Hello! how is everybody doing? I hope everybody had a wonderful holidays, I've been absent for a while but if some of you remember me I've recently replaced my VG engine with a JDM 90k miles.

So, Right now the Maxima is due for it's oil change and since some of you mentioned that Royal Purple Sinthetic oil is really good I'm up to doing this oil change myself, before I've never done it because it's really cheap to get it done at a shop (about $20) and I don't have to deal with the recycle.

I know it's easy but I would like to know a few things before getting under the car:

The only Royal purple available at stores nearby it's the 5w-30 is that one ok?

Is the oil change as simple as: remove nut, drain old oil , install nut back, remove filter, install new filter, refill 4.25qt (IIRC)

Since current oil is regular (mobil 10w-30) and new one would be sinthetic, any advice? any other procedures to drain the old oil completely?

Thanks in advance!

 

just get the oil plug snug. don't tighten it hard or you might damage the threads. and when putting the new filter on, dip a finger in the new oil and lubricate the rubber seal on it so it won't leak.

I've always used Mobil 10w30 and Purolator Pureone filters. That's a pretty common setup for VG owners.

 

JDM is going to make no difference here. With that mileage, I recommend sticking with the 10w30, IMHO. But, an important question is what temperatures do the area you live fall within? There is an oil recommendation sheet under your hood which takes into account normal seasonal heat ranges.

 

Hey CapedCadaver, It's great to see you are still around, and as helpful as always...

About those filters... I was thinking about getting the genuine Nissan filter, however I don't know how much they are at the moment, I read the sticky about the filters but I guess the problem with the discontinued filter affect only VE right? so anyways if it's cheaper and easier to get (local dealer over 20 mile drive) I'll get one of those Purolator Pureone.

Chris, I live in California and the weather goes from warm to hot as hell, never cold at least haven't seen the temp drop below 40 even though it's winter.

I know what do you mean by sticking with the 10w-30 but the only one available is 5w-30, is it safe or should I look for the 10w-30? Thanks

 

the Purolators are available in Advance Auto Parts... I dunno if you have those out there, or if you know off-hand where to find Purolator stuff.

 

Advance auto parts not available on this side of the country, I'll check online and see if I have luck

 

Given temps, it should not be an issue. If gaskets are all good and rings not excessively worn, then I suspect you would not notice any change in oil consumption....but that is the only thing I think of when someone talks about a thinner oil (standard or synthetic).

I will say that any store that carries Royal Purple can order any grade/weight you wish. Just ask. I've been suprised at some of the stores in East TN that carry Royal Purple or Amsoil. The thing with what you are seeing, is that in order to manage the costs of overhead, stores typically stock only what they know to best sell. These synthetics (Royal Purple, Redline, and Amsoil) are expensive and are not big movers. Locally, this stuff is stocked only for the "race" guys who run at Bristol Motor Speedway. You have to ask for anything else...clearly the stores already have an account with these oil guys. Also, if they can order it, don't let them shaft you into thinking it will cost "more" to special order or some crap. That is BS talk for "rip off."

 

Why 10w30? The manual says 5w30. And I've used Mobil 1 since 1998, here's a shot looking into the oil filler:

 

+1 On the Mobil 1 full synthetic with Mobil 1 Filter. You pay a little more (and sometimes you have to with a VE; it's picky on oil and filters), but If I still had a VG I'd still run Mobil 1 everything.

I've heard nothing but good things about amsoil too, the parts car I received had 200k clack free miles with apparently only amsoil changes, so that's something to think about.

5/10w-30 is pretty much fine for all applications in moderate weather climates. Down here in FL I just buy a gallon of Mobil 1 Full Synthetic 10w-30, then a qt. of Mobil 1 5w-30 and use half, that way next time I go to do an oil change I just buy the gallon and use the half of the other quart. All of this is VE specific though.

 

not sure i'm a fan of royal purple. great marketing but the oil forums are not too nuts about it.

Amsoil, mobil1, castrol syn (euro blend?), redline are all decent synthetic oils.
personally i like wix/napa gold, mobil1, pure one oil filters.

 

i would opt with going to advanced auto parts....$24.99 for 5 quarts of castrol synthetic and a mobil 1 filter. $19.99 for 5 quarts of semi-synthetic and mobil 1 filter, $15.99 for regular castrol and a mobil 1 filter. I used to use mobil 1 synthetic oil, but my brother told me somewhere that mobil 1 changed their manufacturing and now its the at the quality it used to be. Castrol FTW!!!

