Probably over-serviced my beater today, no regrets :)

[OZHSV]

Probably like many on here, I actually enjoy changing the oil on my car, in this case a 2000 Mitsubishi Magna (Diamante) with a 6G74 engine.

It’s my daily beater which doesn’t look like much on the exterior but mechanically is A1. I bought it off an elderly gentleman a couple years back who owned it for 18yrs from near new and kept every receipt (including fuel) for everything spent on it.

It’s never missed a logbook service, and I’ve made it a bit of a hobby to change the oil more often than probably necessary and generally continue on with his maintenance regime, and so far it has never given me a day of trouble.

So today I Started off by dumping a can of Nulon Pro engine flush into it , running it for half an hour and then sucking the oil pan dry through the dipstick tube with this neat little pump off I got off eBay. Thought it might not get it all out so pulled the plug and not a single drop fell out

Replaced drain plug with a fumoto drain valve, which I’ll apparently not need now as the pump worked so well, and put on a new Ryco Z456, and filled it up with some Penrite 10w-40, ran it for another half hour to flush the remainder of the crud out from the Nulon flush..which happily I didn’t see, the oil drained the same colour it went in.

Drained that with the pump, changed the filter again to a Ryco Syntec Z411ST (this is probably the equivalent of a Fram Ultra, they don’t make a syntec version of the Z456, but this fits just as well, just a tad shorter), and then filled it again with Penrite HPR 10w-50..along with a can of Nulon Pro Engine treatment.

The car has done 275000km (170000m) and gets its oil changed every 5000km (3000m)/6mths. I know I overservice it and the oil I use could probably gotwice the distance. Today’s oil change cost me around $100US but I honestly don’t care.

I have my garage queen car and I just like doing more than I probably have to for the beater to keep going. Probably a false economy, but as I said I enjoy it. I’m sure at least a few here might understand. Anyhow, that was my afternoon, hope you all have a great day!

 

[gfh77665]

On paper it is a false economy, but if its an entertainment / hobby for you, it is not a waste at all. Enjoying a pass time is part of life, and there is some real benefit to the vehicle too. I do understand.

 

[OZHSV]

Enjoying a pass time is part of life, and there is some real benefit to the vehicle too. I do understand.

Thanks gfh There is definitely some sort of ‘high’ achieved out of knowing that your vehicle has the best possible chance of longevity.

I’ve spent at least twice as much on this car in preventative maintenance than it cost me to buy, but it’s paid off in not having given me a single problem even with the relatively high mileage. I do take a lot of pride in that, as I suspect do many members on here with their own vehicles

And there’s something about buying a car from an old-timer who took the time and effort to look after it as well, almost like a duty to continue on until it can’t go any further

 

[aquariuscsm]

No over-servicing at all OZHSV, you did good by keeping her reliable!

 

[OZHSV]

No over-servicing at all OZHSV, you did good by keeping her reliable!

Thanks aquarius! She’s been a good ole bus and hopefully will be for a few more years yet

 

[Cripes]

@OZHSV

I checked out the electric oil extractor you linked:

12V Oil Extractor Pump Diesel Fuel Transfer Suction For Car Boat Engine Electric | eBay

Do not pump water(no lubrication of the pump) Only pump warm motor-oil(40 â -50 â ) do not pump off motor-oil, as long as the motor is running. It works great for pumping engine oil, diesel and heating oil.

www.ebay.com.au

And I immediately thought someone might be tempted to use the vehicle's battery, and wanting to avoid draining it too much, might start the vehicle. And something I might do if I haven't had my daily dose of coffee yet.

 

[OZHSV]

@OZHSV

I checked out the electric oil extractor you linked:

12V Oil Extractor Pump Diesel Fuel Transfer Suction For Car Boat Engine Electric | eBay

Do not pump water(no lubrication of the pump) Only pump warm motor-oil(40 â -50 â ) do not pump off motor-oil, as long as the motor is running. It works great for pumping engine oil, diesel and heating oil.

www.ebay.com.au

And I immediately thought someone might be tempted to use the vehicle's battery, and wanting to avoid draining it too much, might start the vehicle. And something I might do if I haven't had my daily dose of coffee yet.

