Car Thread

[webenda]

2012 Ford F150 Owner's Manual says,
"Engine oil/coolant change intervals – 3.5L, 3.7L and 5.0L engines,
As indicated by the message center: do not exceed one year or 10,000 miles (16,000 km)."

From new I changed the oil at 1,000 and 3,000 miles on the odometer. Thereafter I changed it every 3,000. The truck's message center asked for the first oil change at 9700 miles.

After discovering the blotter and smell test, I started using the blotter/smell test to determine when to change the oil. Average oil life using the blotter/smell test is 3,000 miles.

I told a friend of mine, Jared (Next Generation Automotive in Tucson) about the blotter/smell test. He said, "Just because oil stinks does not mean it is worn out. We recommend changing oil every 3,000 miles."

So whom am I to believe, the Manufacturer (1/year or 10,000 miles), Do-It-Yourself oil analysis (average 3,000 miles) or the mechanic with years of experience (3,000 miles)?

For me, changing the oil whenever a blotter/smell test indicates it is time makes the most sense. One reason I like analyzing the oil is that the method is sensitive to how the truck is driven. Sometimes my truck spends half of it's run time idling. Such was the case in June this year. I noticed yesterday it failed the smell test at 2417 miles. Is Idling hard on the oil?

[MurphOnMillerAve]

...and just exactly how do you manage to do that, change the oil, physically? How do you get at it, Wayne?

[webenda]

...and just exactly how do you manage to do that, change the oil, physically? How do you get at it, Wayne?

I slide under the truck with an oil pan and a wrench to remove/replace the drain plug.

The oil filter is accessed from the top when the hood is open.
After filling the engine back up with new oil, I puncture and drain the old oil filter then pour the used oil into the container the new oil came in and take it back to Pep Boys for recycling. Drained oil filters go in the trash can.

[MurphOnMillerAve]

It looks uncomfortable. Hot. Cramped. Hard on the knees and hands. Why not simply pay somebody in a proper automotive service establishment to do it for you?

[webenda]

It looks uncomfortable. Hot. Cramped. Hard on the knees and hands. Why not simply pay somebody in a proper automotive service establishment to do it for you?

Laying on your back under a truck at sunrise or sunset is none of the above. Of course, in the winter it is not hot at all.

The cost has nothing to do with my desire to take care of my own car. Time does. Doing it myself only takes 20 minutes. I do not have to drive somewhere to have it done. My dealer will take me home and pick me up, but such activity wastes most of the day.

Ability to inspect for bad parts does. I can inspect engine and transmission for leaks and the condition of hoses, cables, and serpentine belt while under the truck and in the engine compartment.

Not creating a disaster waiting to happen does. Somebody in a proper automotive establishment too often leaves the old rubber gasket for the oil filter in the engine, doesn't lubricate the new gasket causing it to wrinkle or under tighten the filter, all causing leaks. They strip the oil drain plugs, smash the gasket or leave it loose, setting up a future disaster when it falls out. They do not use the oil I specify, overfill, underfill, use the cheapest filter available, etc, etc. (OEM filters are not always the best.)

[MurphOnMillerAve]

Thanks, I knew you would have a thoroughly sensible reason. See. There I go learnin stuff again via the good offices of Wayne.

I'll continue to take ours to the Benz dealership. I figure, its their cars ; they'll know what to do with them. I trust them, implicitly. Not so for the Jaguars (2) we used to have. Do me wrong twice and you are gone = there is nothing else to say but Bye bye.

[rogruth]

My guess is that Wayne knows what he is doing.
I did most maintenance work on my cars until
@ 1975 when the changes started and it also
became difficult to even see a spark plug.

[MurphOnMillerAve]

I remember, on one particular occasion, taking my 1989 Cadillac Sedan deVille to the dealership for a diagnosis. Part of his actions, upon my first entering the maintenance garage pavilion, was to demonstrate how he could take one finger and touch a radio knob, and then use the another finger to touch a different knob on the dash board, the combined actions of which gave him an indication of what was wrong. I knew then that the days of opening the hood , by the average car owner, to "see" what-was-up were long, long gone. I imagine, by now, they are disappeared.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

My guess is that Wayne knows what he is doing.
I did most maintenance work on my cars until
@ 1975 when the changes started and it also
became difficult to even see a spark plug.

I would work on my F-250 and do some small bits on my 450 Benz, but other than work on my Model-F Cub tractor, I do not touch the rest under the hood. I could change the headlights and tail lights on my Saab, but that is now close to impossible on an Outback.

[webenda]

I did most maintenance work on my cars until
@ 1975 when the changes started and it also
became difficult to even see a spark plug.

Can't see the spark plugs at all nowadays.

The spark plugs are under those caps held with a 10 mm bolt.

[webenda]

I remember, on one particular occasion, taking my 1989 Cadillac Sedan deVille to the dealership for a diagnosis. Part of his actions, upon my first entering the maintenance garage pavilion, was to demonstrate how he could take one finger and touch a radio knob, and then use the another finger to touch a different knob on the dash board, the combined actions of which gave him an indication of what was wrong. I knew then that the days of opening the hood , by the average car owner, to "see" what-was-up were long, long gone. I imagine, by now, they are disappeared.

Anybody can do those tricks. When the '85 Corvette check engine light comes on, I ground pin "B" to enable the diagnostic readout of the ECM/PCM. The check engine light then flashes a code to tell me what is wrong. It is usually a bad oxygen sensor.

