Date:         Sun, 03 Jul 94 00:11:20 CDT
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Joel Walker <JWALKER@ua1vm.ua.edu>
Subject:      Re: ATF in the oil, postscript

On Sat, 2 Jul 94 23:04:30 CDT Will Self said:
>Jim recommends an oil change every 2500 miles, whereas the owner's manual
>says every 7500 miles.  What are some opinions about this?

i change my oil every 2500 miles, but it's mostly due to having my oil
analysed way back when ... i was doing it every 3000 miles back then, and
the analysis showed that straight castrol 30W was changed into a 46W oil
in just 3000 miles.  so, for no really good reason, i lowered my change
interval to 2500 miles ... it also happened to divide into the 'recommended'
interval (7500 miles) much easier than did 3000. :)

a while after that, i started using 20W50 oil (because i had to take a trip
up to rhode island in december and was a little worried about cranking with
30W).  i continued to use it cause i noticed (on the oil temp gauge) that
the 20W50 ran about 10 degrees Centigrade cooler than the 30W. that was in a
1980 air-cooled vanagon.

i still change oil at 2500 miles and i still run 20W50 in my 88 water-cooled
vanagon. i don't have a 'good' mechanical/technical reason ... just habit,
i guess.  but it seems to work. i think that is what is necessary: to find
what works for YOUR car and follow it. i use castrol because i can get it
at wal-mart for about $1.00 per quart, but i think most any quality (?)
brand of oil is as good IF you change the oil regularly.  that's not exactly
something i made up. :)  for more opinions, you guys and gals might want to
check the Auto section of Books-a-Million or Waldenbooks or places like that
for some books by Robert Sikorsky. titles like "Drive it Forever", "Bumper to
Bumper", and some others i can't recall. he has some good ideas about taking
car of a car.

joel