P.S. I thought that if you were running regular convention oil, you will need to go to semi-synthetic for at least 2 oil changes before changing to full synthetic...am i wrong?

 

so you guys are running mobil 1 filters on the VE?...I thought to use that toyota filter, I forget part #, I use the WIX ph51394. Its the toyota filter in the wix brand.

 

I tried both the smaller and larger Toyota filters and I didn't like either, clack at startup, etc. Never had any problems with the Mobil-1 Filter though, also, the mobil 1 oil coming out of the car is still pretty thick and appears to be of great quality, I wouldn't change my oil that I've never had a problem with just from hearsay.

 

you mix viscosities?? or was that a typo?

 

I have the last two times and noticed a smoother idle at startup, especially if it's cold; I'm guessing because the 5w weight is thinner. I've read that mixing oil weights of the same brand and nearly the same viscosity will mix and just create a blend; not creating any long term problems.

 

interesting. because advance auto only had gallons of 10w30 today, and i didn't want to buy a whole gallon when i just needed another quart..... but i do have a quart of 5w30 left over from a previous oilchange that i guess i can just toss in, eh?

 

Advanced Auto Parts is known as Kragen in Cali

 

i usually just run 5w30 in my max. i personally use amsoil. with all of the oils that i have ran in my car,( valvoline synpower, mobile1, castrol, royal purple, amsoil) i have found that my car seems to operate better with the amsoil, second with the valvoline. i ran royal purple in my car for about 6-7 oil changes and my car just acted weird if that makes any sense. i heard noises that i had never heard before, and it seemed like my oil consumption went up when using the royal purple. that is my personal experience, yours may be different. as far as viscosities go i run 5w30 in the winter and 10w30 in the spring and summer, mainly due to the temp.

 

Lately I've been getting the clack at startup. Whats the part # for the mobil-1 oil filter? or can I look it up just by year/make/motor? Can't hurt to try a new filter since the clack is now randomly happening during cold start ups.

 

M1-103

 

You can mix oil viscosities, though I'm not sure if you really get the benifits of both or just some kind of middle, bastard blend. Any way, it was also asked if you had to run two changes of semi synthetic before moving to synthetic. NO, this is a myth. If you are low on standard oil (or visa versa) you can fill up on synthetic. The blend will lower the stamina (couldn't think of right word....longevity/resistance to breakdown?) of the synthetic, but will not cuase harm to the engine. Oils must now be designed to be "intermingled" without damage/harm to engine.

 

group III and group IV stock.
M1 used to be group IV but it's now group III just like castrol.

Amsoil and Redline are (i believe) still group IV stock.

if you don't know what i'm talking about then google it.

 

Ohh! Kragen I know them, too far anyways, nah about 5 miles, but compared with autozone (1/2 mile) and pepboys 1/4 mile kragen is far, I might give them a try and see...

But now you guys are getting me confused, last time I got like 5 recommendations for royal purple, where are those guys? I really want to put some synthetic oil that gives me no trouble and if it really helps to keep the engine a little cooler then great, the VG is already a hot engine (or so I've been told, never been able to compare temps).

So, I see many use Mobil, some other Castrol, Amsoil, and seems to have no problems, I really worried by the experience of fishforlife who says to hear noises and car acted weird, honestly I'm tired of funny noises (I had enough in the past) but as he said probably it was just his car, but before purchasing royal purple I would like to know if anybody else had problems with this kind of oil, or should I just stick with the Mobil 10w-30 synthetic...

BTW, what is the part # for the pure one filters I found amazon sell those filters but don't know the part #, could anybody let me know? Thanks!

 

personally i would recommend mobil1 and/or castrol syntec.
it's easy to find
it's a decent oil
it's reasonably priced

mobil1 (5w-40) burns a little in the audi but it's still a fine oil for the car.

for the DD (camry v6) i use Havoline with Napa gold filter. sent the oil to blackstone labs after 4K and they said the oil was fine and there's no problems with it. I pushed it to 5K and they felt it was still acceptable but i change it now between 4K to 5K.

if you're really serious about your oil and engine then send out the oil to get it tested to see how it's doing in your motor.

 

how much does it cost to get it tested?

 

$22.50

http://www.blackstone-labs.com/

 

that's almost as much as an entire oil change.... maybe once my moneyz are straight again i'll try it.

