Hi DartMan. You can take a look at netspend.com for a debit card. I have had the same trouble, but what's even worse when dealing from abroad is that some companies don't accept foreign addresses on the PayPal account! If you transfer enough money to your PayPal account a couple of days before shopping, it usually works fine. I finally got a Visa debit card, you need no credit rating to get that. It has a 16 digit number just as a credit card, plus the safety number in the back. Be careful to get the addresses right when you register the card with PayPal, they must be the same as on the card, they're kind of fuzzy about that. Same goes for registering your payPal account on eBay. When finally done, it makes the world much easier to live in!

And btw., synthetic oil is not 'thinner' than petroleum based oil, just choose the right viscosity for your need. Synthetic oil is actually building a thicker film than a similar petroleum based oil.

Olaf

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Aspenized

For what it is worth my 2001 Yamaha FZ1 used oil when I put in synthetic but I never had to add any between changes on conventional oil and I was using the proper viscosities and rode it in the same fashion with each.

Well I knew that, I was simply stating that I wanted to switch to a lighter oil because I live a whole .15 miles from my school and the car never gets to reach operating temperature in my daily commute. I don't want to go any lighter than a 30 weight oil and it is my understanding that the W number is a rating of how fast oil the thins out to be a 30, 40, 50 weight etc. Right now, I'm running 5 quarts of Castrol GTX 10W-30 and by looking at the rocker arms through the oil filler cap, I see that the oil never fully circulates in my commute. So I was considering trying a 0W-30 oil, if such exists. By the way did I mention that in the winter months of school we see tempratures in the teens and 20's? Right now morning temps are mid 60's to low 70's, so I know the oil circulation will be even worse later. I was really satisfied with the Castrol GTX for being conventional oil, so now that I have more money to spend I belive I shall look into Castrol Syntec for even better protection. Oh, and by the way, the sludge protction stuff they talk about in the commercials isn't just bull they feed us to sell a product, I could eat of the inside of my rocker cover!

That sounds strange... Maybe synthetic is more prone to oil burn off? But all the other pro's of synthetic would make it worth it in my opinion.

I wouldn't go directly to a 0w-30.

I'd try a 5w-30 first to see if there's any problems (on the theory if there's a slight problem (maybe even livable) 0w-30 would be worse (maybe unlivable)),

If 5w-30 works, then try a 0w-30..........

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Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes

I couldn't say I could see much go awry, my temp gauge never moves from the time I leave to the time I get to school. And mornings are currently about 55-65 degrees, so I know it will be alot worse by the end of fall, let alone the dead of winter... One big problem is I have the factory A/C (doesn't even work anyways) with a 7 blade non-viscous fan, so not only does the 3 extra blades cause too much air flow, but there's always too much air flow. i thought of switching to a 4 blade fan, but decided not too because it gets too hot in the summer (around triple digits). I don't mind carboard in front of the radiator, I done it before when my old thermostat stuck open last winter. The only thing I have against it from my experience is that when I'm tired, I tend to ignore the gauge cluster, so last winter I had a couple close calls. I think someday I believe I'm going to go with an 18" electric fan triggered by a 165 thermostat, should do fine with the 195 thermostat in the engine.

I just started using the NGK ZFR5N sparkplugs,made a big difference.

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DRIVE IT,DON'T HIDE IT

Continuous cold operation for short distances of an engine will promote sludge & moisture build-up over a short period of time. Also, the exhaust system never gets hot enough to dry it out, and it to will fail early to corrosion. Also the choke never fully opens, so rich condition persists leading to carbon build-up, and possible cylinder wall washing that can cause excessive wear.

Your short 800 foot trip is killing your car no mater what kind of oil you use.

I wouldn’t be surprised to find your rockers & rocker shaft are full of crud, slowing flow of oil.

When you adjust your lash, and increase the idle speed to about 600 rpm or a bit higher, dose oil spit out all over inner fender and fire wall with the valve cover removed? If so, top end oiling is probably OK, if not it’s time for a cleaning.

There are several ways to improve upper end oiling. Remove rockers & rocker shaft and clean their passages with carburetor cleaner & compressed air. But, keep every rocker in its same position during this process, and make sure the oil holes in the shaft face the valve springs.

Change oil by date, every three months, not by mileage.

Drive the car for an hour once a week to boil off any moisture accumulated in oil & exhaust system. This is not the best, but at least every ten run cycles it gets a good warm-up.

Or, park that thing for the week, and walk to school, it’s only 800 feet, and doesn’t get below zero... LOL

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67' Dart GT Convertible; the old Chrysler Corp.
82' LeBaron Convertible; the new Chrysler Corp
07' 300 C AWD; Now by Fiat, the old new Chrysler LLC

Hi Dartman, the W in 5W30 stands for winter. In practical terms, the 5 in front means that the oil flows like a single grade 5 weight oil when cold and never goes 'thicker ' than that (down to about -40 - see the ref sheet on your oil), and the 30 means the oil flows like a single grade 30 weight oil when hot, and never 'thinner' than that. Synthetic oils have a 'built in' flow characteristic that make them act more like a multigrade oil. I've tried all in my old motor with plenty blow-by in valves and rings, and with 0 and 5 you can smell oil burning, and with 0 it also uses a little more than I like, but 10 seems OK until rebuild time.

Olaf

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Aspenized

You can pull the harness and distributor at a junkyard. Be careful of a junkyard ignition module though. If it looks new, its probably OK. If it looks old and there's a solidified liquid running down the firewall below it, the potting is melting out of it (its dead or soon to be dead).
If the plugs work, keep using them. You are removing the gasket ring from the plug I hope. If you're tight on money, don't replace good parts with new parts. Use some dielectric grease inside the boots to prevent them from adhering to the plugs. Dielectric grease is *required* for HEI systems. I've noticed that new cable sets now come pre-greased.
Any 10W30 oil will work just fime. Conventional oil will be much less expensive than synthetic. I buy mine at Costco. Sam's Club and BJ's Warehouse are generally the same price. 13K without an oil change is *much* too long on a carbureted engine. An injected engine can go 15K, provided you justify it with a lab analysis. If you drive at least 20-30 minutes with some highway, you can probably stretch the change interval to 5-6K. If you do mostly short drives, think about a change interval in the 3-4K range. A lab analysis will confirm which is more reasonable. Blackstone will cost ~$35/sample for basic analysis plus TBN, plus postage.

Remember that it take s the coolant 5 minutes to come up to operating temperature, but the oil takes 20 minutes, and then you have to keep it hot long enouth to evaporate out the condensation that was absorbed in the first 20 minutes. Avoid starting the engine unless you will drive it a minimum of 20-30 minutes.

Wix 51806 has the integral standpipe. 51515 is without the standpipe. If you have the tall standpipe on your filter mount, use either one. If you don have a standpipe, 51806 is preferred. Note that "NAPA Gold" filters are made by Wix, and are identical except for the paint and part numbers.

If your local auto parts store doesn't stock the filter, www.rockauto.com does. They will also send you a discount code for 5% off your next order, and they encourage sharing the discount with friends. Post a request for a code before you order. NAPA can cross the Wix number to their brand (the number will be similar).

Ken

Ummm...no. The W simply means that the oil was tested per the SAE low temperature test specification. It has nothing to do with season of the year.

Paging Dan Stern...paging Dan Stern...Hey Dan, would you happen to have the reference to the spec?

Ken

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Aspenized