The Car Mod Thread...

If that falls in the category, than here you go.



Also, speaking of valve cover caps, the tire shop sold me these years ago. They were $10 with all the money going to heart disease research. They actually had a bunch of choices-with different colors representing different charities-but I picked heart disease due to family history.

They're the same design as the tire shop was using for all their valve caps at the time, just colored instead of silver.

They started out dark red, but over the past several years have faded to pink.



(please excuse my terribly dirty wheels-I need to get the toothbrush out this weekend)

 

And that's why your maintenance schedule says 6,000 miles OR 6 months, whatever comes first.

 

i hope you're joking

 

Sweet mod on the rear window.

 

I don't care about being exact, but I am anal about getting it done before the interval is reached.

1. It states the mileage and time, whichever occurs first. Therefore a max of 10,000km or 1 years, whichever happens first.
2. You need the 2nd generation of iDrive CCC from what I can tell. That requires a a newer BMW. I'm up to date with software.
3. 3,000 is probably too much considering you only drive 2,000 miles. If you drove 5,000 miles with lots of idling or stop/starting then perhaps a shorter time interval would be appropriate.

So this is saying at a maximum every year you should change the oil regardless of miles. If you drive 2k per year, given your driving style and weather conditions, every 8 months sounds pretty reasonable. Oil is cheap. Engine damage is not. It's also important to know that poor oil quality doesn't necessarily kill an engine immediately, but it overtime it can ultimately lead to big problems.

I use full synthetic and change my oil every 5k. BMW says 7,500 or 10,000 on the interval (I forget). 5k may be excessive, but like I said, oil is a cheap and easy way to help promote a long and healthy engine life.

Btw, you should Mae sure you have the right oil viscosity given your -44 degree operating temperature. 10w40 in that case does not sound appropriate.

I'm assume you're using conventional 10w40 rather than semi/full synthetic given the specs? (Synthetic 10w40 isn't typically used in cars). Castrol 10w40 high mileage is $17 on Amazon for 5qts. Pennzoil looks about the same. Spend another $5 on an oil filter from there. Easy.

 

A lot of folks on the Lincoln LS Owners Club swear by Mobil1 0W-40.

Walmart usually runs about $25 per 5 quart jug of Mobil1, although I've looked to see if they carry it on 0W-40.

Since switching over to full synthetic(specifically Mobil1, the only synthetic I use) I've been running a 10K change interval. In all honesty, I feel like I'm wasting oil changing it that often(the additives and detergents are still fully functional at that mileage) but I'm uncomfortable going longer.

At the same time, your engine probably experience more wear in the few seconds when it is initially started after an oil change than at any other time in its life, as it's effectively running without oil in the valves and other places until the pump can saturate the filter and then get thing circulated everywhere. Pre-loading the filter with oil can help, although I find it to be difficult to do this and avoid making the filter hard to handle on a sideways-mounted filter as on my car.

Thus, I've always subscribed to the theory that changing oil too often can also be detrimental.

 

What year is your BMW? Mine is a 2011 and has the CIC iDrive in it. There's software updates you can download off their website and plug into the USB port.

I think BMW specced a 10-15k OCI for E60s. 5k seems like overkill, but you're right. Oil is cheap and I wouldn't take a gamble on the N54.

Have you tried sending in some oil to Blackstone to get an analysis? I feel like you can stretch out the intervals to 7-8k.

I've stuck to the BMW OCIs in the X5 (mostly because I've been under warranty, just went out last month) and the latest Blackstone analysis said I was fine at 10k miles.

 

If your oil is $1.29 a quart there is no excuse not to change your oil more than every 3 years. I'm not sure I trust $1.29 oil, but I suppose it's better than no oil. Anyways, 10w40 may explain your starting issues in the Impala in the winter. It may be better loose some oil and keep an eye on it than have circulation issues. I imagine you can find thicker oil somewhere, but it's probably not a good idea.

FYI iDrive is BMWs onboard/indash computer system that controls many functions of the car- Audio, navigation, iPod/Phone integration, HVAC controls, car settings, etc. The iDrive equipped BMWs, especially the 5 and 7 series are rolling computers.

I suppose in theory that may be possible. I'm suppose I inherited by father's mechanical neuroticism. My 535, like many BMWs have the oil filter on the topside of the engine, which makes replacing very easy. I suppose gravity will help keep oil in the engine, but at the same time I don't know what that means for its filtering abilities.

I have an 09 with CIC. Some of the earlier 09's have the CCC system. Many of the F-series BMWs (post 2011) have the second generation CIC, which has hardware and software improvements. I'm pretty sure I'm all up to date for my model (without hacking things). I'll have to look into it. Honestly though I think I can survive with one USB port.

