26,000 Miles on Dino Oil?

[ALS]

I remember years ago when I got my first Volvo I use to see the BMW's at my dealer monthly with hoods up and engines pulled.
I once said boy am I glad I bought the Volvo over the BMW.
Well it turns out that all those seized engines were caused by oil neglect. As the story went the husband bought the wife the car and she never changed the oil. Everyone of these engines seized between 30K and 35K on their free first 600 - 1200 mile break-in oil change. This wasn't a random or rare case this was 2 or 3 cars a month.
There was a case last month at my dealer where a woman with a Cross Country had her car towed in with a large hole in the block. When they asked her what happened, she said the car just stopped.
I didn't get the mileage on the car but heard she could not produce one receipt for an oil change since buying the car. When they pushed the question on what noises the car was making before it stopped or if any lights lit up on the dash board. She said nothing happened it just stopped running. Yeh, no lights or noise just before a rod punched a 5 inch hole in the side of engine block.

 

[csandste]

"It really made me change my opinion of hyundai."

A good reason for Hyundai having such a crappy reputation until recently was the quality of people buying the car. People who couldn't afford anything else and would beat the crap out of the car.

I did buy a one year old Ford Festiva in 89 that had 28K on the engine. Only paid $4K. Bet the previous owner only changed the oil once or twice if that. Engine went out at 110K and I got a replacement including installation and new clutch for $5 or $600. Got rid of the car at 160K miles because it needed a complete brake job and the synchros were starting to wear as I went to third. Gave me a real appreciation for Kia (at least at that time) since there were no other problems. My present Elantra has given me absolutely no trouble other than burning out headlamps and a bad neutral safety switch.

 

[ALS]

One of the guys at the dealer was telling me a story a buddy of his told him that runs the service dept at a Jeep dealer. Customer with a leased Grand Cherokee came in complaining about valve noise. When they pulled the valve covers nothing but sludge. They flushed the engine and cleaned out as much as they could and handed him a bill. Then the representative of the leasing company which the dealer called came in and told him he had two choices at the end of his lease. One he could buy the car or two if he didn't want to purchase it after the lease he would be required to purchase a new engine for the vehicle . They also informed him that he had voided any and all warranties involving the drive train and any pollution control devices.

 

[widman]

I've heard lots of stories about people driving their cars til the end of the lease without an oil change.
The company I worked for 25 years gave us company cars, and had a policy of documented oil changes every 7,000 miles. If it had engine problems and you could not prove the oil changes, you bought the engine.

 

[geeeman]

Please ... this is NOT a generalization...but...

None of my last three girlfriends, or my wife, knew anything about the IMPORTANCE!!! of regular oil changes or checking the oil. Results:

Honda Civic high speed engine seizure...(she thought the engine was on fire...and it was making a funny sound...!) 0!!! oil changes in three years ( only! 40000 miles, though, he he!), dealer would NOT! warranty it !!! She said she thought the guys at the service station checked it once... now she thinks Honda's are POS!!! (Didn't marry this one...)

Ford LTD develops SEVERE knocking at all times; shop investigating sound asks when oil last changed, owner says ... Huggghhh? Owned car for over 2 years and put 40 000 miles on it. Scrapped that one... it was cheap used beater though...!

Another LTD, oil not changed in three years (but lots added), and the car simply would not die!! (She wanted it too...badly, so she rolled instead!)

(PS - Love those owners of high end autos who think that because their car is expensive it must need NO!!! maintenance.

PSS - That OK , because all used dealership cars are fully RECONDITIONED!!! ... Right???

 

[harper]

Sounds like my father and his late 80's 4 cylinder pea green Buick Century company car. In a year and a half it travelled 140k miles as a saleperson. He changed the oil every 15-25k miles on dino I presume. It died and they just replaced the motor and mustered on.

 

[Rat407]

My dad was lucky. When he bought his 89 S-15 in Orlando. The dealer at the time was giving free oil changes for life with a purchase of a new vehicle. Needless to say my dad got a free oil change every 3k or three months which ever came first and he made sure he got it. The truck runs great with only start up smoke, due to the valve guide seals, (whick is a known problem on the 4.3's) Now the truck has 123k on it. I sent him a bottle of Auto Rx and a filter to start a cleaning run on it. That is one looked after truck. It goes to the dealer for everything. So far they have put on a new power steering pump, new radiator, cat, water pump, alternator, and tranny. Oh and all new brakes to include rear wheel cylinders and front calipers. All this was done over the course from new, not done at one time.

Besides the vibration it has at idle due to the early 4.3's balance problem, it really runs great. I have to be carefull when I drive it because I always spin the tires. It is amazing how it will really spin them if you smash the throttle, no lack of power at all.

 

[MarkB50]

Rat 407

I can attest to the power of the 4.3.Since 1988 i have owned 2/ 4.3 vehicles.88 S-10 Blazer-Treated twice in it's lifetime with Slick 50 amd tranny 1 time with Prolong.Oil changes @4000 miles.In the mid 90's i started using Hav.Syn oil 10w30.I finally sold it to a kid this past summer.I had put stable in the gas last year.I hadn't started it in awhile 4 months+ maybe.I was selling it for nx to nothing-i told the kids dad-lets see if it will start.I jumped it- it fired up immediately no smoke rare because it usually did at start-up.
I hope it's still Out there.

