I can swing the $5 to change a tire if need be lol.
I assume you have an OBD 2 scanner?
I assume you have an OBD 2 scanner?
Endgame... The ATT SE1/Schick Proline Journal
- Thread starter rabidus
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #122
I buy tires online, it usually cost about $80 to mount and balance them. I have it, don't want to give it to them.
I took old tires off the Altima rims I bought used and then took my tires off my Rogue wheels and put them on the Altima wheels for free. I'll probably just get the front tires balanced for about $10 each.
Yes, an inexpensive one that works good. I'll probably get a better one that does a little more at some point.
- Thread starter
- #123
There's a lot of shady shops here. When my transmission went on my 2012 Quest last year, I did have a trusted transmission shop change it though.
Before that, the last time one of my cars was in a shop was 1998 when I had Eibach springs installed on my 1998 Accord, they didn't tighten the rear top strut bolts good enough. No damage, just noise until I tightened them myself. From then on, I installed my own struts and springs on later cars.
Before that, the last time one of my cars was in a shop was 1998 when I had Eibach springs installed on my 1998 Accord, they didn't tighten the rear top strut bolts good enough. No damage, just noise until I tightened them myself. From then on, I installed my own struts and springs on later cars.
$20 a tire to mount and balance? Dayum...
Most shops here mount and balance free when you buy the tires and tires arent that expensive. I havent had to buy any for the last 5 years and wont for a few more, but the friend that had the 07 GP bought all new tires and so did a mechanic friend not that long ago, both from the same shop. Both sets of tires were Hercules but in different sizes. $107CAD per tire, mounted and balanced. I had Hercules tires on my Chevelle, not a bad tire. The last set of 35" BFG's on my 4x4 were $247 each then and that was the mid 90's. Because of the size, most shops couldnt balance them, only one shop at the time could. The same with doing the alignment and thats important when you have nearly 2"s tread depth.
I do my own work too other than engine and transmission rebuilds. Shop rate here is $120/hr avg. I can do a lot of work in an hour lol. The camshaft position sensor and supercharger bypass valve for example. I would have had to pay minimum $120 diagnostic, plus install time. Likely an hour, so thats $240, plus parts and 13% tax, all in. Including my parts cost that would have been ~$450. I scanned and replaced both in under 30 minutes for $220 and I'd never done it before. Camshaft position sensor? What the hell is that? lol
I have found working on the newer cars is pretty easy. A lot easier than working on my truck or Chevelle. They have more accessible designing and once you know what the problem is and when the part is, its a matter of minutes, if not seconds, for most things. The wear parts, wheel bearings, tie rod ends, brakes, are all simple, easy and quick. I called a shop about changing a wheel bearing and tie rod end. They wanted $250 installed for a wheel bearing and since they had it apart anyway, $50 for the tie rod end. $300. I paid $89 for the wheel bearing, $32 for the tie rod end and was finished in less than an hour. I did have to buy an axle nut socket, $20, but tools are always a good investment.
After changing the water pump, which the shops wanted $500+ to do, I did myself for $75 for an ACDelco pump and $15 for 4L's Dexcool, I swore the next time I need to fix that car I'm buying one of these.
Milwaukee M12 FUEL 12-Volt Lithium-Ion Brushless Cordless 1/2 in. Ratchet Kit W/ (2) 2.0Ah Batteries, Charger & Tool Bag-2558-22 - The Home Depot - https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwaukee-M12-FUEL-12-Volt-Lithium-Ion-Brushless-Cordless-1-2-in-Ratchet-Kit-W-2-2-0Ah-Batteries-Charger-Tool-Bag-2558-22/302616706?MERCH=REC-_-pipsem-_-302451795-_-302616706-_-N
The 1/2" is a stronger tool than the 3/8" unless you need something smaller. You can see the difference here at 6:20.
Changing the water pump was easy, but it would have been a whole hell of a lot easier and faster with one of those. $500? Not this guy... Do it yourself for under $100 and an hours time.
Starting in 2010, most vehicles have multiple control modules and not just a standard ECU. My 2006 GP only has a single ECU so theres only one place to pull codes from. A friends Chrysler 300, a 2012 I think, if I remember right he said it has 7 separate ECM's you can also pull codes from, engine, transmission, suspension, body, ect. Virtually every electronically controlled system in a car now has an ECM unit for that system. Most of the less expensive scanners wont connect to all of them, but if all you need to do is pull codes because of a check engine light, a cheap one is all you need. I have a friend with a $10,000 SnapOn so if I need something more in depth or a test run through the ECU he can do it. There are quite a few things that can tested too, especially in the fuel management system.
