Random oil change question....

VR3

On the oil filter, it has a rubber ring on the inner part where you screw it in - normally when I changed it at my grandpaws, we used a oil can thingy with oil in it to put on there - I dont have that, is there an alternative likes vaseline or something?

Im new to this, Im just acquiring all the things I would need to get this done...

Thanks in advance!

Frank Z

Engine oil

VR3

How about the engine oil that came out of the truck, suitable? or does it need to be fresh?

Thanks

exalted512

i have no clue what youre talking about.

Change oil:

Drain the oil
After drained, pour new oil in until the stuff draining looks like new oil(makes sure to get all your old oil out)
Take off your old oil filter, take some new oil, put it on your finger, smear it around the rubber seal, screw it on, pour the oil in done.
-Cody

Polkersince85

exalted512 wrote:

pour the oil in done.

Don't forget to put the drain plug back in.:D

VR3

Well, its all about process...

My grandpaw taught me with the idea of using an "oil can" that was a lubricator of sorts...

So I figured it was the course of action - simplicity... all the better...

Thanks

bobman1235

Any oil will do. All you're really doing is moisturizing the gasket and adding a little bit more of a seal to it. Old oil, new oil, it's all the same for that tiny bit you're doing. I usually just dip my finger into whatever oil is handy and run a quick ring around it before **** it in.

1996blackmax

I just use some of the new oil... a drop is all you need.

ESavinon

I usually like to add some oil to the oil filter as well before **** in the filter.
I do this to alleviate dry start. I usually add from 1/4 to half a quart depending on how the oil filter goes in your vehicle.

Airplay355

Foam and Wash Oil Change Plus

Jstas

First things first, drain the old oil. Pull off the oil filler cap. It provides a hole for air to get in to the crankcase, lets the oil come out easier. Best thing to do is to put the pan, bucket...whatever, under the drain plug, pull the plug and let it go for a while. Go grab an iced tea or something and surf the forums for a bit. By the time you come back, all the oil will be drained. Stick the plug back in and tighten it down. Wipe up the drain hole area with a rag.

Next, pull th old oil filter. it's gonna be a mess so move the drain pan underneath that too. Either use an oil filter wrench or your hands. They honestly should be on more than hand tight. If you use a wrench to reinstall, you'l squash the gasket and it'll deform and leak. Put the oil filter face down in the oil pan and wipe up the oil filter bung on the engine once it has stopped draining what oil was left in there.

Next, take a bottle of oil and your NEW filter . Don't EVER reuse the old filter. They are no designed to be cleaned and they are cheap enough, just get a new one. For a 302 the absolute best filter on the market is Motorcraft FL-1A. They are 5 bucks. Use that one. If you can't get those, Purolator. So you have your new filter. Stick your finger in the oil and run it around teh rubber gasket. Don't be shy about it, cover that thing. It'll suck up alot of oil. The reason for this are not necessarily to lube the seal so it seals better but to lube the seal so when you are installing the filter it doesn't get stuck and tear the seal or bunch it up and cause a leak. The oil pressure when it starts circulating again will provide plenty of oil to swell that seal properly. When you have the filter seal all lubed up, fill that filter with oil. Of course, don't fill it so much that it all spills out when you install it so use your best judgement but get as much oil in that filter as you can before you install it. Then, like I said, hand tighten.

Now, go to the top of the engine. A funnel makes this job easier. Pour your quarts of oil into the engine. Once you are done with that, put the oil cap back on. Check for any apparent leaks before you start it. Start the truck up, don't rev it until after oil pressure builds. If you don't have a guage, wait for idle to drop down. Once that's done, check for leaks again while the engine is still running. No leaks? WOOHOO! Oil's changed!



Now I know other people probably said the same stuff but barely any responses in this thread made any sense to me to so I just coivered all the bases.

As for what parts to use, check the book at the parts store but it's a 302 so I know it uses an FL-1A filter and likely uses 10W-30 for oil. As for what oil to use, dino oil or synthetic, that's really up to you. However, somce advice about synthetic. If you have been running dino oil in the engine for a long time, don't change to synthetic. Synthetic isn't necessarily thinner but it does have different properties to it that dino oil. Synthetic will wash your seals of teh dino oil. This causes them to shrink. The synthetic oil then replaces the dino oil in the seals but, teh seals never fully expand to what they were before and then they leak. To get them fixed is an expensive proposition. So your best bet is to stick with dino oil.