1997 S-10 Truck had 5 miles on it when test drove.
It is rated at 175 hp the blazer at 155hp.The truck is auto-trans.It use to Light-Up those Uniroyals pretty easily.At 2990 lbs.Well the weight to hp ratio is good.I put 1 of those Tornados on it to try to get better gas milage.I don't get that but now it will burn the Goodyears i put on it now LOL!!
In 1994 they put 195hp under the hood.They quickly brought it back down to 175.
Have always used Type 3 Syn until i found Exxon on sale and used it a few times.For about 800 miles it has had Amsoil 5W30 in it.

I can remember my 1st car a 65 Dodge Coronet w/318 auto trans.Going a little long between oil changes.The oil looked like Pennsylvannia Crude.I always remember how Golden in color 10w40 Gulf-NoNoX oil looked like!!!

One other thing about the 97 S-10.I didn't even replace a Light bulb on it for 5 years.Not even a turn siganal bulb--still haven't LOL!! The tires i changed at 40k because i never really liked the uniroyals.It ate the Altenator @42k- went ahead and replaced v-belt too.It still has the $19 disc pads i put on front.I use a Turkey Baster to pull a few oz of brake fluid out of resivor and replace with new once or twice a year.
I did put a-zone altenators on the blazer 2 times.The S-10 got Delco!Battery lasted 5 years it was a Delco so--New Delco batt.too

 

[Cary]

This is to funny. My father-in-law has always been very poor on maintence with his vehicles (i.e., none) had me drive his "new car" a 91 Mercedes 300e with 130K miles (which I helped him purchase last year, all receipts, great condition, $8900). As, usual, I asked him when he last had the oil changed (May) and he said it was about due. He does it about every 6 months now (7000 miles for him), which while not great is much better than before, which was virtually never. The car seemed to be running fine, but out of habit, I checked the oil, 2 quarts low on a 6 quart sump. Well, I added 2 quarts of M1 0w-40 (hey it was all I had, I didn't tell him it was $5 a quart) and reminded him that he should have it changed at least every 5000.

I have to say, that at least now days he tries. I think it helped that he finally got a car in good condition and wants to take care of it (he can afford nice cars, but his company is in the Ghetto and he doesn't want to drive a nice car there).

It is funny to see my wife's family, as I came from a family where we always took good care of our cars. My mom to this day takes her car for changes at 3750 miles and has all regular maintence done according to the manual. Kind of funny, her cars always run well, don't break down, and last easily to past 150,000 miles (last three have been two hondas and a toyota).

Cary

 

[crashz]

quote:

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Originally posted by TSoA:
Great story. The sump probally does not go dry because the oil becomes "concentrated" into some ever-thickening glob. I changed oil in a friend's VW 2.0 today, 2.5 quarts low in a 4 quart sump. She was running around all summer with only a quart-and-a-half in her 20,000 mile car. I had to add 2 quarts before draining and run it to belch that old oil out. Sad.

Rotella to the rescue.

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Sounds like my GF with her Beetle. She went 33K on the same oil, adding oil when needed. She claims she couldn't affford it at the time. BS. Anyone can afford a $15 oil change. Those VW 2.0 are tanks though. I'm convinced that they are one of the most durable engines out there.

[ October 20, 2003, 12:37 PM: Message edited by: crashz ]

 

[TSoA]

quote:

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Those VW 2.0 are tanks though

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Yeah, Mom has a 1996 Passat GLS, uses ZERO oil. 2 years of dealer services, Castrol GTX 15w-40 and the same twice yearly at our BOSCH mechanic. Now at 60k she will be getting Rotella T Syn only once a year, 8000-10,000 miles. A heated garage allows the 1x a year change. Short trips though, but hey, Rotella can do it. Twice a year seems to be a great interval, and is an easy concept to sell to people who are "thick". Also, I use the trip-odometer reset and tell people to check the oil level at 1000 mile intervals.

[ October 21, 2003, 01:13 AM: Message edited by: TSoA ]

 

[rpn453]

These threads are always amusing.
Two things come to mind:
1. Don't worry about other people's vehicles (including relatives) unless they ask you to. It's too much of a pain. Just laugh at them and say, "what did you expect?" when they have mechanical problems instead.
2. Buy used only from an owner who has owned the car for a few years (or from new), can produce receipts, and has documented their maintenance practices.

[ October 21, 2003, 10:08 PM: Message edited by: rpn453 ]

 

[Kestas]

I agree. I've stopped being a pest over maintenance on other people's vehicles. You just can't help somebody who doesn't care to help themselves. After all, why burden yourself with other people's problems and burn up your own free time while they put their feet up?

I can't understand some people who have no problem shelling out lots of money for a new car, but have to put a crowbar to their wallet to pay for regular oil changes!

