Maverick: check your damn oil

[Scott Asheville]

Confession time. My second or third car was a (late 70s?) Toyota Celica with an automatic transmission. One dark and rainy NC night out on the road, unfamiliar with the underside of the hood, I accidentally poured automatic transmission fluid down the wrong hole - yup, the oil filler.

That was a valve job.

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[Montana]

I dated a girl that confessed to me she blew up an engine because she didn't know the oil was supposed to be changed.

We didn't last long.

 

[XHusker]

Well, I guess you just have to tell some people every step in the process. I personally have the oil drained at a professional shop. (not a quick-change facility) They then add back the correct amount of oil when fully drained. I check the oil once a week but have not had to add any at that time. Just so you know my blinker fluid is synthetic, so you never need to replace it.

 

[Blinky]

It used to be every other fill up, now with newer vehicles it's whenever I think about it but usually at least once or twice a month. Oil changes every 8000 km, or every 6 months if it's a vehicle I don't drive much.

 

[ABTremor]

That be me! Little too much is better than not enough!i really don't think it will hurt anything .

Depending on the design of the oil pan and windage tray, adding to much oil can lead to cavitation which will have a detrimental effect on lubrication of critical engine components.

 

[Scott Asheville]

In "The Graduate", the famous one-word piece of advice was "Plastics".

I guess on this oil change discussion, the famous one-word piece of advice would be "BEV".

 

[gp1200x]

On my Eco you really have to wait quit a while before getting an accurate reading on that stick. Best to let it sit level for 30 minutes after turning engine off to get a clean reading allowing all the oil to settle back down. Even at 10 minutes I always see a lot of oil on the stick sides even though I can get a reading that seems good. I like to see a nice distinctive line on that stick if I am not sure exactly how much I added while refilling from multiple containers.

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