Take a look at the following statements…

■ “I change my oil every 3,000 miles”
■ “I change the oil in my diesel every 10,000 miles”
■ “My fiance burned up the engine in her first car because she did not know to change the oil”
■ “I run 50 wt in my old muscle car because the oil pressure is so low.
■ “Oil companies have conspired to tell us to change our oil more frequently than necessary”
■ “Is synthetic oil really better than regular motor oil?”

What do they all have in common? The answer is that they are things that have been said by yours truly, plus some more. While there will always be theories and debates around motor oil, we’ve come a long way, and here are my thoughts and experiences.

Proper engine lubrication is essential to the life and performance of your automobile’s engine, and there are many factors to consider. Different oils come in different grades. They have different intended purposes; different intended usable lives.

We have always been told that we needed to change our oil and filter every 3,000 miles. For years we just believed it without question. Perhaps it was true in the beginning when refining was less sophisticated and filtration was less advanced. But now, personally, I believe that a decent grade conventional oil has a reasonable useful life of 5,000 to 6,000 miles if you are not racing or towing or driving in dusty conditions. But before we get into a debate, let me relate some experiences that have helped me come to see things the way I do.
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Wearing my coat, hood, and winter gloves last week, I was cruising in my sweet Lexus LS 400, and freezing. The heater was working on and off - mostly off. Going up hill for a short time it kicked in for a few minutes, then again when I reached highway speeds. It seemed that there was something to my wife’s reports of problems about it after all.

Several years earlier I had a similar problem with my 1999 Chevy Suburban. It was cold in the passenger compartment in the winter and was almost impossible to warm up. But, as turned out to be the case also with the Lexus, adding the proper mixture of water/anti-freeze did the trick. Fill the radiator, and your heater should work fine as long as your heater core and your blower motor are in good shape.

Technically speaking, one might intuitively think that low coolant would mean that the engine would run hotter and thus so would the heater. Well, the first part is true, but is not necessarily good, even in winter. However, the second part of that assumption is incorrect because of how a typical heater works…
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All cars are different, and some can be quite different. My dandy little 1976 Honda Civic station wagon was perfect in one way, but completely imperfect in another. It was a perfect little city cruiser for under 45 mph. As a 4 speed, it was quite peppy, and very roomy. But on the highway it was another story. As a 4 speed with relatively low gears, the engine was really humming at 50 miles per hour. And, it was screaming at 65 or 70!

Going on a ski trip to New Mexico, my brother and I were excited about seeing snow as we entered the desert plains of West Texas. But that excitement turned dark when we saw smoke instead. Nevermind that we had a fresh oil change before departing, because at high RPMs, the little engine had lost all of its oil. Now, I don’t mean that it burned it; there was no engine smoke when it ran. Instead, there was inadequate baffling between the crankshaft and the oil pan. So, essentially there was a hurricane-force gale on the oil reservoir that simply evaporated it as it blew it out of the valve cover vent tube. I learned this a little too late…

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Gas is good. But “oldly” gas is bad (yes, I know I am in jeopardy of losing my literary license). Just like with milk, gasoline can eventually go bad. Typically we drink our milk before it has a chance to rebel; and we likewise use up the gas in our car’s tank frequently enough that it never goes bad. However, when gas is permitted to sit in a tank for too long, we live to regret it. It might manifest itself in the form of extremely poor performance, or with the vehicle not being able to run at all. In some cases it can cause expensive damage. In fact, having owned about 5 dozen of various types of vehicles, I have had more such experiences than I care to have had.

Recently I bought a vehicle that had been in storage for 2 years. The man had told me how it started right up, and he showed me as well. But when I got it home it was a different story…
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It is something most people don’t think about. They simply put fuel in their car and expect it to be good to go - which is reasonable. However, it is not sustainable indefinitely.

Gasoline is refined petroleum. As such, it is filtered many times before it goes into your gas tank. Then it is filtered again by your automobile’s fuel filter before it reaches your engine. This is very important since most engines made since the mid to late 1970’s are fuel injected, and clogged injectors can be very costly to fix.

If your fuel filter works properly, clogged injectors is not your worry. Instead, there is the danger of ruining your fuel pump. When the filter has done its job, it becomes full of rust, dirt, and other impurities. The flow is restricted and resistance against your fuel pump will ultimately do it in.
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