Following Maintenance Advice Given By Bitogers.

[George7941]

In general the advice is very good. But I do look at the poster and judge the advice accordingly.

To clarify. Advice on rust prevention is more valid when coming from someone in the rust belt. That is not to say advice from a Texan is to be ignored but I will certainly give more weight to someone from the rust belt. To someone who does not have to worry about the frame rotting away, some of the rust prevention measures might look like overkill and indicate signs of OCD. Shoutout to StevieC, it was the pictures of his 20 year old relatively rust free dodge Caravan around 2010 that convinced me to start rustproofing my vehicles. My thirteen year old truck does not have much rust on it because I have been spraying it.

Maintenance advice coming from someone maintaining a 30 year old car has more weight with me than coming from someone who leases a car and gets a new one every five years. You do not have to concern yourself much about the quality of the oil filter or the oil used if you are going to trade in your vehicle in a few years.

 

[Charlie2015]

So, if I personally do 5,000 oil changes every year, then does that make me more qualified than the next guy on how to do an oil change? Or how often to do an oil change? Nope. Glad you found some good advice on minimizing rust on vehicles!

 

[StevieC]

Thanks George

 

[Hall]

Originally Posted by George7941
In general the advice is very good. But I do look at the poster and judge the advice accordingly.

And whichever advice you decide to go with or follow closely, be careful in reporting back what you did. No matter which route you take, you'll be told you shouldn't have done it that way.

One time I asked whether to drain ATF with the transmission hot, cold, or warm. The "consensus" was probably 1/3 said hot, 1/3 said warm, and 1/3 said cold. Each gave (valid ?) reasons for each.

Another time I asked a specific question about if my smaller, 10-gallon air compressor would work well with a pneumatic brake bleeder. I think I got MORE answers telling me I should just do a gravity bleed, use a syringe, make my own bleeder system, and so on. Also, multiple people said it would work just fine while some said it won't work well at all (too small).

 

[George7941]

Is your pneumatic brake bleeder a pressure bleeder? In which case a $20 tire inflator compressor would be adequate. Or was it one of the pneumatic bleeders that generated a vacuum at the bleeder screw using a venturi?

 

[Kestas]

Many people here tend to overthink maintenance or repair. Consider it being thorough. Read between the lines and figure out what you're comfortable with.

Any misinformation posted here is often taken care of by the 'jury' as I like to call it.

 

[Hall]

Originally Posted by George7941
Is your pneumatic brake bleeder a pressure bleeder? In which case a $20 tire inflator compressor would be adequate. Or was it one of the pneumatic bleeders that generated a vacuum at the bleeder screw using a venturi?

Doesn't matter now

 

[The_Jeff]

Originally Posted by Kestas
Many people here tend to overthink maintenance or repair. Consider it being thorough. Read between the lines and figure out what you're comfortable with.

Any misinformation posted here is often taken care of by the 'jury' as I like to call it.


Yes. Sometimes the journey is the destination.

As much as I like having fun and dragging maintenance out, other times stuff just has to get done. It's hard to read, at times, if someone wants quick and dirty or surgical and expensive.

 

[maxdustington]

How long did you live in Toronto for before you realized you had to oil spray? When I saw my first >5 year old car with rusty wheel wells I knew exactly why.

Keeping an old heap on the road is different than maintaining a new car IMO. Less repair information available and more residual value to lose if you screw something up.

 

[bbhero]

Originally Posted by Kestas
Many people here tend to overthink maintenance or repair. Consider it being thorough. Read between the lines and figure out what you're comfortable with.

Any misinformation posted here is often taken care of by the 'jury' as I like to call it.

Seriously a great post here by Kestas... ^^^ really well stated. And kind of funny

And true too.

 

[billt460]

A lot of it is personal preference, along with how it makes you feel. If someone shows you mechanically, along with from a chemistry standpoint, that you do not need to change your oil until 10,000 miles. But you find it just bothers you to leave it in that long, then it really doesn't matter if you accept and digest that information or not. Because you're going to feel better if you change it every 5,000 miles instead. So then that is what you need to do.

By the same token if some guy does the same with Fram oil filters, and in the process cuts one open to show you his reasons for how lousy he thinks they are. You are not going to accept that if you have used them for almost 50 years, and never had any type of oil related issue in your engine. So in both cases the advice becomes more entertainment, than it does something you would actually follow. Because you have already made up your mind. Some of this stuff is a lot like politics. Fun to listen to other peoples opinions, even though they will never change yours.

 

[Sayjac]

Originally Posted by hallstevenson
...And whichever advice you decide to go with or follow closely, be careful in reporting back what you did. No matter which route you take, you'll be told you shouldn't have done it that way.....
In my experience truer words not spoken. That's why once you make a decision and follow though, screw the negative Neds. Also why I prefer to read and research for myself prior to a maintenance procedure. Later if I decide to post what I did, I'm prepared. More often than not, Ned(s) will show up. My motto, only person I have to please is me.

