Need to vent

[oilpan49]

Hey,

Let's start off with knowing how long I've been with this site (2 years) I don't post very much but I feel I know more than your average "joe consumer" I can tell you what's good for your car and what's not. I am not by any means remotely close to have the knowledge of other members such as MolaKule, Terry, MotorBike, TallPaul etc... I also respect the knowledge that the moderators and administrators knowledge about oil.

I understand that oil is the life and blood of your car and that the advice given on this board is very important to other members, especially the new members.

I try to help people out in my family with there problems with there vehicles, but most of the time I usually end up getting ignored or people just don't care and this bothers me a great deal. Since coming to this site, I have learned just how big a role lubrication and engine cleaniness plays in the life of your vehicle. Sometimes I feel like I'm better off just playing dumbass and not know anything about oil to my family.

Please don't take me seriously on any of this. I am only posting this because it makes me feel better that I either talk or type about it and get it off my chest. I am trying to keep this as under control as possible as I want to keep my membership with this site.

My sister treats me like dog crap when it comes to cars because she thinks "taking it to the dealer is best" well maybe in some cases but her brother(me) might know better in some instances. Let's take her car for example. '03 Mazda6i with the cartridge filter on it. I tried to discuss with her that maybe doing the spin on filter would be better and having the dealer do it so her warranty doesn't get voided. I am also aware of the Magnuson Moss Act.

Now her boyfriend, he's also "stuck up in his ways" His transmission is slipping and makes a clunking sound in his truck('03 Supercrew 5.4L) I really enjoy sharing my knowledge with others, what they think really doesn't matter to me. What matters is that I say the right things and help them out to the best of my ability. Sometimes I wonder what's the point of any of this knowledge that I obtained by the good members here.

For alittle while I'm going to take a break from this site and let myself just live alittle and take it easy from the oil thing. Not sure if I'll return or not, I might, I might not, who knows, I sure as **** don't. Happy posting to others,,,,,AR

 

[Whimsey]

Rule # 1: No good deed goes unpunished. So matter how good your intentions are if something goes "wrong" or they preceive it to "wrong" they are going to "blame" you. I went through the same thing for 20 years with my father before he would let me even change the oil on his car for FREE. The one time he let me change the oil something totally unrelated broke weeks later, he blamed me

. He rarely changed the oil on his cars, and it showed. They all died prematurely. It was only when he got too old and I gave my parents my 3 year old off lease car with the stipulation that I care for it was I then "allowed" to do so

.

Whimsey

 

[TooManyWheels]

There is a ton of psychology about why people are or are not willing to change, so don't beat yourself up when they won't.

Time is usually one of the main factors, very few people are willing to change their mindsets or habits instantly, even when exposed to "facts" or "evidence" (I used the quotes because what constitutes those are a whole subject of disagreement of their own). Also, the more you push often correlates directly to how much they resist, so sometimes being slow and casual, but consistent, will pay off.

At any rate, don't take it too seriously, it is no different than changing someone's mind about, oh, say, POLITICS.

 

[MarkC]

I know what you mean. I've had my wife come outside and hover over me as I changed the spark plugs on her car, threatening to 'smash' me, if I broke something.
When it failed the emissions check last year, she was ready to follow along like a good little lamb and take it one of the recommended shops to get it'fixed'. I managed to talk her into letting me have a go, and I changed the wires,plugs, oil, ran a can of some good stuff through the gas tank, and we took it back, making sure the cat stayed hot, and it passed easily. I did at least get a "Thank you" out of the deal.

 

[Mr Nice]

Airborne Ranger,
Don't feel bad by your sister not wanting your help. When I was younger, I also offered my 'free' advice on car maintenance to my sister for her Honda CRX. The funny thing is that back then I was in the Air Force as a Crew Chief working on F-4E/G Phantoms and then on F-15C Eagles (so you would think I just might know a little bit about maintenance)

But she always said that its better to take it to the dealership and have a "Honda Technician" do the oil changes, tune ups...etc. She felt that her car was too complex for me to work on!!!

LOL. I think a chimpanzee can change the oil on a Honda. So now when she has car trouble and asks me what is causing her car to overheat....I tell her I don't know and to take it to the dealer.

[ October 09, 2004, 05:51 PM: Message edited by: LT4 Vette ]

 

[sxg6]

you're not alone AR, everything you've said basically describes the way i feel, and the way things go for me as well.

