Oil Change
Oil changes are part of life. If you don't think about the oil in your Rover as "all that" important
you are missing out. Whether you have the local "stop and change" do the change for you or you do it yourself, it
could quite possibly be the most important thing you do with your truck with any regularity. You may disagree
with my comments on this page. Oil is like religion, there is a type for everyone. I am not here to convert you to
my oil religion. Use whatever you like, your not gonna change my mind and I am not gonna change yours.
I have done the oil change ritual both ways. In the past I would stop by the oil change place and have them
do all the dirty work. With this service you usually get an oil change and most of the other fluids checked.
Sometimes you even get a wash and vacuuming. My favorite place to get an oil change is closed now but I would visit
them regularly. They didn't try to press you into replacing your filters and hoses and belts every time you
arrive, I hate that. I knew all the kids that washed the cars by name and the manager called me by my first name
when I came in each time. Ah, sweet VIP consumer bliss. It was my favorite until my Ford truck came out of the
automated car wash with a 1972 Nova attached to the rear. That's not all, my truck came out with a Nova and hit
a late 1990s Mercedes 420 sedan. They were really apologetic and the insurance settlement was pretty nice for a
scratched front and rear bumper, $890, nice. (No I didn't replace the bumpers. It's a truck, it's supposed to have
scratches) After that the staff seemed to rotate every time I came in and the manager left. Time to find a new place.
The next place I went was very good too. They didn't wash and vacuum but they had nice staff. They stopped
carrying Castrol 20w50 regularly and when they did have it was quite a bit extra. They also got a new manager and he
pestered me about new belts and hoses everytime I came in which was about every 3 weeks. So I started doing
the change myself. That and I read this about oil filters.
This is not the oil filter bible. It is very informative though and I recommend you read it. You may learn something
about oil filters you didn't know.
The oil.
I use Castrol 20w50. Why? you may ask. Well, I used it on my 1993 Ford Ranger and got 188,000 miles out of the engine in seven years and it didn't burn any oil. My friend the JagGuy uses it in his Jaguars. Makes sense due to Jaguar's racing team using it. The only negative thing about it is the months of January and February. It is usually cold here and it is a little thick for that weather. If you are at all concerned about that switch to 10w40 or whatever. But for me it's got to be Castrol. The Rover manual in my truck calls for who only knows what?
I use Castrol 20w50. Why? you may ask. Well, I used it on my 1993 Ford Ranger and got 188,000 miles out of the engine in seven years and it didn't burn any oil. My friend the JagGuy uses it in his Jaguars. Makes sense due to Jaguar's racing team using it. The only negative thing about it is the months of January and February. It is usually cold here and it is a little thick for that weather. If you are at all concerned about that switch to 10w40 or whatever. But for me it's got to be Castrol. The Rover manual in my truck calls for who only knows what?
The filter.
I use Wix filters or I use the Napa filter. They are both made by Dana Corporation. They are a good filters and have served me well. I read a study about them on the Internet and think for a cheap filter they work great. I change the oil every 3000 miles so the filter doesn't stay on the truck long enough to worry about how dirty it gets. Better quality is more money but again I don't leave it on there long enough.
I use Wix filters or I use the Napa filter. They are both made by Dana Corporation. They are a good filters and have served me well. I read a study about them on the Internet and think for a cheap filter they work great. I change the oil every 3000 miles so the filter doesn't stay on the truck long enough to worry about how dirty it gets. Better quality is more money but again I don't leave it on there long enough.
Some Tips
Drain pan.
I needed a drain pan. I did not want to spend $20US for a handy-dandy official oil drain pan. So I bought an under the bed storage bin. It's large enough to catch the splashes and stores well in the garage. $4. I finally broke down and bought the handy-dandy but spent $10US and I got a sponge to or some other such nonsense.
I needed a drain pan. I did not want to spend $20US for a handy-dandy official oil drain pan. So I bought an under the bed storage bin. It's large enough to catch the splashes and stores well in the garage. $4. I finally broke down and bought the handy-dandy but spent $10US and I got a sponge to or some other such nonsense.
Dirty oil.
5 gallon bucket. I bought a 5 gallon bucket with lid from the Home Depot. They are an attractive safety orange and they are cheap. $3 and some change. Back in the old days you left your oil where your car was parked. Our drive way was the oil dump of the old homestead. The oil assisted in preventing the eroding of the gravel from the drive way back to the gravel road we took the gravel from in the first place. At least that's what Dad said. If they took a soil sample of the drive way at my childhood home they would declare the whole place a Super Fund Clean-up Site. Rural living in Oklahoma go figure. We don't do this any more, we are all politically correct and "recycle" our oil. Anyway we don't poor the oil on the ground we take it to the auto parts store (O'Reilly's) and they take it some where and dump it on the ground or "recycle" it, what ever that means. The JagGuy likes to tease the tree-huggers by telling them he dumps his oil right back on the ground where it came from in the first place. He says he is doing his duty to society by putting the oil back where he got it and better than it came out of the ground, after all it has been processed to remove the impurities. The looks he gets from this are unforgetable. They can't argue the logic that the oil is cleaner or that it came from the ground in the first place.
5 gallon bucket. I bought a 5 gallon bucket with lid from the Home Depot. They are an attractive safety orange and they are cheap. $3 and some change. Back in the old days you left your oil where your car was parked. Our drive way was the oil dump of the old homestead. The oil assisted in preventing the eroding of the gravel from the drive way back to the gravel road we took the gravel from in the first place. At least that's what Dad said. If they took a soil sample of the drive way at my childhood home they would declare the whole place a Super Fund Clean-up Site. Rural living in Oklahoma go figure. We don't do this any more, we are all politically correct and "recycle" our oil. Anyway we don't poor the oil on the ground we take it to the auto parts store (O'Reilly's) and they take it some where and dump it on the ground or "recycle" it, what ever that means. The JagGuy likes to tease the tree-huggers by telling them he dumps his oil right back on the ground where it came from in the first place. He says he is doing his duty to society by putting the oil back where he got it and better than it came out of the ground, after all it has been processed to remove the impurities. The looks he gets from this are unforgetable. They can't argue the logic that the oil is cleaner or that it came from the ground in the first place.
Clean up.
Old towels, gotta have 'em and laundry detergent. I read somewhere that laundry soap surrounds oil molecules and separates them from fabric. With this logic the soap would surround the oil on my drive way and separate it from the concrete. It is probably something like this or that the soap is incredibly absorbant. Anyway try it. It won't get all the oil but enough to make me happy. If you are concerned about "the environment" and detergent use/ground water polution get the tree-hugger approved soap. If you are deeply concerned you probably already have it in the laundry room.
Old towels, gotta have 'em and laundry detergent. I read somewhere that laundry soap surrounds oil molecules and separates them from fabric. With this logic the soap would surround the oil on my drive way and separate it from the concrete. It is probably something like this or that the soap is incredibly absorbant. Anyway try it. It won't get all the oil but enough to make me happy. If you are concerned about "the environment" and detergent use/ground water polution get the tree-hugger approved soap. If you are deeply concerned you probably already have it in the laundry room.
Thanks for reading and happy Rovering.