Car makers are getting back to making fixing cars a dealer only option to repair many things, but where theres a will theres a way. Spend the money once on the right scanner or spend it several times in the shop.
Most shops here mount and balance free when you buy the tires and tires arent that expensive. I havent had to buy any for the last 5 years and wont for a few more, but the friend that had the 07 GP bought all new tires and so did a mechanic friend not that long ago, both from the same shop. Both sets of tires were Hercules but in different sizes. $107CAD per tire, mounted and balanced. I had Hercules tires on my Chevelle, not a bad tire. The last set of 35" BFG's on my 4x4 were $247 each then and that was the mid 90's. Because of the size, most shops couldnt balance them, only one shop at the time could. The same with doing the alignment and thats important when you have nearly 2"s tread depth.
I do my own work too other than engine and transmission rebuilds. Shop rate here is $120/hr avg. I can do a lot of work in an hour lol. The camshaft position sensor and supercharger bypass valve for example. I would have had to pay minimum $120 diagnostic, plus install time. Likely an hour, so thats $240, plus parts and 13% tax, all in. Including my parts cost that would have been ~$450. I scanned and replaced both in under 30 minutes for $220 and I'd never done it before. Camshaft position sensor? What the hell is that? lol
I have found working on the newer cars is pretty easy. A lot easier than working on my truck or Chevelle. They have more accessible designing and once you know what the problem is and when the part is, its a matter of minutes, if not seconds, for most things. The wear parts, wheel bearings, tie rod ends, brakes, are all simple, easy and quick. I called a shop about changing a wheel bearing and tie rod end. They wanted $250 installed for a wheel bearing and since they had it apart anyway, $50 for the tie rod end. $300. I paid $89 for the wheel bearing, $32 for the tie rod end and was finished in less than an hour. I did have to buy an axle nut socket, $20, but tools are always a good investment.
After changing the water pump, which the shops wanted $500+ to do, I did myself for $75 for an ACDelco pump and $15 for 4L's Dexcool, I swore the next time I need to fix that car I'm buying one of these.
Milwaukee M12 FUEL 12-Volt Lithium-Ion Brushless Cordless 1/2 in. Ratchet Kit W/ (2) 2.0Ah Batteries, Charger & Tool Bag-2558-22 - The Home Depot - https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwaukee-M12-FUEL-12-Volt-Lithium-Ion-Brushless-Cordless-1-2-in-Ratchet-Kit-W-2-2-0Ah-Batteries-Charger-Tool-Bag-2558-22/302616706?MERCH=REC-_-pipsem-_-302451795-_-302616706-_-N
The 1/2" is a stronger tool than the 3/8" unless you need something smaller. You can see the difference here at 6:20.
Changing the water pump was easy, but it would have been a whole hell of a lot easier and faster with one of those. $500? Not this guy... Do it yourself for under $100 and an hours time.
Starting in 2010, most vehicles have multiple control modules and not just a standard ECU. My 2006 GP only has a single ECU so theres only one place to pull codes from. A friends Chrysler 300, a 2012 I think, if I remember right he said it has 7 separate ECM's you can also pull codes from, engine, transmission, suspension, body, ect. Virtually every electronically controlled system in a car now has an ECM unit for that system. Most of the less expensive scanners wont connect to all of them, but if all you need to do is pull codes because of a check engine light, a cheap one is all you need. I have a friend with a $10,000 SnapOn so if I need something more in depth or a test run through the ECU he can do it. There are quite a few things that can tested too, especially in the fuel management system.
Car makers are getting back to making fixing cars a dealer only option to repair many things, but where theres a will theres a way. Spend the money once on the right scanner or spend it several times in the shop.
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- Thread starter
- #125
It's not even worth it to buy used tires, $40-$50 a tire. They do mount and balance for that price though.
I have an air compressor, I believe it's 60 gallons. Sometimes it takes me a few bolts to remember I have impact.
I haven't really needed a scanner, had to figure out a lean code recently on my rogue. Not sure what the problem was exactly though. To try to fix the problem I filled up with 93 octane gas, poored in some fuel system cleaner and changed to a different brand air filter, the filter wasn't that old, I believe the code came when I changed the filter but didn't think it could be that. I reset the code and did a drive cycle and it didn't come back. I believe the air filter was the problem, it was fairly new and didn't fit in the air box as tight as the Fram filter I replaced it with. The rubber on the Fram is thicker.
I have an air compressor, I believe it's 60 gallons. Sometimes it takes me a few bolts to remember I have impact.
