What Kind of Oil do I need?

[aurelemsrealm]

If you work in a convenience store, customers automatically assume you should know every little detail about their cars because they don't have a clue themselves. I always get questions about fuel tank capacity, oil, antifreeze/coolant, tire pressure, and so forth.

I know my car because I have taken the time to read my owner's manual, and you know, drive it everyday. Plus, I bought it from my parents, and my dad used to be a mechanic. If I'm in doubt, I can always ask Dad because he was the one who maintained it before I bought it from him and Mom.

On the other hand, I don't even attempt to offer advice or assistance regarding others and their vehicles. That way, they can't blame me for their stupidity when things go wrong since they wouldn't listen anyway. They can just blame me for "not being helpful," instead. It's up to them to decide what they want, and go get it. All I do is ring up what they bring to the counter or tell me they want.

I may do simple maintainence on my own vehicle, but I'm no mechanic. I take my vehicle to a mechanic for all major maintenence and repairs. My only advice to customers who have questions is to take it to a mechanic because that's what I'd do.

[Jester]

I bought it from my parents, and my dad used to be a mechanic. If I'm in doubt, I can always ask Dad...

When in doubt, I ask either my mechanic, my friend back in Phoenix who's a mechanic, or my stepdad, who could very well have been a mechanic.

On the other hand, I don't even attempt to offer advice or assistance regarding others and their vehicles.

I don't get this almost ever, as I work in a restaurant/bar, but if/when people ever do ask me mechanical advice, I say, "My mechanic's name is Roy. Would you like his number?"

[Daemonmonkey]

Absolutely correct, sir. Not at all possible. So don't worry about what kind of oil to buy...why buy any at all? Just run your engine without it. There's no way anything bad could possibly happen.....

Wasn't there a TV-shop commercial where they stated that the engine could run without oil? And they demonstrated this by taking away the oil pan (not sure if that's what it's called) and the motor ran? Although they didn't tell how long

Wouldn't peanut oil be just as good? Or would that be too much like offering milk to a cow?

I remember when I was a kid (5-6 years old) my dad let me play with his model train. I thought that the locomotive needed some oil so I tool some frying oil to make it run smoother... It did, for a while

[BeeMused]

This is exactly why we have a mechanic on staff for our fleet. He keeps an eye on the maintenance intervals and when a driver reports some weird noises or anything else he'll check and repair if needed and possible. That way we can catch problems very early and avoid more expensive repairs or replacements. OK engines can go boom out of the blue, but if they are well maintained it rarely happens.
By now our garage is well equipped with the special tools needed for our brand of trucks. But that's still cheaper than going to an external garage or replacing a truck.

[Mytical]

Ok I am more of a "Car go, me like car" type of person, but even I know how to find out what oil to use..and how to change oil. May be one of the FEW things I can do to a car, however. Unless "Percussion fixing" counts

[Jester]

Wasn't there a TV-shop commercial where they stated that the engine could run without oil? And they demonstrated this by taking away the oil pan (not sure if that's what it's called) and the motor ran? Although they didn't tell how long

I remember that commercial vaguely, and as I recall, it was not for a automotive shop or garage, but rather for a specific brand of oil. There claim was that a vehicle with their oil in it could be drained of oil and run perfectly fine. Basically the idea was that their oil would adhere enough to the engine parts to allow them to continue to run without issue. Couldn't tell you the brand of oil, though. One of the majors, I'm sure.

[protege]

I remember those commercials too. I can't remember if they were for an additive, or an actual oil. Interesting idea, but those products, if I recall, weren't around very long.

Even though I try to work on my own cars, I'm by no means an expert. I do know that some older engines don't like synthetic oils. The tolerances are a bit greater than those in a more modern engine--you'd get oil past the pistons...leading to the inevitable fouled spark plugs, and a bluish exhaust. That's why, I always follow what's in the Official MGB book, and listen to what my usual mechanic (great guy, even though he's a Triumph owner ) advises.

[Chromatix]

There are periodic contests to see who can make a VW Beetle engine run without oil for the longest. Typically, the same engines are used in subsequent contests, after being fixed. But this is definitely not usual - it's a peculiarity of the way the old VW engine was designed - probably related to the fact that it also doesn't need water.

Most engines will die *very* quickly if there is no oil at all - they heat up in the wrong places, scrape holes in things that shouldn't have holes in them, and eventually they actually go out of shape, which is what siezes them. Quick application of logic: if the engine didn't need oil (or water), why did the manufacturer put them in?

They wll usually die somewhat more slowly if the oil level gets too low, or if it gets dirty enough to block the filter, or old enough to start breaking down into simpler chemicals. Compared to that though, putting in the wrong type of oil isn't so much of a problem - in an emergency, you can normally use oil that is fairly close to the correct grade, especially if it's for a top-up rather than a full change. (Don't try this on an exotic, though.)

