Oil Change Question

[oceanpacific]

Re: Oil Change Question

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

Jiffy Lube is one of the quick-oil-change places that has been blamed for over-torquing the oil drain plug.

Since I don't get caught in the morning and afternoon traffic jams, I change my engine oil at the manufacturers' six month/7500 mile interval. But, I pay for the complete engine flush once a year rather than the normal "drain and fill." It's expensive, but so was my car. It's now at 126K miles and running smooth, other than the slightly rough idle every since the state mandated 10% ethanol in our gas supply.

[GeckoGeek]

Re: Oil Change Question

But where on Oahu can you dump the oil legally?

Get one of these oil change boxes they sell in the stores. About $2 if you find a good sale. Then stick it into your residential trash. Hopefully it goes to H-Power.

If you've got one of those big oil catch/cans, then you might check with a local service station if they'll dump it for you. That's what I used to do until I got lazy and did the box thing.

[GeckoGeek]

Re: Oil Change Question

As for oil change interval, 2500 mi sounds like advice from the '60s. Probably valid then, not so sure but what it isn't overkill today.

All cars have a time limit specified if the mileage is not met. For my car, that's 3000mi or 3mo. Because I don't drive that much, I just do it every 3 months. Last month of the quarter. Easy to remember that way.

I would check the owner's manual for suggestions. Be read the whole thing carefully. I seem to recall one manufacture that specified long intervals as "normal" and shorter intervals for "severe service". But when you read what "severe service" was, it described driving in Hawaii!

[joshuatree]

Re: Oil Change Question

I would check the owner's manual for suggestions. Be read the whole thing carefully. I seem to recall one manufacture that specified long intervals as "normal" and shorter intervals for "severe service". But when you read what "severe service" was, it described driving in Hawaii!

Probably because of the higher humidity in Hawaii, all that moisture seeping into the oil.

[oceanpacific]

Re: Oil Change Question

Local auto dealerships define the stop-and-go driving here as "severe" conditions.

[joshuatree]

Re: Oil Change Question

Yeah, that would contribute but wouldn't stop and go traffic in any major metro area be considered severe driving conditions then?

[rhscare]

Re: Oil Change Question

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.

Scam dude! Maybe its because its the Big Island, but Ive NEVER seen an oil change where the filter wasnt in the price. And you really shouldnt pay them to do your air filter. An air filter for a 2001 Ranger is 7.99. Just saying.

[Kungpao]

Re: Oil Change Question

Local auto dealerships define the stop-and-go driving here as "severe" conditions.

That's cause it IS. Stop and go is the worst driving conditions for your car and add the heat and humidity to boot...

Bad for fuel economy...
Bad for Brakes...
Bad for engine cooling....
Bad for Tempers lol.

[Kungpao]

Re: Oil Change Question

...
One thing about excessive oil changes...is the environmental impact as well as the consumption of petroleum products in general....

Good mention there! Often times we do not stop to think about the consequeses of our actions in that manner.

The best thing you can do to minimize your oil changes is to change your air filter more frequently than your oil changes,

Sadly, that won't do much but cost you more to buy the filters.

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.

Regular Tune Ups = Cheap Insurance on the life of your vehicle.

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.

I again admire your "save the earth" message here but I would STRONGLY caution the use of Oil additives. It has been proven that some of the more popular oil additives allow the oil in your vehicle to have air bubbles in it. So much so that the air bubbles turn the oil from an amber color to something that resembles an Orange Julius Shake. Air in your oil = heat. Heat is something that you want to stay away from as it will break down your oil easier.

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

Yup... If it's affordable for the budget, use a high quality oil that will last.

[oceanpacific]

Re: Oil Change Question

That's cause it IS. Stop and go is the worst driving conditions for your car and add the heat and humidity to boot...

Bad for fuel economy...
Bad for Brakes...
Bad for engine cooling....
Bad for Tempers lol.

My point EXACTLY! For me, open freeway driving without the stop-and-go is 90-95% of my traveling.

[tutusue]

Re: Oil Change Question

[...]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.[...][/url]

A 'car-challenged-tutu' question: is synthetic oil a petroleum product, a part petroleum product, or completely non-petroleum? That's what's used in my car. I checked the Bob is the Oil Guy link but, holey moley, that stuff just goes over my head!

[joshuatree]

Re: Oil Change Question

A 'car-challenged-tutu' question: is synthetic oil a petroleum product, a part petroleum product, or non-petroleum? That's what's used in my car. I checked the Bob is the Oil Guy link but, holey moley, that stuff just goes over my head!

Synthetic oil in general is a non-petroleum product. It is oil artifically made from other compounds such as coal. When used as a lubricant in the case of motor oil, it provides better attributes such as higher temp & lower temp viscosity performance, decreased evaporative loss, reduced engine wear, etc. Some car engines are specifically designed to only use synthetics while most don't. If you're one to change oil frequently and don't drive your car hard, I suggest sticking with traditional motor oil from petroleum as it is cheaper.

Whatever you do, don't use synthetic blend as it only contains up to 30% synthetic and the rest is regular motor oil. The price you pay for it is cheaper than full synthetic but in my opinion, is a rip off because note "up to 30%". There is no law or regulatory body that dictates how much synthetic needs to be in the blend. Technically you can have just 1% synthetic, 99% motor oil, and pay the premium.

[Konaguy]

Re: Oil Change Question

Scam dude! Maybe its because its the Big Island, but Ive NEVER seen an oil change where the filter wasnt in the price. And you really shouldnt pay them to do your air filter. An air filter for a 2001 Ranger is 7.99. Just saying.

Well if you think that is bad. The independent oil changing place I go to charges
$33.95 for the oil change. But they charge me an additional 9.00 for the oil filter
claiming my truck requires an non-standard oil filter. According to them the
Mazda B2300 Truck has the same issue. But on the flip side this is the same place that apparently over torqued my oil plug

Also it wasn't my choice to have them replace the air filter. They did it as a part of the multi point inspection they did.

[shaveice]

Re: Oil Change Question

any recommendations for a) a good place in town to have your oil changed and b) brand of oil?

i never gave a second thought about going to places like jiffy lube but some of your comments are making me paranoid!

[Kungpao]

Re: Oil Change Question

any recommendations for a) a good place in town to have your oil changed and b) brand of oil?

i never gave a second thought about going to places like jiffy lube but some of your comments are making me paranoid!

b) I would think (and may be WAY off base on my thought logic here) that provided you're doing regular 3k changes that almost any popular brand of oil would be good. Mobil, Penzoil, Castrol, Quakerstate, Valvolie etc...

Originally, I was jaded with using quakerstate cause at one point in time they had a bad reputation of the oil breaking down easy. Since then, i've come to find out that some NASCAR teams run Qstate synthetic in their racecars. I figure if it's good for them, why not us right?

However, i still use Mobil 1 in my mustang hehe.

Whatever you do, don't use synthetic blend as it only contains up to 30% synthetic and the rest is regular motor oil. The price you pay for it is cheaper than full synthetic but in my opinion, is a rip off because note "up to 30%". There is no law or regulatory body that dictates how much synthetic needs to be in the blend. Technically you can have just 1% synthetic, 99% motor oil, and pay the premium.

Wow, I never thought of it that way. Don't some synthetics have cleaning agents in them too? I use Penzoil synth blend in my 4X4 but i may be reconsidering it now. Time to do some research... Mahalo for sure!