Grumpy Bear

Curious, what would you consider a 'normal' AFM system lifespan? How long do you think one without is capable of?

3" of rain yesterday in 30 minutes. 2" 24 hours earlier and we are getting another storm that say is larger today in about 2 hours. We had about the average for April, a very VERY dry May and now I'm hoping to see a rainbow in June. Corn is loving this stuff.

How bout them Nicks?

I'd guess state side Group III. That Qatar plant is a GTL unit, Group III+

I know you didn't write the manual. Pepper uses none regardless of OCI which has been as long as 7.5K and as short as 3K. 5 is the usual. Daisy, the Buick 3800 uses zero as does the wife's Buick. Dizzy on the other hand has had its own oil well since the clock rolled 80K. Now at 287K and using a quart in 1200 miles. She had a Paseo that started using about the same time, 80 or 90K that went 300K. Both of those motors we feed shelf synthetics. All the others that don't run Red Line HP or AMSOIL SS. That oil guzzling Terrain I top off at 4 ounces which is pretty often. As wife's primary I'm more picky that if I were driving it all the time. Dad started that 'Keep it full even if you never change it", from the first day I was old enough to understand what he was talking about and sir that was early. Like 5. If I wanted to see him I had to be with him and when he was home, he was in the shop working on something with a motor. Army/farm trained. Anyway, I've pulled and read a few dipsticks and know a few as well. I've never felt anything but full was an 'acceptable' practice. Been forced into it a few times but never by choice. In the seven plus decades I've been breathing, a quart off the FULL mark is down a quart. There was never an acceptable deviation. Not that we didn't run them in between we just didn't go on line to make noise about it. There wasn't any, "On Line"

Then we agree on the range between marks is 1 quart (for most light duty trucks and cars). Great! Whew! I will push back on the ambiguous every time. I can see some cherry looking at the dipstick before a long haul and seeing the level just above the lower mark closing the hood and not giving it a second thought until the next stop or the I-D-10-T error light flashes and parts leave the confines of the engine bay. How about it Chris, do we top up when we see it at a quarter quart low?, A half quart below full or wait until it doesn't register on the stick? That's where asilerblazer is heading and to me, it read like he wouldn't mind taking a few reads with him.

GDI Injector tips are in the combustion chamber and yes, they are subject to the same aromatic hydrocarbon based carbon build up the entire chamber is subjected to. Chevron Techron is a PEA based cleaner (polyether amine) that is VERY effective if the dose is high enough. Carbon the tips disrupts the spray pattern so keeping them clean is kind of a big deal. It will clean more than the injector tips. It will keep the inside of the injector tip clean as well. When they shut off they 'hot soak' building varnish internally behind the pintle. The tip, unlike most MFI systems have several orifices of very small diameter. They have to stay clean to work right. That spray pattern is supposed to spray into the cup in the piston, not all over the cylinder walls. Old guys will understand... Top Tier Chevron has enough of the cleaner to be effective if used regularly. Other solutions could be Shell V Power Nitro + Premium and Exxon/Mobil Supreme Plus Premium ONLY use a different chemistry to the same effect with the added bonus of a friction/antiwear additive as well. Red Line SI-1 is PEA based as well with an upper cylinder lube. There's a white paper on their site for shock treatment of system left untreated for long periods. AMSOIL PI has a full system cleaner of yet another chemistry that will strip carbon out of the power cylinder pretty quick. Gumout Regane is also PEA based but at very low doses and those that are isopropanol based will not be effective. Alcohol content is way to low. Chevron Techron in any pump gas, Use by package instructions. 10 oz per 15 gallons every 3,000 miles. First use may require two treatments. So, Techron, Red Line SI-1 and AMSOIL PI if batch treating and Shell, XOM Premium or any Chevron Fuel will not just keep it clean, but will clean it if dirty. No other fuel "I'm aware of will do that". Flex Fuel motors. If you use at least 40% alcohol on a regular basis they won't carbon at all. PEA is not recommended for fuels over E-20 (www.carparts.com)

