Hoonsy
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First DIY oil change
To most people this is pretty elementary stuff, however this is my first time doing it (not that I don't get how its done).
Super-Cheap Auto have a good sale on this weekend with 20% off Ryco oil filter and Castro oil deals all around so I'm keen to get my oil change out of the way as its been nearly 5000kms and 8 months since the last one. My 3rd gen 3sge has about 203000kms on it, what kind of oil should I pick up?
They have 50% off Castrol Edge Synthetic Oil 5w-30, how will that do? It's normally $70 so it seems like it'd be a decent oil. Also will they have those little catalogues for me to find my appropriate oil filter or do I need to know that beforehand?
Edit: I also have a bottle of coolant flush and two big bottles of coolant that came with the car - I'll have to look up a guide to make sure I go through with that properly
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Nik_Lee
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Re: First DIY oil change
2015/10/02 06:52:30
(permalink)
Supercheap stock a Ryco Z386HE engine oil filter which is a high efficiency filter I have been using this filter ever since I bought mine.
Also one engine oil I would highly recommend is Valvoline SYNPower full synthetic 10W-50 it does a very good job of protecting our engines.
One thing to watch out for is Valvoline has also introduced a few other blends into their synthetic range in the other grades which you can see by designations like DX1, MST, FE, XL-III I would avoid these and stick with the high performance full synthetic.
The reason I say this is because the other blends they have reduced the Zinc level in the additive package and added Boron this change in the additive package seems to have a detrimental effect on the bearings in the 3SGTE.
I recently changed to the DX1 5W-30 out of curiosity to see if I would see any difference in the performance of the oil or if it would affect the drain interval at all and with in 3 oil changes my oil results went from showing no lead in the used oil tests to 8ppm which is quite a big jump in my mind and not worth the risk of continuing with this oil.
I have since switched back to the straight SYNPower full synthetic 10W-50 and have already started to see the lead levels dropping back down.
I cant say allot for the Castrol oils as typically most engines I have seen switch to the full synthetic Valvoline have seen a reduction in wear elements so I have not seen a reason to use anything else.
Hope this is of some help.
Cheers
Nikayla
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Hoonsy
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Very informative, thank you Nikayla!
I'll be sure to pick up that oil filter. I'll have to check SCA catalogue again and see if they sell the Valvoline and hopefully that's on special also. If not, would Repco be the next best place to look for it?
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Nik_Lee
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That's ok.
Supercheap do stock Valvoline's full range that is usually where I buy it from as they usually have it at a good price and often have sales on it.
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Hoonsy
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Found it on their site, unfortunately that specific oil isn't on special this weekend. So I'll have to decide between the $70 Valvoline SynPower 10w-50 or the ($70 but 50% off) $35 Castrol Edge synthetic 5W-30
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5SGTE
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Bare in mind the ryco HE filters need replacing every 5k, which is what most do anyway but worth a mention ;-)
IMO $35 extra is well spent on an oil that offers better protection.
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Hoonsy
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That's a fair point. They originally cost the same, I was just checking if they were roughly the same product. I'll probably go Valvoline just to be sure
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Bradm
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5SGTE
Bare in mind the ryco HE filters need replacing every 5k, which is what most do anyway but worth a mention ;-)
IMO $35 extra is well spent on an oil that offers better protection.
How do you figure it offers better protection?
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Hoonsy
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Just thought I'd update, I bought the Ryco Z36HE and went with the Valvoline SYNPower, however I got the 5w-40 bottle as the book recommended it over the 10w-50 apparently (plus it was $17 off)
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5SGTE
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I wasn't referring to a particular oil, but that there's more to oil than just $$$.
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Bradm
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5SGTE
I wasn't referring to a particular oil, but that there's more to oil than just $$$.
I know. I've spent plenty on used oil analysis.
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xez
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Good choice. 10w50 is probably a bit thick, unless you have oil consumption issues.
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mms78
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When doing the coolant flush, there's a lot more involved than most other cars
There are multiple drain plugs and bleed valves for refilling
Make sure you read the manual, or ask for help if you are unsure
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Matts_SW20
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I was only discussing this issue the other day with some mates because the consumer books reccomend a 20w-50 for my car because "it's old" what they fail to consider my engine has 10,000k's on it lol. I contacted Castrol for a recommendation and they said 0W-40 but I wasn't convinced such a low weight would be appropriate. After a long discussion including a debate on the zinc content of oils e.t.c I think I'm going to go with Penrite 5W-40 HPR5.
Does anyone here disagree with my choice? I'd rather hear it from people who actually use these cars haha.
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Flighter
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I think the age of the car is relevant not so much in terms of the mileage, but rather the manufacturing date. Older cars tend to have bigger tolerances between parts (i.e. they aren't as tight a fit as modern cars), necessitating a thicker oil.
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