Oil change instructions please?

Good afternoon,

I attached a YouTube video and a guide for you for changing the oil and filter.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-change-engine-oil-and-filter

Roy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pG37evYB_Cc

Hello, I'm Danny.

They should have at least used a degreaser of some type to get off most of the oil than just letting the car run and burn it off. I would definitely leave a bad Yelp review. Hope this helps and thanks for using 2CarPros.

The viscosity ratings have to be the same regardless of what the oil is made from. Those numbers refer to how fluid the oil is at different temperatures. The "30" means the oil will flow less easily in warm weather during a cold-engine start-up. The thinner oil is more likely to squirt from the tiny holes in the connecting rods, onto the cylinder walls, to lubricate the pistons. While this might not be a big issue, less piston scuffing will occur if you can get oil onto the cylinder walls as soon as possible after start-up.

The disadvantage to using synthetic oil is the higher cost, and if there is a small, insignificant leak, it will leak out much faster. In my opinion, there is no advantage to using it, but opinions vary. It is supposed to make really cold engines easier to start, but since my first fuel-injected '88 Grand Caravan, I've never had a failure to start in the middle of Wisconsin winters, except when the batteries decided to give up.

My biggest concern with synthetic oil is they almost always advertise the much longer oil change intervals to offset the higher cost. The problem is oil is oil, and will always be oil. It's the additives that wear out over time, and the contaminants that build up in it, that are the reason for the recommended intervals. Most additives, including seal conditioners, anti-foaming agents, dispersants, and detergents, wear out in about 3,000 miles. The dispersants carry the contaminants to the oil filter. Using synthetic oil doesn't give the filter more room to hold the stuff we want to remove. If the filter becomes plugged, there is always a bypass valve around it. The engineers feel unfiltered oil going to the engine is better than no oil. That is definitely true, but cleaned oil is better than oil with carbon and metal particles in it.

It's not the oil; it's the additives. The same is true when switching from one brand of regular oil to a different brand. It's the seal conditioners, detergents, viscosity index improvers, and corrosion inhibitors that are at issue. Those are what wear out and is why oil is changed at regular intervals. Those additives might work perfectly fine in both brands of oil, but they may be incompatible with each other. For example, the seal conditioner in one oil might be broken down by the detergent in a different brand.

I had a former student switch to synthetic and within a few days the engine started to leak. After a month there was a six-inch-diameter puddle every place he parked. After a few months of putting up with the added expense of the oil that wasn't needed, he switched back to regular oil, and the leaks cleared up after a few more months.

The big selling point of synthetic oil is it remains more fluid at cold temperatures which supposedly promotes easier starting. There's no engine out there that is damaged by lack of oil flow on cold days, and thick oil gets warm real soon after starting the cold engine. The only time starting might become an issue is when cranking speed is too low due to a weak battery. That's where a more fluid oil might help get the engine started.

What is never discussed is besides "isolating moving parts from each other", which cold, thick oil does real well, it's other main job is to hold contaminants in suspension so they can be carried away to the filter. I suspect if synthetic oil was superior in that regard, they would advertise it.

You must remember too that the additives in oil are always being improved, and the requirements the manufacturers deem necessary for their engines are constantly being upgraded. When you look at the listings on the container, you'll see an "SF" or "SG" rating. When the manufacturers specify a more stringent set of characteristics, the oil manufacturers respond, then issue the next letter to denote that. If the latest oil has an "SF" rating, that is what you'll find in all the stores. That oil will work fine in older engines that call for any oil with a lower rating. The only time you have to worry is when you have a stash of older oil in your garage. If it has an older rating, the oil might break down at higher temperatures, or there's some characteristic of the additives that might not meet the engine's needs under all conditions.

The "S" in "SG" stands for spark ignition, meaning a gas engine. The container will also have a "CD" rating. "C" is for compression ignition, meaning a diesel engine. The second letter jumps one letter higher each time there is a significant improvement in the oil to meet an engine's needs. Once the set of additives is improved to meet the latest requirements, there is no reason to keep producing oil with the older additives, so you'll always find the latest and best product on the store shelves.