If it's at the bottom line it IS a quart low from full that; that is the point of the sticks markings. It says, "If the oil is below the crosshatch area at the tip of the dipstick and the engine has been off for at least 15 minutes, add 1 L (1 quart) of the recommended oil and then recheck the level". (shows a little arrow to indicate which line is at the tip of the stick for the confused word salad crew). Ya know, like the line that says 'don't drink the battery fluid". Lets use your logic. If it is 0.000001" below the mark then add a FULL quart and it will be 0.000001" below the full mark. Thus the distance of the cross-hatching is 1 quart and it is one quart low of FULL if AT the line; so yea, it's a quart low of full. Being in the 'acceptable range" if you add less doesn't alter this fact. Critical thinking people. Word salad..... I now know the reason for the ridiculous wording of present day manuals. But it still doesn't explain the pop-up on the infotainment screen that says, "Don't read this screen while driving" that pops up when your driving.

Now there's some fancy double talk. Let me see if I get this right. The level is at the bottom of the hatching and you add a quart (because the range of the hatching is a quart) it brings it to the top of the hatching but.... it's not down a quart?

This used to be hard and fast but....some motors, Asian Metrics for example maybe like a half liter. The Ecotec 2.4 varies along the length of the hatched area due to a main cap girdle they are fit with occupying/displacing irregular volumes vertically an yet is still a quart from top to bottom. I'm sure there are exceptions to the most common value of a quart so peeing on each others leg would be pointless. Do your study and report back.

Then you haven't read your book. It also says check every 400 miles. If you need to add multiple quarts in that distance then reading the stick isn't the issue. Put the two together and it will make sense. Read it all.

My expectations are a bit higher. No faded paint or dry rotted plastic/rubber. I use a dressing and a ceramic sealant. No hazy headlights. No door dings. Small dent in the front bumper. All rock chips repaired. No brush scratches. No windshield chips. No fender benders. Limit damage due to a proactive plan the included ceramics and PPF and prompt attention to any exterior issue. NO RUST. Stays out of the salt and had the rear wheel wells Line-X coated as well as the bed which has a bed rubber and has been under cover since before I bought it. Washed and detailed regularly. Rex chewed up the tow button, got whacked and the button replaced the same week. He's leaned his lesson. If I can train a dog the kids are easier. All suspension is original save the King Shocks I installed very early on. 50 years ago dad told me a good shock will keep the screws in the dash tight and the front end mint. He was right. Everything within new spec yet, tight and aligned well several times. Coolant system is OEM save the modifications I made early on. Not a single leak anywhere on this machine. (Did repair an intake leak on #4 during the HPFP replacement.) The injectors I replaced didn't need to be. They checked out great. One of those, while I'm in there with the manifold off and the fuel rail apart things. Not a stain or abrasion one to the upholstery. Have kept is covered since new. Never had a carpet, it's a work truck but the carpet squared I laid on the floor have keep the factory rubber liner MINT. Ceramic wind tint helps preserve the interior. Original BRAKES with 60%+ left of the pads and rotors mic excellent. We just did a full preventative brake service. Disassembly, clean inspect including measurements, lube, Dot 4 power flush including ABS system. OEM battery. OEM vacuum pump. In fact the only things not OEM are a pinion seal the high side pump and injectors and a small plastic shield around the starter. All hoses/belts etc.. are still in service and doing well. Original tires lasted 125K and had I known some additional details would have made it to 150K with legal tread. (Date out is six years, not 5 and Continental says they are good for 10 so I pulled the trigger to early) I never let my children or grandchildren run the show. Feet on the floor and hands in your lap. Dog gets a pass. A truck is a machine that gives you back whatever your willing to put into it. Same as a computer or a butter knife. I use a shovel but I scrap it, hose it off and oil it when I'm done with it. My original spade I've had 60 years. Set the bar higher...you spend less money. No, before you ask, I have spent a fraction of the cost of a new truck in my entire maintenance program including disposables, filters/fluids etc.

5 miles away at Marathon regular E-10 87 16 $4.87 25 miles away at Shell V Power Nitro+ 93 for $4.89. In general not hard to find regular for $3.99. Seems everyone isn't getting the same memo.

