But at least I know the fan works. :)
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But at least I know the fan works. :)
Had a fair amount of snow on the ground this morning for my ride in to work. I must say, I rather like having the ASC off. Can't slide around with it on, it works too good. :)
Sunny & 60s - nice weather for an oil change.
Odometer: 17601 - about 3,000 miles since my last oil change.
Oil changed with Mobil 1 Extended Performance 5W-20 ($28.68 @ Walmart)
Oil filter replaced with Mobil 1 Extended Performance M1-110A ($9.97 @ Walmart)
Will apply for Mobil 1 $17 rebate, bringing total cost of oil & filter to $21.65.
Swapped out Dunlop Wintermaxx snow tire set for the factory Enasaves. It's noteworthy that the Enasaves ride quieter & smoother.
The lug nuts are thoroughly tarnished, but otherwise functional.
My block heater quit working a couple weeks ago. Out of curiosity I pulled the wiring off the heater element but didn't notice anything out of order so I put it back together. Today I put my ohmmeter to the wall-plug end and found it reading 38Ω so I *think* re-seating the cable might have straightened out whatever kept it from working. I'll plug it in tomorrow morning and hopefully it'll work again.
When I changed my oil back in November I changed the oil only and kept the filter. The reasons?
1. Mobil 1 Extended Performance oil is rated for 15,000 miles and the filter is rated for 20,000 miles. I don't really approach those limits.
2. The Mobil 1 M1-110A is larger than the factory stock filter, and I expect greater filtration capacity. It is also supposed to trap smaller particles, outperforming the factory filter again.
3. Why throw out a filter that still has lots of useful life?
4. I bought a 5-quart bottle of Mobil 1 Extended Performance 0W-20. I used the rest of that 5-quart bottle for the refill. This keeps the 6-month oil change requirement.
5. I will submit a sample of the drain to Blackstone Labs for analysis. I look forward to seeing how this maintenance regimen holds up.
6. If the analysis is favorable, I'm looking at a good quality full synthetic oil change for about $11.
I'm especially eager to see if there is any indication of engine wear due to cold winter temperatures that tend to make my 3A92 noisy & rattly on those cold starts (I didn't get that when I was able to use the block heater.)
You need to get some better tires. The stockers are complete crap. Please get something with High grip.
Hey HitShane - nice to see you around. How's things and what are you driving these days?
My block heater is working fine. I think I tripped the GFCI on my garage outlet. No surprise as we've had some wet weather and I would expect a wet block heater plug would trip a GFCI.
This week I took off the grill block. With the warmer temperatures the cooling fan was running almost every time I used the car.
Regarding the oil change I find the 5W-20 is making my startup valvetrain noise louder and last longer, contradicting what others here have reported. Go figure. It can't be the Mobil 1 oil filter because it is the same model that it replaced. Looks like I'll be using 0W-20 from now on.
My Fumoto valve works great. It makes oil changes clean and easy. In fact, I used no tools for this oil change.
I enlarged the grille block opening on my car (2000 Metro) this weekend too. Temps here are in the 60's this weekend. And sunshine... so nice.
I like the grill block a lot. Not that I'm very imaginative but I would like to come up with a variable block, adjustable either manually or according to coolant temperature. Do you know any successful designs that would work?