Way back when I had an old model A Ford. I didn't have much money so I would go to the service station and they let me take all the old used oil I wanted. Thats what I used in my model A.

Later in life I purchased a new 1970 Ford Galaxie 500, v8 and all power. I kept this car for about 6 or 8 years. I never ever changed the oil or filter all the years I owned it. When I traded it off it was still running great. How come?

My current 1996 F-150 I-6, I use motorcraft filter and motorcraft 10W-30 oil. I change it myself. Its cost is very little. I can change the oil and filter each month because I drive it very few miles so its better to change it more often.

If it has "Ford" on the box or bottle, then I use it. No need to spend my money on some fancy filters or oils.

Unless you have some very high tech engine there is no need to use special oils and filters. There are plenty of trucks and cars on the road with high miles and using regular oil and filters.

Just change it when its due and don't wait. Regular and proper changes will work just fine.

Put the money you save in your drawer and use it for the down payment on your next truck.

 

Amen! I'm with you on that.

Same with the expensive K&N Air Filters. I remember seeing some analysis before in some auto magazine. They graphed the air flow readings of three filters. The K&N graph started high then tapered off after six months or so. The some other high performance filter was up there too, but tapered off after four months. A regular paper filter element also started high and tapered off after three months.

Do the math. One K&N filter plus a cleaning kit every six months. Or a cheap paper filter every three months.

I replace the $5 air filter in my truck every other oil change. That's about every three months for me.

 

Yes, you are right about the air filters. A regular paper air filter, changed at proper times, will work just great. No need to spend extra money for special filters.

The special filters work good for racing applications where the engine is torn down and serviced after every race.

 

I used to use synthetic, and now I use mineral. I think with the newer API classifications, the minerals are very close to synthetics in performance. You just have to change them a little more often. Propellerhead, I do use a K&N air filter, though. It seems to be a little less restrictive, and I like the idea of them being cleanable.

Ford70, that is a super website for remembering the "Forgotton War". As a pilot, I would wonder why anyone would jump out of a perfectly good airplane!


I salute you guys....

 

LoneRangerXLT - thank you for the comments.

When a guy is 18 he is generaly stupid and feel like he is invencible and will never get hurt. I was not intelligent enough to pilot.

I use to tell people that I was a pilot in the Army. Yep. the platoon sgt would tell me "see that truck full of ammo - pilot (pile it) over there".

What kinds of planes did you fly? The only planes I ever flew on were prop jobs. C-47(DC-3) and DC-6 with four engines. Never flew on a jet.

I had some friends who flew P-51 and B-17 during WWII.

 

I am in about $50 for my K&N filter for my Bronco, including the GIANT sized cleaner kit. Let's see, $20/year for the paper filters, after 2 1/2 years, the K&N equals the money spent on my K&N, plus I have saved the evironment a little dirty paper and rubber. At the rate I am going, I won't need another cleaning kit for another 5 years, so the K&N is cheaper in the long run.

As for the oil, synthetics have their purpose, but engines should be just fine for a long life on regular oil if changed at proper intervals.

 

My truck uses the flat pannel air filters. I pick them up at Walmart for about $3.00 to $4.00 each. I change them twice a year.

I have read too many reports about K & N filters passing too much dust particles. They are great for racing applications where the crew can tear down the engines after each race and re build them back.

Most people cant do that.

They do allow more air and better burn and a increase in HP.

But like most things there is a gain on one side and a loss on the other side.

For me, I have to be on the side of caution.

 

I touched on this in a post in the 4 Cylinder forum. Maybe you people can tell me what I'm doing wrong. I have a '93 Ranger (2.3L w/5 speed) currently at 132,000 miles that has been fed a steady diet of clean oil / filter every 3000 miles. It starts fine, runs very quiet, averages 26-29 mpg on the highway and just passed its emissions test with very good numbers. Other than the clutch slave cylinder starting to act up, it's been trouble free to date.

