Recent content by ElectroKen

I really like this Amsoil MPHD product: Amsoil MPHD It stays on the chain better than anything else I've tried and provides great corrosion protection. I use it on motorcycle and bicycle chains. It's only $6 for a 16 oz. can. Nobody should assume that I'm one of the Amsoil freaks, because I'm...

A good friend of mine was told the same thing while being trained at the Amsoil facility in Superior, WI. Now it's part of his sales pitch to everyone who asks.

I switched to a group IV synthetic at 1200 miles in my 2000 Xterra. I never need to add oil during my 5k OCI, so the rings are very nicely seated.

You'll see a 4800 mile UOA for Rotella 5W40 group III from my Nissan in a few weeks. I'll be posting it side-by-side with a 4800 mile Amsoil 5W30 UOA from the same engine. I'm very curious to see how they compare.

Forget the myths. My '72 and '84 Hondas both have Mobil1 15W50 in them and neither one leaks or has a clutch problem. The '84 is a V65 Sabre with 36k miles on the original clutch. It's had only synthetics since '86. Avoid oils with "energy conserving" in the API starburst and you should be fine.

Just for the sake of history, my '72 Honda CL350 has 3 roller bearings and 1 ball bearing supporting the crankshaft, and about the same supporting the two transmission shafts. It does just fine on M1 15W-50.

OK, up against the wall... I'm from the conversion police. A liter is larger than a quart. Nissan likes small sumps lately. My 3.3L Xterra has a 3.5 quart system.

I always tighten filters by hand but I always need a wrench to get them off. Am I that much stronger in the clockwise direction?

A faulty (or disconnected) air temp sensor can indeed affect mileage. Its purpose is to allow the ECU when to enrich the mixture when the incoming air is excessively cold.

A friend of mine returned from "AmsOil School" last week. He was told point blank that Mobil1 was group III and has been since shortly after the Castrol thing. He got way too excited as we discussed oil. I was waiting for the "Al is God" chant but he stopped just short of it. It sounds like...

Use only engine oil on the cam bearings. Your wet clutch will be exposed to whatever you put there. It's amazing to me that those aluminum bearing surfaces survive, but Honda has used them now for many decades.

Now I know who's buying all of the Rotella synthetic from the Shelton Wal-Mart! I'm looking forward to seeing how this oil does in my Xterra.

That bypass valve in the ST3600 is a joke! Is this what people are calling a "clicker" design? The valve used in the ST7317 is quite different with a spring-loaded rubber and metal disk sealing against metal.

My liquid-cooled V4 gets a change every 2500-3000 miles. The one exception was a 7400 mile trip. The old air-cooled junker (CL350K4) gets a change every 1000 miles. It seems to be very tough on oil. I may do a UOA on it next time just to horrify us.

I pour it into the 275 gallon tank of oil that heats my house, but only when the tank is nearly full. The used oil never exceeds 2% of the volume of the tank. It appears to diffuse into the heating oil over time. Several municipalities near me ran the boilers in public buildings on 10% drain...