i changed my oil for the first time by myself today. i used MOBIL 1 , 5w 30 since they didnt have 5w 20 and fram x2 filter.


i only used 4 quarts. is this enought. i dont know how many i shouldve put.

 

You should be using 5 quarts. Was your TLS level when you drained the oil ? Which level on the dipstick did you fill up the oil to ?

Cheers !!!

 

You should have received an owers manual when you purchased the car. It contains important information that vehicle owner should read.

It also contains information about fluid capacity. The TL hold 4.6 quarts of oil.

Hopefully you checked the oil filter gasket from the old filter to make sure it came off. If not, the new filter will not seal correctly.
This could cause major engine damage if it blows while going down the expressway and you loose all your engine oil.

Also did you replace the crush washer when you reinstalled the drain plug. If not, you could leak oil from around the drain plug.

 

4.6 qts is the number. I use 4.5 and save the 1/2 for the next change.

 

does any one here believe in oil additives? i know it's now recommended but i hear so many good stories about it! what do you guy's think or do or use? thinking about mixing in a can of slick50 or prolong with my next oil change.

any horror stories?

 

Most additivies do not perform as advertised and are a waste of money. Save your money and change your oil and filter on a regular basis and you'll be fine.

 

agreed!

 

Some additives will actually cause damage to your engine. An example is any additives that advertise they use PTFE (Teflon). What happens is that most consumers think teflon is slipepry and reduces engine wear.. Well its true that teflon is slippery but what they fail to consider is that teflon is a SOLID! And it reacts with heat to bake against the engine and oil passages. Overtime, they can clog the oil passages and stop oil from pumping through the engine. As you can see, this can cause severe engine damage. It has gotten to a point where Dupont, the makers of Teflon, released a statment sayingthat Teflon is not intended nor recommended for use as an engine treatment. there is/was a class action lawsuit against a company that produced engine/oil treatment with PTFE. However, there are still other manufacturers that use PTFE as the "Selling" point for their products. Also, PTFE is not the only issues, there are other additives that causes thes same result.. Bottom line, wiht today's manufacturing technologies, there should be no need for engine/oil treatments. They can only harm not protect your engine. Oh and the biggest reason not to use them, The owners manual states that they are not recommended for use with your car and can cause damage to the engine.

here are some links:

If you do a search there are tons of information out there..



http://www.ftc.gov/opa/1997/10/valve.htm

http://xcelplus.com/who_can_you_believe.htm


http://www.msgroup.org/TIP043.html


http://skepdic.com/slick50.html

 

Excellent post. If you really want to do the best for your engine, put the money you'd waste on an additive towards a good synthetic instead.

Think iof it this way. if you need to shake the bottle before pouring the additive with PTFE into your engine, what do you think happens to those particles inside your engine, or when they pass through your formerly new and unclogged fresh oil filter?

 

Well this may not be all true.
I think it depends on the brand additive that you are using.
My knowledge is somewhat limited in some areas. This is why I rely on the web some of you guys, the dealer & its techs as well as many other sorces for info. I am currently taking once a week 2 hour per class 4 week maintenance seminar for car owners & mechanics. The teacher of the seminar is Pat Goss. For some you that don't know who Pat Goss here is some of what he does.
He does the garage segement of the international TV show Motorweek that is seen on PBS stations & on the SPEED CHANNEL on cable. This is were the test some of the newest cars on the market as well as some not on the market as of yet. Pat does the auto maintenace part of the show. Pat also has his own 30 min local TV show on Saturday mournings as well as twice weekly 3 hour radio show by the same name called Pat Goss Garage you can call ijn & ask question. He also writes a auto segment in the WASHINGTON POST NEWSPAPER. PAT also has his own auto shop with many techs under his watch & is also the head man at a local area large FORD DEALERSHIP. He also writes a news letter or something for the Corvette guys & does many other things in the car world. He was a teacher they called in to teach the auto techs. This seminar I taking presents an opportunity to learnwhat maintenace is required on modern vehicles & the correct products to use, and the questions that car owners should be asking to be assuured that their machanic has the knowledge & equipment to car for their vehicle.

 

SECOND PART OF THIS.
This class will also learn you how service procedures & techniques have changed on modern automobiles & how these new techniques will prevent damage to sensitive electronic & mechanical systems. Okay this brings me to the point of our topic.
Pat uses the BG products in his cars as well as in his shops.
The ACURA DEALERSHIP also uses the same product. This is stuff like the BG44K & MOA OIL ADDITIVE that you can not buy in places like PEP BOYS,AUTOZONE & other places like that. They are avalible only from dealerships that use them & some other places.
www.bgprod.com Now ofcourse Pat is a spokesman for BG but my ACURA dealership uses the stuff as well as other car dealerships. My sisters DODGE dealership did & they also use the stuff over in thier BENZE dealership. PAT said when they tear the engines apart to check for wear & other stuff it was a proven that some of the chemicals like the BG products work. I asked him a question last week about motor oil since we were learning about kinds & brands of coolant, motor oils, trans fluid ect. My question was since I had just got the oil in my 2000 TL changed a few days before the class. I asked him about the use of synthetic motor oil with the BG MOA oil additive added in with the change of the oil. He said you would get less engine wear ofcourse with the synthetic oil & added factors from the BG MOA oil additive. Now not all the stuff works ofcourse this is why I use the BG products that the dealership puts in or you can buy over the parts counter. I also asked another question to see what Pat would say versus my ACURA dealer asst service maneger that also is my service advisor. I asked the question about the Mobil 1 oil filter compared to say the OEM filter on the TL. Now Pat said the Mobil 1 is one of the best filters he has seen but he considers it overkill. The service advisor said to bring my Mobil 1 oil but use the ACURA filter. He said they had a display at one time in the dealership with the OEM filter versus the FRAM & others makes.
PAt said I was fine using the OEM filter. But I think all of yoiu guys would get a blast out of taken this Maintenace Seminar with Pat Goss. I get a kick out of him telling some of the techs from dealership & the do it yourselfers like most of you on some of the do's & don'ts & what they thought they know. This class is at the College Of Southern Maryland & he gives it from time to time.