I haven't really needed a scanner, had to figure out a lean code recently on my rogue. Not sure what the problem was exactly though. To try to fix the problem I filled up with 93 octane gas, poored in some fuel system cleaner and changed to a different brand air filter, the filter wasn't that old, I believe the code came when I changed the filter but didn't think it could be that. I reset the code and did a drive cycle and it didn't come back. I believe the air filter was the problem, it was fairly new and didn't fit in the air box as tight as the Fram filter I replaced it with. The rubber on the Fram is thicker.
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Used tires at the shop up the street from me are $20-$35, mounted and balanced. I use to put used on my 99 GP but I was buying a pair every year. I'd rather buy a new set and forget about it.
Most North American domestic cars dont need higher octane fuels, the ECU compensates for fuel quality by adjusting the timing. This is why we cant drive cars with European spec engines, we just dont have the fuel quality. In most European countries, you can buy 98oct at the pump. Cars like Porsche, Ferrari, BMW, AMG ect. are all detuned with lower compression so they can run with the fuel quality we have here without detonation. Detonation will kill an engine quickly and you dont always hear it happening.
Detonation - What Causes It And How To Prevent It - https://www.enginelabs.com/news/detonation-what-causes-it-and-how-to-control-it-using-efi/
Running higher octane fuel can give you better mpg because you need less to make the same power, but it costs more so its hard to say if its worth it or not. On three trips up north, a 12 hour drive each way, I got 28.8mpg on each trip. That included a few 120mph runs playing with BMW's, Audi's and AMG's. Around town I'm getting 22-24mpg. Coming from the Chevelle, that got about 8mpg, I'm good with that lol.
If you do find a difference with higher octane fuel, try Shell 91oct. All the hot rod guys here are running it now instead of Sunoco 94 because the engines run the same and it costs less at the pump.
Computers dont like change. You cant sneak anything by them lol.
Most North American domestic cars dont need higher octane fuels, the ECU compensates for fuel quality by adjusting the timing. This is why we cant drive cars with European spec engines, we just dont have the fuel quality. In most European countries, you can buy 98oct at the pump. Cars like Porsche, Ferrari, BMW, AMG ect. are all detuned with lower compression so they can run with the fuel quality we have here without detonation. Detonation will kill an engine quickly and you dont always hear it happening.
Detonation - What Causes It And How To Prevent It - https://www.enginelabs.com/news/detonation-what-causes-it-and-how-to-control-it-using-efi/
Running higher octane fuel can give you better mpg because you need less to make the same power, but it costs more so its hard to say if its worth it or not. On three trips up north, a 12 hour drive each way, I got 28.8mpg on each trip. That included a few 120mph runs playing with BMW's, Audi's and AMG's. Around town I'm getting 22-24mpg. Coming from the Chevelle, that got about 8mpg, I'm good with that lol.
If you do find a difference with higher octane fuel, try Shell 91oct. All the hot rod guys here are running it now instead of Sunoco 94 because the engines run the same and it costs less at the pump.
Computers dont like change. You cant sneak anything by them lol.
Chan Eil Whiskers
Fumbling about.
Interesting stuff, gentlemen. You fellows are some serious shade tree mechanics. I'm impressed.
At one time I worked on my vehicles - long before they had computers - out of necessity, but I was bad at it, and never really developed sufficient skill. My wife knows zero zero zero about tools (didn't know what a pair of pliers was until I taught her, literally), but it's obvious to me her mechanical aptitude far exceeds mine.
Fun to read about the things you do with your vehicles. I didn't know it possible without a professional shop (on modern vehicles).
Happy shaves,
Jim
At one time I worked on my vehicles - long before they had computers - out of necessity, but I was bad at it, and never really developed sufficient skill. My wife knows zero zero zero about tools (didn't know what a pair of pliers was until I taught her, literally), but it's obvious to me her mechanical aptitude far exceeds mine.
Fun to read about the things you do with your vehicles. I didn't know it possible without a professional shop (on modern vehicles).
Happy shaves,
Jim
Born from necessity. The same as computers.
The friend that gave me my first computer in 1999 didnt tell me how to fix anything. Naturally, I messed it up and called him. He said, "figure it out". So I did, because I had too. Now he calls me for help lol. Just the other day he called about cleaning his and his neighbors computers and I said, "Isn't this the student teaching the master?" lol
My old GMC pickup I completely rebuilt 4 times. Body and paint, transmission(s), transfer case(s), suspension(s), rear end and on and on. The fourth time I said no more and turned it into a show 'n go truck. Shaved door handles with remote control door opening operated from the alarm, stereo (again), custom upholstered bucket seats and matching door panels, w/5 point racing harnesses, RV lighting, 140amp alternator with dual batteries, the second battery a fully isolated deep cycle marine battery that ran the stereo and int. lighting. Full Rancho suspension lift, no blocks, GoRhino axle trusses front and back, custom drive shafts and a hard core small block Chevy. That truck worked.
