OIL TALK

[Mayhem_J30]

According to many sources it seems that changing the filter on every second oil change is perfectly acceptable, I for one don't do this as the cost of the filter is not really that significant.

that is what i understood as well.here, this i what you're probably looking forhttp://www.nissaninfiniticlub....ilter

[AZhitman]

Nissan filters are $4.50 for the Q - Why would one take a chance?

Wait until you see the mess made by a collapsed filter. Just change the damn thing...:rolleyes

[Mayhem_J30]

Nissan filters are $4.50 for the Q - Why would one take a chance?

Wait until you see the mess made by a collapsed filter. Just change the damn thing...:rolleyes

don't worry AZ, it gets changed everytime! That was just my conclusion from the articles provided.

[AZhitman]

Oh, I never doubted you Chris - Just terribly concerned that others might think this is a good maintenance practice.

[gtd65]

Oil Filter fans have a read of this oil filter study which is not to be taken as gospel.

[gtd65]

OK here is where I got my current figure of 5,000 miles from

The Oil Bible Page

[PalmerWMD]

Oil Filter fans have a read of this oil filter study which is not to be taken as gospel.

Not a bad link.

Fred...

[texasoil]

In the last year I have noticed on several 'forums' (besides Nissan/Infiniti ones) a marked increase the comments relating to camshaft and connecting rod failures.

The camshaft failures fall into two categories one being surface fatigue, the other sliding wear/scuffing. Surface fatigue is caused by either too soft a lobe/follower, or too low a dynamic oil viscosity in the contact zone. These types of failures have apparently increased since the push to lower viscosity oils . Some oil companies have also reduced the main antiwear additive (ZDDP) by 20% or more in the last year. Apparently the combination of factors (lower viscosity, lower antiwear additive) is causing more catastrophic type failures of camshafts.

The new high output engines (>60Hp/l ) are having connecting rod bearing failures. The damage happens in a single wide open throttle burst.

If you want to keep it 'forever' Change it at least as often as the 'severe service' recomended interval, and use the HIGHEST viscosity oil recomended by the manufacturer for your climatic conditions.

[PalmerWMD]

Texasoil:This is <really> good info.And validates my favorite soapbox:30 weight oils are too thin for performance applications.

Fred...

[PalmerWMD]

It also makes AMSOIL sounds better since they use plenty of zinc compounds.

Do you think the Moly used by some brands (redline,shaeffers) is as good as zinc as an anti wear agent?

Fred..

[PalmerWMD]

The new high output engines (>60Hp/l ) are having connecting rod bearing failures. The damage happens in a single wide open throttle burst. ....and use the HIGHEST viscosity oil recomended by the manufacturer for your climatic conditions.

Which is why I like these oils: http://www.nissaninfiniticlub....group

Fred...

[stickgoat]

My personal oil change schedule?

Standard mineral oils - change oil and oil filter every 3000 miles.

Synethic oils - change oil and oil filter every 4000 miles unless necessary to do so earlier.

The cost of oil and filters is so low in comparison to the potential damage of an unmaintained engine, I really don't see the point of waiting until 5000 just because a few sources say that I "can".

I like my oil to drain out comparably clean to when I put it in.

But since we're on the overall subject, what does everyone think about oil system cleaners? I'm talking about the ones you run with old oil for 5-10 minutes before draining it, or larger quanity flushes you run by themselves.

[PalmerWMD]

But since we're on the overall subject, what does everyone think about oil system cleaners? I'm talking about the ones you run with old oil for 5-10 minutes before draining it, or larger quanity flushes you run by themselves.

Like "Gunk"?They are good to use, but ONLY if you are sure your engine is not too excessively dirty to begin with.

Sounds weird?reason is if you flush a real sludgy engine the sludge will break off and plug oil galleries and/or oil pcik-up screen.Or even block the screen so badly the oil pump will suck both sludge and screen (!) together into the engine (all of this has actually happened).

When I buy car, that I have not maintained myself, I do a gentle clean program for a year before I use a flush:

Just before your oil change, add 3/4 of a quart (less for small engines more for big engines) and idle for 45 minutes (very gentle driving for a couple of blocsk is ok).

I prefer synthetic ATF for this application.

Either way it's best to not shut car off until just before you change the oil.Do this for a year w/ frequent oil changes (3 months/3kmiles whichever comes first) and your engine should almost ceratinly be clean enough to use gunk or similar product IAW instructions.

In the end you will have a real clean engine which will make it last longer and more tolerant of hard operation.

(low detergent motor oil is not neccessarily bad if u have a clean engine to start, cuz it means u have a bit more room for extra base oil for a given quart of oil formulation)

As an alternative to the procedure I outlined above, you can run MOBIL driveclean oil.What I do, I run a hi detergent premium oil (SynPower) even tho its not strictly a "drive clean" oil in addtion to the procedure above.

My engine is pretty clean right now.

Fred...

[APEXi240]

So Fred, and Texasoil, what viscosity do you suggest? Cause I use 10w30, should I bump it up to 10w40?

[PalmerWMD]

In NJ it's probably best to go with a 5w-40 or 0w-40 from the list I linked above.You can drive those oils year around.