I've heard that dirty oil often results from continuous urban driving, and that taking it for a hundred-mile motorway drive can then clean it up somewhat. This was from a non-crackpot source, too. Useful to know if you do a lot of city driving and don't want the cost of reduced oil-change intervals.

I've also heard that running a diesel car on biodiesel made from vegetable oil tends to clean up an engine so rapidly that you should change the oil filter as soon as you change fuels, drive for a hundred miles, then change it again. The biodiesel effectively washes away deposits left by the fossil diesel, and leaves them in the oil. After the second filter change, you can go back to normal filter change intervals.

[Shalom]

I remember those commercials too. I can't remember if they were for an additive, or an actual oil. Interesting idea, but those products, if I recall, weren't around very long.

It was for Slick-50, if I remember correctly. This was an additive with PTFE suspended in it; they used to advertise that it had Teflon® in it, until DuPont, which owns that registered trademark and wanted nothing to do with this misuse of their product, hit them with a C&D letter. One argument against it was that if PTFE is such a great thing to have in your oil, how come none of the automakers recommended it, and none of the major oil companies put it in their product? Answers to that basically invoke conspiracy theories (as in, they're trying to destroy your car so you'll go buy another one). It's also been claimed that the particles clump together and plug up your oil filter, or at least sit in there rather than circulating around your engine, which doesn't help.

I am embarrassed to relate that I actually put some Slick-50 in my car once; this was an '87 Pontiac with the Chevy 2,8 V6. It didn't seem to do anything one way or the other.

As to oil grades, my '88 Chevy calls for conventional 5W-30 oil. If you use that grade, though, it will run roughly enough to fail at emissions, if it runs at all. (Too thin, leaks past worn rings and fouls plugs; the car has 221K miles on the original engine.) With 10W-30 it works a lot better. My new Subaru, on the other hand, calls for synthetic 0W-20 oil, which runs $8/quart at the cheapest; it's gonna be expensive changing the oil on this beast...

[Gizmo]

slightly off topic but thank you for this thread... you reminded me to go start my car since it hadn't been used for a few weeks (due to hubby being ill).

I may not know which oil to use but I wouldn't expect someone else too either unless they were the main dealers mechanics! (I do know where to look for it though, and how to check it).

[wolfie]

I
SC: "Well, I'll just get this 10W-30, what is the worst than could happen?"
me: "Blow up your engine from lack of oil in right spots would be my guess" (he did ask what is the worst)
Sc: "Oh what do you know, you don't even know what type it takes and that is not possible to have your engine get destroyed from lack of oil or the wrong oil"

Now, it is also agreed between random customer and my co-worker that had I told him a value to shut him up and he somehow caused damage to his engine, he was sure as hell gonna hunt me down, blame me and want to take some sort of legal action to get the company and/or me to fix his engine.

In a situation like that, I'd have told him he needed a 5W-40 SAE CL-5 rated oil, and anything else would ruin his engine. Note that there's no such thing as a C?-5 rated oil (the "C" means it's for Compression-ignition, i.e. diesel, engines, and there are C?-2 and C?-4 oils for 2-cycle and 4-cycle diesels - the latest spec is CJ-4 for diesels that meet the 2007 and 2010 emissions specs, so it'll be a while before he finds even a CL-4 oil).

With that attitude, I'd have recommended Canola oil.

Sounds like he needs a good dose of croton oil or oil of vitrol, taken internally.

[Dave1982]

Those old oil commerical were for Castrol Syntech oil.

[Yarnil]

It was for Slick-50, if I remember correctly.

I thought it was from amazing discovery. It was an add-on for oil. They took off the underpan of the engine and even rinsed it with the garden hose.

My uncle, a mecanic told me it was foolish to use, sinse there is something like it in normal oil allready. So I conclude that the stuff works, but just as good as normal oil :P. Abuse an engine for a short while and it will survive.

[Treasure]

my car was 10 yrs old when i bought her; i get the oil changed when the sticker in my windshield tells me to; and yes it usually has the type of oil used; when the shop asks me is 0U812 good, i reply, if that's what it says to use...

i do know that if you use synthetic, you can't aren't supposed to switch to "regular" and its not recommended that you switch from "regular" to synthetic but it (supposedly) won't cause as many problems(?)

[Frantic Freddie]

I've heard that dirty oil often results from continuous urban driving, and that taking it for a hundred-mile motorway drive can then clean it up somewhat. This was from a non-crackpot source, too. Useful to know if you do a lot of city driving and don't want the cost of reduced oil-change intervals.

What happens is that the oil picks up unburned fuel & water & it needs to get hot enough to burn those off which short trips to the store,work,etc... won't do.The additives don't break down any faster so really no need for shorter change intervals but it is good to burn all the crap off.