I sold it to another friend 5 or 6 years ago for $750. His son is into 4x4's. That engine, in another truck, is still running. I had it built in 1989 and beat hell out of it for 14 years.
I miss that old truck...
- Thread starter
- #129
Back in 1998, I started using 93 octane in my 1998 Accord and noticed a difference in the idle and how smooth the engine revved with it. My 160 hp 1.6L Civic Si, 1990 Lexus LS400, and Honda S2000 required high octane gas.
I noticed the same difference in the Rogue as I did in the Accord with higher octane. 93 octane is about $.50/gallon higher than 87 octane. Back in the day, it was only $.20/gallon difference. When we had that gas shortage around 2004, prices changed.
I typically only use big company owned gas stations like Quik Trip, RaceTrac, and Murphy at the Walmart. Shell, Exxon, Chevron and the like are privately owned, I think, so you dont know what you're getting and prices vary within one of those brands, from one station to the next.
My shade tree mechanic skills started with skateboards then bicycles, a lawnmower and then cars.
I took a small gas engines class in high school, we tore down an old lawnmower, honed it, cleaned up the parts and put it back together. I got my non running lawnmower from a family friend and gave it back good as new at the end of the class.
I learned how to work on cars because I didn't have money to pay to get them fixed when I started driving.
My last two Grand Prix's have called for 91oct. Neither has had any in it. I just run the cheapest 87-89oct I can find and have never had a problem. Maybe if gas wasnt $5 a gallon, or more here quite often, I'd be more inclined to a higher octane rating but its not necessary in my car.
You might be surprised how few companies actually supply the stations with their fuels. I ran three independent gas stations in the mid to late 1980''s. All our fuels came from Shell or BP and we only have three suppliers for all fuels now. Shell, Esso and BP.
All the gas stations here use fuels from one of those three suppliers. A few years ago a Chinese company bought a large part of Suncor. When that happened virtually all Sunoco stations here closed or became Petro-Canada stations. We dont even have Sunoco 94 anymore. Petro-Canada has 93 octane and its no better than typical 91oct. Thats why all the hot rod guys changed to Shell 91. The Shell stations get a better mix when filling the stations tanks because Shell is the big company here.
Being in the US, you're likely using fuels from either Shell, Exxon or Mobil. The majority of which are likely coming from Canada.
U.S. Imports from Canada of Crude Oil and Petroleum Products (Thousand Barrels) - https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=MTTIMUSCA1&f=M
All crude oil is refined to the same grade per gov regulations and is all pretty much the same. Crude from, for example, Saudi Arabia comes out of the ground cleaner than the crude from the Alberta Oil Sands and needs less refining to reach a marketable grade. Alberta crude needs more refining to get to the same grade. I think Saudi light crude only needs a single refining stage before its marketable as gasoline. I think it will run a diesel engine right out of the ground its so clean, where Alberta Crude might need 5 refining stages to get to the same grade.
Alberta crude is refined, if I remember right, 3 times before being sent south into the US for further refining and distribution. 3.9 million barrels a day, and rising, of Alberta Crude are exiting Canada to US destinations. Below are pipelines only.
The Alberta Oil Sands are the largest crude oil reserve in the world but because its all buried in sand, it needs more refining when compared to crude from other parts of the world. 96% of all crude from Alberta goes into the US.
Here, its all about the additives, which include the octane rating. It all comes out of the same truck when they fill the tanks, they just mix it differently for the different grades when filling the tanks at the stations.
Thats why I buy my fuel on the reservation, its the same, only theres no provincial taxes on it so it works out to, usually, $0.50 per US gallon less than the chain stations. The Ontario government puts, the last I heard, $0.34 tax on each liter of fuel. Thats $1.285 per US gallon in provincial taxes alone.
I buy my gas where it's the cheapest I can find because it really makes no difference. People complain about gas going bad. My tank is always kept full and doing my normal running around I might burn $20 a month. In the winter, maybe $20 every 6 weeks. My car runs fine and the remote start never fails, winter or summer
. So does my 2 stroke snow blower, trimmer and chainsaw. The mix in them is 2 years old now and I dont use any stabilizer. Its already in it from the truck supplying the stations.- Thread starter
- #131
I'm not worried about what goes in the gas station tanks, I'm more worried about what comes out and into my tank. You might get a water and gas mixture! 
I've seen QT shut down all their pumps and service them and test the gas, I doubt that happens as often at the privately owned stations if at all.
