What brand and weight oil are you using and what mileage interval?

[mercurygm88]

They say that's how you can tell the oil is doing it's job. That or tons of sludge hiding out in your engine lol. Oil starts out the color it is in the bottle but by the time we get ours changed it's a dark tan, but not black.

Yeah mine has a slight tan tinge on the dipstick at 5k miles, and comes out of the pan dark tank. On my '88 and everything else I've had it was black on the dip stick and blacker yet when draining it. Never have I owned anything where I've come across sludge or severe oil burning either, maybe a quart between changes at most.

[gadget73]

Nasty or hot motors get dark quick. My Beetle ran synthetic blend 20w50 and by 2000 miles it was black. I changed it once a month, which was about a 2500 mile interval. With dino oil it was black by 1000 miles. No dirt in that motor, air cooled engines just bake oil to death. No filter either, so you get short change intervals. I did eventually change it to have a filter, but it was not full-flow, so filter performance was not particularly amazing. better than nothing though. Stock design was this basket thing that looked for all the world like a dome of window screen.



In stock form, there is a plate on the bottom of the motor that you undo to drain the oil. Mine had a plate that had a drain plug, so it was a little less messy at least.

[sick88tbird]

In my '01 CV, I run 5w30 QuakerState conventional or 5w30 Motorcraft synthetic blend. It also typically gets a bottle of synthetic Lucas added in and ALWAYS an FL820S.

In my 85 with the 351, I run Quaker State 10w30 in the summer with a bottle of Lucas, and 5w30 with Lucas in the winter.

ALWAYS 3k mile intervals on the 01, and typically around 2k on the 85...it gets driven hard and the Autometer oil press gauge doesn't lie at hot idle.

Personally, I think you guys are a bit nutty for running such long intervals on your oil changes. If your mileage is strictly highway and you're racking up 3k a month then I can see longer intervals...short trip driving (where the oil never reaches full operating temp) and numerous temperature cycles kill oil FAST.

All these modern cars with "oil coolers"...they're actually oil heaters...designed to use coolant to quickly raise the oil to temp and keep it regulated there. Kinda surprised nobody has brought this up yet.

[DerekTheGreat]

When all else fails, its a safe bet to use the OEM filter. The manufacturer doesn't want warranty work because their own filters are shitty.

This. I'll admit that as a teen I used expensive filters but then I had an epiphany where I thought if it wasn't any good, the OEM wouldn't use it due to warranty concerns. Plus I like the look of Motorcraft on a Ford and Delco on a GM. MoPar IDGAF, it gets a WIX. (heard those guys make the OEM stuff anyway.)

Everything I've ever owned had oil that looked really shitty by the 3000 mile mark, except my Town Car, at 5000 miles the oil still looks pretty damn clean.

I always thought the Fireturd I've got was sludged up until I pulled the intake off several years ago, no sludge anywhere. It's oil starts off tan and stays there unless I run it low (Oil burner 305 here). I alternate between that and my old 318 Plymouth every year. So Fireturd went in storage last fall with dark tan oil but I know when I pull it out next spring and check it, it will be black. Must degrade in the pan from contamination. F150 with 300ci I6 & four banger Ranger we had always stayed tan or darker tan, never got as dark as the other cars. In fact, all of the 2.3 engines at the yards I've seen that were missing valve covers always looked pretty clean. I've got this theory that a motor which wings all the time is usually clean, unless the oil is NEVER changed, that shit kills anything.

In my '01 CV, I run 5w30 QuakerState conventional or 5w30 Motorcraft synthetic blend. It also typically gets a bottle of synthetic Lucas added in and ALWAYS an FL820S.

In my 85 with the 351, I run Quaker State 10w30 in the summer with a bottle of Lucas, and 5w30 with Lucas in the winter.

ALWAYS 3k mile intervals on the 01, and typically around 2k on the 85...it gets driven hard and the Autometer oil press gauge doesn't lie at hot idle.

Personally, I think you guys are a bit nutty for running such long intervals on your oil changes. If your mileage is strictly highway and you're racking up 3k a month then I can see longer intervals...short trip driving (where the oil never reaches full operating temp) and numerous temperature cycles kill oil FAST.

All these modern cars with "oil coolers"...they're actually oil heaters...designed to use coolant to quickly raise the oil to temp and keep it regulated there. Kinda surprised nobody has brought this up yet.

I just can't get on the Lucas Mucus train.. Not a fan of their products but I don't have scientific proof that says they do or don't work, just my opinion.

We've never owned a car with an oil cooler up until this 454 GMC we bought but I did notice it uses the radiator as a cooler and that thought did cross my mind...

[sly]

I just can't get on the Lucas Mucus train.. Not a fan of their products but I don't have scientific proof that says they do or don't work, just my opinion.

I don't use any Lucas products except the red and tacky grease. My wheel bearings on the 88 have about 50K miles on them and have been untouched. That stuff works great. It's also great for greasing hinges if you don't care about the mess. I never clean that car and I don't drive gentle (yes, it has been jumped on more than one occasion and endured that frame banging over the curb accident) and the front bearings are still fine. The hinges needed regreased just last year, but that was after 6 years of being exposed to the weather here in Texas. That's the only one I've found in the Lucas mucus list that works for me.

[sick88tbird]

It took awhile for me to get on board with Lucas...I've seen it clean up Diesel engines quite nicely and circle track guys run it...if I'm abusing an engine with sustained RPM(like I do in the 85), it gets the Lucas snot...the synthetic Lucas is actually pretty light and I only really use that in the 01 as a "just in case".

[knucklehead0202]

Lucas killed the motor in my first mustang, or at least that's what I blame for it's death . It seriously spun a bearing like a week after I put that shit in it so I've never touched their products again, the bastards...

[Primalzer]

Personally, I think you guys are a bit nutty for running such long intervals on your oil changes. If your mileage is strictly highway and you're racking up 3k a month then I can see longer intervals...short trip driving (where the oil never reaches full operating temp) and numerous temperature cycles kill oil FAST.

All these modern cars with "oil coolers"...they're actually oil heaters...designed to use coolant to quickly raise the oil to temp and keep it regulated there. Kinda surprised nobody has brought this up yet.

I run about 30K miles a year...if I was truly changing every 3K, I'd be changing the oil every couple of weeks. I also run my car about 50% highway and 50% local roads (definitely not city though). I don't drive like a grandpa, but I definitely don't beat on it. About once every tank of gas I give it the beans, and run it up through one or two gears. The old Italian tuneup, if you will. Whether or not that actually helps or hurts, I don't know, but I like to think it blows out some excess carbon.

As far as the oil "cooler" I've always wanted to bypass the stock unit, and go with a standalone oil to air...just never had the time or inkling to do it...plus like I stated above, I don't really beat on it, so it seems like it would be pretty worthless, especially considering these motors will last for 300K+ with the stock "coolers". Maybe if I was towing or lived in an extremely hot climate

[GM_Guy]

I like the red 'n tacky. I started using it for the tie rod ends on my truck as the one on the driverside especially was getting the grease washed out, red n' tacky solved that problem. At least now when I regrease I don't have a handfull of mud in the joint to get out.

Alex.