20wt motor oil

[SavannahLion]

Manual says to use 20wt motor oil. Shop sells some no-name no listed weight brand for $3.97 for 1/2oz. Research indicates even the manufacturer is inconsistent on the weight specification.

Well... motor oil is motor oil so I hit up the auto section at wally world. Uh oh, forgot some details about those weight specs. They don't have straight 20wt or SAE 20. Since my application doesn't involve high temps can I get away with substituting 20w-50 oil? Or is am I going to want to use 5w-20?

[Malenko]

multi weight oil like a 5w-30 is a 5 weight when cold and a 30 when hot.  Without knowing the application I cant really advise what to get. If the oil isnt going to get much hotter than "cold" a 20w-50 would work.

[Nephasth]

5w-20. $3.97 for a 1/2oz!?!?!?! Jesus. My Mobil 1 fully synthetic 0w-20 is usually around $6.50-$7.50 a quart.

Oh yeah...
If you can build your own arcade controls, you can change your own oil.

[SavannahLion]

multi weight oil like a 5w-30 is a 5 weight when cold and a 30 when hot.  Without knowing the application I cant really advise what to get. If the oil isnt going to get much hotter than "cold" a 20w-50 would work.

Oh poop... bad edit. Damn phones.


It's a Daisy Red Ryder BB rifle and a pair of... model 1986 (?) BB rifles. Basically pink versions of the RR.

Yes... same model rifle from Christmas Story.

[pbj]

Use 3 in 1 for a BB gun

[Nephasth]

Wow. Wasn't expecting a BB gun.

[Ken Layton]

3 in 1 "Electric Motor Oil" is straight 20 weight non-detergent motor oil.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_95565-357-10045_0__?productId=1210103

[SavannahLion]

Wow. Wasn't expecting a BB gun.

It's all about responsible violence.

Thanks for the tip on the 3 in 1. Strange that I see electric motor 3 in 1 at different sites but the company site makes no mention of it. Closest is their motor oil formulated for 1/4 hp or larger. http://m.3inone.com/3inone-motor-oil.php
Is that the same? The packages look different so it must not be.

[ed12]

3in1 is a old reged trade name from singer
same stuff...diff pkg's
as ken stated..we use it for shaft's,bearing's in eclectric motor's,small mech's

ed

[mahkeymike]

[SavannahLion]

Ryder... actually.

That's why you're born with two eyes.

[pbj]

In my experience, air guns need very little maintenance and oiling.  When they do, 3 in 1 did it.  Some of the guns have been in the family for decades and still work fine.  If it turns out that it's really cheap motor oil in a convenient container I'll just have to learn to live with that... At the rate we're using it, I'll be 80 before that old metal can runs out.

 

[deadmoney5]

5w-20. $3.97 for a 1/2oz!?!?!?! Jesus. My Mobil 1 fully synthetic 0w-20 is usually around $6.50-$7.50 a quart.

Oh yeah...
If you can build your own arcade controls, you can change your own oil.

Why would you want to change your own oil nowadays?  Time spent to price saved isn't worth it.

[pbj]

Plus you gotta funnel all that old oil into empty milk jugs and put them in your neighbor's trash in the middle of the night.

[Nephasth]

5w-20. $3.97 for a 1/2oz!?!?!?! Jesus. My Mobil 1 fully synthetic 0w-20 is usually around $6.50-$7.50 a quart.

Oh yeah...
If you can build your own arcade controls, you can change your own oil.

Why would you want to change your own oil nowadays?  Time spent to price saved isn't worth it.

I was a mechanic for a number of years. Most important thing I learned while being a mechanic... Never trust someone else's work.

Peace of mind is much more valuable than a half hour saved.

[Vigo]

Agreed. If you have your oil changed, check their work right away. I think it isn't so much an issue of dishonesty, but more laziness.

Wife took our car in for a change a year ago. Only mentioned after a couple days driving on it that the engine was making terrible sounds. Checked the car, they barely put any oil back in the car. Large metal shavings in the oil.

I am not an expert, but I guess I am apparently very lucky that the car has a variable valve timing engine. There are additional sensors/controllers in the engine and they have filters on them. I am told by a friend who is smarter than me that it kept a lot of the metal shavings out of the critical parts of the engine. Changed the oil myself about a half dozen times over a month and cleaned the sensors each time to filter out all the shavings. Still doesn't run like it used to, so I am assuming some damage is done. Sucks, the car was less than 5 years old.

Took my car into a different place recently, and they did the same thing, grossly under-filled the oil. Had to argue with the shop tech, apparently not all places check the oil level when done. They just let the machine fill it to the pre-programmed amount and call it good. Mine probably gets programmed in wrong all the time because I have the wacky hybrid engine. 

