Grumpy Bear

Ever consider a Valvomax? I have these on every car/truck on the lot. Engine and Trans (those the have plugs or that I've added a plug to). They don't leak, can't get accidently opened or vibrate open. "O" ring dust cap. Not much longer than the head of the OEM bolt. Zero mess. I can drain all of them into a used 2.5 gallon DEF jug which fits neatly under them all when on 6" Rhino ramps. This one is on Dizzy. Peppers prevents the draining oil from splashing all over the anti-roll bar. . One on the trans allows precise measured volume withdrawal of fluid. None of them hang below the frame or even the poly lower covers. Not even in the Mirage's CVT. No way to knock one off. Just say'n...

Mid pack gas/diesel taxes (20 cents a gallon) refineries close to production. I worked the Chevron USA El Paso unit right in the edge of the Permian Basin. Oil company's subsidize the tax base of Texas. Lot's of reasons they have low gas pricing and low state taxes. https://energynow.com/2025/12/mapped-u-s-oil-production-by-state-visual-capitalist/

Diesel is solidly over $6 here.

2024 Mitsubishi Mirage 5/7/2026 44,000 miles 4,038 mile OCI zero makeup oil 3 quarts Red Line HP Euro Series 5W40 + 2 Oz RL ZDDP. Continue to use the AMSOIL EA15K13 filter. I've done enough UOA's on this unit to know that 4K miles in the summer is fine but in the winter 3K is more than enough. Factory recommended 7.5K is unwarranted. Fluid condemned on TBN/color. Stellar wear metals and viscosity retention. Factory 3,750 mile Severe Schedule is almost right. 2 quart spill and fill Red Line Non-Slip CVT fluid, 2,040 OCI. 8 oz Red Line SI-1 Fuel System cleaner. Top other fluids, pressure and safety checks.

Had a Honda once that I changed oil in for almost 200K miles with the same crush washer with never a drip. Let a Quick Lube do a change while on a trip and they mutilated it. I think he thought he was torquing a damper assembly. The hand that rocks the cradle, eh!

Scan Gauge III is awesome. There are three pages you can program with dozens of inputs and scroll. The stats pages and adjustments to inputs. Allot of information.

More stations now at a solid $5 for regular in my area.

Dad (96) is fond of saying, "The things that drove me to the doctor at 60 are now; Lets wait and see a few weeks. Most of it goes away. ".

There was a 30 cent about face last night? Brick must have fell on someone. It would be funny if not so stupid.

Regular is $4.78 to $5.00. 37 to 59 cent over the national average. This ain't Cali.

On April 26, 2026 I paid $4.95 (Premium). Today, 5/1/2026 same brand $5.65! Both stations Shell. Mobil was $6.00 a few blocks away. So 6 days and 70 cents a gallon? If it take a $25 rise in crude to effect a dime in gas, when did crude jump to $200? My Linear Logic fuel monitor has been a rock of consistency for almost 2 year all the sudden can't hit a bull in the butt with a 2X4, and fuel economy over 5 vehicles is down about 5% across the board. Are we playing with alcohol content (relaxed regulations)

$5.00 today. Local news says Ohio, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin are rising faster than the rest of the country due to some issues at the Whiting Indiana BP refinery.

No Can 192K Ecotec3 V6 Just had the intake manifold off Pepper for some injector work. She's never had a can on her. Ran a PAO/POE based oil for most of those miles and has lived about half her life on E-85 switching at 158,813 miles. Top Tier Regular previous to that with an occasional bottle of Red Line SI-1. Uses no discernable oil. Adult driven. Rarely short hopped and rarely driven in the winter (no salt). I tried to get some photos' down those stovepipe ports but could not get the phone to focus on the valve. Jason's borescope doesn't take pictures. What I can do is show a few photos of others and explain how they relate to Pepper. Pepper's Intakes ports looked identical to these in COLOR but with zero deposits on the long side radius or around the guide boss. Just continuation of the brown tones. Yea, cleaner than these. Even the AFM ports looked identical. This is Cameron's port/valve at 100K. Pepper is roughly the same at nearly twice those miles but are semigloss black, not semigloss gray. (this photo is to compare valves only, port is above) Moving on to this photo: This was Dizzy's intakes and valves at 80K. It uses oil, suffers high blow by and the PCV system is of poor design. This motor would have benefited from the can. But the a proper PCV system would have worked equally well. If you tow, if it uses oil, if you drive like every road is Darlington, if you do long OCI's on shelf oil, a can could be helpful. I modified the PCV system on this vehicle and when he manifold was off again a hundred thousand miles latter it wasn't half this bad.

