Oil Changes

[safari 28]

I find leasing to be just slightly more expensive than ownership. It gets very complicted and in the end repair bills as the vehicle ages is the great equalizer. Funny with leasing, I take very good care of my truck and car from an appearance standpoint. They LOOK great in trade. I mean no tears,dents etc. This way a 20 k/year lease on a vehicle with decent depreciation levels is really not that expensive.If you are hard on a truck from a visual standpoint then buy. You never have that ownership feeling so all the concerns that everyone had on this post go away with regard to making the thing last and last. The only thing i care about on an oil change is the receipt. Also, when towing it makes you feel good it is not yours in 100 degree heat, and climbing mountains etc. Just call ford and they even tow in the airstream at no charge if it breaks. Just my side, and I am sure most would not agree.

[Smokin Camel]

It seems a lot of us know the value of using good materials.

I have been using the Mobil One since the seventies. An engineer I knew in service turned me on to it. He also mentioned that almost 70% of the average engine wear happens during the first two minutes of driving. This is for average use, not relative to long trips. Gas price or not I still warm up for a couple of minutes every morning. The synthetics stick to the metal better (dry lube - esters -in oil suspension). After the initial warm up restarts are better lubed for hours.

I also use Wix filters. NAPA Gold filters are usually Wix. Best standard filter on the market (my opinion only). If I am having the local dealer do the oil, such as in January, I find GM filters are good (as are Ford and some others). Always make sure your filter has a by-pass valve in it. If you ever plug a filter with gelled oil such as what happened in the early eighties with some "Pennsylvania products" nothing will be pumped. The by pass will still allow what lube is available to circulate. Dealer filters have the valves.

I & a relative (mechanic) once took apart an "orange filter"; we could see where the dip line was hooked on the filter element...you could see light through the hole. What a piece of junk, I never used another cheap filter after that. God only knows how large a piece of grit could go through that. We also took apart a Wix, what a difference

Good quality oil and good filters pay for themselves over the life of the vehicle and add the bonus of fewer problems and longer engine life. The bodies wear out on my vehicles before the engines do.

Change your transmision filters at 25-30,000 as well (automatics). When you hit 60,000 do a flush and a change. The first change is the critical one. The second is good maintenance. Every 30,000 after that is great maintenance. Interestingly enough I have never blown a transmision!

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by RBolton

We still use the fluid exchanger on the vehicles that we sevice the pan and filters on. On my own vehicles the pan comes off every time. We give our service customers the option.

Roger

We too highly recommend doing both services at the same time....why be

cheap and lazy.

My tv gets both every 40k....done four so far....

[richinny]

check how much they weigh before and after the change. i like a filter that weighs enough new that i know that there is a filter inside, lol. a heavy used filter tells me that it is collecting something :-) if the filter is very heavy, i've been a bad boy.

i change the filter every time as soon as it's time or i can't see the dipstick through the oil.

i've only played with gas engines and i've found hastings filters to be the best i've used.

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by richinny

i've only played with gas engines and i've found hastings filters to be the best i've used.

HASTINGS IS ALL "BERTHA" HAS EVER GOTTEN.

[slowmover]

Transmission life. How to get the best? - Bob Is The Oil Guy

[Gene]

One thing I've learned from Safari28: never buy a Ford used truck in Michigan.

I buy new generally and keep them 6 to 9 years—as I get older I keep them less time because I get tired of looking at them and each one may be my last truck. I might as well have a fairly new one. Leasing doesn't seem to pay unless you only keep them for a short time.

Gene

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, this is my opinion, so if you don't agree, don't get upset. I leased a truck for a business and got to write it off, so to speak. I leased a car once, and as far as I'm concerned , it's just a high dollar rental; Without owning a business, I will never lease again. Many people say "I leased this vehicle and I don't own it so I don't care." But in reality, if you damage it, drive it too far, or seize up the engine due to lack of maintainence, You will pay for it.

As for the trans service opinions: At the Ford dealer where I work [for five more days] we use a trans flush machine; It does an alright job, but on my personal vehicles the pan comes off and the filter gets replaced. Also the torque converter plug is removed to drain the rest of the fluid. I like to see the inside of my trans pan to see how much gold dust is in it and hope not to find pieces of clutch lining and planetary gears sitting on the bottom; Something you cannot see while doing a trans flush. Some front wheel drive cars and when I worked at Chevrolet, pulling the pan and replaceing the filter was all that could be done because they had no converter drain. When I had my Chevrolet truck we would remove the trans pan and filter, then I would start the engine for about thirty seconds to pump out the converter fluid. For you non mechanics, I would not recommend this procedure. An old trans mechanic, that I worked with for many years, used to drill, tap, and plug torque converters on Chevrolets and other vehicles so a complete trans service could be done.

[Gene]

Bob, sounds like you're retiring. Congratulations. Soon you'll find yourself busier than ever and wonder how you ever had the time to work.

Gene

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Originally Posted by CrawfordGene

Bob, sounds like you're retiring. Congratulations. Soon you'll find yourself busier than ever and wonder how you ever had the time to work.

Gene

Hi, yes; My last day of work will be Friday November 30 th 2007. I think I already have about two to three years worth of "Things To Do" waiting for me to keep me "busier than ever" as you said.

[FreshAir]

Originally Posted by ROBERTSUNRUS

Hi, yes; My last day of work will be Friday November 30 th 2007. I think I already have about two to three years worth of "Things To Do" waiting for me to keep me "busier than ever" as you said.

Hi, Bob. I have been retired since July, 2006 and the first advise I can pass on to you is to begin retirement by throwing away any lists you or your honey have made. Take each day as new and plan nothing but the AS Rallys you are going to. Believe me when I say that I don't know how I EVER had time for a job. See you at Casini again?

[Gene]

Easier said than done, Neil. We could throw away our lists, but we'd just make more. If we couldn't write them down, we'd memorize them. When we'd finish them, we'd have already made more. So much to do—so many adventures! Volunteering is important to us, travel is essential, maintaining two houses (one on wheels), reading, spending time with friends (they all seem to have lists too). We complain about all the work, but we embrace it too because it's what we want to do. It's who we are. Now we get to choose what we do, so we work harder: we can sleep late sometimes, eat meals at different times, give back to the community, remodel the house 'til it's perfect (never happen), take 6 week trips to remote places and meet very different people who are really much the same as us (spend time in Newfoundland and meet some of the friendliest people in North America; spend half a day with an Inuit elder in a small town in the Canadian Arctic, etc.). And, buy an Airstream. We retired with a vengeance. I can change the oil on a weekday instead of waiting until the weekend and trying to squeeze it in. Retirement didn't change who we are.
Gene