I put a recent post up for what kind of oil to use in my 95 Maxima....they said Mobil 1. I agree with that, only problem is the previous owner didnt use this kind. Do I have to drain out ALL of the oil for hours on end or is there an easier way?

-Stos

 

make sure your car is level with the ground when you drain out the oil. remove the dip stick and oil cap. remove the drain plug. after it is drained, then remove the oil filter, and wipe the surrounding area witha clean rag. put on a new nissan oil filter, and put the drain plug back in. drop in 4.5 qts of mobil 1 into your engine. start it up, and check for any leaks.

 

Damn thanks man that helps a lot

 

Just watch out for leaks. Not to scare you in any way but when you put in synthetic if you had any small leaks before they're going to start leaking now since synthetic is alot thinner... it happened to me. Other than that just make sure your car is level when you drain it and you will be fine. Good luck

 

If it is quite warm during the summer there....you could even go to using Mobil 1 10w-30 rather than 5w-30 because it is a little thicker....just for the reasons that Ant said.

 

What will happen is that when you drain the oil, there'll still be some residual oil left, which is normal. If you completely drained the oil, then you'd probably run into trouble on startup, without any lubrication. That small amount of residual oil will mix with the new Mobil 1, but not enough to make a real difference. It will probably take about 3 oil changes before the old oil is completely gone from your car.

 

I have been using Mobil 1 5w-30 on my car since about 40k. My car now has 139k, would you guys recommend that I move to the 10w-30 or stay with the thinner oil? I live in Southern California, so the temperature does not get too cold.

 

The reply about Mobil 1 leaking because it is "thinner" is totally false. If one oil is 5W-30 and you put in 5W-30 M1...they are the same viscosity. No more thinner than any other oil.

Synthetic oils DO NOT EVER cause leaks in a motor. The reason your engine may start leaking oil after switching is because synthetic oils have greater detergent content and sometimes clean sludge and crud out of places in the motor. These places would leak before, but the old dino oil just slowly sludged up and stopped the leak.

Synthetic oil is great for your engine. However, it isn't for everyone. If you still plan on staying with the same oil change interval as with dino oil, then you are just throwing money away.

As before...there are no special things to be done before switching to synthetic. I would however do one of two things. 1) run Auto-Rx (www.Auto-Rx.com) and follow those directions, or 2) Run the first interval slightly shorter because the Mobil 1 will clean alot of old sludge and contaminants out of your motor.

 

Dude you'll be totaly fine.....I recently changed over to Mobil 1 and I have 130k baby....

Just do it!

P.S. I have a small leak on the oil pan gasket...still the same..............

 

First run semi-synthetic and then the next time use full synthetic.

 

If I were you I wouldn't change a thing. 5W-30 is a little thinner at startup when cold, so you get quicker oil flow throughout the engine.(camshafts,valvetrain) You also get better mpg with 5w-30. Nissan recommends 5w30 for the best all-around performance. Why change after 100k?

 

Alright, I will stay with what I've been using for almost 100k. Thanks .

 

Why the hell would you bother with all that?

 

damn ive been running 10w-30 this entire time in both Maximas...

 

I just recently changed oils to Mobil 1. I've noticed that after my car sits for abit, maybe 1 day or so, i have a small oil spot on the garage floor. I've checked the oil pan and it has some excess oil around on the pan area. Should I check my drain plug again? I did notice that when changing my oil, on the drain plug, the washer had a small crack in it. Not too noticable, but its there. Do you think that could be the problem. I changed to Mobil 1 at 85k Miles.

 

Buy a washer and change it the next time you do an oil change. Until then monitor your oil level.

 

Will do. Will any washer work? I do love how the car idles much better with mobil 1.

 

Get a washer from the local dealer or mailorder from Courtesy nissan. Get a couple in case you need to change one in the future. They should be .50 or so. The correct one is made to fit your drain plug and seal at the correct torque for your max.

 

Thanks for the info.

 

what is the correct torque for the drain plug anyways?

 

22-29 ft/lb as per the manual.

