Time to change oil?

[The Critic]

96 Saturn SL2, 1.9L DOHC, 95,800 miles

Oil: Havoline 5w30 GF3
Filter: Purolator PP

Miles/Time: 5900 and counting, 7 months.
Service: 1-3 mi trips, some 5-10 mi urban driving

Make-up oil: 2.5 quarts

Should I change it? I plan to change the valve cover gasket in a few weeks.

 

[Mike242GT]

I would do the valve cover gasket this weekend, change the oil next weekend. Is the make-up oil due to leakage or consumption (or both?) Has the vehicle been Auto-RX'd? Wouldn't hurt, might help.

 

[toocrazy2yoo]

King Arnold's throne room? Is that Latrobe, Pa. where Arnold the King comes from? Where's that? If that's cold-weather 1-3 mile trips, I'd be changing the dino at or below 5K even with the add. I'm a fan of long OCI if it's me driving my 10-40 on up to 300 mile trips most on the road, but short trips change the game considerably.

We'll be looking for the under-the-valve-cover pix like the latest Hollywood Premier Critic..

 

[dkcase]

Quote:

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King Arnold's throne room? Is that Latrobe, Pa. where Arnold the King comes from?

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You can bet Arnold the King in Latrobe is using Pennzoil...

 

[toocrazy2yoo]

Yeah, he wades through the sludge with a 9-iron..

 

[ARB1977]

Why are you asking if you should change your oil? You've been here long enough to know that used oil analysis tell how long you should let oil go.

 

[The Critic]

2.5 qts- all consumption. This car required oil addition when it only had 2000 miles on the clock.

I have 9 oz of Auto-RX sitting in the garage. I'll put it in after I do the valve cover gasket.

FYI, service intervals are anywhere between 6-10k miles, generally averaging between 7-8k. :freak:

 

[The Critic]

Oh, the valve cover itself isn't exactly leaking...it's the plug tube seals that need to be replaced.

 

[joee12]

Moving to "The Life and Times of Mike" Forum.

 

[joee12]

 

[Cutehumor]

have you ever PM toyotansaturn? he reports 0 oil consumption in his saturn at every oil change.

 

[The Critic]

Yeah, TNS and I have talked before. He is one of the few lucky owners who have 0 oil consumption. The majority of the Saturn S-Series out on the road today burn liberal amounts of oil.

 

[The Critic]

Alright, it's official. I'm doing the oil change tomorrow, preceding the valve cover change. 4 quarts of Maxlife 5w30 SM and a Purolator PP filter is going in. I'd love to use up my old Quaker State 10w30 SL, but my father said no 10w30.

Stay tuned for descriptions of how the valvetrain looks...no digital camera.

 

[m2200b]

Use the QS as add oil.

 

[The Critic]

Nope, dad said use Maxlife only for top-up.

 

[BlazerLT]

I bet you the consumption is from fuel dilution from short trip driving.