ok well my oil hasnt been changed in over a year, mind you, the car only got many 50miles if that over the year, not pushed hard at all. But i think i should probaly still change the oil since she does get revved a bit and i dont want the oil to sludge up.

I havent reviewed on how to change your oil but if i remember first you want to have the oil warm, jack up car, with pan underneath unscrew oil pan bolt, let oil drain out, then once most is out, reinstall bolt and unscrew oil filter, replace with new and fill 1/3 oil and lube it with a bit of oil on the threads. Then fill with 5? gallons of oil. is this the correct procedure? My memory is hazy.

Is any good name brand non synthetic oil fine? she's got 27k miles. and could someone show me a pic of the oil pan bolt, i think i know where it is but i wanna be sure, thanks.

 

fill the new filter completely, lube the O ring.

oil pan plug

 

DO NOT PUT 5 GALLONS OF OIL IN YOUR MOTOR!!!!!

It is 5 QUARTS of oil.

 

LOL

 

haha, i'll correct that. sorry im horrible with stuff other then involving vehicles, and im not even the best at alot! Lol. to be sure, the oil pan plug is the bolt in the roundish tub next to your exhuast piping correct? So what are some suggestions for oil? I dont need nothing to fancy. is once a yr oil change ok since the low usage of the car? Do i fill the filter with alittle oil or not? Also who has better deals for oil? Im tight on money and dont even have the money to do this but i dont want the engine to get sludged out.

 

You are correct on which is the oil pan drain. I like to fill the entire filter with oil. When you first fill the filter up, the level will drop. You have to actually put oil in it a few times. You fill it up so that the engine has 0 oil pressure for as little time as possible. Dont forget to put oil on the O ring.

 

also i will want to run 5-30w correct? i will be using castrol gtx and a mobil 1 oil filter. How long should the oil be good for in the engine as she only gets a few miles each yr and not ran hard. also is yellow thicker material inside your head sludge? i have a bit of that and is this really bad or is it normal?

 

Off subject but that is a gourgeous undercar in the photo. Sweet!

 

Oh, and is the thick yellow material kind of creamy like butter? If so than its water in your oil. This can happen from washing your motor or if its stored outside in wet climates. It can also be from a leaking head gasket or intake manifold gasket.

 

yep, will the motor be fine if i do a oil change? i do wash the motor alot. reason i looked is because when my mother and i was "testing" the car around our block when we got back their was smoking around the driver side head, its stopped now and i belive it was because the oil cap was a little loose and was leaking oil on the valve cover. I washed the engine bay less then a week ago also so im guessing its water.

 

You should be fine. Like you I dont drive my IROC nearly enough, 20,000mi in 11 years. Its good to atleast start the engine every two weeks or so and let it warm up good, just to keep moisture out of the motor. Here in Oregon with our cool wet climate, this is fairly important.

 

dam i didnt even realize your from OR, haha. I still need to get the stuff for an oil change, i just cant justify spending 20 bucks for all the stuff. How long is the current oil good for in the engine tell it would actually REALLY need to be changed? Money's tight.

 

I tried to figure out of 87's got roller lifters or hydrolics. If they are not roller lifters I recommend some ZDDP additive.

 

I still havent done the oil change *stupid me*

what weight of oil do i need for these colder climates?

im also going seafoam the engine to, I just need two of those regular (16oz?) bottles correct?

Im just going use an non synthetic oil because sometime ago i found out that theres actually 127k miles on the ride and iv heard that synthetic oil's in higher mileage rides can destroy the gaskets, so yah

 

wow thats simply amazing, well I got bored and decided to take some old carb cleaner in a spray can to the TB/plenum. Well I first examined thru the TB the amount of carbon and whatnot was in there, There was a nice thick layer of carbon.

I sprayd a fair amount of the stuff in there (btw i only had like 1/3rd of a bottle so i had to kinda save it) i sprayed it in, along with some on a brush and scrub to town and back in there, did this a few times until the bottle was mostly gone, then cleaned what I could in there with a few rags, and finished off the bottle, I dried what I could with a rag and started her up, it took much longer to start but it didnt worry me.

I let her run a bit, drove her back and forth in the driveway, and pulled her in the garage, I then revveed teh **** out of the engine (well not really, only up to like 3500) and turned her off. Opened the hood, took off the maf, and looked inside the TB, this thing was just about spottless other then a few dried spots, I cleaned those and you could litterly see every little bump on the inside of the plenum, and remember, this ride has 127k hard miles.

