Basic oil question
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Launching!
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 277
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From: arlington,tx
Basic oil question Okay so I bought my car from a dealership and they have no idea at what mileage they put the oil in and what type they put in. I have an automatic 99 ws6 and I was wondering what type of oil I should use? Would it hurt to switch over from a different oil since I don't know what type is in there?
TECH Fanatic
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 1,231
Likes: 1
From: Just This Side of Damnation
A quick search of the forum for oil will give you a great example of the oil war going on. Oil is a very emotional subject here...
Most folks will suggest you use synthetic oil. I'm one of those people. Get a true synthetic, not one of those hydrocracked petroleum oils. I use Mobil 1. Per common wisdom here, the Mobil oils are a little thin for their weight range, but 5w or 10w-30 would work fine.
If you're an oil newbie, search the web and get educated. BobIsTheOilGuy.Com has a great deal of information.
Change it yourself and save money. You could pay for your hydraulic jack and jackstands in a couple of oil changes.
Most folks will suggest you use synthetic oil. I'm one of those people. Get a true synthetic, not one of those hydrocracked petroleum oils. I use Mobil 1. Per common wisdom here, the Mobil oils are a little thin for their weight range, but 5w or 10w-30 would work fine.
If you're an oil newbie, search the web and get educated. BobIsTheOilGuy.Com has a great deal of information.
Change it yourself and save money. You could pay for your hydraulic jack and jackstands in a couple of oil changes.
Over time that "garbage" replaces worn parts of the transmission so guess what happens when you flush it. yup you wash away all the crap replacing the worn parts and your trans starts to slip! I've seen it happen many times
On The Tree
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 105
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From: Waco, TX
Originally Posted by Camaroz
I'm going to throw in my 2 Cent's and say DO NOT flush the transmission if it hasn't been done regulary by the previous owner! That can do more bad than good.
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TECH Fanatic
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 1,231
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From: Just This Side of Damnation
For your trans, I'd say look up the maintenance schedule in the Owner's Manual and act accordingly. If it were mine, I'd get (or do) the fluid/filter change if it's more than 50k miles, then stay with the schedule.
As you become more familiar with your ride, you may change more often. I wouldn't think a flush/fill from a reasonably trustworthy shop would be damaging for a first change. Be advised, however, that a first flush/fill/filter at an extremely high mileage situation (over prob 100k mi) may be problematic after a flush/fill/filter, or even an fluid/filter change. MAY being the key word. Anecdotal evidence suggests that problems may develop with some cars, but I would say the percentage isn't great.
I did my first fluid/filter change at about 80k miles. No idea what was done prior, but it looked like 7k mile oil. I haven't had any problems since the change. I put a chrome pan w/plug in it recently and will be able to change the fluid w/out changing the filter at half-intervals.
As you become more familiar with your ride, you may change more often. I wouldn't think a flush/fill from a reasonably trustworthy shop would be damaging for a first change. Be advised, however, that a first flush/fill/filter at an extremely high mileage situation (over prob 100k mi) may be problematic after a flush/fill/filter, or even an fluid/filter change. MAY being the key word. Anecdotal evidence suggests that problems may develop with some cars, but I would say the percentage isn't great.
I did my first fluid/filter change at about 80k miles. No idea what was done prior, but it looked like 7k mile oil. I haven't had any problems since the change. I put a chrome pan w/plug in it recently and will be able to change the fluid w/out changing the filter at half-intervals.
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