Originally Posted By: mclasser
What oil(s) have you been using till now?
I can't comment on ST but PP/PUP are regarded as good cleaning oils on here.
FOr the past 100k it has been 5w20 Castrol Edge EP or 5w20 Mobil 1 (regular, EP, AP). The sample flagged for iron was the Pennzoil Ultra.
Originally Posted By: oil_film_movies
Purolators are infamous for tearing holes in them. Google the words: Purolator oil filter tear
and then select 'Images' on the google page to look at the frequent problems. High risk of getting holes, which is a no-no for oil filters these days.
Fram Ultra's are much, much better in about every possible way. Walmarts have them for cheap. or amazon, ebay, rockauto, wherever. Ultras hold the most dirt before clogging up. When cleaning, you might generate a lot of junk.
Put a thick SuperTech 10w40 there in warm TX right about now, and then put in a pint of SeaFoam, Kreen, or Gumout Multi-System Tune-Up. It will convert the 10w40 into a 10w30. Change in 2,000 miles or 2 months whichever comes first.
Fram doesn't make an Ultra for my vehicle, they're listed as fitting but I already tried, it is incorrect. Also, I see no reason to do anything other than 5w20 which has been showing good UOA's in the Texas heat this entire time. I am curious about the true safety and effectiveness of running SeaFoam in the oil, especially considering the relatively high loads I put it under cruising at high speeds on the toll roads and redlining it daily for good measure.
Originally Posted By: NormanBuntz
If you suspect some sludge or varnish, go cheap with a Fram Extra Guard and Pennzoil conventional for a 3,000 mile interval. K&N filters don't get much love here, and it would be a waste of money for a cleanup interval.
It is about a $3 difference in the K&N filter, Amazon has them for just over $6 each and I've never tried them, wasn't sure how effective their filtering media was.
Originally Posted By: slacktide_bitog
K&N cheapened their oil filters a few years ago, without dropping the price and passing the savings on to the customer. They used to be made by Champ, and identical to the M1 filters. But since then, they outsourced production to Daewha, a Korean company that supplies to the Korean car companies. So now the filters are mostly made in Mexico and Korea.
Just recently, K&N shifted *some* production back to USA/Champ, but not all of them.
My choice for your primary oil filter would be Mahle. They make a great cartridge filter for that V6
But for a cleanup interval, even the cheapest filter will be fine.
At $6 the K&N is cheaper than the OEM filter, which is a rebranded Mahle btw. Also pretty sure the Wix filter is [censored] near the same.
I was trying to avoid removing the valve cover because it looked to be somewhat of a pain, but I might have to.