A coworker has a 2010 Nissan Altima with 185,000 on it, same 2.5L engine as my Rogue, and it's knocking, she bought it new and uses cheap gas. Not sure how her car was maintained though. I only have 135,000 moles on my Rogue, no issues.
My 1900 Lexus LS400 300,000 had miles on it and the engine revved silky smooth on 93 octane and I changed the oil about every 10,000 miles.
Since I'm revving the Rogue more I'll use 93 octane.
I've seen QT shut down all their pumps and service them and test the gas, I doubt that happens as often at the privately owned stations if at all.
A coworker has a 2010 Nissan Altima with 185,000 on it, same 2.5L engine as my Rogue, and it's knocking, she bought it new and uses cheap gas. Not sure how her car was maintained though. I only have 135,000 moles on my Rogue, no issues.
My 1900 Lexus LS400 300,000 had miles on it and the engine revved silky smooth on 93 octane and I changed the oil about every 10,000 miles.
Since I'm revving the Rogue more I'll use 93 octane.
Federal law here dictated all steel tanks and I believe fiberglass tanks had to be removed and replaced with some kind of acrylic tanks. The only way water would get in the tank is if the tank was leaking.
I've not heard of any stations testing the fuel inside the tanks. We used to take dip readings on all tanks at close and record the levels but didnt do any testing of contents.
Knocking is most likely bottom end. Either a main or rod bearing. Detonation can cause that but its unlikely. A more likely effect of detonation is melting the tops of the pistons. A bad bottom end bearing is most likely from low oil pressure or viscosity break down from excessive heat, excessive cold or excessive mileage. Oil is cheaper than engines, change it!
Changing oil at 10,000 miles is okay under ideal conditions. I use to change the oil in my Chevelle every 100-200 miles. It didnt get driven that far or that often, but it was driven hard lol. Better safe than sorry.
One thing about engine oils. Check the Zinc content, if its even allowed in engine oils anymore. Caterpillar used to warranty their engines, they still might I dont know, for 1,000,000 miles, but, only if Shell Rotella T oil was used. Rotella T has, or had, the highest Zinc content of any engine oil. The Zinc in engine oil bonds to the molecular structure of steels and gives them a very hard, durable and slippery surface that minimizes wear.
The shop that rebuilt the engine in my Chevelle only warrantied their rebuilds if the first two oil changes are done within 1000 miles of first start. The first change at 250 miles, and only using Rotella T for those first two changes.
When we built the engine that was in my truck, the only oil that ever touched that engine was Shell Gold Synthetic 20w-50. We even used it for the assembly lube. I changed that oil whenever I felt it needed it, time and/or miles didnt matter. One day I noticed an oil pressure drop, around 20psi at 2500rpm instead of the usual 50, 5psi at idle, so I drove straight to the Shell center to have it changed that was across town. When he dropped the drain plug about 1/4 of a quart came out. That engine didnt suffer any damage when we did a compression test on it later. Shell Gold Synthetic had the highest Zinc content of any oil at the time other than Rotella T.
That engine is still running today for a reason. If you want an engine to last, change the oil often, especially at temperature extremes.
Kendall made a good 20w-50 too. It was green and had a very high Zinc content, but they stopped making it.
I've not heard of any stations testing the fuel inside the tanks. We used to take dip readings on all tanks at close and record the levels but didnt do any testing of contents.
Knocking is most likely bottom end. Either a main or rod bearing. Detonation can cause that but its unlikely. A more likely effect of detonation is melting the tops of the pistons. A bad bottom end bearing is most likely from low oil pressure or viscosity break down from excessive heat, excessive cold or excessive mileage. Oil is cheaper than engines, change it!
Changing oil at 10,000 miles is okay under ideal conditions. I use to change the oil in my Chevelle every 100-200 miles. It didnt get driven that far or that often, but it was driven hard lol. Better safe than sorry.
One thing about engine oils. Check the Zinc content, if its even allowed in engine oils anymore. Caterpillar used to warranty their engines, they still might I dont know, for 1,000,000 miles, but, only if Shell Rotella T oil was used. Rotella T has, or had, the highest Zinc content of any engine oil. The Zinc in engine oil bonds to the molecular structure of steels and gives them a very hard, durable and slippery surface that minimizes wear.
The shop that rebuilt the engine in my Chevelle only warrantied their rebuilds if the first two oil changes are done within 1000 miles of first start. The first change at 250 miles, and only using Rotella T for those first two changes.