[Nephasth]

Yeah, the "mechanics", in any shop, that are performing the simplest of tasks (ie changing oil) are of the simplest minds. They're all mouth breathers.

[Vigo]

Auto repair is kinda a funny field. I've come across both brilliant mechanical engineers and drooling neanderthals with essentially the same job title, at least on the consumer end.

[deadmoney5]

I was a mechanic for a number of years.
[/quote]

Well there you go.....I guess if you have the space, and access to all the means necessary to make the job easier, go for it. 

[SavannahLion]

Agreed. If you have your oil changed, check their work right away. I think it isn't so much an issue of dishonesty, but more laziness.

Wife took our car in for a change a year ago. Only mentioned after a couple days driving on it that the engine was making terrible sounds. Checked the car, they barely put any oil back in the car. Large metal shavings in the oil.

I am not an expert, but I guess I am apparently very lucky that the car has a variable valve timing engine. There are additional sensors/controllers in the engine and they have filters on them. I am told by a friend who is smarter than me that it kept a lot of the metal shavings out of the critical parts of the engine. Changed the oil myself about a half dozen times over a month and cleaned the sensors each time to filter out all the shavings. Still doesn't run like it used to, so I am assuming some damage is done. Sucks, the car was less than 5 years old.

Took my car into a different place recently, and they did the same thing, grossly under-filled the oil. Had to argue with the shop tech, apparently not all places check the oil level when done. They just let the machine fill it to the pre-programmed amount and call it good. Mine probably gets programmed in wrong all the time because I have the wacky hybrid engine. 

Interesting... I used to have a Nissan where the opposite would happen, "tech" would put in too much oil. Learned from a garage that specialized in Nissans that there was a database release missing my engine model so the techs would put in the one for what was available, the next size up or something.

The engine sucked anyways. Plastic guides for the timing chain would break and cause a unique knocking sound. I could tell for years which Nissan had that exact engine due to the knocking sound.

[Nephasth]

I was a mechanic for a number of years.

Well there you go.....I guess if you have the space, and access to all the means necessary to make the job easier, go for it.

Yup. A drain pan and combination wrench... Tools only professionals have access to...

[pbj]

I can't get my arm beneath my Toyota, much less my front butt, so it's gonna require just a bit more equipment than that.

[Nephasth]

Stop eating.

[pbj]

Stop eating.

I eat because I'm depressed.  I'm depressed because I eat.

 

[Nephasth]

Lol. You can score a set of ramps at a garage sale real cheap... Or focus your Amazon scamming efforts towards a set.

[deadmoney5]

I was a mechanic for a number of years.

Well there you go.....I guess if you have the space, and access to all the means necessary to make the job easier, go for it.

Yup. A drain pan and combination wrench... Tools only professionals have access to...

LOL...I live in a ---smurfing--- apartment..I'm sure mgmt would love me changing oil in the underground parking.  It's ---smurfing--- 20 below here right now.   yep..let me save $5 to change my own oil. 

[deadmoney5]

I'm sure i could save $5 a month washing my clothes in the dishwasher as well.

http://mybrokencoin.com/ten-things-you-gain-when-you-stop-being-cheap/

[Vigo]

Lol. You can score a set of ramps at a garage sale real cheap... Or focus your Amazon scamming efforts towards a set.

Scored a free creeper, ramps and set of jackstands at a garage sale this summer. 

LOL...I live in a ---smurfing--- apartment..I'm sure mgmt would love me changing oil in the underground parking.  It's ---smurfing--- 20 below here right now.   yep..let me save $5 to change my own oil. 

I'm with you there. My issue is more that I don't have the room in my little one car garage to hold a car (Better than when I didn't have a garage, though.) But damn, it got cold up here right now. I have to fix an e-brake cable, and it is too cold to even think about going under a car.

[Nephasth]

I was a mechanic for a number of years.

Well there you go.....I guess if you have the space, and access to all the means necessary to make the job easier, go for it.

Yup. A drain pan and combination wrench... Tools only professionals have access to...

LOL...I live in a ---smurfing--- apartment..I'm sure mgmt would love me changing oil in the underground parking.  It's ---smurfing--- 20 below here right now.   yep..let me save $5 to change my own oil.

I live in Cheyenne, WY, one of the windiest cities in the country. Was -13 this morning. I change my oil in my driveway in the elements. 10 years ago when I was in tech school, I changed my oil in the dorm parking lot. Man up, or keep coming up with excuses. It not about saving $5. It's about being able to handle your own ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---. Some men are just made of sterner stuff...