You sure about the makeup?

You have a small farm where you grow everything you eat and save seed for next years crops so you cost is your effort. Your neighbor buys at a world market and the cost of his goods due to 'whatever' doubles. Does yours double too? If so, not much of a point if self sufficiency is there.

Ya think?

I forget; how high are you guys? BTW...how's the wife doing?

Just try'n to be helpful buddy.

I saw those crossings on TV when they were being built. Thoughtful idea I'd say. Deer and the like are creatures of habit. US Army knew this when the burned millions of acers of Montana grasslands to keep Bison from crossing into Canada to starve out Sitting Bull's people. My nephew has such a cross at the site of his death. He, nor his parents, are "Christian". It's just a memorial. No different that a headstone. What do Atheist and Agnostics use to mark such a spot? Oreo's?

Cost to much to go out!

I have several like that. One of my favorite drives is along Illinois 2 between Byron and Dixon, but at dusk and dawn it is wild life alley. Those inconsiderate deer need to cross at the deer crossing signs. They must be able to read. State thinks so. They put up the signs to show them where they should cross. Remember that as a driver; getting angry over the inconsiderate behavior of others is a natural reaction. Staying angry is a deliberate choice. Locally we have a road bike club of about two dozen from Rockford that rides down to a restaurant in the next town on Saturday mornings. About 25 mile between points on the map. They aren't training, they are friends out for breakfast, comradery and the ride. Cherry Valley Road is the most direct route and the busiest. It has no paved shoulder so they ride two abreast in a line. There is some length to that line a dozen bikes deep. It's not a terribly curvy road but it is hilly with many hidden drives. Know what the locals do on Saturday mornings that need to get between those two points? Take 72 to Irene Road to US 20 at each end of Cherry Valley Road. takes about 5 extra minutes. Quicker actually than taking the direct but bike ridden road if you count waiting to pass and there are many places to do that safely. Inconsiderate bicycles and the smallest hazard I face during a drive....

Like to eat? You can follow one of these across Illinois for a half hour at under 30 mpg during spring field work on any major US Federal Highway in the state. How about a pick up hauling a combine head during harvest? NH3 tanks in tandem on wagon leads swaying back and forth a few feet? Oh, gain elevators are one of my favorites. How about a tank track tractor that takes up both lanes pulling multi-section disc/harrow units? Over sized trucks pulling wind turbine blades or portable ICE detention units? Link Belt or Pettibone Crains? Dealing with the hog crap from a manure spreader for a miles? Granny crossing the road in the country to fetch her mail. Famers bull got out. Chuck holes, pavement heaves, dead animals, uncovered over weight gravel haulers., open top garbage haulers. State road work crews. Police stopped violators. Road is full of hazards and the same people that complain about bicycles and motorcycles are the same people passing in the no passing zones, running 15 over the limit, texting on their phones, shaving, putting on makeup, reading the paper....doing everything, including complaining about them all but what their job is behind a wheel. Defensive driving. I dodge a dozen self important texters a day crossing a centerline and about one bicycle group a month during the summer. I didn't quit riding my motorcycle because of bicyclist or even deer but some guy thinking he's the most important thing on the road and passing zones and speed limits are a suggestion or some soccer mom swatting at her preteen in the back seat. Ya got bigger problems than a pack of bikes out for a Sunday ride.

Hit $4.50 today.

Worn oversized to the point they 'leak' off and fail to latch like they should.

Thoughtful question. You nailed it on RPM. Load. a 4" piston has a nominal crown surface area of a bit over 12.5 square inches or 100 square inches total for a V-8 motor. 480F to 840 F is a typical crown temperature. And what is on the other side of the crown? Oil. In many motor oil jets are used to run these temperatures near the max. An efficiency move. That oil that cools gets heated. https://zenodo.org/records/19482246/files/Piston Head Strength and Heat Dissipation in Internal.pdf?download=1