Oil Change Question

[damontucker]

Re: Oil Change Question

Hey Maddie, I buy you a couple ramps and you change my oil every 10,000?

Offer still stands

2500 mi between changes? Is there a specific reason for that? That seems overkill but thenagain weather condidions there are different from here.

Oil is touchy... The vehicle manufacturer will tell you to change at 5k and the oil manufacturer will tell you to change at 3k. Are the vehicle manuf's trying to get you to wear down your engine early or are the oil manuf's trying to get you to buy more oil? Conspiracy theorists can reply to that rhetorical question lol.
Me... I use Mobil 1 full synth and change every 5k.

Agreed... 2500 mi seems excessive followed by...

I'm severely car challenged but when several people, all strangers to each other and in different walks of life, give me the same unsolicited advice...I listen! All mentioned that changing the oil every 2500 miles will greatly prolong the life of a car.

Tutu's post made me walk all the way down to my car to figure out why I originally told Maddie every 10,000 miles she can change my oil... The reason I said this... is because the little sticker that Sears put on my window less than a week ago after I had the Lube, Oil, filter...etc. + 5 pints of new oil...etc... added.... said that my next needed visit would be 41,017 miles...(I was at 31,000 miles)...

So why would SEARS suggest a 10,000 mile change SEARS would not make a mistake would they?

I'm confused now...on the mainland with an older car I was told every 3000 miles.

Is it because my car is newer than tutu's 16 year old car? BTW... it's a 2002?

I rack up about 2500 miles about every 4 months...and that seems excessive to me.

[tutusue]

Re: Oil Change Question

[...]I rack up about 2500 miles about every 4 months...and that seems excessive to me.

In the grand scheme of driving, even in Hawaii, 7500 miles per year isn't excessive at all. My ex used to put on at least 25k miles/yr. I've averaged 5800 mi/yr for many, many years.

And, yes, Sears could make a mistake! The employees are human beings!

I've often heard that a car's oil should be changed every 6 months if the recommended mileage isn't met. So, for me, the 2500 miles and the 6 month mark pretty much coincide.

Keeping in mind that I've already admitted I'm car challenged (unlike Maddie!), I'd think that waiting too long between oil changes would be far more detrimental to a car then too frequent changes.

[damontucker]

Re: Oil Change Question

In the grand scheme of driving, even in Hawaii, 7500 miles per year isn't excessive at all. My ex used to put on at least 25k miles/yr. I've averaged 5800 mi/yr for many, many years.

So if your ex was putting on 25k per year....dividing that by 12 months... I come out with = Aprox. 2083 miles per month.

Was he getting an Oil change every 5 weeks? if the stats say every 2500 miles should get one. ... I mean he may have... but that still seems excessive.

Manoa still confused

[tutusue]

Re: Oil Change Question

So if your ex was putting on 25k per year....dividing that by 12 months... I come out with = Aprox. 2083 miles per month.

Was he getting an Oil change every 5 weeks? if the stats say every 2500 miles should get one. ... I mean he may have... but that still seems excessive.

Manoa still confused

What 'stats"? Various peoples recommendations were mentioned but not stats. In all honesty I have no idea how often my ex got his car serviced! That was his responsibility plus that was decades ago! He also wasn't one of the people who mentioned the magic 2500 number! He was one of those guys who bought a new car every 2 years and traded in the 2 year old 'old' car so I doubt there was much incentive to over-service the car to keep it running for a couple of decades!

[rhscare]

Re: Oil Change Question

There is nothing wrong with every 2,500 miles. With the low cost of an oil change its one of the best things you can do. People letting it go 6, 7, 8000 miles+ dont realize what they are doing. Especially on the island with the amount of particles in the air. The standard is every 3k or 3 months. If the car is sitting, its just as bad if not worse for the oil then if your moving. Its cheap, quick and worth the effort.

As for the $69.00 is parts...you got hosed. There really isnt anything that would justify that cost.

[Kungpao]

Re: Oil Change Question

While 2500 is IMHO a wee overkill it certainly is NOT a bad thing to do. Oil is just as good as it's viscosity and once it breaks down, you may as well be running water in there (well not that extreme i suppose) Hard driven vahicles will wear out the oil faster than easy drivers. That's a given. Extreme conditions also play roles in how long the life of your oil lasts. Synthetics last longer than plain old dino juice but if you're changing regularly it only slightly matters. Routine oil changes and tune ups are "cheap maintenance" and will certainly prolong the life of your vehicle.

Manoa... Wanna be confused some more? go to this site. LOADS of oil information on here...

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com

[Kungpao]

Re: Oil Change Question

There is nothing wrong with every 2,500 miles. With the low cost of an oil change its one of the best things you can do. People letting it go 6, 7, 8000 miles+ dont realize what they are doing. Especially on the island with the amount of particles in the air. The standard is every 3k or 3 months. If the car is sitting, its just as bad if not worse for the oil then if your moving. Its cheap, quick and worth the effort.

As for the $69.00 is parts...you got hosed. There really isnt anything that would justify that cost.