 

well i do this once a year or once every other year.
that's why i said if you're REALLY serious.
most don't care and just dump the oil at 3K when it's perfectly fine to run it longer. your call man.

 

heh well i know i'm definitely due for it now.. i'll go do it in a little bit when my grandpa comes back (i left the oil in the back of his van ) but ah.. i'm getting alot of lifter clack on startup... i have that gallon of Mobil 10w30, a quart (of which i'm only using a little bit) of the 5w30, and the Purolator Pureone filter, as stated earlier.

 

Well, I'm surely serious about it, specially because I want this engine to last longer by giving it a good maintenance, so $22.50 every year is not that bad for me, I think I'll use any of your suggestions and then make a choice according to the results of the lab tests.

Btw, is the synthetic oil also required to change every 3 months/3k miles (4k maybe)

Caped, do you have the part # for that pureone filter? Thanks

 

it's the PL24457

 

life of the oil depends on how you run it and what conditions is the car running in.

stop and go in a NYC cab is going have more wear on the oil than a hwy drive.
you're not required "per-se" to change syn or even dino oil at 3K. Amsoil sells a long life oil that runs 10K w/o change. so it depends on your car. that's why i got the lab test done to see if i'm changing it too early or not. i used to do it at 3K on Havoline (1MZFE motor) and after i sent the sample to the lab they said it was perfectly fine to leave it in there for 5K+. some time later i sent another sample at 4.5K and then they still said the oil was "ok" and it can still be used but personally i didn't really want to push it so now i just change it at 4.5K +/- 200mi...but if i get lazy and run it to 5K i know that i'm still ok. the car is almost at 160K and no issues what so ever. just replaced a seeping valve cover gasket and there's no indication of sludge what so ever (this motor is prone to sludge).

 

well it should have the little plate under the hood (on right side irrc) that says to use 10w 40 for hot weather.


for where he is I would look for a heaver then 5w 30 for sure and maybe skip it all together due to the chances of leaking due to synthetic being thinner and such or go for it but be sure to keep a eye out for any leaks that might start.

 

it's a myth on synthetic causing leaks because it's thinner. 5w30 is 5w30 regardless dino or syn. it's the same viscosity

the truth is that syn have more detergents in it. so if there's sludge in your motor it's using that to seal the leaky seals. once the syn oil washes away the sludge it will start leaking.

people blame syn oil messing up their engines and not to switch and etc. with today's newer motors and tighter tolerances syn oil shouldn't burn/leak because it's "thinner".

 

If you ain't boosted and if you ain't going to go for 7.5K+ before oil changes, go to WalMart, buy their 5qt containers of 5w30 Castrol GTX dino and pick up a napa gold filter.

Scheduled changes and an occasional oil analysis > wasting money on expensive sythentics.

If you must, use Penzoil Plat. $23 / 5qt container.

 

havoline got you beat..it's $19/5qt. it "was" like $15/5qt a while ago but i guess oil prices drove up production cost.

the audi has to run 5w40 or 0w40. i keep that in there for 5K+. it was Mobil1...but now it's Rotella T and it burns less.

in the B7 Audi runs their oil 10K before a change!!

 

haha. I was considering the Rotella also. Only if a good diesel oil was available in a 30w. I hear guys running diesel oil for their gas motors.

 

yeah the delo and delvac oils got a lot of detergent in it and the audi guys use it. mobil1 changed their name on the label so the 5w40 is now their "truck/suv" oil. if there's delvac or delo in 5w-40 i'll pick it up...but they stock the heavier weights at wally world which is no bueno for me.

 

ahhh....i see...now i see why my brother told me that castrol is the same thing as mobil 1 now. Castrol is definately cheaper than mobil 1 at $24.99 for 5 quarts with a filter. I might pick some up of semi-synthetic before the promotion ends for my other vehicle. Hymm....man.....now i think of it..my third vehicle needs an oil change too....

P.S. I always found it funny how people used to say they do'nt have time to do an oil change, but now i know...-= \

P.P.S is it wierd that i'm smelling transmission fluid in my office at work??

 

it's the same "base stock" now. whatever else they throw in there is their mix.
mobil tried to sue castrol because their oil wasn't a true synthetic...but mobil lost. so i guess now mobil feels the group III stock is ok to use. cheaper stock...same price = more money for XOM...bastids!

where do you work?