Wait a minute... You're not one of those Griff-richers are you?

[Louis Tully]

.

[Nephasth]

Yeah, there are few feelings greater than walking up to something that's broken and walking away from it fully functional. Congrats on the repair man!

[deadmoney5]

I was a mechanic for a number of years.

Well there you go.....I guess if you have the space, and access to all the means necessary to make the job easier, go for it.

Yup. A drain pan and combination wrench... Tools only professionals have access to...

LOL...I live in a ---smurfing--- apartment..I'm sure mgmt would love me changing oil in the underground parking.  It's ---smurfing--- 20 below here right now.   yep..let me save $5 to change my own oil.

I live in Cheyenne, WY, one of the windiest cities in the country. Was -13 this morning. I change my oil in my driveway in the elements. 10 years ago when I was in tech school, I changed my oil in the dorm parking lot. Man up, or keep coming up with excuses. It not about saving $5. It's about being able to handle your own ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---. Some men are just made of sterner stuff...

Wait a minute... You're not one of those Griff-richers are you?

Definitely not a car repair guy.  But my cousin is a mechanic, so at least I have that going for me.  I'm an accountant...I don't like getting dirty anymore.  Don't really consider it "manning up".  To each their own.  I play guitar in an AC/DC Tribute band.  That's "man" enough for me.

[Nephasth]

Just as I had suspected. Griff-richer.

Hey man, whatever helps you sleep at night.

[knave]

I have been capable of changing my own oil for almost 25 years...I've done so a few times too...but paying $17-$25 at my dealership for an oil change with a coupon frees me up to fix important stuff. I don't think of it as cheap. After all they mail me the coupons. I don't like disposing of the oil either and I'm too enviro-friendly to use PBJ's method.

But the advice to check after you get it changed is sound.

I might have to pick up some 3 in 1. I tend to use whatever I have laying around...

[deadmoney5]

Just as I had suspected. Griff-richer.

Hey man, whatever helps you sleep at night.

No idea what a griff richer is.  Lemme guess..it's a derogatory term That makes fun of someone else?  Awesome!  Congrats on being a real man who changes his own oil

[pbj]

My first car was $800 and wrecked into a palm tree the night before I bought it.

The amount of work I poured into it was obscene.  At 17 I vowed Id never be so poor I couldn't afford a reliable car.  Anything I've owned has been tossed to the curb as soon as I couldn't rely on it.  My F150 made it 11 years.

Some people enjoy car repairs and some do not.

 

[mahkeymike]

Some people can afford car repairs and some cannot.

 

fixed for you, well, fixed for me specificly.

[Nephasth]

Changing oil is not a repair. But yes, there it is again, peace of mind is valuable. Warranties and quality are worth quite a bit towards peace of mind.

[knave]

...peace of mind is valuable. Warranties and quality are worth quite a bit towards peace of mind.

People used to ask me why I went to the dealership for my oil changes. First reason is they always sent me coupons, so I never paid more than $25. Second, I drove a Jeep and I never trusted random oil monkey guy to know all the proper lube points of the 4X4. The dealer techs however, who did many of my exact vehicle every day had probably cracked the service manual or had the computer tell them...knew. I had the vehicle for 12 years, only had one issue after a service, called the dealership and they bent over to make it right. Picked it up, fixed for free, gave two free oil changes...I was happy with that service.

Now I have a diesel truck and the %$%$ oil changes are way more expensive...however the new dealership has shown me the same level of service...I just have to get on their mailing list for the coupons.

It is all about peace of mind and convenience.

Now when a small widget breaks on my cars I almost always fix it myself...$10-$60 part and a couple of hours is way better and more satisfying than $300-$600 at a shop.

[Nephasth]

Meh, I don't even trust dealerships, at least not the ones in my town. I bought a new set of michelin tires for my tundra a few years back. The tundra has tire pressure sensors. Didn't want a tire shop guy breaking the sensors, so I took it to the Toyota dealership. Watched the mechanic through the fish bowl window. 20 minutes in he's got the laptop hooked up to my truck. Dipshit broke a sensor. At least the truck was in a shop where they stocked the sensors and I didn't have to wait too long. While they did the the tires they did a free alignment check. They handed me a piece of paper with some of the alignment numbers in red, to indicate it's out of specs. I had no issues with pull, drifting, or tire wear, so I declined the alignment. Went home, looked up the alignment specs for my truck, and all the red numbers were actually within specs for my truck. I wish all shops/mechanics were honest, but fact is, the world is full of liars and morons.