Atlas

5.48 regular still here at Kroger. Stations here aren't getting the memo but the owners are probably tired of programming prices up/down with every headline and futures gyration. WTI Crude is over 80 again but seems mostly unfazed after the exchange of fire in the Middle East over the weekend and ceasefires falling apart. Enough already...

GM's are stainless and have a fairly robust powder coating, although, still not worth $850 in my opinion. They will hold up a lot better than their cheaper steel aftermarket counterparts. What I like about the GM step bars is dealers will often equip their dealer stock with them. Lots of margin. Which means a lot of people end up buying them because they're already on the truck, even if they don't like them. So it's pretty easy to find brand new takeoffs with hardware on Marketplace and Craigslist for about $250. That's what I did for my crew cab. I wanted ZR2 rock rails for the look, but with the ability to bolt up GM's assist step package. From GM it's about a $2500 accessory all in. The old folks in my life can't get in the truck without steps. I found the whole package on marketplace for $180.

I think GM even offers a remote start accessory kit after sale. Requires programming from the service dept, but you get factory remote fobs and everything. Bug the sales guy and see if he'll find a way to include one to seal the deal? Power seats... I have no experience here, but the OE seats will have airbags so I'd be less inclined to go monkeying with modifications or trying to swap in a power unit from a higher trim. I love standard cabs. I'd have a V8, manual 4x4 if they offered one. My crew cab is my Swiss Army Knife of vehicles...it does truck things, it's comfortable on long trips, it carries extra adults in comfort, and it has room for keeping cargo in the cab when it's just the two of us. Fullsize crews are the modern fullsize car or wagon of 40-50 years ago and IMO they offer more versatility than a fullsize SUV like a Tahoe or Burb because of the bed.

Seattle area. Hold that thought on falling gas prices. Things not looking good again.

$5.48 for regular here still. Kroger. Diesel $6.88

Talk about throwing people for a loop! The newer Jeep 4-cylinders (2018+, "Hurricane" engine) make people think they're hallucinating when checking the oil. A proper oil check, described in the owner's manual, is exactly 5 minutes after shutdown of a fully warm engine. Not before 5 minutes. Not when the engine is cold. You have to take a reading when the recirculation in the turbo and top engine has drained down, but not completely empty. When those engines are stone-cold, the dipstick reads almost 1.5 quarts overfull. When they're warm right after shutdown, the stick may read almost empty.. If you change the oil and dump out 5 quarts of dirty oil including changing the filter, and refill with 5 quarts, this really can mess with your head if you check the oil later on and don't know what you're looking at.

I'm stumped but it sounds like a brain teaser. I'm assuming you're already accounting for any oil saturated in filter media that gets tossed with the old filter, although that would be a fairly large filter to hang on to an entire quart.

Then why even change it? What got you the boot before this?

I'll make you and kNut some t-shirts. They'll say "Atlas was right about everything"

No, actually, it's more about intentional planning and saving. But, Gobbless! Now back to the subject.

What other acknowledgement are you seeking? The dipstick is a good tool for checking your oil level.

What took you so long?

Yes. Logic isn't your strong suit, is it?

My LZ0 was delivered new and it had an extra quart showing on the dipstick. That's when I went asking if it was factory, dealer/PDI, or some other error and the consensus was the factory adds an extra quart. I fill with the recommended 7 quarts, not 8, and just keep an eye on it. Nice to know there's apparently an extra quart of capacity in the sump, I guess. I have not cut open the filters. I use AcDelco PF66's. I'm now in the "critical" period where most of the LZ0's tend to fail if they have a bad thrust bearing. Ugh. I don't want to know, I just want it to either explode, or be fine. The coolant control valve is a real Duesy. My LZ0 reportedly has the newer design CCV. I'm getting a faint coolant smell after shutdown sometimes. I was hoping it was just burping and other seating of hoses but at 3k miles I'm still getting it. If the engine doesn't blow up, I'll probably take it in for the coolant smell. The levels in the overflow (both for engine, and turbo circuit) are still full, so it can't be losing much.

I've got just under 3k on my LZ0 and it's hard to tell what it's doing because I changed the oil at 500, 1500, and getting ready to do it again. The next interval will span 2k miles before probably going to a max of 3500 -- but using the recommended 0w20. Some superstition, and some data, I don't want to do longer intervals for the real or perceived possibility of the oil losing viscosity with longer use, starting from only 20 weight oil. I use Mobil 1 ESPx2. In the last 1500 miles most of it has been higher speed, highway driving 70mph+, and only a little towing. I topped off the oil at about 2750 miles, adding about 1/8 quart to put the level back on full. IMO, nothing to worry about. There's still a possibility a defective thrust bearing could take out the whole engine before 10k or so. That's a lovely thought to ponder, but if it happens, I'll get the engine replaced and send the truck down the road and find something else.