~$70 to change the oil, versus a $17,000 engine. I'll still with the oil changes. Is it overkill? Probably. Do I know someone who went over 45,000 miles without changing their oil on their car? Yes? Did it survive? Yes (and is still running, the oil was finally changed in 2009).

Ok so this is basically the car thread now?

 

Well, I use full synthetic oil- 6.9 quarts worth. Plus a filter. Usually that adds up to under 70$, depending where I shop. That's doing it myself. Going to Jiffy Lube, Meineke, etc with full synthetic will run you quite a bit of money.

Try a dealership... I want to say they charge $130-140 for my car. I don't have the equipment/space in the city to change my own oil. Even a non dealer I would expect to pay at least $100. But usually when I bring it in for oil it needs something else anyways.

If I used conventional oil it could be done for under $30 using brand name oil. Or $9 in oil using your crap, but that doesn't include the filter. I imagine you don't find the need to change the oil filter. I'd prefer not to use $1.29 oil on $50,000+ car though (that 6 years and 100k mi later is still decently valuable all things considered).

 

Did it ever occur to you that cars often burn oil after being oil starved? $1.29 a quart type of oil is extremely poor quality. I am not saying that you need to put synthetic in your vehicle, but I spend $30 on five quarts of Valvoline high mileage conventional oil and a oil filter at my local AutoZone and it works great in my Suburban. My truck has 70,000 miles on the engine and does not use a drop of oil. While it may make sense to save money, maintenance saves money on long term repairs. The Daewoo shouldn't be too hard to change a valve cover gasket on, so I recommend that you do it/them soon.

You can use whatever you want to cut an exhaust pipe, but you need to have ample skills to install the new exhaust parts. Exhaust work is not fun and I recommend that you leave it to someone who has experience in the field or at least work under the sight of an experienced mechanic.

 

About $80 at the dealer for an oil change for me. Good cars need good oil.

 

$70 for just oil is nothing. One of my cars takes 8.3 liters and with the usual dealer markup, the oil change ends up being around $200 easily.

When you actually put in quality oil, that's the price you gotta pay

 

Fixed that for you

 

How dare you! Daewoos are fantastic! Better than Rolls Royce!

 

Hmmm, I don't know what mechanics you've talked to but I've talked to more than one who's pulled the head off a 300K+ engine always run with synthetic and said that the camshafts and valves look like they were brand new.

In the "real world" synthetics have significant advantages at both temperature extremes. They tend to poor and flow better at low temperatures, and then hold their viscosity better in high temperature operation. Perhaps that's why I don't have the cold starting issues that you allege are so rampant.

 

@MatthewLTL There is credibility to the statement that it is all made by the same people. However, I would recommend going for at least AutoZone generic fluids for instance as they are decent quality. Depending on the engine, you actually may have a timing chain rather than a belt. What engine is in the Impala?

How old are you? I am 17 and worked to buy my Suburban and maintain it all by myself and perform all of the repairs. I think you are older than me so you should be able to make your own decisions at least about the Impala and Daewoo. By the way, a giant pair of tongue and groove pliers (also known as channel locks) will take the filter off the S10. I do not recall if the filter is on the bottom like my Suburban or on the side, but there should be enough clearance to get it off. I have used them on the Gator at school to change the oil filter and they work much better then a standard oil filter wrench.

 

To me, changing the oil without changing the filter is throwing away good money. I tend to buy mid-grade to premium filters, but for a typical can-type oil filter even a premium filter is still $10 or so and a mid-grade filter is $5-7. I'd rather have a cheap low-grade filter(often $2-3) than even the best oil filter used past its useable life.

There's always a way to get the old filter off. Since I change my own and am always careful to lube the gasket and put them on no tighter than hand tight, I never have issues with a standard filter wrench. With that said, as Altemose suggested, a pair of channel locks or even a pair of vice grips(in extreme cases) can work wonders. Epoxying a nut on the end of the can and using a box wrench or socket will often work. One "age old" trick is to hammer a screwdriver through the can and then use it as a giant lever to remove the filter.

BTW, I noticed Ari mentioned somewhere or another that his BMW calls for 6.9 quarts. Mine officially calls for 6.5, but usually takes close to 7(even OEM filters are now longer/bigger than the original factory spec, which I suspect accounts for a lot of the difference). 4-5 quarts was the standard in the past. My car actually doesn't have an abnormally large oil pan-most of the extra capacity is in the oil cooler, which many more performance oriented cars have.

Larger oil capacities do wonders to extend the life of oil, as there's simply more detergent and more additives to collect or keep suspended the "gunk" that result from running your engine. A physically larger filter with more media(within reason) also helps a lot in this regard.