My problem is this ..... I've always used Fram filters and the cheapest 10w-30 oil I can find! By most accounts in this forum my truck should have died long ago without Amsoil/Mobil/Purple Stuff. Is it possessed? Why after such abuse does it still run? Shouldn't that many miles on "bad" oil filters have caused the engine to weld itself into a solid lump under the hood?

Joking aside......more expensive oil most likely provides a larger margin of protection than what I've used to date, but I think I've proven (if only to myself) that for my application on this particular truck regular discount variety API approved 10w-30 oil provides more than sufficient lubrication when changed at appropriate intervals. I get along ok without designer clothes ..... I haven't found the need yet for designer oil.

 

jeffg - I certainly agree with you and your findings.

I think its more about changing at proper intervals than high priced products.

Thats why I use regular motorcraft filters and motorcraft oils which I get at walmart. Very cheap. I change quite often.

 

I've use a good quality mineral oil in all my vehicles and changed it every 3,000 or so miles. I always use the fram oil filter too. I've got over 100,000 miles on the car and no sign of smoke, excessive wear, or oil consumption. It just passed smog with no trouble. Is the fram oil filter doing it's job? I think so. Is it as good as the other oil filters? Not from what I have read in this forum. So I think I am going change brands. Even though I believe I've gotten satisfactory service out of the fram filters I think the others are better from what I gather from other posts.

 

I just believe Ford knows more about their vehicles than I do, so I use Motorcraft. They are no more expensive than most other brands.

 

In defense of K&N.

My last street bike had nearly 60,000 miles on it when I sold it. I purchased it with 1000 on it. I installed a K&N filter immediatly due to the costs of replacement filters. I had the bike serviced at 40K for a mildly warped head. When they tore it down they had to replace a few valves and reringed it. The mechanic apologized for redoing the cylinders. He said the cross hatch marks where still plainly visible on the cylinder walls. This from a motor that I ran at 7500 rpm on a regular basis. 10000 rpm was not a stranger to it. After that I've always used K&N and todate have used them for over 300K on my vehicles. They work. They are easy to clean. And you can't beat checking one on a Sunday afternoon when all the parts stores are closed to clean it and install. They also will not fail like a paper element when you suck some water, as did my Ranger's stock unit. I've used them in very dusty enviroments and have seen no sign of them passing dirt after extensive use.

 

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 22-Jul-02 AT 05:34 PM (EST)]I agree with the comments about the oil change interval being more important than what is being used, but with 5 qts of Mobil1 full syn going for $17.88 at Walmart lets do a rough comparison:

reg oil changed twice at 3000 miles
reg oil at say, $1.30/qt, so times 5 is $6.50
regular filter is, say, $3.00
so for 2 oil changes, a total of $9.50 x2 = $19.00

full syn oil changed once at 6000 miles
full syn oil at say, $17.88 for 5 qts
hi-capacity/quality filter is, say $6.00
so for 1 oil change, a total of $23.88

The full syn method is about $5.00 more, but you only had to do it once. Either way is good in my book - to each his own. You could push the full syn out on mileage, say to 7500, but you could also push the regular oil to 4000 x 2, so it still kind of stays a draw.

By the way, I still use regular oil (Castrol GTX), but on my next truck (or new engine), I plan to start using Mobil1 or some other full syn. You can also probably bet the full syn prices are going to keep getting cheaper and cheaper.

I tell ya what, though, if you're out there workin' 50+ hours a week, saving that oil change time probably don't sound like a bad idea to some of us - hell, take your kids to the Dairy Queen or something - oh my God, that would be mean spending even more money. Look out, you're now using full syn oil and taking your kids to the Dairy Queen - talk about taking a walk on the wild side - man, you better back off jack.

Ya know, it's good to keep that engine in good shape by keeping good clean oil in it - the next guy who gets the truck can probably stand doin' the brakes, tune-up and tires, but, to most of us, it's not a whole bunch of fun to rebuild a motor or write out a $3000 check for having it done. It's that ol' "Do until others as you would have others do unto you." thing.