I started her up again a few minutes later, and she fired right up, almost better then usual it seemed, probaly not tho, but sooo as you can tell IM AN HAPPY CAMPER!

I cant wait to seafoam the rest of the ride tomorrow and do the oil change, I'll let you all know how that goes. Happy Holiday's!

 

So what brand/weight of non-synthetic oil do you guys suggest?
also what filter will I need?

 

10w-30 Castrol/Valvoline + Mobil1/K&N Filter. Buy at Autozone/Pepboys/Etc.
Avoid Fram filters.
Enjoy.

 

with the two bottles, should I run half a bottle thru the gas tank, half thru the brake booster, and half in the oil? I was thinking of using theother half after I let the car run and put a bit more thru the vacumm line after the carbon is out to make sure 110%of the engine is cleaned troughout?

also why run 10w-30 other then 5w-30? thx

 

5W30 ALWAYS lubricates better than 10W30 for cold startups. Both lubricate the same when hot.

And don't start your engine every two weeks. Next to drag racing, the hardest thing you can do to your engine is cold start. Only warm it up when you're ready to change the oil, change it, then leave it sit.

 

Don't fill the filter its a waste of time. It does NOT matter which oil you use, just use the same thing next time. 5W30 is what I would use (seeing as its what GMs engineers recommend, and I don't mistake myself for being smarter than an engineer).

 

That some fantastic advice. better yet start the motor with the plug out so you can get all of the oil out. "don't actually do this"

 

I can't believe this thread is actually running.....A senior member with 1,200 posts who can't remember a oil change procedure or even what kind of oil to run who says he still hasn't changed it in well over a year and the post was started in July.....

 

So you're saying you NEED to fill the filter before running the car? Hmmmm I guess myself and the other thirteen technicians at my work have been doing it wrong all this time......

Oh, and a very, very poor attempt at sarcasm, even considering you noted it.....


Very true, I didn't even notice the thread date....

 

I fill the filter on my Chevy small block engines since the filter is in the vertical position anyway.

 

Thread was started in July, but OP still asking questions this morning.

 

Yes, you all are doing it wrong.

Think about it....When the engine is first started up, the oiling system in the engine is dry. With an empty filter, the filter has to fill up before oil can get circulated through the engine before it can even begin to get any oiling protection.

Where do you work? Jiffy Lube?

 

It is?

 

Don't tell me that you actually think the oil just stays up in the engine & doesn't drain back down into the pan!

Yes, there will be small puddles here & there in the oiling system, but certainly no full layer of protection.

 

I see that my low post count is synonymous with lack of knowledge so this will be my last post on this thread, but if your engine takes more than a few seconds to build oil pressure, you have other problems to sort out. But, again, I know so little from working at a Chevrolet dealer... *ahem*... I mean Jiffy Lube, I'll just keep my two cents out of this from here on out.


News to me too.....

 

The oil film doesn't drain away and is perfectly adequate to keep the bearings lubricated for a few seconds of running before pressurized oil reaches them again.

Look at the hundreds and hundreds of engine designs that don't use a vertical filter. How do you pre-fill a filter that's mounted horizontally on the block? Look how many designs don't even specify drain-back valves, so there's a so-called "dry" start every time it fires.

If you want to pre-fill, go right ahead. If you don't want to, then don't. Either way you get to enjoy your engine for a very long time.

 

You made the connection of low post count with lack of knowledge, not me. So if you want to think that? Go ahead. I never said it nor even implied it. Just don't go making assumptions on others, OK (that i think your low post count = minimal knowledge)?

BTW....Working at a Stealership does not automatically = knowledge. I've seen my share of morons (i am NOT saying that you are a moron, before you start jumping to conclusions over my words) there too.

 

No problems, ever. On any of my cars from the day I started driving. I currently have a 23yr old, 220,000 mile L98 that gets 21mpg (brand new the rating was 23mpg) and has no problem roasting my 315 rear tires. I think I'm doing pretty good on my methods of engine maintenance. At this rate, it'll hit half million miles and still be running strong!

 

wow i was amazed to even see a thread on a simple oil change and now all this well atlest i can add to post count

 

Back when I wrenched for a living, oil filters went on dry. On my cars, even the shitboxes, I take one minute and fill up the filter.