When we built the engine that was in my truck, the only oil that ever touched that engine was Shell Gold Synthetic 20w-50. We even used it for the assembly lube. I changed that oil whenever I felt it needed it, time and/or miles didnt matter. One day I noticed an oil pressure drop, around 20psi at 2500rpm instead of the usual 50, 5psi at idle, so I drove straight to the Shell center to have it changed that was across town. When he dropped the drain plug about 1/4 of a quart came out. That engine didnt suffer any damage when we did a compression test on it later. Shell Gold Synthetic had the highest Zinc content of any oil at the time other than Rotella T.
That engine is still running today for a reason. If you want an engine to last, change the oil often, especially at temperature extremes.
Kendall made a good 20w-50 too. It was green and had a very high Zinc content, but they stopped making it.
- Thread starter
- #133
I don't think they have to use metal tanks here.
I'm not exactly sure what they're testing when they shut them down, they could be testing the accuracy of the pump, making sure 1 gallon is measured out when it says 1 gallon. They pull the covers off the pumps and pump gas into a can. I'll ask the next time I see them do it.
I use Mobile one 15,000 mile oil(5w30) with a Mobile one oil filter and I have gone 15,000 or more miles no problem. I shoot for 10,000 miles though. Since I give the Rogue the beans more, I'll keep an eye on the oil.
Mobile one has a one year, 20,000 mile oil now also.
I'm not exactly sure what they're testing when they shut them down, they could be testing the accuracy of the pump, making sure 1 gallon is measured out when it says 1 gallon. They pull the covers off the pumps and pump gas into a can. I'll ask the next time I see them do it.
I use Mobile one 15,000 mile oil(5w30) with a Mobile one oil filter and I have gone 15,000 or more miles no problem. I shoot for 10,000 miles though. Since I give the Rogue the beans more, I'll keep an eye on the oil.
Mobile one has a one year, 20,000 mile oil now also.
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The holes the tanks are in are most likely lined and the tanks are most likely acrylic the same as here.
The guys that repaired the pumps at my stations did the same when they had to work on them for whatever reason. Shut the pump off at the breaker, pull the side covers, turn the valve off and drain the fuel from the lines and hoses into a reclamation tank now, but they used an old coffee tin or whatever when I had the stations.
Mobil 1 was, arguably, the best oil on the market and many performance cars specified it be used for warranty reasons. The friends 1999 Viper GTS specified Mobil 1 oil only. The formulation of Mobil 1 has changed over the years and I'm not sure its specified as much now as it was.
All the engine builders and mechanics I've talked to said they didnt care which oil was used after break in as long as it gets changed often. My personal mechanic (retired) and his son that was the Fleet Service Manager for Greyhound Bus Lines and now for Voyageur Transportation North America say the same. Buy cheap oil and change it often or buy more expensive oil and change it just as often lol. They both suggest 3500 miles and no more than 5000.
When I drive up north to Wawa, a 12 hour drive, I have the oil changed before I leave and then again when I get home. Thats about 1500 miles for the entire trip, but its basically constant driving with a fairly heavy load on the engine.
Changing the oil costs about $40. To R&R the engine would cost $2000, assuming I could find a decent replacement engine. Rebuilding the engine would cost around $3500. I'll spend the $40, its cheap insurance.
- Thread starter
- #135
That doesn't apply to Japanese cars! My 2000 Honda Si, 1.6L, 8000 rpm redline, the fun started at 6000 rpm, had a 7500 mile oil change interval in the service manual.
I bought the Si brand new, it had a close ratio 5 speed manual transmission, I lit the tires up leaving the dealer. I put a little over 100,000 miles on it, all spent between 6000 and 8000 rpm. Never changed the oil on a regular basis.
It has been to Barber motorsports race track once and many drag strip days and constant daily abuse.
I only changed the plugs because I started losing power at high rpms at around 90,000 miles. I pulled the plugs and they were worn.
Aside from changing the oil(not often), tranny oil and plugs, no other maintenance was done.
The only reason I don't have it is because it was rear ended. I got $3000 for repairs and didn't fix it. I parted it the car out.
Nissan and Toyota have proven to be just as reliable for me. Never had a problem with their engines with my slack oil change intervals.
The CVT is the only problem I've had and I will maintain it better.
I like the CVT in my Rogue, not sure if I'll like the later ones with the fake shifts.
A friend of mine has a 1999 Toyota Camry and I know he's horrible with his maintenance, he has over 200,000 miles on it, he doesn't drive it hard though.
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Japanese engines I know very little about. Rotary engines I know nothing about. They have three flints in them attached to a flywheel that send sparks to ignite the fuel charge is my best guess at how they work lol.
