Changing Oil

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I've had them strip several oil pan bolts. I know because they started leaking and my chart for the correct size wrench for a particular vehicle was no longer the same :x I once had 2 hours to burn about 65 miles away. I had a Walmart change the oil. The next morning the oil was drained out under the vehicle. They forgot to tighten the bolt. Nice...
 
Wyandot Jim said:
I do airplanes :D :D :D :D :D
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Hi,

I once thought I was missing out on something by having neither an airplane or a sailboat. But I've found that by NOT having either, I have lots more time to change oil in my vehicles, shoot, reload, fish, ride my bicycle, and a myriad of other things, even without being retired! ;)

Oh, yeah, maybe a little bit more money, too... life's just full of tradeoffs, isn't it?

Rick C
 
Had jiffy lube change oil in mustang 5 speed once. They unscrewed a bolt that secures some gears on the inside thinking it was the drain or fill plug. After an hour of them trying to figure out what to do they ended paying Ford to remove trans and fix it.
I change all my own fluids now.
As a side note I had a job at a local GM dealer when I was 18. I was the sole oil change guy. I was hired with no prior experience and the only training i had was a tech showing me where some of the oil filters were hidden as i came across them. I was fortunate to not have any mishaps but can see how easy it would have been to screw something up. Its especially easy when the facility is pushing the 10 min lube job.
 
With 5 licensed vehicles, 3 ATV's, 5 tractors, Bobcat, and assorted small engine powered equipment, I change a LOT of oil and filters.Last year a new parts store opened in town and offered 65% off the cost of WIX filters. I walked in with my list and laid it on the counter. Co-owner looked at the list and stammered "We don't have these on hand". I told him it was OK to order what was on the list and call me when it was ready. The bill before discount was $965. It's not extraordinary to walk in the JD dealership and spend $400 on oil-and that's just the oil I use in the big tractors.
Changing oil isn't much of a chore when one knows what to do and PAYS ATTENTION(when you're messing with a $10K tractor engine-you'd darned well better being paying attention).
 
I'd like to get a discount on Wix filters. I replaced a belt on a Scotts/JD mower yesterday (changed the oil and filter too) and got the Gates equivalent for $30 instead of the $50 JD wanted. I have a JD 316 with a 50" mowing deck someone gave me and it's built to last.
 
"I'd like to get a discount on Wix filters."
Two options for that. Many parts stores (Carquest for one) have WIX sales in the spring. WIX is now making the Micro-Guard line for O'Reilly Auto Parts-part numbers basically same. The M-G filters are 30-40% lower cost than WIX(and far cheaper than JD). You might google WIX filters and look for "fleet _ _ _ _". They're an internet supplier of WIX filters but for the size of my order(this arrived at the local store in a box approximately 60 cubic foot strapped to a pallet), the shipping cancelled out the savings.
Like I said in my previous post, oil and filters are a big chunk of change for me so I keep up with the market.
 
I used to work at a auto parts store in the 70s and they'd sell common stuff like filters,plugs etc at cost to some of their high volume customers.
 
A few years back when I still owned my Dodge Intrepid and lived in Independence, I got tired of being shafted by the local Dodge dealer (long story, and I'm pretty sure I've told it here before. Several times) and started taking my car to my nearest Firestone car-care center. They did good work and were reasonable.

Then came the day I took the Intrepid in for a routine oil change, and the kid who did the oil change left the O-ring from the old oil filter on the engine when he screwed the new one on. Three blocks from the dealership the oil light came on and I immediately pulled over and shut off the motor. Looked back and saw a trail of oil stretching away into the distance. Luckily I didn't quite run the car out of oil...

Pulled out the cell phone and called Firestone. Long story short: The kid ended up redoing the oil change on the side of Missouri 291, with the Dodge up on a jack and traffic whizzing past at 45 mph. We then followed the trail of oil back to the shop where the manager and several employees, including the kid in question, spent thirty minutes going over the bottom of the motor, the transmission and the Dodge's floorpan with degreaser and paper toweling. For good measure, I then ran the Intrepid through the car wash. Twice.

And it still smoked for three days, before the last of that oil finally burned off.

Yes, the incident was documented by the service manager. No, the Intrepid's engine wasn't, amazingly, damaged. (Probably because I pulled over and shut it down the instant the oil pressure light started flickering.)

And I never saw that particular employee there again. :lol:
 
I am a low mileage driver, never a car aficionado, but I find changing oil myself keeps me in touch with the car. I have a pair of ramps, the parking lot of my apartment complex has enough of a slope that when I put the car on the ramps it is level. I use Fram filters, keep a couple of hand. Put on my coveralls, get out my tool box, new filter and oil, oil container, put the car on the ramp and usually 20 minutes later I am good to go. May get some jack stands to do the lubing.
 
I had a Fram collapse on the inside on a small block 400 in a motor home while away from home. When that happens no oil pressure :( :( I thought bad things had happened inside the engine. Went to an auto parts store to try and find a Mechanic shop. Guy at the counter asked if I had a Fram filter. Yep!! Well go get a good one and put it on. Problem solved. :wink: :wink: I now make sure there is never a Fram on my stuff.
 
graygun said:
I've read that the cheapest one is not so hot but the other two are OK. I usually use Wix.
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Hi,

I'd put 100s of 1000s of trouble free miles on those orange Frams before somebody convinced me I should switch after they'd suffered an oil filter related engine failure and the brand started taking a beating in many venues.

Went to Wix for quite a while, when they were all US made. Last few oil filters I got from them were Hecho en Mexico, and the last couple of Wix fuel filters I got said "Made in Russian Republic" on the box! Of course, the price on the shelf didn't reflect any of the "savings" the company enjoyed--the fuel filters, in fact, went up more than a fair amount. I guess some 20-something MBA at Wix didn't quite understand one of the major reasons a lot of us used their brand?

So I'm working on a case of genuine Toyota filters in the garage now, purchased online for less than even the cheapest Frams locally. What's this month's "Internet experts' favorite next best brand" when I've gone thru them? ;)

Rick C
 
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