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Having been around here for nearly two decades, I've read more comments talking about how people run higher viscosities when it's hotter outside, and vice-versa. This makes a sort of intuitive sense, as oils, even multigrade ones, thin out as temperatures increase. And that phenomenon explains...

My pickup's AC has started doing something a bit strange- it'll run cold about 4/5 of the time, and then for no reason that I can tell, shift to blowing tepid/warm air for a minute or so, then it goes back to blowing good and cold for another 4-5 minutes. I'm not low on refrigerant according...

My pickup (05 Dakota) will occasionally stall when I come to a stop after driving at a moderate or faster speed. More frequently it'll have a low idle for a second or two but not actually stall. What might cause this? Do far mecha haven't spotted anything obvious - they're saying plug...

So I finally had to change my battery in my pickup (2005 Dodge Dakota, 3.7L V6, auto transmission). Through some quirk of manufacturing, this particular battery lasted six years, rather than the usual 3 or so that they seem to last here in Texas. For the past few months it had been starting...

So I've been mostly lurking around here for the better part of 20 years, and there seem to be two big debate generators around here- what is a "synthetic" oil, and thick vs. thin. As I see it, the real issues with the "synthetic" oil question are really threefold. One, that stupid old...

So I was cleaning out my garage a while ago, and ran across two quarts of old API SL Havoline 10w-30 oil. I think it's ok to use as top-off oil in my 2005 Dakota, but I just want to make sure, since it's probably 7+ years old and one API spec down from what my pickup specifies (SM). Any issue...

Recently I was going to change my generator oil, and opened an old gallon of Mobil 1 0w-30 AFE (SN) that has been on the shelf for about 5-6 years. I was hesitant to use it, because rather than the normal gold/amber sort of color, it was a deep red/brown - so much so, that my younger son (7...

So I was down at my mom's place this past weekend cleaning some stuff out of the shed that my dad had left in there before he passed away, and I found a generator that doesn't seem to have had much use. It's a DuroStar DS4000s, and the manual says that it likes 5w-30 below about 30 degrees...

Here's something I've been wondering for a LONG time.... Which is better, going with premium brands like Pennzoil(PYB), Castrol GTX, etc... but in their conventional line, or going with a more bargain brand like STP, SuperTech, Quaker State, etc... except in their highest-end "synthetic" line?

I'll set the stage here a little bit... I have an older truck (no mechanical issues) with about 92,000 miles on it and I'm not interested in putting any more money than necessary to keep it running and in good shape. I don't drive it hard- just to and from work, about 9 miles each direction...

I have a 2005 Dodge Dakota with the 3.7L V6. The "severe service" OCI is 3k miles, and is triggered by just about anything other than highway driving- temps over 90F with high speed driving, temps under 32F, stop and go driving, trips under 10 miles, etc... The regular OCI is 6000 miles. I'm not...

Okay... so after a run of problems that I've solved, I'm running into another that I'm having the hardest time diagnosing. Usually (I've had the truck 10 years now), I turn the key, the starter turns the motor over vigorously (RPMs go to 1100 or so), and then they drop back to 900-1000, until...

Thought I'd post my latest UOA. FTR, this is over a 2.5 year period- the initial fill was over Thanksgiving Weekend of 2011, and didn't get changed until about 2 weeks ago. I used a Motorcraft FL-400S filter, and added a half-quart of Supertech 10w-30 SM rated synthetic at one point, and...

My brother recently moved into a house instead of an apartment, and seeing as I have a lawn service now, I'm going to resurrect my old mower and give it to him. The "can't lose" conundrum I run into is what oil do I use? The 15w-40 Delo 400 LE (SM) that I have, or the Pennzoil Platinum 5w-30...

My last oil change was with Mobil 1 Extended Performance 5w-30 and a FRAM Extended Guard oil filter, and happened over Thanksgiving weekend of 2011. So the oil's been in my truck for about 20 months and just shy of 10k miles. Is there any issue with running it out to a full 2 years, and...

So the one year mark is coming up for my 3.7l V6 Dakota's OCI, and I only have about 6000-7000 miles on it in that time. I'm currently running M1 EP 5w-30, so the question is, should I change it? Supposedly the M1 is good to 15,000 miles, but does just plain time in the engine change that, or...

After reading the thread on "Best Gun Oil?", I got to wondering if the vast majority of civilian guns really do have any special requirements for lubrication. The conclusion I came to is that no, they really don't. They may get hot, but not *that* hot, they may get dirty, but generally not...

I have a 2005 Dodge Dakota with about 66k miles. I also put between 6000 and 7000 miles per year on the truck. In Dallas, I see one of the wider summer/winter temperature swings in the country- in 2011, for example, we saw lows of 9 F in the winter, and as high as 112 in the summer. My first...

Assuming the system was well flushed and the fluids are not mixed, would there be any real harm to running the Prestone 5/150 Extended Life Coolant (Dex-Cool Approved) in a Dodge pickup? I had my system flushed an filled, and the goons put this stuff in without my knowledge. It supposedly meets...

Just recently bought a new Passat, and the owner's manual says 502,503 and 504 in the engine oil specs section. Do they mean any of the 3 are acceptable? Is there any real reason I'd want 504 over 502, considering that 502 is a lot more common in the US?