[ October 22, 2003, 11:32 AM: Message edited by: Kestas ]

 

[Patman]

quote:

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Originally posted by Kestas:
I agree. I've stopped being a pest over maintenance on other people's vehicles. You just can't help somebody who doesn't care to help themselves. After all, why burden yourself with other people's problems and burn up your own free time while they put their feet up?

I can't understand some people who have no problem shelling out lots of money for a new car, but have to put a crowbar to their wallet to pay for regular oil changes!

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I have the opposite problem with people I know in my f-body car club. Many of them still refuse to believe that they can go longer on synthetic oil, and still do oil changes every 2 or 3000 miles. Even those people who put on 500 miles a week in the summer still end up doing frequent changes that are definitely not necessary.

So it seems there are two ends of the spectrum here, those who use dino oil and change it every couple of years and those who use synthetic and do it every month. It should be the opposite! Those people who are prone to neglecting their oil changes need synthetic the most!

 

[TSoA]

quote:

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maintenance on other people's vehicles

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Unfortunately, I am "the Man" when it comes to vehicle maintainance. Mom, Mother-in-Law, wife and her one friend with 1q in her VW are all VERY needy in terms of car-care. My couple of friends, who don't know how to take care of their German cars add to the burden. Problem being that you can't just take these cars to the local-yokel mechanic for much. There is also so much wiggle-room in pricing. The same brake rotors can be $30 mail-order, $75 at crappy local parts places and $100 at the dealer. It is easy to see why people call me for advice and work. I recently contacted my GORGEOUS high-school friend after her divorce. She was my car buddy back then when I did not have squat. She loaned me her RX-7, her mom's car and her boyfriends 4wd when I was a kid and it turned out she now drives and Audi like mine! (I've owned 12 Audis, an expert) Just off-warranty, her car was ready for the "full treatment". 60k service, brakes, tires....OIL changes, I saved her a LOT of money, spent a little for a computer chip, she went up from 150 to 210 hp for $200. BTW- she was doing M1 once-a-year and her turbo engine internals are clean. Everyone, from Mom-in-Law to my mortgage broker buddy and the HS girl all LOVE me for helping them. How could I not?

Long-life oils and sane intervals are worth casually recommending..."hey Uncle Tony, what if I told you once-a-year oil changes are ok with a good $3q oil?"

[ October 22, 2003, 11:57 AM: Message edited by: TSoA ]

 

[rpn453]

quote:

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Originally posted by TSoA:
Everyone, from Mom-in-Law to my mortgage broker buddy and the HS girl all LOVE me for helping them.[/QB]

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That's the key. Do it when they appreciate it. But when they don't, leave them alone and don't worry about it. I do my mom's oil changes, and the odd oil change for friends, but only because they would have gotten it done anyway. I'm just saving them some money. If I tell them they should do something else (like a coolant flush), and they agree, I'll probably do that for them too.

 

[medic]

I don't feel to bad after reading all of these stories. My GF goes to a quicky lube place and gets her oil changed every 3000 miles. I used to get upset with her because she never checks anything between these oil changes. She pays them around $30 and they change the oil and check all of the other fluids topping off as needed (including washer fluid). I guess I should be happy that she goes to this place and doesn't just drive until it quits.

I was thinking of ordering some Shaeffer's and letting her go 5k miles between changes and I'll change her oil and check all of the other fluids, including an occational check of the fluids in between.

 

[Cutehumor]

quote:

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Originally posted by medic:
I don't feel to bad after reading all of these stories. My GF goes to a quicky lube place and gets her oil changed every 3000 miles. I used to get upset with her because she never checks anything between these oil changes. She pays them around $30 and they change the oil and check all of the other fluids topping off as needed (including washer fluid). I guess I should be happy that she goes to this place and doesn't just drive until it quits.

I was thinking of ordering some Shaeffer's and letting her go 5k miles between changes and I'll change her oil and check all of the other fluids, including an occational check of the fluids in between.

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I'm surprised she even gets the oil changed. my g/f has no clue about oil changes. her dad will do it for her when she comes home to visit and I've inherited the task because she will push dino oil too far and won't even know it. whenever you see "lady driven" in the classified ads, run like **** !

btw, do we have any female bitog members?

 

[Cary]

quote:

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Originally posted by Cutehumor:
whenever you see "lady driven" in the classified ads, run like **** !

btw, do we have any female bitog members? [/QB]

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I think you making a very broad generalization. Change your "lady" driven to "Black, Latino, White, Asian, Jewish, Muslim, etc." and think about what the statement really is.

I will give you three examples that directly refute your statement. 1) My mom religiously changes her oil every 3750 miles. 2) I had to convince my Sister she could go 5000 a change because she has a 50 mile commute. 3) My stepsister is religious about 5000 mile oil changes (used to be 3000), something instilled in all 3 of my stepsisters by their father. In fact most women I have seen seem more inclined to follow the recommended service guidlines than men, something about being able to follow directions.

Cary

 

[DockHoliday]

Cary - Lighten up. The lady remark, while not 100% true of all women, is not offensive. I think the complete lack of women on this board supports the streotype that the average women is not as into car maintenance as the everage man. Your remark about replacing "lady" with a race or a religion completely changes the context, and blows things way out of proportion.