I know back in the 1980's all the 4x4 guys that had Toyota 4x4's pulled the yota engines and put in 231ci Buick V6's, which is the same engine thats in my car and has been evolving since 1963. They're bulletproof and routinely go over 300,000 miles and some well over 500,000. The one in my mechanic friends wifes Lumina had 565,000 on it when the rear fiberglass torsion bar suspension snapped. They didnt bother fixing that car but it still ran great. She drove that car hard too. He and some of us called her Mrs.Andretti. "Oh, shes out doing practice laps somewhere." lol. Shes a big stock car fan and she can drive too...
My 1999 Grand Prix had more than 298,000 on it when a rear strut tower came through the trunk from rot. Between that and the rotted out rocker panels it wasnt worth fixing, but the engine and transmission was still perfect. I sold it for $300 just to be rid of it, but I wish I kept the engine and transmission because the tranny had been rebuilt at 160,000 and had a shift kit and updated parts in it lol.
My 06 has 129,000 miles on it right now. It runs like its brand new.
1990 Civic Si's might still be driving around the south...
but you dont have to deal with road salt. I havent seen one of those for years. If the engines were still good, they all rotted away to nothing and PPI made DE blades out of them lol.
The thing with cars is, the dealers arent really selling you a car per se, they're selling you a parts platform. Many cars are sold at a loss and the companies make their profits on parts sales. This is also why many parts are a dealer only item. Because of that I believe in a better than 'suggested' maintenance schedule.
Now with the CVT transmissions, the transmissions themselves are basically disposable. One problem with it and out it comes and another goes in. Time is money, its quicker and cheaper to R&R than it is to rebuild.
The only problem I have with CVT trans is the heat buildup and having proper cooling. The internal fluid pressure would need to be really high to make them operate efficiently and the fluid temps would skyrocket under heavy use, especially in hot climates. I'm actually pretty curious about that because I do understand the technology behind them and I like it.
Changing the trans fluid every 25,000, or even sooner, I think is wise but I dont know the operating temp of the fluid. It 'should' be the same temp as the engine coolant. More than 20-30°F higher than engine coolant temp and I'd be thinking of changing it more often. If it was consistently that hot, I'd be adding a cooler big enough or efficient enough to lower the temp to, consistently, the same as the engine coolant temp.
The higher the rpm the engine operates at, the more crucial oil performance is. Any engine will live a long life running around town at 2000 rpm. Increase that to 8000rpm and there are some very serious stresses going on inside that engine.
We did the math once on the engine in my Chevelle. I cant remember the rpm but I think it was 3000. With the stroke length in that engine, at 3000 rpm, the pistons were traveling at 3300 feet per second. Think about that. All that rotating mass moving at 3300fps, which is a lot faster than many rifle bullets. Now add 5000 more rpm. Its a wonder they stay together at 3000 never mind 8000rpm lol.
This is why the Chevy 396 was prone to throwing rods right through the block. Those engines rev quickly and its very easy to be well past red line before you know it.
Oil is cheap. Change it often! I'm starting to feel guilty about not changing mine lately. The DIC in the console says I still have 70% remaining oil life but its been a while since I changed it. I just dont drive it that far very often.
I know back in the 1980's all the 4x4 guys that had Toyota 4x4's pulled the yota engines and put in 231ci Buick V6's, which is the same engine thats in my car and has been evolving since 1963. They're bulletproof and routinely go over 300,000 miles and some well over 500,000. The one in my mechanic friends wifes Lumina had 565,000 on it when the rear fiberglass torsion bar suspension snapped. They didnt bother fixing that car but it still ran great. She drove that car hard too. He and some of us called her Mrs.Andretti. "Oh, shes out doing practice laps somewhere." lol. Shes a big stock car fan and she can drive too...
My 1999 Grand Prix had more than 298,000 on it when a rear strut tower came through the trunk from rot. Between that and the rotted out rocker panels it wasnt worth fixing, but the engine and transmission was still perfect. I sold it for $300 just to be rid of it, but I wish I kept the engine and transmission because the tranny had been rebuilt at 160,000 and had a shift kit and updated parts in it lol.
My 06 has 129,000 miles on it right now. It runs like its brand new.
1990 Civic Si's might still be driving around the south...
but you dont have to deal with road salt. I havent seen one of those for years. If the engines were still good, they all rotted away to nothing and PPI made DE blades out of them lol.
The thing with cars is, the dealers arent really selling you a car per se, they're selling you a parts platform. Many cars are sold at a loss and the companies make their profits on parts sales. This is also why many parts are a dealer only item. Because of that I believe in a better than 'suggested' maintenance schedule.
Now with the CVT transmissions, the transmissions themselves are basically disposable. One problem with it and out it comes and another goes in. Time is money, its quicker and cheaper to R&R than it is to rebuild.
