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Maintenance & Repair Oil change/fiascos
1297 messages, Last post on Sep 07, 2009 at 9:29 AM
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i got a 08 chevy equinox with a 3.4l v6 anyone out there know the wrench size of the oil pan drain plug so i can do my own oil changes?
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Replying to: larryg4 (Mar 30, 2008 7:07 am) |
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Replying to: larryg4 (Mar 30, 2008 7:07 am) |
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We have a 2006 Impala LTZ which has an "Oil Life" monitor...which tells me how soon I need to change the oil/filter. I'm not too sure how it works...probably some sort of Light/Sensor, which measures the clarity of the oil as it passes the sensor. I'm kind of old fashioned, and change the oil/filter every 3,000 miles, anyway. Over the past 2.5 years, I've tried Wix, Napa, Fram and WalMart filters. I notice that with the Wix, Napa, and WalMart filters, at about 3.000 miles, the sensor says I have between 60 and 65% of the oil life remaining. With the Fram, the number is usually around 50%. Also, I notice that when I remove the old filter, the W-W-N filters seem to be "heavier" than the Fram. The combination of the oil sensor, and the "weight" of the old filter tells me that the WalMart, Wix, and Napa filters are probably removing more dirt from the oil than the Fram does. Based upon my experiences, I have quit using Fram, and may just go with the WalMart, since they are only about $2.50. I'm not sure who makes these filters, but they seem to perform just as well as the $8 Wix...and certainly far better than the $5 Fram.
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Replying to: deminin (Apr 13, 2008 7:45 am) 1) Your Oil Life Monitor (OLM) does NOT in any way look at your oil. The system is programmed to assume your oil is in a certain condition based upon pre-programmed metrics that in turn were based upon hundreds of thousands of miles of empirical observations (metrics such as how much fuel was consumed, the number of engine revolutions, and the number of cold starts since the OLM was last reset). Said another way, you could use rot-gut oil and an empty filter can and get the exact same OLM recommendations as you would with Mobil 1 oil and a pricey Mobil 1 filter. 2) Determining filter effectiveness based upon weight is an exceedingly poor and error ridden methodology, and as such, is not a definitive measure at all. 3) While Fram filters have shown up in study after study as being of less quality at any given price point (compared to the competition), that isn't to say that it isn't doing its job after an exceedingly short Oil Change Interval (OCI) of only 3,000 miles. In fact, with an OCI that short, I'd venture to say that any filter (or no filter at all) would be just as effective. 4) Please understand that I'm not defending Fram filters, I wouldn't use one on my cars if you paid me to do so. Best Regards, Shipo
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Replying to: shipo (Apr 13, 2008 9:30 am) But, Fram is perfectly capable of making high quality oil filters too and they do to match the specs of the companies who buy them and private brand them. The off the shelf, discount store orange ones are made to compete price wise. |
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Replying to: zueslewis (Sep 06, 2003 5:33 am)
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Replying to: goodgradesnow (May 28, 2008 11:05 am) 
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Replying to: shipo (May 28, 2008 11:21 am) 
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We have had a lucky "escape" from what could have been the destruction of the engine in our 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee V-6. A few days ago, my daughter drove about 70 miles from her job location to our family house. The trip was mostly at Interstate speeds. I happened to glance at the driveway under the car where she had parked the vehicle some 30 minutes prior. It was obvious that the vehicle was loosing a meaningful volume of fluid. We proceeded some two miles to the Jeep dealership where we had an appointment for a totally unrelated warranty repair which amounted to the replacement of the electronic shifting module. We asked them to look into the source of the leak as well. The next day I was called and told that there had been an oil filter failure! The tech saved the filter for me. He found a depression in one area of the rubber seal ring, and could find no other apparent problem. He "guessed" that the ring had allowed oil to begin leaking out. We are grateful that the engine lost only about one quart of oil before the discovery. Mind you that at the time of the discovery of the leak, the car had traveled some 2500 miles total on that filter and oil change! What can be concluded here?
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