The 3000 Mile Oil Change: Why I Do It, and Why I Always Will.

 

 

Oil Antifreeze Milkshake
Oil Antifreeze Milkshake

 

Every few months, some article pops up on the internet talking about how people don’t need to change their oil at 3000 miles “anymore”. This article on Yahoo News is a great example of this, and it bothers me.  To save you some time, I’ll give you the cliff notes of the linked article.  They basically tell people that 73% of California drivers are changing their oil too often, and wasting their money (I’m still cringing).  Then the article goes on to say to look at your owners manual, and do oil changes at whatever mileage interval it says.  Seems like a good idea right?  Well, sure in a fantasy world, yes.  In the real world, no.  Also, how does the author of this article knows that people are changing their oil too often if he doesn’t know the oil change intervals of all of their vehicles. Seems odd to me, but I’ll move forward anyway.

About 9 years ago…. when I was a technician at a dealer, it was a frequent occurrence for customers to come in for an oil change with less than half of their recommended oil left in their car.  The majority of cars that I did oil changes to held 8 quarts of oil, and 3 quarts frequently came out at the manual-recommended oil change interval.  The manufacturer of this particular car claimed that it was “normal” for these types of engines to burn 1 quart of oil every 1000 miles.  Nice! So even if you did a 5000 mile oil change, you’d likely only have 3 quarts left.   Read More

Best of the 1A Auto Blog 2010

Over the course of 2010, we had some pretty funny, interesting, educational, and inspirational blogs on here. Today, I’m posting up my favorite 17 blogs. Yeap. Seventeen. Anyway…. Which were your fav’s?

Slow Motion: AWD Launching Edition
Rad Previa Van: Let
Monday = AWD Mitsubishi Turbo Dune Buggy
My Favorite Twin Turbo 4.6L Mustang
Oh Turbo Meyers Manx, You So Crazy…..
The Engine That You Have Never Seen
Miss Belvedere, What Happened?
WUT: I Think Your Camber May Be Slightly Off
Hydraulic Clutches Are Just Better, So I Swapped It.
Animals & Cars: A Friendly Photo Collage
Why Is The 9/10ths Necessary When Buying Gas?
Seriously. Just Throw Your Clothes Away.
Car Wrecks From the 1920′s and 1930′s
Top 3 Most Awesome Ways to Destroy Your Engine
If Coolness were Land Mass, This Engine would be the Louisiana Purchase.
The Sweetest Car Collection….. in the Woods.
This is a Cow Riding On A Firebird.

The Best 6 Tips For Buying A Used Car

When buying a used vehicle, there are many things that you can do to prevent yourself from purchasing a lemon.  If you do the research, know all the tricks, and play the game properly, you will almost always come out on top. I have bought and sold 20+ of my own personal cars and helped friends and family buy and sell many others. I think I have it nailed down pretty well.  Today we are talking about buying cars, but these tips can be flipped around to help sell your vehicle if necessary.

1 – Know the vehicle:

More important than other any clever tip or trick that I can share, is to know the vehicle that you want to buy. Look around for a while and decide what that special year, make, and model is. Once you decide what you want, go out and test drive several of them to make sure you definitely enjoy driving it. There are plenty of people out there that have bought “the car of their dreams,” before realizing that it is not at all what they wanted. At this point they are stuck with their unwanted “dream car” because they can’t get back what they paid for it, and don’t want to lose money on it.

2 – Research:

Do some research online to find out all the common problems of that year, make, and model, along with its suggested maintenance intervals. All vehicles have their own common problems; no make or model is perfect. If you are looking at a vehicle that just happens to be a few miles shy of a major maintenance interval (timing belt, transmission service, brakes), be sure to Read More

What Causes Engine Sludge? Don’t Let Sludge Enter Your Engine

Causes of Engine Sludge

Not Changing the Oil Regularly

As a full time gearhead, I often find myself talking to my non-gearhead friends about their cars and the importance of maintenance.  I always stress the importance of regular oil changes because it’s like super cheap insurance in my mind. Clean oil and a fresh oil filter = happily rotating parts inside your engine. Once Sludge enter the place, your engine-party is over.

