oil change help

[MiLo]

im rounding 155k mi and if i wanted to convert to fully synthetic oil is there anything i have to do before i drop in the new oil? which is the best/preferred brand for f/s oil? ohh i wanted to know if this was true, can i go back to regular oil after converting to synthetic? and do i have to change spark plugs and wires? any thoughts or comments is appreciated.. thanks

[a.graham52]

IN MY OPINION:

just do it. change over. iv "just changed over" to mobile 1 (fuel economy version) in 4 different vehicles with no real problems. jsut do it. if you want to go back, then go back. but i do recommend you stick with what ever you decide and not just constantly change it up. once again, just my opinion and will remain so.

[MiLo]

Originally Posted by a.graham52

IN MY OPINION:

just do it. change over. iv "just changed over" to mobile 1 (fuel economy version) in 4 different vehicles with no real problems. jsut do it. if you want to go back, then go back. but i do recommend you stick with what ever you decide and not just constantly change it up. once again, just my opinion and will remain so.

what about the spark plugs and wires?

[a.graham52]

Originally Posted by MiLo

what about the spark plugs and wires?

what about them? oil chouldnt effect them unless its burning oil.

[MiLo]

Originally Posted by a.graham52

what about them? oil chouldnt effect them unless its burning oil.

this lady at advance auto told me to change the plugs and wires everytime i get the oil change... smdh i dunno if she was just trying to get a sale or if she really didnt know what she was talking about...

[MiLo]

what are the differences in the oil types like the 5w-30, 10w-30 etc etc etc

[sleepyalero]

Originally Posted by MiLo

this lady at advance auto told me to change the plugs and wires everytime i get the oil change... smdh i dunno if she was just trying to get a sale or if she really didnt know what she was talking about...

Shes an idiot and shouldnt work there, but thats advanced auto for ya, dont know a damn thing.

Anyway no, plugs and wires should be done by a max of 100k miles.

As for oil, use Mobil 1 high mileage fully synthetic. 5w-30 (its suggested for the motor) i wouldnt run anything more as it can cause major problems. Usually some run 10w-30 in winter and 5w in summer. But after you change just stick with it, at this point its better for the motor, ive been running high mileage for 60k miles now.

[MiLo]

Originally Posted by sleepyalero

Shes an idiot and shouldnt work there, but thats advanced auto for ya, dont know a damn thing.

Anyway no, plugs and wires should be done by a max of 100k miles.

As for oil, use Mobil 1 high mileage fully synthetic. 5w-30 (its suggested for the motor) i wouldnt run anything more as it can cause major problems. Usually some run 10w-30 in winter and 5w in summer. But after you change just stick with it, at this point its better for the motor, ive been running high mileage for 60k miles now.

alright thanks, i probably do need to change the spark plugs and wires anyway but i knew its not needed after every oil change. which plugs and wires would you suggest?

[tw0123]

^^ she may have meant to change the plugs and wires for each brand of oil change... as in if you are using regular oil then switch to synthetic, change them, and if you switch back from synthetic to regular oil, change the plugs and wires at that time... not every 5k per oil change...

but at the same time, unless you are burning oil, you shouldn't have to change them besides the general tune up every 100k miles...

[AleroB888]

http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/..._Grand_Am.aspx

Of course the manufacturer would recommend it but worst case it leaks, not the end of the world. I go through a lot of oil changes/ miles driven, and use Mobil 1 synthetic.

[MiLo]

does it make sense to do a engine flush or seafoam before converting to f/s?

[Nas Escobar]

The right forum for this would be bobistheoilguy. They have a lot of detailed information about the difference between each oil. I've ran synthetic on my Grand Am (because the p.o. used it) and I will say it DOES last longer, but it can also be thinner. You don't HAVE to use mobil one though if you don't want to. There's tons of other oils out there that do the same thing OR have more features than Mobil one... truthfully, that oil is overrated. I personally ran Pennzoil synthetic and Quaker State synthetic on my GA and it never had issues, other than occasional fill ups (which I never figured out why it would need more oil). I preferred Quaker State but that's another discussion.

As far as the "Different oil types", they're not different types... they're different WEIGHTS. The number you see on the bottle is the oil weight. 5w30 is the most common weight for the oil, but if you live somewhere where it's cold, then it's suggested that when it's winter that you use something like 10w30. That oil is thinner, so it strains the engine less in the winter.

Read this...

http://www.cars.com/go/advice/Story....il&subject=oil

Your car required 5w30, in ideal driving conditions. I see that you're from Illinois but IDK if you're from the Chi, so if you are near an area that gets immense snow or extreme cold, I would suggest the 5w30 for summer time and 10w30 for those days when the weather starts being 40 degrees.

That of course is up to you.

Originally Posted by MiLo

does it make sense to do a engine flush or seafoam before converting to f/s?

Seafoam is seafoam... that really doesn't matter for the type of oil, that's more to help the crank and other engine internals. It cleans them up. An engine flush, you should do periodically anyway. I believe it's every 5 years for Dexcool coolant, unless you bought it used, then just go ahead and do it to be safe.

[MiLo]

so since synthetic lasts longer and the winter time is coming up im wondering if i should do the conversion now or should i wait til my next oil change, by then it would be November if i do it the next time, do 10w-30. an the synthetic should take about what? 5k or 6k miles so i'd say april or may would be the next synthetic change then back down to 5w-30.. does this sound right?