Recently the check engine light came on in the 2013 F150. I plugged in a cheap OBDII reader and it told me there was a massive vacuum leak. Opening the hood to "see" if any vacuum hoses were cracked or fallen off their connectors revealed all was well. That left two likely culprits, the gas tank fill pipe seal or the vapor recovery control valve. I pulled the vacuum hose off the valve and yup, pulling full vacuum (should have been modulating the vacuum.) Pulled the wire off the valve and... yup, full vacuum (should have stopped sucking.) Ordered new valve from Rock Auto and two days later it arrived. R&R consisted of Pull wire off, Pull the hose off, Remove two bolts, Swap new for old part, Reinstall bolts, Plug wire and hose back on the part. Took all of one minute. Checked for proper modulation and then cleared the trouble codes. Problem fixed. I love these new cars that tell anyone interested what they think their problem is.

If you have been reading Mitch's "Automotive 101" you know that sometimes the car's lie about their problems. Or in the case of the F150, it went completely dead one day. I could not read the dead OBDII nor find anything wrong with the battery or starter. I ended up having it moved to the dealer by one of those flatbed trucks. Dealer took 30 days to replace the BCM. They told me they had to send the old BCM to Ford in order to get a new one and that is what took so long. I probably could have done that myself but had no clue the BCM could kill the truck. If the truck ever goes totally dead again and it is not the battery, battery cable or a fuse, I might try replacing the BCM myself.

[MurphOnMillerAve]

I could not have figured any part or all of that out to save my life. That's all way too cool, to me, that you can diagnose and solve all that - or that anybody can. Frankly.

Oh yes, and I especially enjoyed how you relate that you "pulled suchnsuch off...pulled that....removed this..." describing what sounded like something as simple as pulling a straw from a glass of lemonade! You're too much.

[MYmoo]

Wayne,

First off, I would like to thank you for further illumination for us on most things discussed on MTJ.

I need to call you on what you've shown us here:


Perhaps you can include a picture of the total engine compartment of your truck for further illumination, (even if to prove the following assertations incorrect).
----------------------------------
DISCLAIMER: See below.*
---------------------------------
You didn't say whether you had a gas or diesel truck (or I missed it), but my assumptions would be the same.

What I see in the picture is a partial shot of the intake mainifold/valce cover gasket on one side of the engine or one cylinder bank.

What is held in plsce by one 10mm (head size??) bolt ea.(3 pictured), appear to me to be fuel injectors.

I say this due to their location and the fact that there is a 2 wire connector plug
with small low voltage wiring on each.

The coil energisation of the injector is controlled by the car's 'computer' as most of the other functions including firing of the coil ( You still have one (or more) of those on modern gas engines).

The injectors are located in the incoming air stream before the intake valves, and perform the same function as carburator(s) in pervious years.

Spark plugs are located/inserted directly into the combustion chamber, normally screwed in place in the cylynder head.
They need to be because they need to withstand ~90-150 PSI.

Diesels have NO spark plugs, as fuel is ignited by squeezing the crap out of it.
Like Hu-mans temperatures rise as confinement increases.
Compression on diesel engines is must higher, ~200-600 PSI.

The wiring for spark plugs hasnt changed much from Henry's or Ransom's or Walter's (or Ferdinand's)first cars, appearance,,, yes, function,,, no.
It still needs to withstand ~10,000 to 30,000 volts switched off and on each or every other engine revolution,
Some engines have multiples on all components to meet emission standards or prevent excessive emissions.

It's getting harder to commit suicide with a tube from the exhaust piped inside, ... at least it takes longer...

You probably already knew most of the above.

-------
*DISCLAIMER:
I won't claim to be 'experienced', as I've probably forgotten more tham many know about cars.
It is a fact, that it is harder to remember, sometimes...

It is even sadder when I think of how 'good' we had it back then, and how incognisant we were of the fact.

I ramble.


PM me if you need further verification or qualifications for my ass-umptions
------

[Tramp]

My wife has a fairly new VW. She serviced it at the dealer. Last service I booby trapped the car in a number of ways. CAUGHT THEM! No tire rotation. No road test. Did not fill spare with air. Did NOT check tire pressures, etc. Their response? They were pissed at me for not trusting them! Wife in tears. Me very close to fist fight. No more dealer visits!

Wayne, synthetic oil has a different life from regular oil. One is 3k The other is 10k. SOLVED!

[Mitch]

Wayne is correct. The single bolts are holding the ignition coils in place; the spark plug is in the center of the head. As for the two wire connection, they are 16 ga. wires. One is powered continuously, (all coil and injector power are on the same circuit), and the other wire is the ground, (control), from the PCM. Many cars use a relay activated when the ignition switch is turned to run/start. This relay, (we refer to it as the Automatic Shutdown Relay, or ASD). When you get in your car, listen carefully as you turn the key to run but do not crank the car. You will hear the fuel pump run for about 2 seconds. As the engine cranks, RPM signals are received by the PCM from the crankshaft position sensor, (the most important sensor on the engine), and it begins its job of grounding each coil and injector to run the engine. If the engine cranks, but the PCM receives no RPM signal, the coils and injectors are turned off. If you don't crank the engine, the injectors, coils, and fuel pump are turned off 'til the PCM sees that RPM signal.

You must look more toward the center of the engine, (up higher in Wayne's picture), to see the fuel rail. Look at the front of the engine. You see the silver tube with the hose clamp? That's the fuel line going to the injector fuel rail, and the injectors are mounted in the rail, the rail pushed down so the injectors are seated in their respective holes in the intake manifold.

The fault code that Wayne most likely read would have been a P2172 or P2173, both for vacuum leaks. Slow and high accumulation.