The only problem I have with CVT trans is the heat buildup and having proper cooling. The internal fluid pressure would need to be really high to make them operate efficiently and the fluid temps would skyrocket under heavy use, especially in hot climates. I'm actually pretty curious about that because I do understand the technology behind them and I like it.
Changing the trans fluid every 25,000, or even sooner, I think is wise but I dont know the operating temp of the fluid. It 'should' be the same temp as the engine coolant. More than 20-30°F higher than engine coolant temp and I'd be thinking of changing it more often. If it was consistently that hot, I'd be adding a cooler big enough or efficient enough to lower the temp to, consistently, the same as the engine coolant temp.
The higher the rpm the engine operates at, the more crucial oil performance is. Any engine will live a long life running around town at 2000 rpm. Increase that to 8000rpm and there are some very serious stresses going on inside that engine.
We did the math once on the engine in my Chevelle. I cant remember the rpm but I think it was 3000. With the stroke length in that engine, at 3000 rpm, the pistons were traveling at 3300 feet per second. Think about that. All that rotating mass moving at 3300fps, which is a lot faster than many rifle bullets. Now add 5000 more rpm. Its a wonder they stay together at 3000 never mind 8000rpm lol.
This is why the Chevy 396 was prone to throwing rods right through the block. Those engines rev quickly and its very easy to be well past red line before you know it.
Oil is cheap. Change it often! I'm starting to feel guilty about not changing mine lately. The DIC in the console says I still have 70% remaining oil life but its been a while since I changed it. I just dont drive it that far very often.
- Thread starter
- #137
The Honda 1st gen S2000 had a 2.0L I4 with 240 hp and it had a redline of 9000rpm. I had the second gen 2.2L I4 with 240 hp, but they lowered the redline to 8000rpm.
My Civic Si had the B16A2 1.6L, 160 hp 8000 rpm redline. It had a square bore and stroke, 81x81mm. They say the stock bottom end is good for 10,000rpm easily.
Keep in mind, Honda started out making motorcycles. My CBR600F4i had a redline of 14,500 rpm and I took it there every chance i got!
My Rogue has a 2.5L I4 with 2 chain driven balance shafts that spin 2 times the speed of the crank shaft. @6000rpm they are spinning @12000rpm. The engine is silky smooth at 6000rpm. Some people simply drop the oil pan and cut and remove the chain to delete the balance shafts to gain 10 hp. I'm not sure what that does to reliability, so I'm not doing that.
Honda's big 4 cylinder engines use balance shafts that many delete for hp gains, there's a kit to actually remove them. My 1998 Honda Accord had 2.3L I4 and it had balance shafts and was silky smooth at redline which was about 6500rpm.
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10,000 rpm in a car would be weird for me lol. I'm not use to cars having that much top end but I have a feeling I'd get use to it in a hurry lol.
The mechanic friend of mine raced a 55 Chevy with a well built 283 in it. That car would go to 8500. He use to build Chevy small blocks for drag cars. They're hard to see, crappy picture, but this was on the wall in his shop. He built the engines in those cars. All are bored and stroked small block Chevys.
The Camaros were all in the 7's in the 1/4. They also all had wrinkles in the roofs from the unibody flexing at launch lol.
A bike is another story...
The mechanic friend of mine raced a 55 Chevy with a well built 283 in it. That car would go to 8500. He use to build Chevy small blocks for drag cars. They're hard to see, crappy picture, but this was on the wall in his shop. He built the engines in those cars. All are bored and stroked small block Chevys.
The Camaros were all in the 7's in the 1/4. They also all had wrinkles in the roofs from the unibody flexing at launch lol.
A bike is another story...
- Thread starter
- #139
My comute to work is only 12,000 miles a year, it would take me about 40 years or so to drive 500 000 miles!
My comute to work is only 12,000 miles a year, it would take me about 40 years or so to drive 500 000 miles!
Wawa Ontario and the Trans Canada Highway awaits you!
It's just a short quick jaunt from there to Victoria BC once you're on Highway #1 in Ontario. You'll be there in 75 hours lol and you would love that drive...
24 hours of this before you get out of Ontario. It seems like you're driving in circles up and down the same hill sometimes. From as slow as 40mph corners to two mile long straights with very little traffic and even less police.
Then its up a long hill to the prairie and into Manitoba where you could blast across at 200mph nonstop for hours then across Saskatchewan flat out and some of Alberta before the slow down again on the eastern slope of the Rockies. Its all downhill from there and you better know how to save your brakes in the mountains or you wont have any left lol.
There went 5000 miles, where to next? lol
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