[MiLo]

as this is my daily driver vehicle i do about 1000 miles a month now, with 155k miles i know im gonna need the plugs and wires changed soon, as of now i dont have any problems with the start up. but i dont when or if they have ever been changed... which plugs should i get when its that time? platinum, double platinum, iridium or what? Im looking at rock auto cuz these seem to be the best prices, can anyone point me in the right direction....

[Nas Escobar]

Originally Posted by MiLo

so since synthetic lasts longer and the winter time is coming up im wondering if i should do the conversion now or should i wait til my next oil change, by then it would be November if i do it the next time, do 10w-30. an the synthetic should take about what? 5k or 6k miles so i'd say april or may would be the next synthetic change then back down to 5w-30.. does this sound right?

Do as you wish with synthetic. What I will recommend is that you use 5w30 now that we're still in summer then use 10w30 when its cold out (so yeah, nov or oct) and if you feel the car doesn't like it, then switch back to 5w30 and keep it that way. If you don't feel the car resists it, then when it's march or april switch back to 5w30.

Originally Posted by MiLo

as this is my daily driver vehicle i do about 1000 miles a month now, with 155k miles i know im gonna need the plugs and wires changed soon, as of now i dont have any problems with the start up. but i dont when or if they have ever been changed... which plugs should i get when its that time? platinum, double platinum, iridium or what? Im looking at rock auto cuz these seem to be the best prices, can anyone point me in the right direction....

The best way to solve this is simple...

How long have you had the car?
Do you know if the p.o. changed the spark plugs?
Do you feel the car hesitant or shaky at times?
How's your MPG?

If any of these answers are unreasonably questioned then it's time. I know the p.o. for my car used shitty plugs in my GA so I had to change them. Don't get anything but ACDELCO plugs. Most of the time, Bosch, Autolite, and the other plugs don't work so well on these new GM engines. They usually end up needing to be changed sooner than the 100K guarantee that ACDELCO has. I just realized you have the ecotec.... that engine doesn't have spark plug wires. I know it's a bit weird, but that engine has a coil pack on that plastic piece that says "ECOTEC 2.2". Under that plastic piece are the spark plugs. You'll see it has boots, but no actual spark plug wires. As far as I know, you don't touch that unless you need to.

Also, a word of advice... you will need a torque ratchet if you're doing this yourself. The spark plugs in the ecotec are torqued to 15lbnm. Don't be the know it all that tried to do the change with a normal ratchet and ended up stripping the spark plug or messing it up.

[MiLo]

Originally Posted by Nas Escobar

Do as you wish with synthetic. What I will recommend is that you use 5w30 now that we're still in summer then use 10w30 when its cold out (so yeah, nov or oct) and if you feel the car doesn't like it, then switch back to 5w30 and keep it that way. If you don't feel the car resists it, then when it's march or april switch back to 5w30.



The best way to solve this is simple...

How long have you had the car?
Do you know if the p.o. changed the spark plugs?
Do you feel the car hesitant or shaky at times?
How's your MPG?

If any of these answers are unreasonably questioned then it's time. I know the p.o. for my car used shitty plugs in my GA so I had to change them. Don't get anything but ACDELCO plugs. Most of the time, Bosch, Autolite, and the other plugs don't work so well on these new GM engines. They usually end up needing to be changed sooner than the 100K guarantee that ACDELCO has. I just realized you have the ecotec.... that engine doesn't have spark plug wires. I know it's a bit weird, but that engine has a coil pack on that plastic piece that says "ECOTEC 2.2". Under that plastic piece are the spark plugs. You'll see it has boots, but no actual spark plug wires. As far as I know, you don't touch that unless you need to.

Also, a word of advice... you will need a torque ratchet if you're doing this yourself. The spark plugs in the ecotec are torqued to 15lbnm. Don't be the know it all that tried to do the change with a normal ratchet and ended up stripping the spark plug or messing it up.

very very good advice... i will keep all this in mind, and if i hapen to forget, then i'll refer back to this thread. or holla atchu.. lol...

[RalphP]

I second Nas Escobar's recommendation to check out Bob Is The Oil Guy ( www.bobistheoilguy.com ) but as a note - if you switch to a quality full synthetic (like Mobil 1), do the next few changes at 3,000 miles anyway.

You'll be surprised how much it cleans the motor up over the next three or four oil changes ...

Let me add, USE A GOOD FILTER. Do NOT cheap out on the filter!

I used ACDelco on my Malibu, use Motorcraft on the Cougar, and Wix on the Dakota. All three are good.

RwP

[sleepyalero]

Heres some advice as well, it says 5000 an oil change, but i dont go by that. I do mine every 3000 no matter what oil is in it.

If you want to get your oil cheaper then anywhere else, hit walmart, get a 5 QT jug it runs 22.97$ for mobil 1 high mileage. JUST OIL, do not get filters, all they have is fram really. At autozone the SAME jug of oil is 32.99 so you can save some money at walmart.

As for filter, i do mobil 1 filter from autozone, that is 13.99 for the filter.

[a.graham52]

Originally Posted by sleepyalero

If you want to get your oil cheaper then anywhere else, hit walmart, get a 5 QT jug it runs 22.97$ for mobil 1 high mileage. JUST OIL, do not get filters, all they have is fram really. At autozone the SAME jug of oil is 32.99 so you can save some money at walmart.

i buy the 5qt from walmart as well. cheaper then buying it from the dealer i work at! (9.xx a qt at work for regular mobile 1)

[sleepyalero]

Yeah its crazy how cheap oil is at walmart. Hate the store but love the oil prices lol