MacLeod

Im a huge believer in synthetics and have been using them since 1997 but if youre not going to keep your vehicle for 10 years or its already been using conventional and has plenty of miles on it then youre not going to see a benefit and youre better off sticking with the MUCH cheaper conventional oil.

However, for filters, you cannot get any better than Mobil 1's. Again, youll see its benefit more long term but it is the best filter on the market, filtering 98% down to 10 microns. Other filters only go down to 20 microns and believe it or not that difference is huge. Going from 20 to 10 micron particles will reduce wear by 50%. But you pay for it. $12 a pop!

PolkThug

Vr3MxStyler2k3 wrote:

How about the engine oil that came out of the truck, suitable? or does it need to be fresh?

Thanks

I always use a drop of the old oil, it keeps the gasket from tearing when you screw it on.

VR3

Hmm... first time I changed it all on my own...

Took forever because the one size "cup" that fits on a socket didnt work with my current oil filter, a POS fram with a "grip" end that works well with the circular grip oil filter wrenches - so I had to a) buy a socket wrench set because I lost my socket wrench, eff - then I had to go borrow a oil filter wrench to get the effing fram off...

But other than that, I think I had to go back and tighten the new oil filter once as it was a little loose and leaking... I really like that cup.

The Mobil 1 filter is heavy duty...

Looks like my "blow by" problem isnt fixed, just reduced, will be curious to see how it all works with the new oil in there. Im amazed at how black that oil gets..jesus

PoweredByDodge

I'm in agreement with John... as for the following...

Jstas wrote:

If you have been running dino oil in the engine for a long time, don't change to synthetic. Synthetic isn't necessarily thinner but it does have different properties to it that dino oil. Synthetic will wash your seals of teh dino oil. This causes them to shrink. The synthetic oil then replaces the dino oil in the seals but, teh seals never fully expand to what they were before and then they leak.

It is not incorrect, but I believe it deserves a little more explanation. Synthetics do not actually have better or more detergents or cleaners, rather their chemical makeup has some cleansing properties to it already (in addition to the cleaners they add to all oils). But as we all know, different cleaners tend to clean different things. For example, PrepSol cleans wax, Mineral Spirits cleans nail polish, laquer thinner cleans laquer paints (and lots of other **** too - that stuff is strong)... and windex gets rid of streaks on windows... you get the idea. The standard detergents in oils do cut down on crud and sludge build up in a motor, but they don't really bite into the existing oil that is soaked into the seals / gaskets.

Anyway, a synthetic (to the best of my experience thus far) tends to have an almost capillary effect on a standard dinosaur oil (i almost wonder if it's by design). It'll pull that dino oil out of crevaces, corners, and seals/gaskets -- but as it does this, it is instantaneously replacing it with synthetic oil... think of it as a straw full of green jello... then somebody injects red jello into the straw... as the green is pushed out, the red is pushed in --- this isn't the actual manner in which it happens, but its a pretty good mental model to give you an idea of the concept of what is going on.

Now this is why my opinion differs with John's --- since the gaskets /seals are never actually becoming dried out and then re-soaked, they don't 'shrink then expand - but not as much as before' -- rather, the thermal properties of synthetics, and their resistance to break down (or malformation of any manner) lends them to not react so harshly to their hot environment. Thus, they will not "gum up" when soaked into the seals like a dinosaur oil would. Because that "gumming up" physical change has caused the seal to be formed into a non-ideal state, removing that "gum" can cause gaps and weaknesses in the seal/gasket. ...gaps that a synthetic (which wont gum up) can't fill. the **** will just leak out. and putting dino oil back in after noticing the leak may not solve the issue... years of gum aren't replaced so easily. if synthetics are used since day 1, then you will avoid malforming gaksets / seals, keeping them in a near ideal state, so no leaks. this excludes normal engine break in (500 equivelant miles after build to allow for break in) with normal dino oil -- i've actually seen a motor built fresh with synthetic dumped in, and the head gaskets never sealed properly. tore it down, new head gaskets, dino oil for 500 mi, then synthetic -- no issues... could it be a coincidence? yes -- would i take the chance? -- no.

so -- while i'm a huge fan of synthetics, the cadillac still gets 10-40 dinosaur oil because that's what its run on for years, and i never tore the heads off... last thing i need is more problems. if you are diligent and change your oil regularly checking for metal shavings, sludge, and other junk, and correcting any problems if you find them, then i personally feel that over a 100 thousand mile life span you will not have a difference in the health of your motor if you use dino oils versus synthetics.... but -- if you're like me and sometimes change it at 5k instead of 3k because you're busy, or you drive hard and rev the piss out of the thing, then synthetics are the only option if you want to have any form of love for your car.

