Change oil soon light.

[LuminaMan93]

I just changed the oil in my mom's 97 Lumina and now the change oil light soon stays on for a few minutes after she starts the car. After a minute or two it goes out. She said it didn't do this before. Has anyone had this happen to them before or know why it stays on for a minute after she starts it?

[Regal_GS_1989]

The light is supposed to come on when you have to change your oil. don't change it before, it's just a waste of money. Here's how to reset it after changing the oil.

 

1.Turn the ignition to run (DON"T START THE CAR!!!)

2. Push and release the accelerator to the floor three times (The light should flash)

3. Start the car and it will shut off in a few seconds.

[sl3196]

The light is supposed to come on when you have to change your oil. don't change it before, it's just a waste of money.

 

A waste of money? I change my oil every 3,000 miles even though my dic says I still have 50% oil life left. Just change it every 3,000 miles regardless if the little light comes on.

[manitcor]

tired old topic, its been proven that if you change your oil every 3k miles then you are changing your oil on average 40% more than you need to with Syn and about 20% more with dino oil.

 

FYI Im approaching 10,000 miles on the same 5 quarts of AMSOil and have only changed the filter once. The oil is still a nice amber color. Im going to send a sample to OCI for testing this weekend to see how its holding up chemically. Based on the research Ive been reading I should get about 20-25k out of it.

[DaveFromColorado]

10,000 miles on oil is literally impossable. Chemically the oil will start to break down after that many heat cycles, also the detergents will burn out of it by that point.

 

Your oil still being a nice amber color also makes me want to raise the BS flag there because for it to be like that, after 10,000 miles you would have to have a perfectly sealed engine, with NO blowby gasses what-so-ever entering the crank case, killing the detergent items and then turning your oil into a caustic acid which will eat at the bearings creating larger clearances and dropping the oil pressure readings across the board, and increasing oil tempatures in your car.

 

I don't believe you could have 10,000 miles with only changing the filter once, and not changing the oil

 

I don't believe you could get 20-25k out of an oil change EVER.

 

Research has been done to show the thermal breakdown of oil over time when introduced to combustion gasses, water vapor, and other materials found in the engine. The studies that I have read have shown that no matter how well sealed you think your pistons/rings/cylinders are you will ALWAYS get blowby, and blowby ruins oil, and not in a way that the filter can clean it either, it will change it on a much deeper level then that.

 

If you've really put 10,000 miles on your engine without changing the oil, and just changing the filter once, I feel really bad for your car, really bad.

 

I say, Change your oil every 3k miles max. I've alwyas* changed my oil at 2,800 miles and I've never had an oil-related engine failure.

 

when I get the CHEAP CHEAP oil ($12 for 24-bottles) I'll change my oil even more often then that.

 

--Dave.

[manitcor]

http://neptune.spacebears.com/cars/stories/oil-life.html

 

This was my motivation, I did some more reading on the stability of modern high-perf oils and decided to see how true they are espically after talking to a few other locals who are doing the same with good results. I do admit my biggest concern is seal conditioning but so far things seem fine. Its up to you if you belive me or not but it is in fact a nice amber color and the engine is running with no noticable problems. I drive ALOT (over 40k miles in less than a year) so if something is going to fail then it will do it damn quick on my car.

 

As I said I am sending in a sample to an indie lab for analysis this weekend. I will post the results if you are intrested. Im not too worried if its hurting the engine considering how easily 3400s are to come by.

 

I have read papers that talk about the chemcial breakdown of detergents and conditioners in oil and have seen information swing wildly in both directions which is why I decided to test things for myself. I perfer true empircal evidence to what I read on the net.

 

So far it seems oil does last much longer than the 3k miles everyone says change it at. The chemical analysis will tell us for sure.

 

And FYI the oil change light on modern GM PCMs calculates not just on mileage but how the engine is running (temps, rpm, o2, etc) and on average comes on around 5-7k on most new cars. GM themselvs say to follow that little light so Im betting even they know its a crock to change the oil every 3k.

