Newbie Dodge and Nissan

[DJStillman]

Hello all:

I have been a lurker for a while, reading several hundred threads, and love this site!

There is such a broad base of information to work with.

I have a 1991 Nissan Stanza 2.4L L4 100,300 miles, and a 1991 Plymouth Acclaim 2.5L 4cyl 120,500 miles. I have all sorts of questions about each car...

1. I read a thread about Zmax being bad. About 2.5 years ago, I used this. Did I hurt my engine? After reading all about that thread, I have been worried since, hence my registering...

2. I have read a lot about Auto-RX and Neutra in the threads. I would love to use Auto-RX, but it is too expensive for my current budget. Someone in another thread mentioned that Neutra is like $3 a bottle. Who makes this Neutra, and where can I find it? Anything special in using it, or just follow the directions? Can I just drive the cars like I normally do with this stuff in my engine?

3. I have read about people who change to synthetic on high mileage vehicles. Right now, both engines leak at the valve covers. If I were to change to synthetic, would I have more leaks? There is almost no consumption on either engine (.5 quarts or less per 3000 mi). Both engines, while not having any overheating issues seem REALLY hot, and my gauges are working properly. I just want to have good protection of them. Comments for/against the switch are appreciated...

4. After all of my reading, I have found that people pretty much hate Valvoline as an oil. The Acclaim has used nothing but 10w30 Valvoline its whole life, and the Stanza just switched to 5w30 Valvoline. Does it at least work as oil in the engine, or would water have been better??

5. If not going to synthetic, I am very interested in the Delo, Delvac, and Rotella fleet Dino oils (hoping I got the names right, the websites I found were a little confusing). Which would be the best oil for my cars? I would be doing 3000-3600 mile changes, but that could take up to 6 months... I like the sound of them having more detergents, as I have never used any engine flushes (was taught I could blow up an engine that way...), and them being almost as cheap as normal oil. Can I find these oils at Autozone, or will I have to hunt?

6. I live in Mid-Michigan, and we have some decent winters (-30F ish sometimes). The cars are garaged at night so they get some protection, but then they get cold parking lots the erst of the time. They also get a few minutes in the morning idling to warm up. I would appreciate weight recommendations for both, given the weather, and supporting reasons...

7. I have read about the filter tests. I am going to go with the Napa/Wix filter. Sound good? If I could, SHOULD I use an oversized filter? How would I find the right one? How much more oil would it need? What benefits will an oversized filter provide?

Sorry for the long post. I hope I was not too redundant in my questions...

Thank you all.

David

 

[Starbreaker666]

quote:

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After all of my reading, I have found that people pretty much hate Valvoline as an oil

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/Cry I love my Valvoline....

 

[slickracer]

I don't know if the folks here hate Valvoline, but fact is their are better formulated oils (Chevron, Pennzoil, Castrol GTX, etc) that can be purchased for the same $$$.

 

[John in the ATL]

Valvoline, in recent history year or so, has not done well in UOA (Used Oil Analysis). It will easily last 3,000 miles but after that it breaks down quickly.

Keep this in mind, Castrol a couple of years ago was where Valvoline is now. Castrol GTX along with Pennzoil PureBase are two of the better dino oils on the market.

 

[mrchecker]

I'll answer what I can.
1. If they still run OK, they're fine. Stop worrying.
4. C'mon, the stuff isn't that bad. If you've been changing at 3600 miles, any name brand oil is fine.
5. Walmart is the best place to find these.
6. The 15w-40 oils from #5 would be fine in the summer, but I would hesitate to use them in winter in MI without an oil pan heater. You need good cold flow when it's -30. A 5w-30 from a name brand would be better, or you could splurge in the winter and use the synthetic versions of Delo, Delvac, and Rotella which are available in 5w-40 at Walmart.
7. Sure, good filters. Oversized filters don't hurt, you often get more filtering area and you always gain oil capacity. You will have to experiment to find out how much more oil is needed. Just fill the engine with the normal amount, run it for a few minutes, then shut it down and check the oil. You'll be able to figure it out from there. A bigger filter is not necessary for long engine life, as you've already proven.
Given the age of these cars and the mileage on them, whatever you've been doing has been working fine.

 

[Drew]

Dave,
I have a 92 Nissan Stanza and have been a Mobil 1 user for most of its life. Recently, I have switched to Mobil 1 OW-40 and it works great! I plan on doing oil changes every six months as long as the mileage is under 10k miles and change out oil fiters every 5k miles.

Andy