Why does it matter if it is flushed? Is there a chemical reaction with conventional oil and synthetic? Pennzoil says that the use of Platinum with conventional oil is safe.

Oh, and if she is cute, it is still only +1 for me. Whitepages.com says she is between the ages 45-49 and I'm 18. You can have her!! lol +1 for you

Daniel

 

Okay so I called her and we ended up talking for 30 minutes about the car. Unfortunatly, she was unsure if it was conventional or synthetic. She did tell me that she just took it to Castrol ot Valvoline every 3,000 miles and used whatever they recommended. She said that it seemed like they used 10W-30, but she was unsure. She did tell me that the timing belt hasn't been replaced while she has had it (since 2003) so it is probably needing to be changed. She said that she got the tires, rotors, and brake pads changed at 115,000 miles and that the spark plugs recently got replaced. She told me that most of the miles she put on it was interstate miles (my dad said that was good). So should I just go with conventional oil or do the Gunk Motor Flush and use the synthetic?

All help appreciated!!

Daniel

 

Hmm that sounds fairly good... except for the whole 10W-30 conventional oil all the time thing. I would say, do a THOROUGH engine flush of your own, use the Gunk stuff that you described, or use a heavy Seafoam treatment. Then re-fill with a quality conventional oil from now on. I would suggest synthetic, but if it's that 10W-30 conventional that stears me away from it all... going from that to synthetic, you run a better risk of pushing oil past your seals. Just try a good 5W-30 conventional (not 10W-30), and call it good.

 

Everyone says it's interstate miles...it's always bullshiiiiiit

 

I know the area that she lives, and trust me if she wants to go anywhere (dollar store, wally world, virtually anywhere) you have to either take the interstate or about 1 1/2 hours of back road driving, so I can almost gaurentee she is telling the truth there. It isn't Pam that I talked to, but Alisha, her daughter who actually drove the car. She is only 20 something. So no synthetic? What conventional oil do you recommend?

Daniel

 

yanno, ive been driving and maintaining my own vehicles for 20+ years. i have always used dino oil. i have put at least 450,000 miles on all these different vehicles and i have never ever had an engine related problem. i drive fast and beat my cars and with my Jeeps i tow trailers and off roaded. still never had a engine problem. as far as brands are concerned, i use Wolf's Head most of the time and whatever was on sale or i used the NAPA house brand. my last oil change i used the walmart house brand, i think its super-tech. i sometimes use the proper weight for the application, sometimes if i dont have the exact weight in my garage, but i have a filter on hand, i change it anyway.

as far as my experience goes, your car could care less about what brand of oil or using the exact weight, but it cares about having fresh oil at the proper intervals.

for filters, i use NAPA golds, silvers or NASCAR SELECT or Wix brands (same filter company) 95% of the time.

 

Oh, and I meant to mention, the local Dodge dealer is going to charge $377.00 to install a fresh timing belt. YIKES!! I didn't think it would cost so much!!

Daniel

 

Um, trust me if they are willing to do you timing belt for only $377.00... go for it... SERIOUSLY. Trade-off to their time to do it vs. your time = worth it!!! Many people around here have seen quotes above $1000... so if you can get it that cheap, DO IT!

And when it is done, PM me... so I can compare your dealer to mine to get them to drop their price by 60%!

 

Do you guys think it can wait two months? I really hate to put anything on credit card. I am right at 130,000 miles now, and I really can't afford to get it done. I have to save my leftovers from my car payment from my pay check (which is only about $100). I only get paid every other week.

The dealer I will be taking it to is Burgin Dodge.

www.burgindodge.com

Daniel