 

--Edit--

Oh and I see you live in Eden Praire. I live in Mound, you're welcome to come over and check it out if you like (please dont mind the horrible EGR leak ) we have quite a few W's that hang out locally a couple times a week. You should come out.

[Smoke1991]

i change my oil every 2500 miles, because A: oil brakes down and collects dirt and nasty broken down blow bye, B: i beat the shit out of the 3.1 C: oil isint suposto be black, unless your just about to change it, mineral oil (dino oil ;-) ) should be changed at least ever 3000 according to my friends fathers friend, who owns and runs an engine shop, 30 years in the business of building engines, started with race engines, he knows what the avg consumer should do, change the filter and oil every 3000, change it 2500 if your me, aka your foot weighs more than the rest of your body no officer, my foot wasint stuck to the pedal, the pedal was stuck to the ground, i sware!

 

anyway, 2500 miles then i change it, which basicly is almost every 3 weeks. i just hit the 160000 mile mark 2 days ago, now im at 160211.6

 

the cutlass is a champ! :-P

 

this guy also has his own toy, a s10 pickup with a nice overbored 350, runs off alchol, and doesent know the definition of a soft brake pedal because even at a standstill, its so powerfull where the back tires like go chirp chirp chirp lol, this would shit all over that turbo desil that was shown in the whatever forum, i estimate about 650 or more hp and over 750 torque.

 

ill try and get pics one of these days, awsome truck

[White93z34]

at least in my eyes its silly to not change your oil every 3,000, i mean a good acdelco oil filter and 5 quarts of dino oil costs what $15-$20 at most? so why put your engine in jeopardy to save a few bucks? It's alot more expensive to rebuild an engine then to change your oil.

[manitcor]

thus the use of the expensive AMSOil and high quality filter, I drive ALOT as I said before (40k miles since last october alone) so even with the cheaper oils it gets expensive. Also the nature of my job has me on the road quite often so its not always possible logistically to change the oil every 3k. Currently im in a situation where if something happens I can have another 3400 in the car in very short order so Im taking advatange of it to see how this turns out. AMSOil claims thier oils will last provided you use a good filter to keep out containmants.

 

Also I found that even though the race oil and filters are more expensive should the interval come out to at least 15k for every complete change with a filter change every 5-7k then it is actually cheaper to go this way than to go with cheapie oil and filters. Over the course of a year.

 

So far all im seeing for comments is what people "believe" or what they have been "told" by whoever. I figure some of you should appreicate the fact that at least some people are looking for the anwsers themselvs rather than be "spoon fed" information about thier car. Much of which I am coming to find may be outdated from days when technology and desgin in metalurgy, chemistry, design and physics was not as advanced as it is today. While the physics of the internal combustion engine remain basically the same the priciples and technologies surrounding the combustion engine have improved greatly. Or at least so it seems.

 

I guess we will see more when I get my lab results back, I will certainly post in particular the acid content of the oil as berring wear is a concern.

 

oh and why rebuild a 3400? Its cheaper to buy one with 20k on it, clean it up and drop it in.

[Smoke1991]

do you even know what happens every time your pistons go up and down man, every engine gets a certan ammount of blowbye, it doesent matter what type of lubricant you use, the blowbye, constant heat, previous deposit buildups in the engine...etc are still there. Im sorry but ill take advice from someone who knows every troublespot about my engine and whats good for it and whats bad for it. this guy is god of engines. right off the bat, he told me the basic problems, and other problems about the engine, oil drive ring, lifter tick at cold startups. everything, its like he has a built in database insisde of his head about every model engine (especially domestic). lab results give you an insight about the condition of the oil and the properties it now contains, but it doesent tell you the damage that it probably going on in the engine it self. ASMOIL says 15k or whatever with a good filter, then you said it your self, they guarntee it, as long as you use a good oil filter. AND AS LONG AS U DO NOT CONTAMINATE the oil, hell man, blowbye is contaminating it lol, the old oil in the engine befor you converted it to asmoil contaminating it. if somthing happens to your engine because of this stuff, i KNOW they will not cover it or back there product up stating it was the operators fault and dident follow there guide lines. ive seen this happen a crapload of times.