How Sludge Damages Your Engine

Everybody knows that Sludge smells terrible and whenever you have Sludge, his best buddy Friction isn’t far behind. Great, who brought these guys? The Smoooooth Operaaator song (by Sade… you remember that one right?) comes to a screeching halt because nobody wants Friction at their happy-engine party. Sludge is always so tough to get rid of though once he’s there. He’s always blocking door ways, getting in the way of activities, and stinking the place up big time.  The entire symphony of parts on the once flowing dance floor begin intently looking at each other watching for the first one to head out. Obviously no one wants to be “that guy” at the party. Read More

Top 10: Cars I Wanted For Christmas

As I sit here relaxing on the day after Christmas, I find myself perusing eBay for cars I have no room, time, or money for. Without letting reality get in the way of a good blog, I’m going forward with my “Top 10: Cars on eBay that I wanted for Christmas” list! In no particular order:

1) 1939 Studebaker Coupe Pickup Truck. Yes, coupe…… pickup. It apparently sat in California for quite some time, so the frame is still there, unlike anything in the north east.  Old black paint is also my favorite color.
Item # 160514350556

2) 1953 Chevy Belair convertible.  These things are cool with a capital C.  The grille on these things makes them look like they eat prius’s for breakfast.  All this thing needs is a bath and a 4 inch channel job to get it closer to earth.  Luckily(?) the bottom half of the car rotted away long ago, which means there will be less metal to cut out.
Item # 280605182223

3) 1958 MGA roadster.  I have always liked the looks of these things, and I even sat in a coupe version at Toad Hall once.  These things are super low, pretty small, and MUST be hysterically fun to drive at 9/10’s of what they are capable of.  I would probably 2JZ it if it were mine just to keep it scary.
Item # 270677824778

 

4) 1954 Cadillac Series 62 Convertible. I’m going to throw this out there and if you don’t agree, just throw it back at me:  1950’s Cadillacs are some of the most stylish cars to ever come out of Detroit.  Just look at the bumperettes and body lines.  I wouldn’t have the heart to slice and dice one of these.  It flows too perfectly as is, much like the Buicks of the same era.  Incredible from all angles…… except where they labeled it under the right headlight.
Item # 170578239469

Read More

What Would You Do With A……….. Mint Chevette?

Chevette’s don’t exist anymore because they were considered “throw away cars” that were so cheap and slow that nobody cared about them. They were rarely, if ever, loved by their owners, and never taken car of.  All, except this one.  This car is owned by a coworker that has owned it since it was practically new.  It has something like 30K original miles, and it is pristine from every angle.  Every time I walk buy it I battle ideas in my head of what I would do with it if it were mine.  On one hand, this little Scooter would be incredible with a new turbocharged ECOTEC engine, 6 gears, and tires wide enough to make it corner like an Enzo.  Then on the other hand, it would be an absolute tragedy to cut up such a perfect low mileage original car.  I just can’t make sense of it all. Read More

Did You Know Chevy Made 3 Door Suburbans?

Fix your vehicle yourself with quality auto parts at 1aauto.com

The 1967 to 1972 3 Door Suburban

Did you know that between 1967 and 1972 Chevy Suburbans only had 3 side doors?  That’s right, folks. It had one door on the driver side and two on the passenger side. Cool, right? Sadly, General Motors ended the 3 door Suburban when it decided that an even number of doors was in fact more popular and added the 4th door in 1973 with the new body style.  

I personally feel like the three door ‘Burban is the mullet haircut of the automotive world (business in the front, party in the back). Let’s face it: it’s 20 feet of sports car down the left side, yet a family friendly sedan on the right. It’s the best of both worlds. Am I right, or am I right?

Picture Credit:

Found on eBay Item # 160520630101

Fix Parts on Your Own Chevy Suburban and More

Learn how to fix and maintain many makes and models like the Chevy Suburban. The 1A Auto library has thousands of how-to videos to help you diagnose and replace many different parts.

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