Still a rookie please advise....

[MADN3SS]

I have the magnetic drain plugs for the oil and tranny fluid. They work. Everytime I change it, I get a little bit of metal shaving.

Nytro knows what he's sayin'. That guy Subdriver is a smart fella. Of course the only thing I have against Amsoil is, the AM part. Change "soil" to "way" and that's how it sells, just like Amway.

[Rich Z]

Well, I've read a bunch of threads about the various transmission lubricants, and the impression I get is that it is much like asking everyone which is the best brand of wax/polish to use. Apparently nearly everyone swears by the one they are using and no one has really said anything along the lines of "Don't use BRAND X because it ruined my transmission!".

So in my humble opinion, anything that meets GM specs would likely be OK. And with that in mind ANY of them would be suitable and better than not changing it at all.

[9T8Vette]

Originally Posted by Nytro

As far as changing out the engine oil goes you will get a million different answers. I personally would rather change the oil to frequently than not frequently enough. In my Z06 I have changed the oil and filter 7 times in 9600 miles, the first time at 500, then 1000. I know, I'm nuts. In my 66 Corvette, I change the oil and filter every 1000 miles. Oils cheap. As far as the tranny fluid goes, if your car is a stick it didn't come from the factory with synthetic, most common recommendations I have read is to change it to synthetic at 7500 miles, this gives the synchros time to break in. If it's an automatic thats a different story. Supposidly the C5 has 100,000 mile fluid and filter. For an automatic trans the worst thing for it is heat. As the fluid gets older and contaminated it's ability to cool down the tranny lessons. When you check the fluid it should be a nice deep red or pink. (you probably knew that) If it is at all brown or if it smells burnt it definately needs to be changed. I personally think that it should be changed at no more than 50,000 miles along with the filter, but that recommendation is coming from a guy who changes oil as frequently as he changes his socks.

Like I said, oil is cheap and you will never do any harm by changing it frequently, only good. JMO

Hey Nytro,It sounds like you are a oil changing fool. I guess you don't bother using Mobil 1 5000,7500 or even that 150000 mile oil.Changing your oil that often it would be a waste of money. You would not advise using those types of oil ? Or just not in our corvettes.

[Nytro]

In my 66 I use Kendall GT-1 straight 40, in my Z06 I use Mobil 1 10w30, and in wifes Envoy I use Mobil 1 10w30.

I have always felt that changing your oil is an inexpensive way to prolong and take care of the heart of any car. After working at dealerships for 30 plus years I have seen the results from changing and not changing your oil on a regular basis. With Toyota V-6 engines it is extremely critical that the motor oil is changed frequently because for some reason the seem to be prone to sludge buildup. I recall one customer who never changed his oil in 20,000 miles on a V-6 Camry and he took a trip to North Carolina from Mass. He used 17 quarts of oil in his roundtrip and when the car came in the crankcase was almost empty. The car had the original oil filter on it and when we removed it it must have weighed 2 pounds. We pulled the valve covers and the burnt sledge was like nothing I have ever witnessed. Even the block webbing for the crank was brown where the oil had been burnt in. Toyota wouldn't warranty the motor, the only time I ever saw them refuse to do so.

As far as Mobil 5000 and 7500 oil goes I believe the 5000 is a conventional oil not a synthetic, and the 7500 is a mixture of synthetic and conventional, neither is the same as Mobil 1, a pure synthetic. Mobil 1 Extended is suppose to be good for up to 15,000 miles between changes. To be honest I have always been skeptical of any product that is new and improved especially when they give some kind of special guarantee. I have never heard of anyone taking an oil company to task to make good on their special guarantees, I think that all that mumbo jumbo is designed to target people who are not so savvy when it comes to vehicle maintainance, it's just a new spin to entice people to buy their new redesigned product.

Some people say that when you get a new car it is not necessary to change your oil early. I disagree. A new engine is very tight as far a clearances go as opposed to an engine that has lets say 10,000 miles on it. Tighter clearances mean more friction, more friction means more heat, more heat means the oil breaks down faster. Also a new engine creates filings in the oil from breakin. The longer you run the breakin oil the more those filings are being washed thru your main, rod and cam bearings. Most high performance cam manufactures recommend that when you install a new cam and lifters in your motor that upon first startup you run the motor for 20 minutes at about 2000 rpm to break in the new cam and lifters, then change the oil and filter to get rid of any filings. When I got my Z06 I picked it up in New Jersey and drove it back to Mass, 472 miles. Next morning I changed the oil and filter. When I emptied the drain pan before it was completely empty I took my finger and dipped it in the oil and let the sun shine on my fingertip, sure enough there were plenty of tiny tiny filings glistening in the sun on my fingertip. I changed the oil again at 1000 miles. Some people even suggest that Mobil 1 is to slippery for a new engine to break in properly and recommend draining it and replacing it with conventional for the break in period. Any good engine builder will tell you the importance of changing your oil. Hell when I bought my John Deer tractor I changed the oil after the first use and after 10 hours I switched to Mobil one. Sure if your going to keep the car for a year or two why bother, but if your in for the long haul oil changes will definitely prolong the life of your engine.

Moral of this long winded reply is this, oil is cheap, six quarts at Costco is $27.00, $6.00 for a filter and hell it's fun to do. I change the oil on all three of my vehicles and use GM brand oil filters, and in 35 years of street racing, racing on dragstrips, hundreds of thousands of miles driving, knock on wood I have never experienced and engine or tranny failure. Even when I worked at dealerships, having hundreds of demos, when the salesman would call up the maintenance records for the potential buyers, my demos would always have been serviced regularly, especially oil changes. It just makes sense.

[9T8Vette]

Thanks Nytro, I was a 3000 miles ,but i changed when the oil changed.What you said makes alot of sense.Our Audi has a 4yr maintain program.I guess i need to change it before they Audi says it due.I was just wandering about the 5000,7500,15000,I have use in my Toyota and my Van.

[Rich Z]

Heck, I've been changing the oil every chance I get on my Z. When the oil doesn't look like it did right out of the bottle when I check it, it's time for an oil and filter change.

I have to agree with Nytro. It's cheap insurance, all things considered.

Dang! Been meaning to buy one of those magnetic oil drain plugs one of these days.... I want to change the oil again soon because I am sure there will be some wear on the turbos as they break in that will put some stuff in the oil I really don't want in there. But at least the rear mounted turbos won't get nearly as hot as the front mounted ones will.

[CHASZ51]

I have not done a oil change in two years! At the rate i buy and trade cars- trucks, plus i only drive about 2000 miles a year now.

I hope to hang on to my 04 Z51 for a while.

[Rich Z]

Heck, I remember a while back I was in my Jeep Wrangler and noticed one of those Jiffy Lube stickers I had put on the dash. According to it, my 3,000 mile oil change was just about due. Of course, the DATE was about 3 years ago...... After quitting my state job and working my own business at home, just don't have much reason to drive anywhere.