Auto and Truck Repair and Advice
Serving the Gainesville and Hawthorne Florida Area
OIL CHANGES
You can change your oil yourself or take it to a "quick lube" place, but you'll really get the most benefit from letting your regular mechanic change your oil. Why?
Well, first because he has a lift and all the proper tools to do the job right. Do you really want to crawl on the ground to save 5 or 10 bucks? Second, there are a lot of things a trained mechanic will notice that you might miss (if for no other reason than that you don't have the car up in the air so you can walk around under it and look around). He'll also grease the front suspension: an item often ignored by do-it-yourself folks.
So what about those 10 minute folks? Well, they do have a multipoint inspection, but who's doing it? Their "techs" are paid only slightly above minimum wage and they work in a hot pit all day. These are not the best mechanics in town.
A few basics:
Oil should be changed for several reasons: first, oil will break down chemically over time and lose its lubrication properties. Multiviscosity oils can lose their ability to flow more freely (than single viscosity oils) in cold weather. All oils (single and multi viscosity) can "thin out" with time and lessen their ability to lubricate. Heat accelerates these changes, therefore oil would last longer in a moderate climate than in a hot one.
The reason synthetic oils last longer is they have a "more pure and stable" molecular structure that is more resistive to breakdown than traditionally refined oils.
As an oil breaks down it combines with combustion chamber residue from blowby gasses to form sludge. High detergent oils dissolve this sludge and hold it in suspension. In addition, as an engine wears small pieces of metal, rubber, and plastic end up in the bottom of the oil pan. Believe it or not, the "granny car" which is "short tripped" will have a lot more acids (condensed from blowby gasses) mixed with the oil than a car which is driven every day! I rebuilt one engine with a thrown rod: (old lady, once a week to the store 3 miles away) The rod bearing had been eaten away by acid deposits!!! Ony 40,000 miles on that motor! Thus on low mileage cars I recommend changing the oil every 6 months, no matter how many miles on them!
So anyway, the oil should be changed to get rid of all the "crap" that gets dissolved in it, even if the oil itself is still chemically OK.
SO HOW OFTEN SHOULD YOU CHANGE YOUR OIL?
I don't go by either miles or time on my oil in my cars! I go by "feel" and "appearance"! When I check my oil (you should do this regularly: how regularly depends on how much oil your car uses: You'll "get a feel" for its "oil habit!") I wipe the dipstick off with my fingers. I then rub my fingers together and "feel" the oil's viscosity. Good oil feels slick: you can't feel the ridges in your fingerprint. Really bad oil feels almost like water: your fingerprint ridges are really obvious. "Feel" the oil right after you change it to get an idea how good oil feels. Then when you check it, if it feels thinner than that, change it!
Step 2: reinsert the dipstick, pull it out to check the level. You should be able to read the markings on the dipstick through the oil. The oil should be a light caramel color: about like pancake syrup at the very darkest. If it is darker than that, it's time for a change.
OK, let's say you're a fanatic with a lot of money and want to change your oil every 3000 miles whether you need it or not: is there any reason not to do this?
Yes there is! Each time you change the oil the oil pump "loses its prime" ad the new oil filter is empty. Even if you pour some oil in the new filter you'll leave an air bubble in there. When you start the engine, it will have to run for a short time without oil pressure: that's an automotive heart attack! (see my article: http://econofix.com/oilite.html) Before the oil can reach the bearings, the air must be forced out through the oil passages, and air doesn't lubricate motors very well!
This is really not a huge big deal: the film on the bearings works for a surprising length of time even with low oil pressure, but why do it any more than you have to?
A WARNING: IF YOUR CAR IS UNDER A WARRANTY!!!!!!!!
If your car is under warranty you may void this warranty if you exceed the oil change intervals recommended by the manufacturer!!!!!!!!
Related topic: What to do when your oil pressure light comes on
The Economechanix Cyber Mall
We also serve the surrounding communities of Alachua, High Springs, Hawthorne, and Newberry!
Thank you for visiting the ECONOMECHANIX WEB SITE. Please feel free to comment. We also serve the surrounding communities of Alachua, High Springs, Hawthorne, and Newberry! Gainesville has been my home since 1974, and I've loved Gvl and the Gators since I came here in the fall of 1974 to attend the University of Florida. I loved it so much I stayed and opened my car repair business. Originally it was out of the back of a 1963 Chevrolet wagon, but in 1977 a fellow mechanic and I opened an auto repair shop with actual walls, etc. I stayed in the same location for 26 years, and recently moved my operation to property I bought 15 miles east of Gainesville. I am doing most all the repairs myself now, having reduced my overhead from $1500 per month to practically nothing. I do work by appointment only. I mostly work only on my established customers cars, but I will occasionally take on new clients. E-mail me and I will either make arrangements to look at your car, or I will recommend you to someone who will.
George G. Scott, Jr.