Cheapest version Supertech

[Carlostrece]

Years ago I bought a 96 Jeep Cherokee that had 30K miles on it. It had been a lease vehicle. I don't know what type oil it had during it for those 30K miles. The Jeep didn't have a scratch on it when I bought it. It had obviously never been offroad.

After I bought it, I used Mobil One 10w30 and Wix filter in it until it had 90K miles on it. The 60K miles that I drove it included lots of city driving. Mostly short 10 min drives to and from work. I did also did some interstate highway driving, winter roads, and offroading.

At 90K miles I sold it to a friend who used Supertec 10w30 and Super filter. He's very cheap and doesn't care about cars. So I'm sure he used the cheapest versions of Supertec products. He would never pay for anything premium. He used it for a lot of city, highway, and winter roads. He did not offroad it.

I just talked to him on the phone. He said the Jeep engine served him well for 17 years. It finally wore out at 410K miles when a cylinder had low enough compression to become a problem. He could have the engine rebuilt, but he wants a different vehicle.

It's last 320K miles (of its total 410K) were using the cheapest Supertec 10w30 oil and filter. Probably with Walmart service dept changing the oil and filter.

Does than mean Supertec and Walmart are excellent, or the Jeep 4L engine design is excellent, or some combination? My gut feeling is Supertec and Walmart are adequate and the Jeep 4L engine is awesome. What do you think?

Also BTW - When I bought the Jeep at 30K I had transmission fluid and filter changed to Mobil One and replaced filter. Then again at 90K with Mobil One. New wix filter both times.

After he bought the Jeep... He never serviced the transmission again, except to occasionally top off, but he wasn't reliable about topping off.

So the Jeep did its last 320K miles using Mobil One transmission fluid and never being serviced. The transmission worked well the entire time.

 

[dishdude]

Does than mean Supertec and Walmart are excellent, or the Jeep 4L engine design is excellent, or some combination?

Both! Warren makes great oils and that 4.0 is a tank.

 

[OilStainedNapkin]

Supertech met the engine specs, the engine was designed and built well, pm was sufficiently performed. The end

 

[dnewton3]

Does than mean Supertec and Walmart are excellent, or the Jeep 4L engine design is excellent, or some combination? My gut feeling is Supertec and Walmart are adequate and the Jeep 4L engine is awesome. What do you think?

I would not call ST "excellent", but it's certainly a very proven lube. It would depend on how you define "adequate".
I've run many UOAs with basic ST lubes and had outstanding results.

The 4.0L I-6 engine is also very robust, overall. Not a stressed engine; moderate power density and any I-6 is a well balanced motor.

So, yeah, it's a combo of the above.

 

[crashz]

The 4.0 and the Asin auto are both good units.

 

[nascarnation]

Taking it to WM for oil changes allowed him to avoid the scorn of his neighbors seeing him instill SuperTech.
So he not only had excellent engine durability but a robust ego.
Well done man!

 

[ripcord]

He probably drove it on much longer trips on average than you did to pile that many miles in it. The number of cold starts and short trips makes a big difference in engine longevity. The amount of wear between a 10 mile and a 100 mile trip is gonna be nearly the same.

 

[Fitter30]

Company i worked for drove a E350 ford van over loaded 5.7 used synthetic any brand walmart filters company paid for oil and filters for 2 vans that i change my own oil. Change oil in three vehicles at the same time for years. 5 years would get a new truck around 220 k never had any engine work except plugs for 3 fords vans or my 2 vehicles. Work truck went for a spare truck. Greased the front ends and ford drive shaft with mobil 1. Never wore out a front end component or u joint.

 

[mr_boring]

Those later 4.0's were quite possibly the best engines ever made. I had a '96 that I put 240k on, traded it to my ex-SIL and she drove it into the dirt but in doing so got about 18 more months out of it. I'd bet a month's salary that she never changed the oil in it after she got it.

Only problem I ever had were the freeze plugs, all of them rotted out after I changed out the radiator. I dunno if it was the coolant or what, but they were all toast. One let go completely and we found out that all of them were toast when we pulled them. Easy fix though. Everything I ever replaced on that thing was an easy fix. Starters, alternators, a couple of thermostats, MAYBE a water pump (I really don't remember, but I think I did it)

 

[Oliveoil2]

Years ago I bought a 96 Jeep Cherokee that had 30K miles on it. It had been a lease vehicle. I don't know what type oil it had during it for those 30K miles. The Jeep didn't have a scratch on it when I bought it. It had obviously never been offroad.

After I bought it, I used Mobil One 10w30 and Wix filter in it until it had 90K miles on it. The 60K miles that I drove it included lots of city driving. Mostly short 10 min drives to and from work. I did also did some interstate highway driving, winter roads, and offroading.

At 90K miles I sold it to a friend who used Supertec 10w30 and Super filter. He's very cheap and doesn't care about cars. So I'm sure he used the cheapest versions of Supertec products. He would never pay for anything premium. He used it for a lot of city, highway, and winter roads. He did not offroad it.

I just talked to him on the phone. He said the Jeep engine served him well for 17 years. It finally wore out at 410K miles when a cylinder had low enough compression to become a problem. He could have the engine rebuilt, but he wants a different vehicle.

It's last 320K miles (of its total 410K) were using the cheapest Supertec 10w30 oil and filter. Probably with Walmart service dept changing the oil and filter.

Does than mean Supertec and Walmart are excellent, or the Jeep 4L engine design is excellent, or some combination? My gut feeling is Supertec and Walmart are adequate and the Jeep 4L engine is awesome. What do you think?

Also BTW - When I bought the Jeep at 30K I had transmission fluid and filter changed to Mobil One and replaced filter. Then again at 90K with Mobil One. New wix filter both times.