Fred...

[APEXi240]

It doesn't really get that much lower than freezing...at the lowest usually mid-20s, in the dead of winter, but I think I'm gonna go with the 5w40. Thanks.

[sultan]

i was thinking of trying the mobil 1 synthetic 15w-50. it doesn't get too cold where i live.fred, didn't you say you mixed 10w30 and 15w-50 to try and get something close to 10w40? i thought you weren't supposed to mix different viscosities.

[HaveBlue]

I have a 1990 automatic with about 100k mi in california. Any recomendations? I read somewhere that people running semi-synth/synth get better mileage. Any truth to this or is it just that the engine is cleaner? What about running Seafoam through the engine to clean it up?

HB

[PalmerWMD]

i was thinking of trying the mobil 1 synthetic 15w-50. it doesn't get too cold where i live.fred, didn't you say you mixed 10w30 and 15w-50 to try and get something close to 10w40? i thought you weren't supposed to mix different viscosities.

That's Q45tech who does that, mainly because he understands the need for extra viscosity but likes to stick to off the shelf oils sucha s MOBIL1 and it wasn't widely availabe as a 40 weight until very recently.Even now, finding 40 weight synthetic oils can take a bit of effort.

In texas you can run MOBIL1 15w-50 in the summer in the winter I would go with one the 40 weight oils I linked above.(unless even your winters stay over 60F)

Fred...

[PalmerWMD]

1)I have a 1990 automatic with about 100k mi in california. Any recomendations? 2)I read somewhere that people running semi-synth/synth get better mileage. Any truth to this or is it just that the engine is cleaner?3)What about running Seafoam through the engine to clean it up?

HB

1) use one of the 40 weight oils I have linked above in this thread, if you are in SoCal in summer u can use a 50weight, such as 15w-50 Mobil 1 or 20w-50 SynPower, if you are confident you have a clean engine than MOBIL1 is the better oil, if you think its less than clean then SynPower is a better choice.2) This is theoretically true, I dont think you will realize significant savings, but many users claim they can see them.3)seafoam is a safe product if used IAW instructions, but it's a Varnish cleaner more than a sludge remover.Removing sludge takes some effort to do it safely (About like I described in a post above)If you suspect your engine is very dirty especially if u suspect sludge and you are handy with a wrench it may just be better to take off the front cover and valve cover and clean by hand, before the sludge causes too much damage.That way you will be able to remove the vast majority of it in one fell swoop.

Fred....

[fasride]

Great thread,

I own a fleet maintenance company that services 8,000 vehicles for the telephone company. The fleet is made up of mostly 1 ton Chevy pick-ups and vans and a few Chevy automobiles such as Malibu sedans.

4 years ago, we were attempting to P.M. these vehicles every 3,000 miles. It was impossible to co-ordinate that many vehicles by miles drivenm consequently some vehicles were getting missed.

The fleet managers for the phone company decided the only way to get to most of the vehicles for PM service was to do it by time, instead of mileage.

At first, a 3 month interval was suggested but the bean counters decided they could save millions by extending the interval to 4 months. So that is where we are today..........

We service their vehicles every 4 months, as long as they have at least 1,000 miles on them. The vehicles will average 4,000 miles but obviously some are over and some are under that mileage.

We use Valvoline 10W30 fleet grade oil for most applications and ALWAYS change the oil filter.

Since adopting this method, the phone company's fleet maintenance costs have been reduced. This is probably a result of more vehicles being serviced and not missed. There are some engines that are lost, but these are usually ones that are driven by technicians that drive their vehicles home at night and don't, or won't give them up at the time we are performing our PM's.

These vehicles are purchased new and are kept approximately 10 years and then they are sold at auction. They don't get any more for a vehicle that is well maintained as for one that is not.

Now, my own company vehicles get oil changes evey 3,000 miles. My last company car had 215,000 miles and my present one has 132,000 with no major problems except transmission replacemnt for the first (Ford Crown Victoria). We run 15W40 oil in our own vehicles.

Just another way of doing it............

[PalmerWMD]

fasride:

Good input I always like to hear stuff about fleet opeartions, cuz thats alwasy pretty representative.

Fred..

[PalmerWMD]

Bumped.to the top...:oface

Since its such a ever popular subject and we have lotsa new folks that might enjoy this thread.

Fred...

[Datsun411]

Nice discussion, but is there any opinion/information on the advisability of switching an OLDER vehicle to synthetics? Besides the leakability problem.

I've got a 2000, an '82, a '73, several '67s, and a '69. All fours except the '82 (GMC S-15 w/ 2.8L V-6).

THX,Carl

[texasoil]

I am not in favor of switching older engines to synthetics. In all probability, those older cars do not get lotsof miles on them. You need to change the oil at least twice a year just to remove moisture and prevent rusting problems.

I recomend good major brand multiviscosity oil and good filters changed more frequently. The most I would do is semisynthetic.

Older engines have much higher blowby and other contamination in the crankcase, and need more frequent oil changes. The first Q45 engine is still 'state of the art' in terms of performance, emissions control, manufacturing precision, fuel economy, and far exceeds most other engines for durability at very high power output.