Theoretically, like I said earlier it may have not been too bad of a hosing. Look at my car for example:

My vehicle: 2005 Ford Mustang V6 Convertible
Air Filter: STP SA9895 - $22.95
Oil Filter: Fram PH2 - $4.19
5 Quarts of Penzoil 5W30 - $10.48

Plus, if i had to get a 14.99 oil plug, that would bring me to 52.61 and $20 in labor brings to 70.61. and tax.

That air filter can really screw ya if it's not a standard filter. I remember the air filter on my kia sportage was UBER expensive. I bought a k&n so that solved the issue for me.

[joshuatree]

Re: Oil Change Question

Tutu's post made me walk all the way down to my car to figure out why I originally told Maddie every 10,000 miles she can change my oil... The reason I said this... is because the little sticker that Sears put on my window less than a week ago after I had the Lube, Oil, filter...etc. + 5 pints of new oil...etc... added.... said that my next needed visit would be 41,017 miles...(I was at 31,000 miles)...

So why would SEARS suggest a 10,000 mile change SEARS would not make a mistake would they?

I'm confused now...on the mainland with an older car I was told every 3000 miles.

Is it because my car is newer than tutu's 16 year old car? BTW... it's a 2002?

I rack up about 2500 miles about every 4 months...and that seems excessive to me.

It depends on what kind of oil Sears is using for your car. If it's any of the newer types of synthetic oil such as Mobil 1 Extended Performance, these oils claim they can be used for up to 15000 miles. You might want to check and see what Sears is putting into your car. Also check to see what type of filter. Just because the oil can run for 15000 miles don't mean the filter can.

As for the recommended 3000 mile intervals, that's usually a good timeframe to cover most driving conditions. 2500 does seem a little excessive but oil changes can only do good for the car. So as long as your wallet can take the hit, there's nothing wrong with 2500.

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Oil Change Question

Several mechanics have told me at different times that you should change your oil based on an inspection of the dipstick. If the oil is somewhat clear it's okay to extend it out a bit more.

One thing about excessive oil changes (albeit nothing bad for the engine to do so) is the environmental impact as well as the consumption of petroleum products in general. Remember it's not only gas that is a product of crude oil. Engine oil is as well and the more often we use it the more often we need to replenish that supply, hence our latent dependancy on oil thru excessive oil changes, and we need to consider the environmental impact of used motor oil. On Oahu you have H-Power, not so on the neighbor islands. You gotta store it somewhere.

The best thing you can do to minimize your oil changes is to change your air filter more frequently than your oil changes, keep your car well tuned and if you're getting low compression you may want to overhaul the lower half as blow by thru the piston rings can contaminate the oil.

Another way to save the Earth is to use oil extenders that put back the lubricative qualities back in your motor oil in the engine.

And finally use high quality motor oil that won't break down as quickly as the cheap department store brand.

[Konaguy]

Re: Oil Change Question

As for the $69.00 is parts...you got hosed. There really isnt anything that would justify that cost.

20.xx for the oil change
14.xx for the oil plug
8.xx for the oil filter
25.xx for the air filter

I don't really see any excessive here ? Please enlighten me.

[Konaguy]

Re: Oil Change Question

Since it seems the the oil changing place I had been going to screwed up my
oil plug. I'm at a bit of a loss, part of me wants to call them up to let them
know what happened, part of me is saying why bother.

Also it looks like I'll be taking my truck to dealership for oil changes too. As,
to me it is obvious that other place over torqued the oil plug.

[CranBeree]

Re: Oil Change Question

is there no Jiffy Lube or something of that sort in Kona/Hilo?

[Miulang]

Re: Oil Change Question

Since it seems the the oil changing place I had been going to screwed up my
oil plug. I'm at a bit of a loss, part of me wants to call them up to let them
know what happened, part of me is saying why bother.

Also it looks like I'll be taking my truck to dealership for oil changes too. As,
to me it is obvious that other place over torqued the oil plug.

Too bad you didn't keep that original oil plug. I would have taken that plug back to the place that screwed it up, along with the bill I got from Orchid for fixing the problem and just tell them that they have lost my business and all of my friends' business because of their shoddy work. I wouldn't ask for any compensation up front, but I would certainly let them know that their workers need to pay more attention to what they're doing. If they really care about your business they will offer you something to compensate you for the trouble. If they don't, then it's not worth doing business with them.

Miulang

[Konaguy]

Re: Oil Change Question

is there no Jiffy Lube or something of that sort in Kona/Hilo?

No, I wish there was though.As it seems the quality of this independent place is slipping.

[Konaguy]

Re: Oil Change Question

Too bad you didn't keep that original oil plug. I would have taken that plug back to the place that screwed it up, along with the bill I got from Orchid for fixing the problem and just tell them that they have lost my business and all of my friends' business because of their shoddy work. I wouldn't ask for any compensation up front, but I would certainly let them know that their workers need to pay more attention to what they're doing. If they really care about your business they will offer you something to compensate you for the trouble. If they don't, then it's not worth doing business with them.

Well I really never thought of asking for it. As I had to deal with that lousy
service adviser at Orchid Isle. He was hard to understand, plus he would
get frustrated if I asked too many questions. Hence I never got the oil plug.

The 14.89 (I checked the invoice in my truck) is not a big deal to me. what is
a big deal to me is, it seems I'll have to forgo the convenience of going to this
oil changing place and go through the inconvenience of going to the dealership
to get this done.