I've paid someone else to change my oil exactly 2 times. The first time, they torqued the drain plug down so tight I had to replace the pan. The second one, they tightened the filter on in a similar manner. Took a neighbor guy and I 3 hours to get the damn thing off. Never again.
Meh. I've been taking our cars to the same Valvoline oil change joint for years and have had no issues at all.
The exception that proves the rule. Of course there are good ones, but dang, lots of horror stories. Plus I'm sure they know you there by now, that helps. c.
Meh. I've been taking our cars to the same Valvoline oil change joint for years and have had no issues at all.
I've paid someone else to change my oil exactly 2 times. The first time, they torqued the drain plug down so tight I had to replace the pan. The second one, they tightened the filter on in a similar manner. Took a neighbor guy and I 3 hours to get the damn thing off. Never again.
the fuel filters on the previous boat were notoriously hard to remove. 3 hours was the normal budget.
Location: right behind you. no, over there. Gender:
Posted:
Apr 18, 2019 - 5:24pm
Red_Dragon wrote:
Meh. I've been taking our cars to the same Valvoline oil change joint for years and have had no issues at all.
I've paid someone else to change my oil exactly 2 times. The first time, they torqued the drain plug down so tight I had to replace the pan. The second one, they tightened the filter on in a similar manner. Took a neighbor guy and I 3 hours to get the damn thing off. Never again.
The first change is 'supposed' to do two things: - Rinse any residual crud, assembly lube, whatever out of the engine - Provide a steady revenue stream to the dealer
You're fine. Modern engine oil is far superior to the old stuff, and lasts way longer. Just have the oil changed, or better yet do it yourself. Whatever you do, don't go to a quickie-lube type place. I had to buy a new drain plug because they put it back on with an impact wrench: destroyed the plug just getting it off!
My preferred oil filter is 'Purolator Pure One'. You don't have to get the $$$ one, their regular/mid grade filters are good. I usually use synthetic oil, but dino oil has additives that make it perform about as well. The viscosity (10W30, 5W20, et al) is important, check the viscosity/temperature chart in the owner's manual.
The dealer will use GM-approved filter and oil, they're fine, especially if you'll be using them for warranty work.
For WAY more information than you'd ever want to know about engine oil and filters, check out www.bobistheoilguy.com.
Happy Motoring! c.
Meh. I've been taking our cars to the same Valvoline oil change joint for years and have had no issues at all.
You're fine. Modern engine oil is far superior to the old stuff, and lasts way longer. Just have the oil changed, or better yet do it yourself. Whatever you do, don't go to a quickie-lube type place. I had to buy a new drain plug because they put it back on with an impact wrench: destroyed the plug just getting it off!
They put it back in, didn't they? Snowflake.
Yeah yeah yeah, smarty. I had to jack the dang thing up and use MY impact wrench to get it off. And go buy a new plug. At least they didn't strip the threads in the pan, that would have been $40+ for a Helicoil kit. I love buying tools and all, but those things are spendy.
Impact wrenches are great, but I only use them for removing stuff, not installing stuff. Too easy to mess something up.
On a side note, the McGard locking lug nut 'key' stripped out, so the little squiggly insert would just spin in the socket. Great. So I bought a removal tool that bites into the lug nut, whether it's locking or not. Chews up the lug nut so it's not really usable anymore, but hey. Glad I was able to do it at home with an impact, 'cause if I'd been on the side of the road somewhere, I'da been walkin'. The moral of the story is, don't count on those 'locking' lug nuts to keep thieves away from your wheels. Locks won't stop 'em, it'll just take them an extra couple minutes. c.
..... Whatever you do, don't go to a quickie-lube type place. I had to buy a new drain plug because they put it back on with an impact wrench: destroyed the plug just getting it off!
.....
I'll third that. Had two negative experiences with Mr. Lube in the Greater Vancouver, BC area. In both cases the shop over-filled a 1993 Nissan Pathfinder. It was the first and only time that I experienced oil leaking from the engine block.
In the first case, I emptied some oil to bring it to specs. In the second case, I took a careful look at the dipstick under the fluorescent lights and asked them to empty some oil. That was done after a discussion.
Then a Budget Brake and Muffler concession in White Rock, BC overfilled and then emptied it after a bloody argument. Too bad. At another Budget Brake and Muffler concession in Burnaby, I enjoyed several years of top notch, excellent service but I recall the owner complaining about the practices of some of his franchise colleagues.
In all cases I supplied the oil, Mobil 1 synthetic, because in those days, synthetic oil was stilled viewed with suspicion by many in the business in the Lower Wasteland of SW British Columbia. (New fangled technology.....)
Now I do all the oil changes myself. So I would recommend that everybody either do it yourself or get a reputable shop to do it: dealer, independent mechanic, similar.
And yeah.... I would NEVER use an impact wrench on an oil drain plug. Wrench them off and back on carefully and they are good for a bunch of oil changes.
You're fine. Modern engine oil is far superior to the old stuff, and lasts way longer. Just have the oil changed, or better yet do it yourself. Whatever you do, don't go to a quickie-lube type place. I had to buy a new drain plug because they put it back on with an impact wrench: destroyed the plug just getting it off!