 

[George7941]

Originally Posted by maxdustington
How long did you live in Toronto for before you realized you had to oil spray? When I saw my first >5 year old car with rusty wheel wells I knew exactly why.

I am embarrassed by how long it took me to realise the benefits of oil spraying, so I will not disclose exactly how many years I have lived here.

 

[blupupher]

Originally Posted by hallstevenson

...
. I think I got MORE answers telling me I should just do a gravity bleed, use a syringe, make my own bleeder system, and so on....

I have found this many times. A very specific question is asked, and instead of answering that question, 20 other "suggestions" are given, but the original question is never answered.

I have had this a few times, even when in the original post I state specific reasons why I am doing it this way (or not doing it another way), the original question is never addressed.

On the other hand, there have been times when specific questions have been answered with specific answers, and I appreciate it.

 

[SirTanon]

Originally Posted by George7941
To clarify. Advice on rust prevention is more valid when coming from someone in the rust belt. That is not to say advice from a Texan is to be ignored but I will certainly give more weight to someone from the rust belt. To someone who does not have to worry about the frame rotting away, some of the rust prevention measures might look like overkill and indicate signs of OCD.


What about those of us who grew up and lived in the midwest for 20 years, then moved to the southwest? Where do we fit in?

Personally, I like Kestas' response. Consensus has a lot of value on here, and we all have our own discretion.

 

[Hall]

Originally Posted by blupupher
I have found this many times. A very specific question is asked, and instead of answering that question, 20 other "suggestions" are given, but the original question is never answered.

I'll be honest, I ignored the "suggestions" from those that couldn't maintain focus and only (initially) responded to the ones that answered specifics. As it went on, I finally responded broadly to the off-topic comments, used some italics or bold formatting, and one person took offense !

On a related note, what about those poor folks who post their "I got a new-to-me car and I plan to use this oil (brand, type, viscosity, change interval) and filter. What do you guys think?" and gets 30 responses, with I'd bet half of them suggesting using a different oil/filter and change interval ! Poor person doesn't know what to do at that point or at least now has doubts !!

 

[Leo99]

Originally Posted by hallstevenson
Originally Posted by blupupher
I have found this many times. A very specific question is asked, and instead of answering that question, 20 other "suggestions" are given, but the original question is never answered.

I'll be honest, I ignored the "suggestions" from those that couldn't maintain focus and only (initially) responded to the ones that answered specifics. As it went on, I finally responded broadly to the off-topic comments, used some italics or bold formatting, and one person took offense !

On a related note, what about those poor folks who post their "I got a new-to-me car and I plan to use this oil (brand, type, viscosity, change interval) and filter. What do you guys think?" and gets 30 responses, with I'd bet half of them suggesting using a different oil/filter and change interval ! Poor person doesn't know what to do at that point or at least now has doubts !!


That's because people want to believe there is some secret to maintaining cars beyond what's written in their owner's manual.

 

[StevieC]

Rust proofing isn't mentioned as being required the owners manuals yet lots of folks do it and benefit from it. Heck even the dealers sell it. As far as the owners manual are concerned washing the car is enough. Oh and what about "lifetime" fluid fills? Also in the manuals...

 

[HangFire]

Originally Posted by Leo99
That's because people want to believe there is some secret to maintaining cars beyond what's written in their owner's manual.

Well, there's zero maintenance schedules in my owner's manual. That comes in a separate document. Which does not mention ATF changes at all, only "inspect" at occasional intervals.

Meanwhile same car in Europe has ATF changes and different oil weight recommendations.

The US owner's manual is written for the first owner to get them through the warranty period. That's about it.

But you're right in one respect, it's no secret. It's all out there on the Internet, and sometimes right here on BITOG.

 

[Hall]

Originally Posted by HangFire
Meanwhile same car in Europe has ATF changes and different oil weight recommendations.

They often have oil change intervals of 15k miles too but "we" think that's crazy. Fact is, there's no harm (to the vehicle) in doing things more often. It only impacts your time and wallet.

Saw a similar debate with Infiniti and the serpentine belt change interval. Some insist it has to be changed every 30k miles and "Infiniti says so". For my 2008, Infiniti says no such thing. They do list changing the belt at 30k miles under their "Premium" service schedule but under Schedule 1 and 2, they never even mention the drive belt, not even about inspecting it (which admittedly I wonder if that's an oversight). They treat the drive belt like a "replace it when it breaks" part. Some people change it proactively - I did at 110k miles - and that's their choice. Some people replace their battery every 3 years no matter what and that's their choice too.