 

[Gary Allan]

You don't even want to get the looks I do from the gear heads when they see my dual ff/bypass setup on my wife's Jeep. They think I'm a J.C. Whitney smackeda$$. These are gear heads that flog their engines on a regular basis at the drag strip. Saying UOA gets a "whah?" (visions of Jaws, "It's ah Tigah shahk. Ah whaaah? Ah tigah shahk.").

They just live in a different world than you do ..well, same world, different perspective. It's kinda like wearing polarized sunglasses.

(and never giving up the opportunity to be redundant)

This reminds me of a short story in American Literature (which was either my Junior or Senior year in high school). Anyway, an adventurer was climbing a mountain and ended up in this hidden valley. The valley had been isolated by a substantial landslide for many generations. They also had contracted a virus that had made each new generation totally blind. They had adapted to it and managed quite well. When they found the man ..they wondered why he stumbled on the path (it was dark). In all his discussion with them ..they could not relate to what he "saw". They were convinced that he was crazy and that his problem originated in the two strange things he had on his head (his eyes). Anyway ..the recurring theme that he recited was "In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king".

The truly blind just didn't "see" it that way.

(sorry ..I just can't help myself sometimes ..err make that ever

)

 

[JohnnyO]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Gary Allan:
You don't even want to get the looks I do from the gear heads when they see my dual ff/bypass setup on my wife's Jeep. They think I'm a J.C. Whitney smackeda$$. These are gear heads that flog their engines on a regular basis at the drag strip.

---

Betcha they use Frams too.

Fortunately my parents and my wife let me take care of everything. Heck, the wife was using syn even before I met her, changed religiously every 5k, albeit at the Valvoline Qwicky-Lube, but that's a lot better than most women.
What really bugs me is all the cars I see with one or more tires half-flat. "Hey yo, gas is $2.00+ a gallon, you'll use less if you fill your tires."

[ October 09, 2004, 09:27 PM: Message edited by: JohnnyO ]

 

[427Z06]

Gary Allen. That reminds me of Plato's The Allegory of the Cave, from The Republic.

Here a quote that often reflects my world:

“They say about me that I am the strangest person, always making people confused.” –Socrates

 

[Gary Allan]

quote:

---

Here a quote that often reflects my world:

“They say about me that I am the strangest person, always making people confused.” –Socrates

---

You too

It can be a somewhat isolated existance at times

..but at least I see I'm in good company

.

 

[Dan4510]

Basic rule:

Never touch a girlfriend's or family's car. Anything ever breaks on it and you are repsonsible. Even if the radio wont work and you were never inside the car you will get the blame.

Also, never answer the question "do these pants make my butt look big?" NO matter how you answer you lose....

Dan

 

[medic]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Dan4510:
Also, never answer the question "do these pants make my butt look big?" NO matter how you answer you lose....

---

No, your butt makes your butt look big! I've alway been an honest person

 

[Gary Allan]

quote:

---

No, your butt makes your butt look big! I've alway been an honest person

---

Did you have a lot of "first dates" in your history?

 

[sxg6]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Dan4510:
Basic rule:

Never touch a girlfriend's or family's car. Anything ever breaks on it and you are repsonsible. Even if the radio wont work and you were never inside the car you will get the blame.

---

this man speaks the truth!

 

[Al]

You are not alone Airborne Ranger. I do change oil for my son's and daughter's family. But I don't bother trying to convince others or even educate them. It just never works out. No one cares

 

[Jelly]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Al:
No one cares

---

Agree. Besides "personal mindset", alot depends upon how you use your vehicle and how long you plan on keeping it for.

Makes no sense for me to talk to other guys back home about oil...when your using Valvoline 10w30 with a Fram filter, changing every 5,000 miles, and your truck falls apart before the engine does, why bother with anything else?

 

[msparks]

well,

I can tell you there are 99 doubters to 1 believer in anything. There is not a single person in my family (including my mother, which I do resent) that will buy a single Amsoil product from me. Does that make me not believe in what I know to be true.

Watch the matrix. Everyone doubted morhpeus, but he triumphed over all. He believe it to be true therefore it was true.

I believe that lubrication and filtration to be the life blood of any mechanical system. The way that I look at it, there are bigger fish in the sea, than my small network of "so called" family. Why should I want someone who is related to believe a word that I say, weather it's about religion, politics or oil. I say it's their loss.

Hope this makes you feel better.

BTW, the only time my sister calls is when she wants financial advice, I'll give it but in the last 15 years she is yet to follow any of it. (though she did buy a house, and is not renting no more)