Yes indeed Piloteer! It was only a cheap Chinese thing, and you are entirely correct, if the vehicle was started mid-extraction, then..well it’s lights out..

I made sure I had coffee and actually put my car keys inside the house, not that I would intentionally start the car, but just to make doubly sure..dang thing worked a treat though, literally not one drop when I pulled the plug to check.

The cars dipstick tube does go straight down into the deepest part of the pan which helps

 

[wpod]

It is much better to over service than under service.

 

[Kira]

I, like many, change my oil a tad early; but just a tad.
Regularly I'd bring the jug of old oil to my friend's ancient-but-working trucks and top them off.
That may sound "icky" to some but he and the equipment didn't mind.
In fact, it'd prompt my reasonably glacial friend into finding his next oil change supplies on sale. Everybody and everything benefitted.
THEN he took a lubrication course at work. He became an opinionated expert!
Now he eschews our little maintenance sacrament in the name of not mixing oils.
Last time I checked, the flat bed was down a quart.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

I, like many, change my oil a tad early; but just a tad.
Regularly I'd bring the jug of old oil to my friend's ancient-but-working trucks and top them off.
That may sound "icky" to some but he and the equipment didn't mind.
In fact, it'd prompt my reasonably glacial friend into finding his next oil change supplies on sale. Everybody and everything benefitted.
THEN he took a lubrication course at work. He became an opinionated expert!
Now he eschews our little maintenance sacrament in the name of not mixing oils.
Last time I checked, the flat bed was down a quart.

I am about at the point that I'm going to start running Mobil2 in my pickup.

I do have other uses for waste motor oil. So I hold onto most of it
.

 

[jrvn]

why not just drain the oil the old fashioned way

 

[gfh77665]

It is much better to over service than under service

I dunno. The consensus here, both by repetitive anecdotal evidence and technical analysis, is that most vehicles are unknowingly over serviced already. A good example is all the C&P filters shown. Some still can't believe that a filter can go over 5000 miles, but a whole bunch of pics show 10K filters looking almost brand new. Then there are UOA reports. Oil changed at 8000 miles or whatever, but the UOA says it could go to 10K. And so on.

So, what's thought to be an "over service" might be an extreme over service in reality.

(Exception for the OP, who is enjoying the wrenching for the gratification of it, which as I said I do understand)

 

[JeffKeryk]

How did the flushed oil look when you drained it?

 

[OZHSV]

why not just drain the oil the old fashioned way

Well that was the plan, until my $25 ebay special pump got it all out without a single drop from the plug..!

 

[OZHSV]

How did the flushed oil look when you drained it?

The original flushed oil (ie the one that I dumped the Nulon into) came out very dark, compared to the dipstick sample pre-flush which showed usage consistent with ~3k mls of driving. However, when I flushed with new oil after that and drove for half an hour, it came out the same Color as it went in, which leads me to believe that the flush worked at least a little.

 

[DGXR]

How did the flushed oil look when you drained it?

filled it up with some Penrite 10w-40, ran it for another half hour to flush the remainder of the crud out from the Nulon flush..which happily I didn’t see, the oil drained the same colour it went in.

I wondered the same thing until I read the OP more carefully.

 

[OZHSV]

It is much better to over service than under service.

I couldn't agree more.

 

[OZHSV]

So, what's thought to be an "over service" might be an extreme over service in reality.

(Exception for the OP, who is enjoying the wrenching for the gratification of it, which as I said I do understand)

I absolutely over-service, much to the detriment of my wallet. But as you say, I genuinely enjoy getting under the old thing and looking after her to the best of my ability

 

[AutoMechanic]

In my opinion you can never over service a car lol. Cars are something I want to work on and service all the time so I would not be bored.

 

[gfh77665]

My "game" is to do the minimal cost service I can get away with, but not harm the vehicle in any way. I change oil filter every other time, trans service at 50K instead of 30K, rotate tires only once or twice, etc.

Since we paid for it and own it, we are all free to choose what best for us.