 

till your arm hurts... but not too tight, because the next time it will be a pain to get off.

 

Ok......I'm getting the lower oil pan gasket replaced in a few weeks. And since I'm doing this, I'm going to go ahead and switch to Mobil1 Synth mainly for longer intervals between oil changes. I have a few questios:

1) Since I got my Maxima at 105k (now 129k), I've used 10w30, should I switch to 5w30 synth or stay with 10w30?

2) I heard that I can get 10k out of each interval with Mobil1 providing I change oil filters midpoint thru each oil change interval, what's a good filter for this?

3) Any specific thing I need to do with the first instance of switching to Mobil1 synth?

4) I was told that I'd need to add STP or an oil treatment to allow better bonding of oil to engine parts, is this really necessary?

Any other tips would be awesome!!!

 

Looks like you are up north in CA. I would switch to 5W-30 for better oil circulation at cold startup. Also you get better mileage from 5W-30. I would use the OEM(Nissan) filter for the 5k changes.

Stay away from the oil treatments. The additives in your oil are fine for the 10k duration. If you feel the need to use STP or treatments, you are better off replacing the Mobil 1. JMHO

 

I'm in so-cal....warmer.

 

5w-30 is still recommended by the manual, regardless of temp.

You shouldn't need to do anything switching to Mobil 1. Just change the oil, and bob's your uncle.

DO NOT use oil additives. They're crap, with the possible exception of some of the stop-leak additives, but even in the case of these I'd MUCH rather use one built into the oil (like valvoline maxlife), than some "Bob's Fix-A-Leak" that you pour in the crank case. Basically, if these additives were good Mobil 1 would already have them in there, so don't use 'em.

 

ME TOO!!!

I was told we run 10-30w for our cars, I had been putting that in since I started doing my own oil changes (3k ago) and changed my brothers too.

So we are suppost to be on 5-30w? or 10-30w?

I'm commin up on an oil change and now would be the best time to get it right and switch to synthetic.

Also how much harm would 10-30w do if its been used for the last say 6k miles? havent noticed anything different but who know.

How long before next change with sythetic?

thanks

 

MDEEZY,
I'm in GA also and I use 5W-30. 5w-30 is what Nissan recommends for our Max. That is with dino oil. Using Mobil 1 synthetic you should have better protection and better fuel economy. BTW, 10W-30 does no harm to run, it just that 5W-30 is better all-around.

 

PLUMMAXSE,

Thanks for the info, your in Roswell I just came from there (5mins ago) from seeing my girlfriend, good to know a org member is close by.

Good to know that the 10-30w wont hurt me, I'm going to switch to 5-30w synthetic next change, and get my brother on 5-30w also. I'm looking forward to better gas millage too!

 

Whats up Dennis, anyways we use 5w30 year round over here and its 100 degrees lately. 10w is ok for you so Ill stick with that

 

Hey wasup man!!!! I have been using 10w30 since I bought the car from someone else. His windshield sticker shows 10w30 so that's what Jiffy Lube had been using for me. I wanted synthetic because I wanted a longer oil change interval, that way I can change my own oil. 3000 miles come and go so fast and with a really busy work schedule, I just don't have time to do my own oil change. Plus I like the cost saving that synthetic oil provides, less frequent oil change = less money out of my pocket.

I read that I can go 10k with Mobil1, providing that I change the filter at 5k miles. Is that true? And can I use aftermarket oil filter brands or dealer only?

Thanks.

 

Your plan sounds good to switch to synthetic for the extended oil changes. I would use nissan oil filters at 5k or 6 months whichever comes first. You are saving money on the oil, don't skimp on the filter. If you order them mailorder you can get them for $5 per filter.

 

That's a good deal! Where can I order it from?

 

Try this place. I think if you order $50 or higher the shipping is free!!

http://oem.thepartsbin.com/parts/the...art=Oil+Filter

 

Thanks....which one is the OEM, Nippon or Denso? There are two Japanese brands.

 

I think nippon is oem. But it really doesn't matter. They are both quality filters.