Instead of running without oil pressure for 3 seconds, it fires up and has pressure right away.

For as little time as it takes, filling the filter keeps my neck muscles more relaxed on startup.

 

This is the funniest thread I've seen in months! It started here and ended up arguing about how much oil stays in the engine! Happy Holidays Everyone! Ha!

 

Oil changing is a basic chore, but good clean oil is the life blood of an engine. Food for thought for those with feelings of hostility on this thread; I used to tell my students when I used to teach "the only stupid question is the one you don't ask".

 

Doesn't take much to amuse this guy.

 

Sure doesn't! Did you read all the posts? Eh?

 

im just going keep this short and sweet, first of all im 14, this is my first car and I dont wanna f her up, what does it hurt to make sure I have all the correct procedures down?
next, I live in a pretty poor family, and im not sure about you but $20 bucks isnt exactly pocket change all the time.
so send me 20 bucks every few months and ill be happy to change my oil on YOUR request.
In stead of complaining about somthing that you dont know all the infomation about, why dont you help with what you can or just dont post at all?

 

Well I just got done with everything a bit ago, I seafoamed the engine and changed the oil sucessfully, and it seems to have payed off as she sees to run a little smoother now

 

Hope you seafoamed the oil before you changed the oil lol. And up there I meant 5w, that's why you don't post at 2am.

 

yup, I put nearly a bottle in thru the vac line, 3/8th in the tank , and the rest in the oil, reved her up nice and good, drove around block, and changed the oil.

 

The important things we can all agree on about oil changes, is change it often and put the right amount in, and use the right weight. Use 20w-50 if you live in a very cold climate, the engine will crank over easy right? LMAO, what a hilarious thread, releasong the anger. Take it easy everyone, for the THIRDGENS!

 

I came in on the tail end of this thread. Sure didn't mean to cause any pain. Keeping up with maintenance is what gets you a ride that will last another 20 years. Keep asking for advice and help, might have to crawl over some bodies but you'll get there!

 

I hope you didn't run it for too long with seafoam in the oil. I personally wouldn't run it in the oil unless I started when the motor was new. But that is just me. Also I would try and change oil a little more then onece a year, or at drive it a bit more.

 

Well the only time that there was seafoam in the engine was when I was revving the ride to get out all the carbon and then driving it around the block bout 3 times which is only about a mile or two so not lon at all.

Well once we start driving her more, it'll be no longer then a yr, but it wont be a DD tell and only possibly once I turn 16 which is in bout 2yrs

Im going probaly change the oil nxt around late summer/early fall.

Also I noticed the seafoam lowered the idle, which is good a before it was kinda high it seemed and at times it would cause an annoying azz droan!

Oh yah, kinda off tpic but i figure i'll ask, when I'll start up the camaro, occasioally there is tickin and beteen each ticking the idle will raise/drop off, that tick is also very noticable? what is it? And my mother said something about it today and how back i the day, it never would do that.

Also while im at it I shall add this in also, for a while now the gas tank was etremely low, well over the period of about 2weeks we got about 10 fresh gallons of gas in it from gas cans, well tht should bring it to about the 3/4 mark, but I noticed while at times it will be at the 3/4 mark, it will lower back down to the half mark, then back up the down, etc. Its no like its every 2secs or anything, I just notie it occaionaly, Why is this?

 

Running it through your fuel system usually doenst cause any problems. And I am sure many people have run it through their oil with no problems. But I have known a few people who ran it through there oil and I did its job too well. Cleaned it so good that it spun their bearings. So I myself have been always leary of running it through the oil.

 

[quote=Camaro305SB;4765216]So you're saying you NEED to fill the filter before running the car?

On yours no don't care. On mine yes.

Hmmmm I guess myself and the other thirteen technicians at my work have been doing it wrong all this time......

Let me know where your work is so I can avoid it. If YOUR dealership is like the chevy one here they had to call a shop to install a distributor in a vortec.

Oh, and a very, very poor attempt at sarcasm, even considering you noted it....

.Figured some one would think im serious. At least they taught you that at your dealership............

 

Fresh from cans? Did you add Sta-bil to the gas? Just curious.

 

sorry, what I ment was the gas was just bought from the gas station, it wasn some 20yr old gas, it was fresh from the pump haha.