 

Matt, what I was saying really had nothing to do with conventional vs regular. If you're using regular, fine. You just have to change your oil in timely manner. Ace's oil is probably made by one of the major oil companies, but that doesn't mean it's the same quality. Considering you live in a climate with highly variable temperatures, you don't change your oil near enough, you do a lot of short drives, and you don't like to spend money (see below), you're better off here buying synthetic in the big picture. You'll pay a little bit more up front, but in the long run you'll be doing the car a favor. I'm not sure you will ever find $1.29 bottles of oil ever again. Amazon's oil prices are an absolute steal. Problems associated with switching from conventional to synthetic supposedly is now considered a myth with modern cars, I suppose one can debate that either way.

As others have stated, generally the consensus is synthetic oil is better because it maintains its properties better despite temperature fluctuations. Aka it functionally better very hot and very cold temperatures. On a related note, the vaporization point is higher, so it is less likely to burn off at high temps. Since it flows better, you get better engine performance and efficiency. It also is "cleaner" and causes oil sludge (I think it's better for the environment too). Generally in the long run it's cheaper- assuming you're buying name brand oil- depending how often you choose to change it.

Let's do some price calculations comparing synthetic versus conventional. Let's assume I'm not neurotic and change my oil every 9k miles rather than 5k using Castrol Edge Extended Performance (supposedly good for 15,000 miles, though 10,000 in common, and 9k makes a good point of comparison because it's divisible by 3). Or I stick by the 3,000 mile conventional oil rule.

Castrol Edge Synthetic every 9k miles (buying 5qt bottles)
$28.68/5qts X 7 quarts = 40.15
$10.25 Oil Filter (includes seal, o-ring, and drain washer)
Total: $50.40 per 9,000 miles (well under my $70 estimate, it's )

Castrol GTX Conventional every 3k miles (buying 5qt bottles)
$16.97/5qts X 7 quarts = 23.76
$10.25 Oil Filter (includes seal, o-ring, and drain washer)
Total: $34.01 per 3,000 miles

So now let's compare... I could pay $34.01 per 3,000 miles using conventional. Alternatively, I could essentially pay ~$16.80 per 3000 miles using synthetic ($50.40/9,000 miles = $16.90/3,000 miles). Controlling for the mileage, synthetic here is 49% cheaper! Additionally, if you consider your time as being valuable, you only have to change the oil one time. Given the benefits of synthetic over conventional, this seems like a no brainer in most cases. Yes, I am changing the oil filter 1x synthetic, 3x with conventional, but keep in mind conventional has more contaminants. (P.S. if I did every 15,000 miles as Castrol says is possible, aside from being concerned about the filter after 15k, it's equivalent to $10.08 per 3000 miles).

I suggest next time you and Grandpapá go oil shopping, do your mathwork ahead of time and demonstrate the savings. If you can find oil for $1.29/qt again (which I would be shocked if you could), I will send you synthetic oil myself. Did I just make a bet? You'll have to fix your valve cover first.

 

Ok, I did you a big favor here. You owe be big time

$50 for the valve cover gaskets? What does this kit include? Autozone says $16-$30 depending on the brand, which is still nuts. Google it, you'll find it for under $15 shipped. Go on eBay, you'll find it for under $10 shipped.

Are we talking about a valve cover or a head gasket? It looks like the valve cover is literally right on top of the engine. I'm not sure why you'd need a tite-reach? I attached the service manual pages on how to do the valve cover gasket. This shouldn't take you more than 15 minutes. You will need a torque wrench I'd imagine. Here's your engine with the plastic "Daewoo E-Tech" cover removed. You have a few bolts to remove- I even highlighted a few of them for you. Replace the gasket. And boom, you're done. I assume we're talking about the Daewoo's leak?

This looks so simple.

He's not the only one.

You have an interference engine. If the belt goes, chances are your engine is shot. I'd consider that more than $1000 job.

I agree that having a good filter is important. That's partially why I'm not too sure about 10,000-15,000 mile intervals. I just hope the filters hold up that long without causing issues. I believe my engine (3.0 TT, N54) is 6.5qts, but 6.9 including the filter. Between the oil likely adhering to funnels and such, I call it 7. I don't have a dipstick anyways . The funny thing about that is that my dad didn't realize that until after he bought the car. As someone who is very set in his ways, the lack of a physical dipstick infuriated him. My dad, irate, called the sales guy and claiming to have been "mislead" since he was told he could change the oil. "How can you change the oil without a dipstick?!". The sales guy kindly told him most people never look under the hood and the electronic sensor should be sufficient.

 

In a '09 with CIC you probably have a MULF unit in the trunk that handles the USB input (Option 6FL) bluetooth, and a few other media options. If you've got BMW assist there is probably a second box (TCU) next to the MULF which handles telematics. Starting in 2011, BMW replaced the MULF (and TCU) with a single unit called the COMBOX which adds a few cool features like enhanced bluetooth (audio streaming), connected drive, BMW apps, album art on media playback, and the ability to have multiple USB devices connected.