Be aware too the automotive marketing business is extremely competitive, and if a manufacturer could advertise one more horsepower, one more cubic foot of cargo space, or one more cup holder, you can be sure they would do it. If there was any advantage to be gained by using synthetic oil that they could advertise, they certainly would do that too. As it is now, engines are designed to perform properly with regular oil, so for the much higher cost, there has to be some real benefit that you have identified. To assume one oil is better simply because it's more expensive is not valid.

As an experiment to show my students what some engines are capable of, and because due to the knocking noise, I assumed I was in for an engine rebuild, I didn't change the oil in my '88 Grand Caravan 3.0L for over 14 years! That's abuse, not neglect, and I'm not suggesting anyone else do something so stupid. I did have to add a quart about every 1,000 miles, and that was plenty to keep the additives in there. There's over 420,000 miles on that engine now. It has never had a major repair. Once a year I pull a tandem axle enclosed trailer that's bigger than the van to an old car show swap meet. Also, I use the cheapest oil I can find at the local farm and home store.

That's one end of the teeter totter. You're thinking of going to the other end. The manufacturer is happy with something in the middle, so there's no need to switch to something that claims to give you more than you need, ... Unless there is some reason you have in mind.

No, you cannot, It will not seal correctly and will leak. I attached a YouTube video for you of the process for changing the oil and filter.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-change-engine-oil-and-filter

and

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pG37evYB_Cc

Roy

Hi:
Is the oil still over full on the dip stick? If so, you should try to get it back down to the full mark. You can drain it at the pan and then replug it before you loose too much. It is a messy way of doing it, but I would rather see you do that than continue removing the filter. The rubber o-ring on the filter may get fatigued and fail. Let me know what you do or if you have other questions.

Two of my best friends own a couple of quick lubes in my area. If there is something I can't answer they will have the answer for you.

Joe

Remove drain plug and allow oil to drain into a container. Once empty, replace drain plug. Remove oil filter with oil filter wrench. Make sure the old gasket is still on the old filter and not stuck to the engine. Place a thin film of oil on the new filter's gasket and reinstall. Tighten it as tight as you can by hand and then a quarter turn with the wrench. Refill oil. (Aprox 4.5 quarts)

Agh! Don't run it when the oil is drained out. Once there is air in the pump, it will be harder for it to draw a prime later because the galleys are filled with oil that is hard to move. You won't ever get all of that oil out anyway. The manufacturers know that not all of the oil is going to drain out. To try to get it all out means restarting the engine with no oil in the passages. The V-6 engines actually hold over 7 quarts of oil, as in filling a freshly rebuilt engine, but all you'll get out when draining them is 4.5 quarts for the 3.0L and 4.8 quarts for the 3.3L. Besides draining out the gunk, the reason for putting in new oil is for the additives. There is enough additives in just one quart of oil to keep the engine happy. With five quarts of oil, the additives do not last five times longer. You just have five times as much additives wearing out at the same rate, so there is no advantage to draining the system for hours or overnight, ... (Even though I do that too), but I change my oil every other year, whether it needs it or not!

Caradiodoc

I hate to admit that on one of my vans, an '88 Grand Caravan with 379,000 miles, I change the filter once every other year, and add about a quart of oil every 1,000 miles. The drain plug hasn't been out since I left the dealership in 1999! That isn't neglect. That's abuse, and it made for lots of teasing from my students about being cheap, ... Ahh, ... I mean "frugal". And I use it to pull an enclosed trailer that's bigger than the van. That doesn't mean you shouldn't change your oil. It just goes to show what these engines are capable of. I just replaced the 12 year old spark plugs, cap and rotor too; sort of like a "thank you" gift to my van for being so reliable.

I also have a '93 Dynasty that gets its oil changed every 2,500 miles. It's had one in its lifetime so far and will be due for its second one in another 900 miles, which should be about four more years!

