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Teach me about car oil!
garroad_ran
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I know next to nothing about car maintenance.
A few months ago I bought a used car (Subaru Legacy), and last night I checked the oil and found it to be kinda low. My understanding is that if I want to fill it up, I should use the same kind of oil that is already in there.
Since I don't know what kind of oil the previous owner put in, should I be taking the car in for an oil change?
A few months ago I bought a used car (Subaru Legacy), and last night I checked the oil and found it to be kinda low. My understanding is that if I want to fill it up, I should use the same kind of oil that is already in there.
Since I don't know what kind of oil the previous owner put in, should I be taking the car in for an oil change?
garroad_ran on
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Not only do you not know what kind of oil is in there, you have no idea when he changed it last. What year is the car?
Inquiring into places to get my oil changed now...
Thanks all!
Actually no, the 3000mi/5000km thing is unnecessary given modern oil technology
You're good for at least 5000mi/8000km, and depending on the age/make of your car and what type of oil it's running you could be looking at an interval of 8000-10000mi/13000-16000km
Check your owner's manual (I drive an '09 Impreza and I think it's 7500mi between oil/filter changes)
This is a light you never want to turn on. Ever. If it does, pull over and turn the car off as soon as it's safe unless you hate your engine and want a new one.
I would change the oil ASAP. 7000km is around 4400 miles which is still below what most cars really need, but you have no idea when the previous owner changed the oil last (and as you mentioned, the type of oil in the engine already). Also, if the oil is low, I'd check it every couple weeks or so just to make sure there's no leaking going on.
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197970666737/
It's a 17-year-old car. And up to 16,000 km? Christ.
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197970666737/
And if you're using conventional oil and waiting that long, I don't know what to tell you. You're scrimping on a $25 oil change or what?
I'd change change it as soon as I could and replace the filter since like others have said, you've no idea how old that oil is.
It's best to look up in the operators manual what the proper oil is; Subaru.com only has manuals back to 2000, but you might ask a forum like NASIOC. Most likely it will be a range (e.g. 5w-30 to 5w-40 or 10w-30 to 10w-40 API certified, there are other certifying bodies but I cannot recall them offhand). A link regarding what the numbers and letters mean.
If it's forced induction (tubocharged) I'd change it yesterday. If you decide to change it yourself make sure to dispose of it properly; don't just dump it, used motor oil is bad stuff. Most places that sell oil will dispose of it for you (PEP Boys, Autozone, O-reilly, Walmart with a service bay).
Depending on where you are and the season you'll either need 5w30 (cooler climates) or 10w30(warmer climates) oil
See the bolded part of Usagis post.
A 17 year old car is not a 37 year old car. I think you'll find the factory standard oil change period on that car is 10,000 kilometres.
Newer cars it's generally longer. I know our 2008 Golf has an interval of 15,000 kms. We only do 7500 kms/year, though, so it gets changed annually. Which would be a waste of money, to be honest, but it is changed as part of the annual service, so whatever.
Good. Now you need to do a few things just to be safe (Note this is general used car advice and not specifically for your car).
A. You don't know if your car has just recently started to use oil so monitor the situation for a while just to be safe. Check the level now and do it often for a while, if nothing much is going on then you can do it less frequent.
B. Next time you have the car service have the timing belt replaced unless you know it has been done recently. If the timing belt goes then best case you're stranded or worse you're engine will need major work or even worse the sudden loss of engine function lands you in an accident.
You can probably go even longer. Chancing oil after as little as 5000km is fine if you like wasting money.
(the age of the car is not much of a factor, it's the oils that changed)
That light should never ever go on. You should be checking your oil level every time you fuel the car, and when I say you I mean you, not the gas station attendant, who may or may not do it properly, and also won't know what it was last time it was checked.
Take your car to a different shop next time. The filter should be changed every time the oil is. The element inside the filter is just a long length of some special fibrous paper all folded up dozens and dozens of times radially around the filter housing. The oil is pumped into the middle of the filter and has to pass through the filter element to get back out, leaving any muck behind on the surface of the element. This builds up over time, eventually clogging the filter, at which point a spring-loaded bypass flap opens inside the filter allowing the oil to circulate around the filter element so that the engine does not get starved of oil.
The oil that came out of the car may have looked fairly clean, which is probably why the shop said not to bother changing the filter. Thing is, the filter could be multiple changes old, and just bypassing all the time.
Always change your filter when you change your oil. Always. It's a few bucks.
Same. Oil filters are designed to be replaced as often as the oil. Also of note there is usually a little panel under the hood that has the recommended oil weight on it, as well as on the oil cap itself. Though this isn't written in stone(I usually go a little heavier or lighter depending on the car.) it'll give you a pretty good idea of what to use if you're new. Next time, go to an autozone and buy your own oil and filter and put them on yourself. It's super easy to do and will save you some money. Literally only takes 30 minutes and one wrench. Afterward you'll have an extra 30 bucks in your pocket and a sense of accomplishment.
My time and/or cleanliness that day are worth far more than $10. And hey, free coffee and wifi while I wait the 25 minutes.
...Out of curiosity, what does the oil filter actually, well, filter?
About that oil light, on most cars that is basically a dummy light and only turns on when you're SUPER low on oil. Like on my Crown Vic, it wouldn't turn on until I was 3 quarts low. That's not good at all considering my capacity was 5 quarts. Poor engine only had two quarts in there
The interval on changing your oil is always debatable. Mileage is ok but things like how hard you drive the car or the age of the engine can change that a lot. The main thing you want to do is change your oil before it breaks down to the point where it no longer lubricates and protects your engine from friction. When I did pizza delivery and drove like a moron, high rpms and late shifting, my oil broke down quicker and needed to be changed more often than when I did lots of highway driving. The filter is to hold dirt and whatnot and prevent it from being cycled throughout the engine. Changing a filter is almost always recommended although I've worked on a few cars where the filter could go two or three oil changes before changing. I thought it was weird too but the dealer said that's how it was designed.
You can get Fram oil and air filters and Quakerstate oil at Walmart. Canadian Tire also stocks a wide selection of filters and oils, and they usually wind up with either on sale about once every six months, so I go and stock up for the next couple oil changes.
Quaker State conventional oil is on sale at my local CT for 14.99/4.73L, four of those would cover me for a year.
Where do you go that oil changes are that cheap? Mine are at least twenty dollars more for the basic change. (less fluid (if any) top up and no checks)
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Also, I'd imagine you might want to check out your local NAPA Autoparts store? I don't actually know how they compare price-wise, but always have a sense of them being good? (Might have just gotten that from my father.)
Metal particulates and carbon buildup, primarily.