 

the only thing that oil is doing for you is giving you better protection, better lubrication, and prevents from braking down faster, thats all, the max i would ever go on a FULL synthetic oil is 5000, and to me thats pushing it, the filter i wouldent go past 3000.

 

aslo you state you cant change the oil because your always on the road, any pepboys, sts, gurage, 20 bucks for an oil change, and if your in "east bumblefuck" or where ever, 30 mins of your time, and you get an oil change. Its nice not thinking about changing your oil, but hell i look up to it because everytime i do change it, it allows me to inspect the fluids and see if anything might of happened to the internals of my engine, like any metal, and small bits or other crap. i rather have somthing brake into my engine and float around for 2500 miles than 15000 miles.

 

hey but then again its your engine and your car, telling you from experience, not worth it, and all of my car buddies, along with there buddies...etc and there mechanic's say no more than 3000, can get off with 3500 on reg oil, and no more than 5500-6000 on synthetic.

 

And im not trying to start A argument, im just stating the facts and just telling you from my own experiences and other peoples experiences thats all.

 

If you want i can also whip up a list of INDAPENDANT studies on royal purple, amsoil, and mobil one synthetic oil, stating the facts.

 

actually, im just going to do it now, because im bored....

[manitcor]

Ive read the studies and if you have read my posts you would see that, for each study that says one you can find another that will tell you different. For each person Ive found says change every 3k Ive found another that says its horribily unneccassary.

 

I understand the risks and Im by no means telling people what they should do. Do as you wish. Im doing my own analysis here. When the lab results come back if it screams warning signs of excessive wear and a higher acid content you can bet I will adjust the interval and then have another lab anlysis done once I reach that interval.

 

Trust me, this is hardly mis-informed or a newbie thing. You may disagree, and perhaps you are right, Im just never one to trust materials printed on the net or what people say. Thus the reason for this.

[Smoke1991]

i agree with you, i dont read any plain old "study's" i try to stick to major car websites and major car type company's that can be trusted.

 

Im not at my computer now so i really cant pull the studys i want to show you. Later i will, its just some interesting stuff.

 

But yah i guess we all do certan things the way we want them done.

 

Best of luck with the oil change and please pm me when u get the results in or post them on this thread or a new one I wana see the details of this stuff, because you will be the first person i know who drove 12000 + miles on the same oil

 

thanks.

[WhiteOut]

I'm with manticor on this one. Extended service intervals are quite pheasable now days. In case you havne't noticed guys this is 2004, not the 1950's when the 3,000 mile oil change was introduced, and in case you haven't noticed we've come quite a ways technologically, and we've advanced light years chemicaly.

 

The new Corvettes come installed with Mobil1 and have a 10k mile service interval. Thats right... a 10k interval...straight from GM on a HIGH performance engine. Don't you suppose that maybe if you used higher quality oil (AMSOIL) on an engine thats not quite so tuned that it just might be pheasable to extend past 3k miles???

 

If you guys want to waste your money every month and change at 3,000 thats cool. But I'm with manticor, I run full synthetics and I only change my oil every 7-8k. It comes out looking cleaner than most dino oils do at 3k, and I've found no evidence of decreased engine performance, or any new noises "bearings, lifters, valve tap, etc...) to suggest that my car is dying. And thats on a 3.4 DOHC with 125,000 thats been "abused" by your truly for the last 35k miles.