If you want to get really picky about clean oil, I have an '80 Volare that has an add-on filter that uses a roll of toilet paper for the filter material. Talk about a spotless engine. But you must also remember that oils weren't nearly as good 30 years ago as they are today. I added that filter when the car had 50 miles on it.

There are a lot of differing opinions about oil brands too. It seems the best course of action is to stick with one brand because they use different additive formulas and some of them are not compatible. It seems very often when someone tells me of a leak or burning oil, it happened shortly after changing brands. One student had a six inch puddle wherever he parked his Ford truck within two weeks of switching to a popular synthetic brand. He switched back to the cheaper oil at the next oil change and within a few weeks, the leak stopped. I use the cheapest stuff I can find in my old van. It's a store brand from a small chain called Fleet Farm, but if you read the fine print, it's actually made for them by Citgo. I often wonder about what experiences people have when they go to different speedy lube places that use different brands of oil. If my comment about changing brands of oil caused problems, you'd think we would hear more about it. Perhaps it applies more to high-mileage engines that have hardened rubber seals.

At any rate, I'm happy you're performing oil changes when you should. Don't worry about getting every last drop drained out. There's still two quarts stuck in there and there's not enough gravity to suck that out. One thing that a lot of people overlook though, when you take it to a shop for the oil change, they will usually perform a quick visual inspection of the steering and suspension parts. That can get overlooked by those of us laying on the ground to do our business, so to speak.

Caradiodoc

:) Donations are always appreciated but think of them as a tip, not a requirement, and I like that they set this site up that way. They help cover the cost of my six computer crashes in the first five months this year! Now I'm on a ten-year-old tank that works perfectly.

Side note that might not apply since you already checked the doors, but there was a service bulletin on the lack of heat. Condensation runs down the metal rod that the temperature door pivots on and rusts it tight. You would expect when that happens that the temperature lever would not move but in fact it moves perfectly normally. There is a metal clip on the arm for the door that has three fingers. The cable runs between them and magic, (well, friction actually), holds the cable in place. The idea is that when you move the lever from full hot to full cold, one of those ways the door will get to its stop first, then the cable will slide in those fingers as you continue moving the control lever. Once it does that, it is adjusted. It's a self-adjusting feature. When the door gets rusted tight, the cable just slides back and forth in the fingers giving the appearance everything is working.

The fix for that is to remove the center console if you have the one that bolts to the floor, throw a rag on the carpeting to protect it, find the inch-long nipple hanging down that holds that pivot rod, drill about a 1/8" hole through the plastic until you can see the rod, then soak it with a lubricant. Chrysler has a can of stuff called "Rust Penetrant" that works WAY better than WD-40 but it also promotes moisture following it in which makes things worse weeks later. Use that "nuclear waste" to free up the rod, then wash it out with brake parts cleaner or carb cleaner, then I like to use their Spray White Lube. It's a lithium grease with a liquid. The liquid soaks in and takes the grease with it, then the liquid evaporates leaving the grease behind. I use that stuff for everything except brushing my teeth.

That nipple is directly below where the rod comes out of the heater box up on top. I seem to recall you can see the rod with the clip if you pull out the heater control assembly, ... Or was it the radio?

Feel the two heater hoses when the engine is warmed up. They should be too hot to hold onto for very long. If the heater core is plugged, a garden hose should be sufficient to uncork it. Two other things to look for include bulk heater hose that was installed to replace the original molded ones that had 90 degree bends, (look for kinks in one of the hoses), and check the operation of the water valve if there is one. That will be in the middle of one of the hoses, and have a vacuum hose attached to it. Watch the actuator rod under it while a helper switches from heat to air conditioning with the engine running. That valve blocks coolant flow when the AC is on so it doesn't have to work so hard. They give very little trouble so I can't remember if they are spring-loaded open or closed. It would be more likely there is a problem with the vacuum supply to the heater control or to that valve.

Caradiodoc