It was unknown oil and mileage. Our goal is to only have to change the oil about once per year, with the UOA and not needing any make up it’s about $100 per year for the oil change. Not so bad. Especially if we end up stretching this out real long. I have another friend that’s doing a really long run on amsoil SS. about 30k milesLooks unremarkable, as it should.
Curious what the previous sample was (oil and mileage)?
If you're interested in saving money, the same results can be had from less expensive lubes.
Keep an eye on both the coolant bottle and the UOA for coolant; the water pump issue is by far the most threatening thing to this engine series.
It's a legit concern. However keeping an eye on the coolant bottle, and getting UOAs to check the coolant intrustion potential, gives one a decent view of the onset. It's a matter of tracking info and checking with diligence.Once I hit 150,000 mi on one of those I would be a nervous wreck. Would constantly worry about the potential for the waterpump to leak coolant into the oil.
Talked to my dad today. He says the heat was blowing cold a few months ago, he added coolant and it’s been fine. This was before the oil change, so definitely no coolant in the oilIf I suspected coolant disappearing from the bottle, I don't think I'd be waiting 10k miles to UOA. I'd increase the fequency of the UOA to perhaps every 3k miles. Though expensive to UOA every 3k miles, it's a LOT cheaper than a new engine.
These water pumps don't fail instantaneously. Most people get caught off gaurd simply because they are unaware of the severity of the issue and never look for the failure onset. If you pay close attention, it's likley (though not assured) you'll catch it in time before it destroys the engine.
no heat so he added “coolant” and now it’s making “heat”??? interesting how that works, isn’t it?Talked to my dad today. He says the heat was blowing cold a few months ago, he added coolant and it’s been fine. This was before the oil change, so definitely no coolant in the oil
What a time to be aliveno heat so he added “coolant” and now it’s making “heat”??? interesting how that works, isn’t it?
Or you can take the entire engine out, which some say is actually easier than doing that timing cover while it’s in the engine bay. Either way, it’s definitely not an easy job and I can see why people don’t just change these water pumps every 100,000 miles as part of a general maintenance routine.I guess what you define as a "bad job" and how others see it exhibits a difference. I'm not not mistaken, the upper intake has to come off, the valve covers have to come off, one of the motor mounts has to come out, the crank pulley off, all to get the front cover off ... etc etc etc. It's about a 10 hour job on the books, is it not?