Impressed myself People have been telling me since I bought it that she was going to blow any minute. 200K is certainly a milestone I'm looking forward to but I have no idea how many miles it will take to quite the pessimist among us. Pattern has been; they set a goal, Pepper exceeds that goal, the goal post gets moved. At some point I'll run out of time. It is catching up with me. We'll see. 300K? 400K? Half a million? It's not using oil yet and that is a great sign. It's not leaking from any part of the powertrain. Another good sign. So...

I use the Linear Logic Scan Gauge II to observe only. I don't log ECU data. Yes, I thought about the HP system, but I met my goals without it. So far. However, I'm open to input always.

Fuel Update 6/7/2026 Since getting Pepper back I've been blending fuel. 50/50 E-85 - 93 pump gas. At my local pricing that is a 97 octane fuel for the price of regular and metering 48% alcohol. This much gasoline octane locally is $10 a gallon with only one local resource!! I can blend this anywhere I find E-85. Why? Longer range. Same no KR timing pull. More lubricious fuel. No loss in power cylinder cleanliness and a reasonable chance at seeing any future fuel dilution in the UOA's. When I blend with Shell or XOM premiums there is some friction modifier and antiwear enhancement. No cold weather starting issues either. So lots of pluses and few losses.

Engine Oil Transmission Your book will have the temperatures and procedures

Then you're saying the motor is full cold on the lowest mark of the sticks range. So,... you intentionally short your oil change a full quart? Yikes!! Every motor I've ever changed oil in over 64 years of oil changing that level has been at the top when the book amount of oil is put in and level checked by the OEM procedure. Kind'a the point of the top of the range. A double check if you will. Have any idea how much of a motors oil is not in the pan at peak pump volume? (second stage at red line). Depends on the motor but 2 quarts isn't out of the question. This one quart range got started when pans held 3-1/2 - 4 quarts. With 1.5 - 2 quarts circulating a motor 1 quart low would, could and often did spin a bearing as the pump suction became uncovered. Air is a pour lubricant. That low mark told the dummy operating it he was a tea spoon away for pulling the pin on that grenade. We have a bit more cushion today with much larger pans, windage trays and such, but we also have more oil in circulation and rings that are not as adept at oil control and some truly strange pan venting systems that will suck a pan dry enough to be trouble pretty quick if not in good repair. Give an automatic transmission stick a good look (If you can find a trans with a stick). They are clearly marked for both a cold range and a hot range and many like the JATCO's even have a table in the book showing level V temperature by degrees and voltage and mm on the stick. Even my 6L80E is setup that way. Engine Oil pan sticks are legacy one quart markers to keep Joey Bumpstick's motor in play.

Biggest reason is fuel dilution rates of GDI engines.

Yea, not the reason. There is a nominal 1 quart/liter range on that stick. (Autos/light trucks) Some small metrics are a 1/2 liter. Gives a fella an idea how much to add. Your book should say something like, "Add when the level falls to the lower mark". Does in every one I've owned.

Third time. Some consumption is 'masked' by fuel dilution, soot formation, acid formation of blowby gasses. Oil consumed offset by degradation products produced. 2 to 8% How much is that of your sump volume? for Pepper that is 4 ounces to a pint of oil. Why is everyone aware that we check transmission fluids at operating temperatures due to thermal expansion and ignorant or at least dismissive about this issue for the engine oil? Ever allow a motor to drain at oil change for a period of 'overnight"? Measure on the dipstick every quarter hour for say 2 hours and educate yourself. Then let is sit overnight (cooler) and ask the expansion and dilution questions again.

That's a good video @Atlas. On point and informative. Highlights the changes over the decades. Experience needs to be informed of pertinent changes to remain relevant. Nice find. Thanks!

170+ mile trip to dads today (one way) 87 regular started at $4.99 here and was $3.67 in Iowa. On the way back their is a Love's and a BP on the Interstate (39) 10 miles from the town closest to me. Gas was $4.09 both placed. A half mile closer to home Marathon was $4.59 and at home Still $4.99. I bought Shell V Power Nitro + 93 in Morrison Illinois for $4.85 and on the way back same gas in Rochelle for $5.01. Yea, same price as Regular 87 next door to me.

193,412 Mile Services Transmission, 6 quart "Spill and Fill" Red Line D6

Where does the oil on the spark plug threads come from on the DOD cylinders? If a motor uses ZERO oil then what lubricates the valve guides and top rings?