Greg Peters

PoweredByDodge wrote:

Anyway, a synthetic (to the best of my experience thus far) tends to have an almost capillary effect on a standard dinosaur oil (i almost wonder if it's by design). It'll pull that dino oil out of crevaces, corners, and seals/gaskets -- but as it does this, it is instantaneously replacing it with synthetic oil... think of it as a straw full of green jello... then somebody injects red jello into the straw... as the green is pushed out, the red is pushed in --- this isn't the actual manner in which it happens, but its a pretty good mental model to give you an idea of the concept of what is going on.

Now this is why my opinion differs with John's --- since the gaskets /seals are never actually becoming dried out and then re-soaked, they don't 'shrink then expand - but not as much as before' -- rather, the thermal properties of synthetics, and their resistance to break down (or malformation of any manner) lends them to not react so harshly to their hot environment. Thus, they will not "gum up" when soaked into the seals like a dinosaur oil would. Because that "gumming up" physical change has caused the seal to be formed into a non-ideal state, removing that "gum" can cause gaps and weaknesses in the seal/gasket. ...gaps that a synthetic (which wont gum up) can't fill. the **** will just leak out. and putting dino oil back in after noticing the leak may not solve the issue... years of gum aren't replaced so easily. if synthetics are used since day 1, then you will avoid malforming gaksets / seals, keeping them in a near ideal state, so no leaks. this excludes normal engine break in (500 equivelant miles after build to allow for break in) with normal dino oil -- i've actually seen a motor built fresh with synthetic dumped in, and the head gaskets never sealed properly. tore it down, new head gaskets, dino oil for 500 mi, then synthetic -- no issues... could it be a coincidence? yes -- would i take the chance? -- no.

so -- while i'm a huge fan of synthetics, the cadillac still gets 10-40 dinosaur oil because that's what its run on for years, and i never tore the heads off... last thing i need is more problems. if you are diligent and change your oil regularly checking for metal shavings, sludge, and other junk, and correcting any problems if you find them, then i personally feel that over a 100 thousand mile life span you will not have a difference in the health of your motor if you use dino oils versus synthetics.... but -- if you're like me and sometimes change it at 5k instead of 3k because you're busy, or you drive hard and rev the piss out of the thing, then synthetics are the only option if you want to have any form of love for your car.

This is a good point for those who use synthetic oil. The older cars are a lot more prone to leaking when using synthetics than anything made since the mid/late 80s. Do not try this on vintage muscle unless all the gaskets have been gone through (because you'll soon have to).

My current ride had 45,000 miles on it when I got it (Jeep 4.0), and I made the switch to Mobil 1 from the second oil change. In the 50,000 miles since, I've had zero drips and no oil consumption- believe me I was watching for it.

I've been really happy with running Mobil 1- good stuff. The carbon and gunk stays emulsified until oil change time, and even after 3000 miles the oil seems to stay cleaner, the color of dark honey compared to 3K on the dino stuff. While I haven't tried the Mobil filters (been using the basic Fram type), I'd be willing to bet they'd keep the oil even cleaner.

What put me on to using Mobil was a friend- he bought a 5.0 Mustang new in '90 and abused the crap out of it for about 150,000 miles, using Mobil synthetic in the engine and 5 spd. While the differential died an early death and he burned through two Motorsport clutches in his tenure, the thing ran and pulled like new (in spite of really hard driving) when he sold it.

jhw59

Ok, I have an 05 Highlander with 18K miles and is almost 2 years old. should I consider changing to synthetic oil or just not worry about it as it is far from a performance automobile?

MacLeod

jhw59 wrote:

Ok, I have an 05 Highlander with 18K miles and is almost 2 years old. should I consider changing to synthetic oil or just not worry about it as it is far from a performance automobile?

Like I said before, if youre not planning on keeping your car more than 3-4 years then synthetics arent a good investment. I plan on keeping my beloved Dodge for 200,000 miles or until the steering wheel disintigrates, whichever comes first. Therefore Ive been using Mobil 1 oil and Mobil 1 filters since the first oil change at 2500 miles.

PoweredByDodge

mac - steering wheels are cheap -- heh heh heh heh...

as far as vintage muscle, 9 out of 10 times, you're going to be tearing the motor down anyway. there are not many restored vehicles running on motors that haven't been at least taken apart cleaned, spec'd, and put back together. if you're doing that, then you're putting in all new gaskets and seals and bearings when you do it - in which case running a synthetic is a perfect choice!