I usually use synthetic oil, but dino oil has additives that make it perform about as well. The viscosity (10W30, 5W20, et al) is important, check the viscosity/temperature chart in the owner's manual.
So here's the thing that IMO seems to be going on lately with the specified oil viscosity in cars. There has been a noticeable shift to lower viscosity oils, to try and squeeze another MPG out of the EPA's fuel economy ratings for vehicles. Thus, a vehicle that used to be spec'd to use 10W30 SAE oil is now probably spec'd to use 5W20 or thinner. My wife's 2013 Prius is spec'd to use 0W20.
My recommendation (which I follow, particularly for older cars out of warranty) is to definitely use a thicker oil, particularly in summer. My vehicles all have 5W30. MORE
Interesting!
So the whole point of using thinner oils is to pass the test! Figures. I might go up a notch in viscosity... Thanks! c.
You're fine. Modern engine oil is far superior to the old stuff, and lasts way longer. Just have the oil changed, or better yet do it yourself. Whatever you do, don't go to a quickie-lube type place. I had to buy a new drain plug because they put it back on with an impact wrench: destroyed the plug just getting it off!
I usually use synthetic oil, but dino oil has additives that make it perform about as well. The viscosity (10W30, 5W20, et al) is important, check the viscosity/temperature chart in the owner's manual.
So here's the thing that IMO seems to be going on lately with the specified oil viscosity in cars. There has been a noticeable shift to lower viscosity oils, to try and squeeze another MPG out of the EPA's fuel economy ratings for vehicles. Thus, a vehicle that used to be spec'd to use 10W30 SAE oil is now probably spec'd to use 5W20 or thinner. My wife's 2013 Prius is spec'd to use 0W20.
My recommendation (which I follow, particularly for older cars out of warranty) is to definitely use a thicker oil, particularly in summer. My vehicles all have 5W30. MORE
Im about 1500 miles over my 1st oil change on MA's truck. 2017 Chevy Colorado. Milage is about 3500 now and it should have been done at 2 k. Thoughts?
The truck has 3500 total miles? After two years?
The first change is 'supposed' to do two things: - Rinse any residual crud, assembly lube, whatever out of the engine - Provide a steady revenue stream to the dealer
You're fine. Modern engine oil is far superior to the old stuff, and lasts way longer. Just have the oil changed, or better yet do it yourself. Whatever you do, don't go to a quickie-lube type place. I had to buy a new drain plug because they put it back on with an impact wrench: destroyed the plug just getting it off!
My preferred oil filter is 'Purolator Pure One'. You don't have to get the $$$ one, their regular/mid grade filters are good. I usually use synthetic oil, but dino oil has additives that make it perform about as well. The viscosity (10W30, 5W20, et al) is important, check the viscosity/temperature chart in the owner's manual.
The dealer will use GM-approved filter and oil, they're fine, especially if you'll be using them for warranty work.
For WAY more information than you'd ever want to know about engine oil and filters, check out www.bobistheoilguy.com.
I am not sharing my favourite spots either, especially the ones for steelhead! In the 1980s, I wrote a few where-to-go articles for fly fishing and outdoor magazines. In most cases, effort shot up and violence resulted. The photo-journalism freelancing helped me financially when I was living off of C$7,500 to C$8,500 per year as a student.
I stopped writing those articles and eventually learned the economic models behind Garrett Hardin's Tragedy of the Commons piece. which is a key article to read for those interested in all things ecological. What was really interesting was the debate that occurred in subsequent years. Many pointed out that it was possible to manage public resources on a sustainable basis and pointed that in some instances this was done through self-enforced social conventions and norms.
Self-enforcing social conventions and norms are the Holy Grail of those who believe in decentralized resource allocation mechanisms.
I agree completely that open access recreational fisheries can find an equilibrium with many anglers simply abandoning the system. Expected catch rates decline; expected average size decline and the next thing you know, the easily accessed public water is no longer congested. It is possible for anglers to enjoy fishing without actually catching anything.
From a cost perspective, open access is the way to go. It does not always work. Especially when "dirty, culturally backwards and inferior" Aboriginals get in the way.
British Columbian anglers appear to get far more confrontational and violent of the river than American ones do. From limited experience in western USA, American do a much better job of sharing water. Why? I do not know. Is it because BC is a younger colony?
Note to non-anglers: Places to fish in rivers are often a rare commodity. Rocks to stand on are a scarce commodity. Productive runs and pools are a scarce commodity.
Quebec takes care of these issues with intensively managed watersheds that are typically co-managed with local communities or local FN bands. The best known institution is the ZEC which means Controlled exploitation zone in English. The quality of sea-run brook charr and Atlantic salmon is absolutely fabulous. I gladly spent C$10 to C$40/day to fish when I was getting degrees at Laval University in Quebec City and as mentioned above, while living off of C$7,5 to C$8,5K per year. Typically I spent more on gasoline getting to the flow than I did on day fees.
Quebec's salmon/sea-run brook charr streams are drop dead gorgeous and with almost no exceptions in incredibly good health. In almost all cases the ZECs manage the entire watershed.
On North America's most productive salmon river, the Natashquan, the Montagnais band own and manage the outfitter with exclusive rights. It is not a zero-sum game as practised along the Pacific coast of North America.
So nobody is confused, all these intensively managed recreational fisheries in Quebec are available to the public.
