Motor Oil 101

[Q451990]

I don't normally link to other sites, especially when they have a forum, but I don't consider this to be a competing site. If anything it's more of a companion about one very specific point we discuss sometimes.

Anyhow, I spent about 30 minutes reading this "Motor Oil 101" article last night, and found it to be very interesting! I assume there's some opinion mixed in as fact - but this guy obviously knows more about oil than I ever will.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/cms/index ... &Itemid=92

Heath

[oldmako]

All this talk about engine oil makes my head hurt. Can someone just boil it down for me into simple terms??

I have a few questions.....

Is oil something that needs to be changed, like brake pads or tires??
If so, what is a good interval, 100,000 miles or so?? I like round numbers.
I drive my car every day, but for only a very short distance. Can I double the interval to 200K or more?
I have heard that there is something called a "dip stick". Is this used to monitor the oil somehow?? Is it under the hood, or elsewhere? How do I open my hood? Do I need a special tool, or password?
What is an oil filter for, and where is it located on my car??? Is it under the hood also?
What parts of the engine are under the hood, and which are in the trunk?
Are there any important parts in the glove box?
How many days will I need to leave my car at Jiffy Lube to have the oil changed? Do they offer drop off service or will I have to spend the night? If I have to spend the night, do they offer turn down service or will I have to bring my own chocolate?
I have read that the US is dependent on something called "foreign oil". Where can I buy non foreign oil? I don't want to contribute to this dependency. Does Jiffy Lube use non foreign oil?
Why does some oil weigh more than other oil? Do I need to weigh my oil?
I bought my car used with 106000 miles. How can I tell if I still have factory oil in my car? It now has 180,000 miles and as far as I can tell, it still has the original oil.

Thanks for any info.

[qship96]

The most important thing to do is to remove the oil fill cap and add oil til it is at the tippy top of the fill hole, just as you do with your radiator.....make sure you keep it FULL !!!!!!!

[Q451990]

101 would imply a college level course... not Motor Oil GED

[ShortSeason]

Thanks for the link.
Thanks for the humor above!

After reading the BITOG, and recommendations for thinner oil.
I changed my kids '03 Corolla over to M1 0w-20, for the winter in MN. The car stays outside 100% of the time.

Before the change, I had the oil in my garage overnight at 30 degrees. Outside temp was 14 degrees. Did an un-scientific test.
Shake the 0w-20 bottles, oil was fluid. Sounded normal.
Shake a bottle of conventional 5w-30, pretty stiff/thick. Took a hard shake get any movement.
Shake a bottle of 20w-50 for my boat... solid chunk.
Ok... no wise cracks about some dumb A shaking oil in a 30 degree garage.

Don’t want to know what goes on inside the engine when we do a cold start at –30 degrees (which we had last year).