated carbon impregnated into it to reduce odors in the cabin. The replacement filter plainly lacks the activated carbon feature.

I've been happy with both General Altimax Arctics, and the current Altimax Arctic 12 (in your size on my current '20 Camry LE). You also can't go wrong with a Nokian snow tire, either---their "Nordman" lines are their re-labelled, previous-generation top tires, at much lower price points. I...

I assume that financial geniuses are bundling and securitizing car loans, and selling them with AAA ratings from the ratings outfits. "Car-loan-backed securities are a financial goldmine!! Get in while you can!!!"

Current fleet: 2002 Toyota Camry: 2.4 liter, 4-cyl; 325K miles 1995 Dodge Dakota; 3.9 liter, 6-cyl; 249K miles 2011 Toyota Highlander; 2.7 liter, 4-cyl; 202K miles 2010 Hyundai Sonata; 2.4 liter; 134K miles All engines, transmissions, and final drives are original and un-rebuilt. The Camry and...

Last time I looked, Mobil 1 V-Twin is SG-rated, vs. Castrol's SL rating, if the higher level of ZDDP anti-wear additive allowed in SG-rated oils, matters for your application.

I have several vehicles, so I use a Dymo label-maker, and change the date/mileage of last change, last replacement, etc., with location on the car depending on the part or fluid. For frequently-changed bits, I jot the info onto the label tape (outdoor-duty type) with a Sharpie, remove it with a...

Generally, when converting kinetic energy to heat, a more massive heat sink (the rotor) would be able to take on more heat than a less massive one, but, obviously, there are other factors that affect stopping performance.

I use Duracell batteries (East Penn) from Sam's Club in all three of my Toyotas---no terminal corrosion ever, and I look.

Your engine is likely just worn out. You can keep pouring oil into it, but its ring and piston wear, and oil-burning will only get worse. Your Corolla does not have the same problem with piston ring land design and manufacturing deficiencies that the '07-09 2AZ-FE engine had, and is not covered...

What was really weird was that there were identical bottles of Peak OET Asian Blue 50/50 in a nearby aisle for $35/gallon, while mine did ring up at the $9.97/gallon rollback price. Sometimes the gods of retailing bureaucracy dysfunction smile on me.

FWIW---Yesterday, I found Peak OET Asian Blue 50/50 on clearance/rollback at my local Wal-Mart for $9.99/gallon. My '10 Hyundai Sonata uses blue, rather than the Asian Green, coolant, so I added a gallon to my coolant stockpile.

OEM may be expensive, but, in my limited experience, if you want the same absence of vibration that you had when your OE mounts were newer, you should cough up for the OEM pieces. Aftermarket items can look the same, but it must be difficult for them to reverse-engineer the NVH work of the...