[Smoke1991]

well i am a fan on synthetic oils, dont get me wrong, but if i try and convert my engine over now, im just screwing my self in the ass. i depend on my gunk buildups so i dont leak any oil

 

only way is if i did a rebuild with all new gaskets, which im not doing to my 3.1 as its my only car, and i need it EVERY day :? but yah

 

have you ever thought that ok maybe if we fool the consumer into thinking that its ok for 10K oil changes they will actually do it, maybe they want you to run it with all the acids and impurities the oils get after a while. maybe they want you to burn that engine out so you need to buy a new one, or hell why not another car if you can afford a 2004 vett. think like a corperation and think how you can boost sales. do not make the product last TOO long or you have less sales in reman engines, new crate engines, or rebuild kits. thats BILLIONS of dollars that they would lose.

 

it comes with a warranty, but not a 300 thousand mile warranty, every engine with proper maintnence should last 200K+ miles. except for a certan selected few.

 

but thats one of my points.

 

take a few markiting classes and business classes and you will get a better insight of what im talking about, when a company does this, they corner you into buying there products to keep the original going, or just get a new one alltogeather, just like hyundai, you werent even allowed to change your oil till about 1 year ago, also they claimed it voided your warranty. and we all know import crap is crap, so go figure, and half of the schegualed tuneups and service times you have to pay for, like my sisters sonata, next one is gona cost her at least 500, timing chain and a bunch of other crapola... its all marketing.

 

final line, syn's are awsome, i love them and use them in my friend's car's and suggest it to anyone with a decently new car, or rebuilding an engine, ive even converted my friends grandfather to synthetic with his tahoe that had 23K on it, he was a mineral oil lover, and now he cant be happier with synthetic mobil 1

[WhiteOut]

Yeah, maybe its a marketing ploy to get us to buy another vette...or perhaps more simply technology HAS advanced in the last 50 years...but then again how could that have possibly happened I'm still sitting in front of a vacuum tube monitor hooked up to a computer than fills an entire complex, generates more heat than a nuclear bomb, uses antifreeze as coolant, and yet has less computing power than my TI32 calculator.

 

Give me a break...

[Smoke1991]

50 years, and all of a sudden, now, from 3 to 5 then from 5 to 10K, lol, give me a brake, at least computer progressed with moores law, cars service guids went from, oil change 3000, oil change 6000, to oil change 10000, oil change, 20000.... LOL! give me a brake man.

 

 

ever hear of moores law?

lol im a computer systems analist, got 4 certifications. computers have been around for 45-50 years (some argue what was concidered a real computer) from 250 thousand sq foot buildings with relays ans switches to punch cards, to intergrated circutry, to processors that are .013 and .009 and now .007 microns(IBM) at least they advanced at a logical pace, and also you cant compare apple's to orange's. or you can try.

 

with this oil myth of 10,000 + all of a sudden? no, not enough years to back it up enough to say oh, yah 10,000 is more than good! no it just doesent work like that!, what was the time length of the whole synthetic developement 4 to 5 years? and the formula is still being changed and tweaked faster than it takes you to reply to my post.

 

there just isint enough support and proof for a car to use oil for 10k+ at a time b4 changing. you need longterm studies, which is what oil mfg's did when syn's first came out. they might be pushing the envelope with is, but as of right now, id love to see in 5 years, with a c6 vette with a bunch of problems related to the unchanged syn oil. and i have a good feeling it will happen.

 

give me proof that after 200 thousand miles that changin your oil every 10-15k is ok, and there are no complications, but for right now, i just think this whole 10K thing on a vett is gm saying to them selves, well the technology WILL be there when the first oil change is needed (couple of months later) when the new 2ed gen is rdy. I think the 2ed gen syns (that last's 10k+) are in expermental stages and are close to the consumer market, but not just yet. All i need is longterm proof thats

all. :?

 

kinda hyjacked this thread, hahaha. anway, this discussion is argued over every day by thousands. it all rests on what the future beholds and if the syn mfg's pull it off. thats the end of this discussion.

[Canada]

You can thank the tree huggin' hippies for the oil life monitor.......its all to help reduce the amount of waste oil.

 

 

That IS it.

[Smoke1991]

You can thank the tree huggin' hippies for the oil life monitor.......its all to help reduce the amount of waste oil.

 

 

That IS it.

 

yep, bastards! :?