Interesting Oil Change

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by rodneym

If only Chas were here...

I miss Chas. In honor of Chas....

Patrick only a dumba$$ would post a thread about a missing 1/2 quart of oil.

[keezling]

You can sure tell it's winter...

[rodneym]

Originally Posted by keezling

You can sure tell it's winter...

Tell me about it. On yesterday morning's drive, me and the missus had to put jackets on. Brrrrrrr.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by RodKnock

I miss Chas. In honor of Chas....

Patrick only a dumba$$ would post a thread about a missing 1/2 quart of oil.

... and I would cheerfully tell my ol' pal Chas that he can "spice up" his next oil change by incorporating the safety check of a dab of Torque Seal on his drain plug. That way he could quickly confirm that it hasn't loosened itself while on the way to his favorite oyster bar. And just to irritate him a little further, I would include a nice pic, like this:

[DWRAT]

Maybe Brad Penn is only giving you 7/8th of a quart per quart of oil.
Kinda like Subway, home of the 11" foot long.

[Jaydee]

I don't think I like the idea of running a engine with no oil as sometimes a worn oil pump that's empty might not pick up the new oil. One interesting fact is, if you drain a Nissan Nevara and go to lunch, If you come back from lunch and top it up. It will not pick up the oil. Modern stuff is wonderful.
For a good flush, we used to drain the oil, then half fill with oil and kerosene. Idle the engine for 15 minutes. Then drain. It would really clean out the insides. Then when you refill it, the oil would look clean after a week. It doesn't mix with dirty oil that was left in the engine.
JD

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by Jaydee

I don't think I like the idea of running a engine with no oil ...

750HP was just having a bit of fun. Nobody with half a brain would ever run their engine without oil unless they were just doing an experiment to see how long it would run before seizing.

Now, I also put air in my tires and I noticed there was some missing air from there as well....

[1795]

I am thinking that your tires are not the only place that there is some excess air leaking.........

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by 1795

I am thinking that your tires are not the only place that there is some excess air leaking.........

Ya got that right. I remember going to something, somewhere, where the exciting attraction was an almost junk car would be run without any fluids and whoever guessed how long it ran until it seized up won a prize. It actually ran much longer than you might have thought, like five to seven minutes, as I recall. Maybe they had extra air in the tires.

[Bernica]

Just had a big beef and been burrito, so will report back on gas and oil leakage soon! Sorry...it's the weekend.

[Jaydee]

Working for the the RAA road service I've seen it many times how long it takes to seize a motor. One classic, it was a brand new car and he never drove it more then a few k's to the shops. One day he went for 15 to 20 minute drive until it seized. It never had any water in it from the factory.
JD

[patrickt]

Some might be interested in the oil analysis from this last change. Now remember, this car has been sitting still since November. The sample I took was from the beginning of the oil drain stream. My last oil change was just about four years ago. That's right, four years between changes. For the most part, I was looking for moisture, antifreeze, and Zinc/Phos content.

[DanEC]

It's been years since I've had one of those done. What did their report say? From the analysis it looks pretty good off the top of my head.

But 4 years - come on Patrick - that doesn't sound like you! I was starting to feel guilty at about 20 months for mine.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by DanEC

It's been years since I've had one of those done. What did their report say? From the analysis it looks pretty good off the top of my head.

But 4 years - come on Patrick - that doesn't sound like you! I was starting to feel guilty at about 20 months for mine.

If there is no fuel, antifreeze, or moisture in your oil then there is no purpose in changing it on a "time basis," only on a miles basis as it wears out. Now, mind you, I keep my car in a climate controlled garage in the house. So there is no more condensation on that car than there is on the television set. Cars parked outside are a different story. That distinction is rarely put forth in the literature.

[PeteF]

What do the elevated levels of sodium, calcium, and magnesium mean? And, is this conventional or synthetic oil. Thanks for posting this.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by PeteF

What do the elevated levels of sodium, calcium, and magnesium mean? And, is this conventional or synthetic oil. Thanks for posting this.

Sodium, magnesium and calcium come from the additive package and detergent qualities of the oil.

[PeteF]

Thanks. Good data.

[DanEC]

Originally Posted by patrickt

If there is no fuel, antifreeze, or moisture in your oil then there is no purpose in changing it on a "time basis," only on a miles basis as it wears out. Now, mind you, I keep my car in a climate controlled garage in the house. So there is no more condensation on that car than there is on the television set. Cars parked outside are a different story. That distinction is rarely put forth in the literature.

Yeah, but the one thing I noticed missing in the report was a pH reading on the sample. That's what I bought the little gizmo for in this thread.

Inexpensive oil tester

It pretty much indicates my occasionally driven cars need to have oil changed at least every 2 to 3 years to stay within an acceptable pH range even with only 500 to 1000 accumulated miles (per this gizmo). And my cars are parked in a dry, well-insulated garage. FWIW.

[patrickt]

Alright, I'll ease it back to three years.

[1795]

Now I now where that 1/2 quart of oil went, evaporation!! You need to drive that cobra more often so that you cannot go so long between oil changes.