so how hard would it be to do it myself? What all do I need and how do I do it? Seems like it would be cheaper and will give me some experience in doing it myself.

 

Good info, all. I would like some constructive input on the Fram filters also. I don't, and wouldn't, use them because of the massive amounts of internet discussion relative their "inferior" design, cardboard endcaps, crappy filter media, etc. I'm sold on that argument. But.......in all that discussion, and opinion, I've never seen an article where that "inferior" design directly caused motor damage or failure of some sort. Again, I'm a hippocrite because I'm sold on the hype, and won't use Fram. But can someone lead me to a definative example where by using a Fram filter directly lead to bad things. I'm just asking for curiousity's sake. Thanks. Joe.

 

hi all, well as far as FRAM filters are concerned, its just a differnt design. i work in a parts store near oklahoma city and have people come in every day and buy fram filters. We also carry our own off brand filter and the WIXs filters also. i have done a little looking into filters and to be honest with you the only one oil/air filter i can see being a real big difernts is the K&N oil filter. I have a fram on my RA right now, never used one before and i bet when i go to change my oil i wont see a differents in it. As for oil changes, i do them my self. I use mobile 1 synthetic, and yes oil doesnt wear out its the aditives that are put in the oil that does. i use sythetic and change my around 5-6k becuase the addidtives in sythetic dont wear out as fast after 3k and i do alot of driving. I do around 100 miles a day round trip to school and work plus its all freeway. If your some one that does a lot off stop and go then you should change it around ever 3k miles becuase oil is designed to collect dirt and water that gets inside your engine. especially the water, and the more you can keep your care as a higher temp the more gets evaporated and sent out the engine via the PCV valve lol. im taking auto motive in school right now lol. well hope this helps some, if not sorry for all the bable

 

i change my oil every 4000 KM<--- not miles

-joe

 

I just switched to Mobile 1 synthetic and the car drives a little smoother. Not much of a difference though. I mainly made the switch because I'm putting 25K miles a year on the car and the oil changes every 6 weeks were getting annoying. Synthetic fits my schedule better and I know its better for the car. If you think about it, you can go twice as long on synthetic so it really justifies the cost in the long run. You might even save money doing it.

Oh, my car burns up about 1/2 a quart of oil every 5,000 miles so you do want to keep an eye on your oil level especially if going for a long time without an oil change.

 

As far as Fram filters are concerned, ive never had any problems with them, my family has been using them in all of our cars for years

 

Later tonight I'll see if I can find the sites with the research on it about Fram filters as well as others. The problem with them is that they get clogged up too quickly which causes the bypass valve to open. Open bypass valve = no oil filtration. Many people experience more engine noise (such as louder valve ticking) when using Fram filters, which then goes away when they go to a better brand (such as Purolator). For the RAs I recommend sticking with the OEM filters.

 

http://www.themotoroilsite.com/forum...10&t=159&st=30

 

You gotta have a pair of ramps, jacks or something to get the car off the ground. You will need a socket wrnch with some sockets. Dont know the exact size of the sockets that u need casue i dont own a RA just a galant. U will need a filter wrench if the filter is on too tight. Oil and oilfilter of course. Thats about it. When and if u put the new filter on do not tighten the filter with the wrench. There is no need to just follow the instructions on the package. It tells u to tighten by hand 3/4 of a turn.

 

I haven't put the Ralliart on ramps yet. Can anyone tell me the access difficulty for our filter. I would love to have a car with a vertical filter with no undercarriage, etc. in the way. Thanks. Joe.

 

the filter access is right by the drain hole. i use a role around jack to jack it up and get under to do the job. pretty easy. i used a fram filter, if i took it in to the dealer for the scheduled 7500 change, would they say something cause of the different filter? what else do they do besides changing the oil and filter. for the time it takes to go there i'd rather do it myself. thanks for any info from you guys that has had the dealer service.

bone

 

this it the engine oil i use
http://www.mobil1.com/USA-English/Mo...nce_5W-30.aspx

 

For the record, my background is mechanical and petroleum engineering.

If you use natural pumped from the ground oil of a name brand, 5,000 miles is not a bad change interval. The reason you change conventional oil at short intervals is because the smaller molecules burn off and the viscocity (thickness) of the oil increases. The wieght of the oil labeled on the front of the bottle is the average for the mix. This means there are small hydrocarbons, super large hydrocarbons, and everything in between. In addition, conventional oils never get the good additives.

Synthetic oil (true synthetic, not blend) is created in a laboratory by fuseing 3 dectane molecules. The shear chemitry behind it all is quite amazing. Synthetic is consistant throughout and contains an excellent additive package. The ONLY reason sythetic needs to be changed is because of the amount of metal suspended in the oil. Small particles that slip through the oil filter are one of the leading causes of engine wear. If synthetic burns off, the viscocity is the same because the mixture is completely consistant. Semi trucks utilize bypass oil filters to catch vitually all metal in the oil. It is not uncommon for these drivers to go 100,000 miles between changes. That's not a typo. 100,000 miles!

What does this mean to you? Changing synthetic oil at 3,000 miles is stupid. If you buy a quality oil filter, you can easily go the dealer scheduled 7,500 miles. Most vehicles can go much longer than this. Because synthetic protects better, the rate at which metal is released into the oil is substantially lower than with the usage of conventional.

People utilizing oil sampling have determined that you can go 20,000 miles between oil changes with synthetic if you change the filter every 7,500. The amount of free floating metal doesn't merit a change until then. At 20,000 miles, the additive package was still 80% complete. (Amsoil)

Last rant, to anyone who bashes Fram. Please cite all of your sources and references. I have seen the results of many, many, many studies, and all say the same thing. For the most part, paper based filters are paper based filters. Please don't tell me your mechanic said it. Mechanics (for the most part) don't know crap. If it comes to fixing cars, they are a great resource. However, most mechanics (9 out of 10 I talk to) make crap up to sound important. I just smile and later tell their boss that they are a dumb @ss and need to keep their f*ckin mouth shut. Basic filters shouldn't be used for long intervals anyways.

Fram tough guard is a quality fibrous celulous structure that catches a lot of smaller particles a traditional paper unit won't.

Summary:
Just buy a jug of synthetic oil and take it to your dealer for the free change scheduled changes, and then continue to use normal 7,500 mile intervals.

Fram is not crap, rumor spreader are.

 

i dont even change mine and i got 24,000 on my car right and not one oil cahnge just add a quart of the cheapest gas station oil i can find.







hahahahahha just play-n

 

Here's my source - http://minimopar.knizefamily.net/oilfilterstudy.html

It's just a guy who bought a ton of oil filters, cut them open on a lathe, and reported what he found. You can read through about what each filter is made of and how it's put together. It becomes very clear which filters are put together with quality components (such as Purolator and Mobil 1) and which are built like crap (such as Fram.)

He also explains how each filter was disassembled and analyzed. Read and enjoy.