What Kind of Oil do I need?

[Caractacus_Potts]

It took them about a 18 months to kill it. They never got a oil change and ignored the combination of the check engine light and oil light until the inevitable happened. Nothing like dumping thousands of dollars down the drain.

I knew someone who had a less than one year old SUV. She was at a mall shopping about twenty miles from her house when she noticed the "check oil" light was on so she figured she ought to get the car home right away.

She made it about halfway before the engine seized and the warranty wouldn't cover it because...well...you're really not supposed to drive a car without oil in it!

[Shalom]

I knew someone who had a less than one year old SUV. <snip> you're really not supposed to drive a car without oil in it!

What I'd like to know is, how in hell did a less-than-one-year-old vehicle lose all its oil fast enough to kill the engine?

Some years ago, I had the privilege of speaking with the late George Hockaday, master mechanic for the Ontario Midland Railroad, who'd retired after a long career with VIA Rail Canada and CN, and had taken his favorite locomotive with him when he left. I was in the engine room of this machine, and he pointed out the oil filter, which was the size of a garbage can. I asked him how often they changed the oil, and he said that lube oil wasn't a regular maintenance item on locomotives, or at least on that type; he topped it up as it got burned off, and changed the filter when it was clogged to the point of dropping the pressure by 20 PSI, but he didn't actually change the oil itself unless a chemical analysis showed it had degraded too far to be usable.

(He was in fact taking a sample of the oil to send out at that time, which was why the question came up in the first place. I'd wondered about this, as I change the oil in my car at 3000 mile intervals, which would last a road locomotive anywhere from 3 days to a week.)

[protege]

What I'd like to know is, how in hell did a less-than-one-year-old vehicle lose all its oil fast enough to kill the engine?

Sounds like someone drove over a rock...and punctured their oil pan

[Mytical]

Sounds like someone drove over a rock...and punctured their oil pan

This. I actually did that before. Won't get into how . Had ALMOST made it to the shop when the engine seized..was pretty much an expensive paperweight at that point.

[Chromatix]

If you get low oil pressure/level, you need to stop the engine *immediately*, or at latest once you've found somewhere safe to stop. If you can, put the gearbox in neutral and then stop the engine, which will allow you to coast to the side of the road. (This, incidentally, is one of the times when your hazard lights are useful.)

Then call for a tow. It'll be cheaper than a new engine.

[joe hx]

Those old oil commerical were for Castrol Syntech oil.

found it on youtube

[Andara Bledin]

Sounds like someone drove over a rock...and punctured their oil pan

Or, you could have what happened to a family member of mine. They got their oil changed, and went about half a block before going back and demanding the shop actually do the second half of the change... You know, the part that includes the putting in of the new oil.

If you get low oil pressure/level, you need to stop the engine *immediately*, or at latest once you've found somewhere safe to stop.

My last car had the oil pressure light on pretty much constantly for the last several months I owned it. That was due to a bad gasket, and the current owner had the time and funds to get the various problems worked on, and the engine never had a problem, despite spitting out a couple quarts of oil a week at the end.

^-.-^

[Frantic Freddie]

Sounds like someone drove over a rock...and punctured their oil pan

And that kids,is why you never go rock-crawlin' without skidplates.

[mattm04]

I knew someone who had a less than one year old SUV. She was at a mall shopping about twenty miles from her house when she noticed the "check oil" light was on so she figured she ought to get the car home right away.

She made it about halfway before the engine seized and the warranty wouldn't cover it because...well...you're really not supposed to drive a car without oil in it!

In my idiots CW's case, they read/heard somewhere that it was a scam run by the car companies, dealers, and various shops. Someone tried to persuade them to at lest check the oil but they had no clue how to and refused the offer to have a CW show them.

[Geek King]

And that kids,is why you never go rock-crawlin' without skidplates.

Sometimes its something falling off the Semi rig in front of you on the highway. Never figured out what it was, but it blew a tire and punctured the muffler on the way under. I'm just glad it stayed low, and didn't pop up to window level.