After he bought the Jeep... He never serviced the transmission again, except to occasionally top off, but he wasn't reliable about topping off.

So the Jeep did its last 320K miles using Mobil One transmission fluid and never being serviced. The transmission worked well the entire time.

So you know his OCI mileage? I’m guessing 3-7k between changes?

 

[Carlostrece]

He probably drove it on much longer trips on average than you did to pile that many miles in it. The number of cold starts and short trips makes a big difference in engine longevity. The amount of wear between a 10 mile and a 100 mile trip is gonna be nearly the same.

He drove it 320K miles over 17 years. So he averaged 18,823 miles per year. He drove mostly highway miles. He was an Air Farce dental assistant and then after he left the military he drove to every prison in CA & NV in a repeating loop to work on teeth. So he drove it all over CA & NV for 17 years.

 

[Carlostrece]

So you know his OCI mileage? I’m guessing 3-7k between changes?

He might have changed it when the Walmart mileage based OCI sticker on window said to change it, but he probably changed it 500 to 1000 miles after that because he's not a car guy, not consciensious about maintenance, and is notoriously cheap. So I suspect he had Walmart change oil & filter every 7500 to 8000 miles.

There's no point in me asking him how often he changed his oil. He wouldn't know. He'd just do whatever sticker said plus some additional procrastination miles.

All his other cars lasted 5 years or less. The 96 Jeep Cherokee XJ lasted him 17 years. I think he had all his cars oil changed by Walmart. So I think the design of the Jeep 4L has a lot to do with getting 410K miles without a rebuild. Plus the fact that I maintained it very well before he bought it. So when he bought it, it was the best condition used car he's ever owned.

 

[ripcord]

He drove it 320K miles over 17 years. So he averaged 18,823 miles per year. He drove mostly highway miles. He was an Air Farce dental assistant and then after he left the military he drove to every prison in CA & NV in a repeating loop to work on teeth. So he drove it all over CA & NV for 17 years.

I see you spell Air Force like an Army guy. If you were a Marine it was probably an accident, though.

 

[Navi]

SuperTech is an excellent store brand discount motor oil. Just like Quaker State its made within a certain budget and does well for that purpose. So if you need a motor oil for your Honda, Nissan or Toyota commuting vehicle it will do fine for that purpose.

I would not put it in a complex engine like a Porsche, Audi or Benz. In those situations I would let the manufacturer guide me. Oftentimes those car makers will suggest something within the Mobil 1 line.

 

[Intelligent Molecule]

I see you spell Air Force like an Army guy. If you were a Marine it was probably an accident, though.

To an Army guy it would be Chair Force.

 

[Snagglefoot]

Even the Super Tech “ Conventional” is “ SP”. For another $2.50 you can get Full Synthetic. I use rebates to get Pennzoil Platinum for the same price, but without rebates Super Tech is a great deal in a world of increasing lubricant costs.

 

[Strumpan_]

The 4.0 is also very under powered anchor more or less doing nothing, with pushrods and a design for like 1890. If it did not last on 10w30 i would be supriced.

 

[Chris142]

Most American made iron block and head engines can take a lot of abuse. They laugh at things that would kill a Honda or Toyota.

Supertech is generally pretty good for the 4.0 jeep application so you have 2 wins already.

 

[Bill7]

Years ago I bought a 96 Jeep Cherokee that had 30K miles on it. It had been a lease vehicle. I don't know what type oil it had during it for those 30K miles. The Jeep didn't have a scratch on it when I bought it. It had obviously never been offroad.

After I bought it, I used Mobil One 10w30 and Wix filter in it until it had 90K miles on it. The 60K miles that I drove it included lots of city driving. Mostly short 10 min drives to and from work. I did also did some interstate highway driving, winter roads, and offroading.

At 90K miles I sold it to a friend who used Supertec 10w30 and Super filter. He's very cheap and doesn't care about cars. So I'm sure he used the cheapest versions of Supertec products. He would never pay for anything premium. He used it for a lot of city, highway, and winter roads. He did not offroad it.

I just talked to him on the phone. He said the Jeep engine served him well for 17 years. It finally wore out at 410K miles when a cylinder had low enough compression to become a problem. He could have the engine rebuilt, but he wants a different vehicle.

It's last 320K miles (of its total 410K) were using the cheapest Supertec 10w30 oil and filter. Probably with Walmart service dept changing the oil and filter.

Does than mean Supertec and Walmart are excellent, or the Jeep 4L engine design is excellent, or some combination? My gut feeling is Supertec and Walmart are adequate and the Jeep 4L engine is awesome. What do you think?

Also BTW - When I bought the Jeep at 30K I had transmission fluid and filter changed to Mobil One and replaced filter. Then again at 90K with Mobil One. New wix filter both times.

After he bought the Jeep... He never serviced the transmission again, except to occasionally top off, but he wasn't reliable about topping off.

So the Jeep did its last 320K miles using Mobil One transmission fluid and never being serviced. The transmission worked well the entire time.

Would you know your friend's oil change interval (miles and months between changes)?

Any car we own today will be sold or junked at some point in the future.

Your friend did the smart thing by avoiding wasting money on frivolous maintenance (expensive oil, filters, over maintaining the vehicle)
over those 17 years.

 

[Carlostrece]

Would you know your friend's oil change interval (miles and months between changes)?

I don't know, but he's the type who'd do only minimal maintenance and have it done by Walmart.

Your friend saved a significant amount of money on oil, filters, and he avoided wasting money over maintaining the vehicle.

He did. He wasn't buying premium Syntec oil nor premium filter either. He cheaped out in every way possible, but it still worked out well for him.

Those who watch the pennies can become Millionaires over the long term, as their reduced monthly expenses free up money that can be invested every month.

He's in no danger of ever being wealthy, but he can at least pay his bills.