Let's see what I can do with OP's 4227 words and questions. If you don't see the question, I didn't either.
My answers are in **...** notations.
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does anyone have any detailed picture tutorials? **You can find them on YOUTUBE.**
Also, what kind of oil should I use? **Use what is recommended in your owners manual or repair book**
I have pennzoil platinum i bought on sale, pennzoil yellow bottle I also bought on sale, chevron (bought a 12 pack at cosco with a 10$ rebate), and I was considering castrol symblend GTX, and castrol high mileage GTX, as well as synthetics such as Castrol (I heard german castrol was good, but apparently 0w-30 is made in belgium now), and mobil 1, and amsoil. What are your oil and filter recommendations? **all these brands are sufficient.**
i've heard i could use that as an "oversized" filter. I've been doing my research and have my supplies, but what are your recommendations, and how do I go about doing it? **I’ve done it. Try to find a truck application for your engine and find the filter for that one. It’s usually bigger. But it’s not all that important.**
**Buy a 2.5 to 3ton quality jack, and same rating stands.**
Which motorcraft filter should I use (i heard good things about them) **Whichever the book notes for your application**
and I know purolator pureone is good, but the classic is cheaper. Is the classic any good? **Yes.**
Oil recommendations? My car has 146k miles and I change the oil at the quick lube place or the tire place every 3-5k miles, depending on the circumstances but I change my oil fairly regularly. last year, the valve cover gasket was replaced and there was an oil leak, but replacing the gasket fixed the leak.
i want to do this right and change the oil right and make the engine last, so what are your suggestions? **Change at 5k to 7.5k mile intervals with any of the oils mentioned above.**
also, i changed my transmission fluid at 110k miles for the first time and i'm at 146k miles and my tranny fluid still looks good. shoudl i change it? it's still red. should I do a flush, or just do a pan drop and do a drain and refill a few times over the course of a year? **I would change the fluid and filter one more time and call it good for another 30k miles.**
can I just use the jack that comes with the car and buy jack stands? is that enough? or is the tire jack that comes with the car good enough **jack that comes with the car will work, but is slower than better tools.**
so what motorcraft filter would you recommend **Whatever is noted in the filter application guide**
is 5w-20 bad for this engine which calls for 5w-30 and should I use 5w-20 inthe winter, as i herad you get better gas mileage with 5w-20 and it's OK for the winter and tha 5w-30 should be used for the summer (i'm changing out the shell 5w-20) as it's been 3 months, and 3000 miles and it'll be warm soon (though i live in michigan and this summer isn't expected to be hot) **For now, use the oil recommended by the owner’s manual in summer and winter. After you’ve read and understood more, make another choice…or not.**
For the power steering, I heard ATF works, but why? Is prestone OK or should I use amsoil? I know amsoil makes tranny fluid and power steering fluid but didn't know if it'd be ok for a toyota. **Use what is recommended in your owner’s manual or repair manual.**
Last time, that place overfilled with 5w-20 synthetic blend, which I heard was bad for the car beacuse it doesn't provide enough protection. I also requested the old filter and it was a "Federated" filter made by Hastings. I heard hastings made good filters, but apparently, "federated" is their economy line and isn't good. is that true? It's a 3k filter, right? I changed after 3 months and 2.5k of stop and go, city, short trip driving. Should I do a used oil analysis? **Economy filters are good for 5k miles until proven otherwise. Oil analysis not necessary in this instance.**
I'm new to this so I don't get why a FL 400s works. I went on rockauto and they said I should use an FL 836 (but that's not silicone) I also heard saw a FL 910s filter at walmart. That looked more similar to the purolator I should be using in the car. Take a look at these pictures I took whilst at walmart. What about an FL 820 S? **Until you understand entirely why to use something else, stick with the recommendation in your owner’s manual or the oil filter application guide. Oil filters must fit the o-ring and fitting, as well as oil pressure parameters.**
is a Federated oil filter bad? like the Napa silver, which is worse than the Napa Gold which is a wix? **they all work well enough.**
Also, how are champion labs oil filters? **they all work well enough.**
Also, is 0w-30 OK, or does that not protect the engine enough? I was considering using 0w-30 german (european) castrol or mobil 1 0w-30, is that good enough protection, or even better? **they all work well enough.**
Should I use it especially during the cold michigan winters? 0w-30 in the winter and 5w-30 for the other half of the year? **Use can use either year ‘round.**
i also heard bad I know motorcraft filters are good, and so are toyota oem, but purolators are good as well, both classic and pureone, right? **they all work well enough.**
Are mighty filters any good? **never hear of them.**
How are these filters? **Most of us stay away from Fram filters. The rest work well enough.**
if you have a lower OCI Ol Change interval, is it okay for you to use a cheap filter? **I wouldn’t**
If I change my oil at 3k, will using a champs lab or federated filter hurt my car? **Likely not.**
will I benefit from using an expensive mobil 1 filter or a within-budget motorcraft/purolator or toyota OEM if I use a 3 k oil change interval? **Depends on your definition of benefit and what your intention was **
what's the downsides to using a cheap/bad filter if you're doing a 2-3k oil change interval (short)? **not many**
but I just bought a used jack and jack stands and they need oil
is bar's leaks a good jack oil? what about the meijer brand (forgot what it's called but, oh yeah, liquid wrench or something like that)? **anything that say’s jack oil on it would work**
if I need lots of ATF that I'll add through multiple drain and fill procedures (will need lots of fluid) than it's best that I have a large bottle so will the large red bottle maxlife valvoline ATF work, or should I stick with the blue import bottle available only in quart bottles? **Your choice.**
Also, I saw that valvoline synthetic brake fluid had a max temp of 311 degrees and was dote 3 and 4, whereas the prestone dot 3 synthetic brake fluid had a max temp of 286 degrees. Is a higher max temp better, so is the valvoline brake fluid better? It's available in a larger bottle (so it's a greater value to buy the large ones) **It’s a greater value if the numbers say it is, and you use it and not throw it away after 6mo of not using it. Use the type recommended by the owner’s manual or repair manual.**
I've driven about 200 miles with 1/4 quart over full and as soon as I get jack oil and get my jack oil ready and my jack reaedy, I'll remove the extra 1/4 quart, but is 1/4 quart over full for 200 miles or a week, bad? **1/4 qt is not worth worrying about.**
What about being underfilled about 1/2 quart? **The top mark and FILL mark are generally 1qt apart. ½ qt low is not a problem.**
is german castrol 0w-40 ok or shell rotella 5w 40? **Probably not for your application.**
which brand has better reliablility? or lasts longer? **either work well enough.**
also, the used jack I bought needs more oil/an oil change. how do i do a jack oil change/top off? the owner said he bought it from murray's **Find it online.**
can you mix tranny fluids or power steering fluids, or should i drain all the old one out **Drain and stick with one type.**
What's wrong with the purolator filters? **nothing**
Also, is an engine flush ok? motor medic engine flush or STP multipurpose ? **I wouldn’t**
what about using oil additives like marvel mystery oil or stp oil treatment? **I wouldn’t**
do I need to do an engine flush, **I wouldn’t**
i check it on a flat surface in a garage after it's been sitting overnight, since I heard oil was still in the system after you run it and you must wait for hours before you get an accurate dipstick reading **5-10 minutes for a quick check. Overnight for the overly an@l.**
