question on oil and coolant

[rizzo]

the owner's manual for my car says to use 5w30. i understand that. but then it says to use API classification SL or SJ. what's the difference and does it matter if i use one or the other?

 

also, the coolant reservoir is low. is there any recommended coolant that i should be using? since i just got the car, i have coolant that i used in my old car, but taht's like car and driver brand stuff that came dilluted by 50%. the manual says nothing about the coolant type to use and i hoenstly don't know if there's a difference in coolants.

[deiscient]

the owner's manual for my car says to use 5w30. i understand that. but then it says to use API classification SL or SJ. what's the difference and does it matter if i use one or the other?

 

I found this PDF document from the API's website some time ago. It describes the different service classifications for automotive lubricants and what they mean. I'll let it speak for itself .

 

also, the coolant reservoir is low. is there any recommended coolant that i should be using? since i just got the car, i have coolant that i used in my old car, but taht's like car and driver brand stuff that came dilluted by 50%. the manual says nothing about the coolant type to use and i hoenstly don't know if there's a difference in coolants.

 

Often the pages describing basic maintenance leave this information out so as to be more user-friendly. The back pages have listings of the allowable fluids in most cars. This is among other technical data and specs. for the more mechanically inclined. That is surprising that there would be no such information present.

[rizzo]

I found this PDF document from the API's website some time ago. It describes the different service classifications for automotive lubricants and what they mean. I'll let it speak for itself .

 

 

 

Often the pages describing basic maintenance leave this information out so as to be more user-friendly. The back pages have listings of the allowable fluids in most cars. This is among other technical data and specs. for the more mechanically inclined. That is surprising that there would be no such information present.

 

thanks for the PDF. that helped, although it didn't say what the differences were... but i guess i can use any of those classifications since they seem mostly based on the year the car was built. any recommended brands? is synthetic oil better? i want my car running in perfect condition (obviously).

 

checked the back for the coolant info... it says the same thing it does inside the manual... 7.4 US qt. nothing about type, just volume. any recommended brands?

[deiscient]

thanks for the PDF. that helped, although it didn't say what the differences were... but i guess i can use any of those classifications since they seem mostly based on the year the car was built. any recommended brands? is synthetic oil better? i want my car running in perfect condition (obviously).

FWIW, I have been running plain 10W30 dino juice (different visc. from yours, I know) in my '93L since day 1 and changed every 3750 miles on schedule. It is now nearing 124K and still runs like new. Used pretty much all basic brands: Exxon, Chevron, Pennzoil, Castrol, etc. I tend to stay away from any store "house" brands like what you find in WallyMart or the like but that is not to say they aren't fine as well. The general rule around this board (and others I frequent) seems to be stay away from Fram filters. I generally use Bosch or Purolator premiums.

checked the back for the coolant info... it says the same thing it does inside the manual... 7.4 US qt. nothing about type, just volume. any recommended brands?

I guess I'll have to defer to someone who knows your year and model better than I on that one.

 

UPDATE:

 

See this thread for a coolant discussion in '02 and later cars. Man, I hit post before looking around sufficiently .

[rizzo]

FWIW, I have been running plain 10W30 dino juice (different visc. from yours, I know) in my '93L since day 1 and changed every 3750 miles on schedule. It is now nearing 124K and still runs like new. Used pretty much all basic brands: Exxon, Chevron, Pennzoil, Castrol, etc. I tend to stay away from any store "house" brands like what you find in WallyMart or the like but that is not to say they aren't fine as well. The general rule around this board (and others I frequent) seems to be stay away from Fram filters. I generally use Bosch or Purolator premiums.

I guess I'll have to defer to someone who knows your year and model better than I on that one.

 

on the oil... it says in teh manual to not use different brands... now i'm about a quart low, of course i also just got the car and supposedly it recently had an oil change, and i was reading elsewhere on the board that sometimes it reads low when it's not... would ti be bad to just get a quart of whatever brand and put it in, or should i go and get the oil changed (unfortuantely i don't have the space to do it on my own)?

 

and should i take it anywhere or should i go to a dealer? i used to take my car to midas (the only relatively known place around here that doesn't charge an arm and a leg for an oil change). i imagine i'd haev to request 5W30 to make sure that's what they put in... but i'm not sure...

[deiscient]

on the oil... it says in teh manual to not use different brands... now i'm about a quart low, of course i also just got the car and supposedly it recently had an oil change, and i was reading elsewhere on the board that sometimes it reads low when it's not... would ti be bad to just get a quart of whatever brand and put it in, or should i go and get the oil changed (unfortuantely i don't have the space to do it on my own)?

 

and should i take it anywhere or should i go to a dealer? i used to take my car to midas (the only relatively known place around here that doesn't charge an arm and a leg for an oil change). i imagine i'd haev to request 5W30 to make sure that's what they put in... but i'm not sure...

My first advice would be if you have no record of a recent oil change then do it now. Ditto for other servicings whose time may have lapsed according to the maintenance schedule and for which there is no record (coolant, trans, diff. changes, spark plugs, air and fuel filter, e.g.). Most of this can be done by a private shop as long as you make sure they are familiar with what your car needs. And get that coolant question settled BEFORE you go !

 

Hope all this helps.

[slo5oh]

checked the back for the coolant info... it says the same thing it does inside the manual... 7.4 US qt. nothing about type, just volume. any recommended brands?

 

In 95 there were not any real any options on coolant just different "brands" AC delco, prestone, and all the other brands. Somewhere around 96 or 97 one of the first "environment friendly" coolants came out and I was told it was garbage. Open your radiator, stick your finger in and if the stuff in side looks like lime coolaid you're fine, just top it off with either water, standard coolant (any brand will do), or a 50/50 mix. If it's got a brown color to it FLUSH IT. Replace it (again, any brand will do) with new clean standard everyday coolant. As for a good mix... the thing to keep in mind is that "coolant" does not cool anything it's actually Anti-freeze with a compound that raises the boiling temp of water it's mixed with. Here in cali we rarely get temps below 30 so a 10/90 coolant to water mix has always worked great for me. I run 100% water with 1 bottle of redline water wetter in my supercharged mustang. My temp is always pegged exactly at the level of the t-stat (180 wiht a 180 tstat 195 when it had a 195 tstat), even on the rare 110* days stuck in bay area traffic.

 

just my $.02 spend the extra $6 or $7 and drop in a bottle redline water wetter no matter what you do. The stuff is great.

[rizzo]

In 95 there were not any real any options on coolant just different "brands" AC delco, prestone, and all the other brands. Somewhere around 96 or 97 one of the first "environment friendly" coolants came out and I was told it was garbage. Open your radiator, stick your finger in and if the stuff in side looks like lime coolaid you're fine, just top it off with either water, standard coolant (any brand will do), or a 50/50 mix. If it's got a brown color to it FLUSH IT. Replace it (again, any brand will do) with new clean standard everyday coolant. As for a good mix... the thing to keep in mind is that "coolant" does not cool anything it's actually Anti-freeze with a compound that raises the boiling temp of water it's mixed with. Here in cali we rarely get temps below 30 so a 10/90 coolant to water mix has always worked great for me. I run 100% water with 1 bottle of redline water wetter in my supercharged mustang. My temp is always pegged exactly at the level of the t-stat (180 wiht a 180 tstat 195 when it had a 195 tstat), even on the rare 110* days stuck in bay area traffic.

 

just my $.02 spend the extra $6 or $7 and drop in a bottle redline water wetter no matter what you do. The stuff is great.

 

is the redline water wetter something that i just add to the radiator or to the reservoir? also... is it something i should add even though my car will experience temperatures below freezing? or should i just use a 50/50 mix of coolant/water?

 

i noticed the coolant in the radiator is green and clean, but the stuff in teh reservoir looks a bit dirty (of course it could be that it's just hazy since i can't see down there except through the side of it).

 

i'm probably gonna get my oil changed soon and i'll have them flush the coolant anyways.

 

all my other fluids look good as far as i can tell (i checked the levels of all the fluids today). the oil's a bit dirty, so my guess is it hasn't been changed in a while.

[Setright]

Oil level: Park the car on level ground and wait at least thirty minutes for an accurate reading. Mobil 1 5W-40 is my favourite.

 

Coolant: 50/50 ethyl-glycol based mixed will ensure good corrosion protection over two years and up to 30k miles. Weaker mixes, ie' more water will provide better temperature stability owing to water having a specific heat capacity double that of the glycol. The trade off is less corrosion protection. I wouldn't go lower than 30/70.