I have yet to experience any motor oil shortages, i actually just bought a 5 quart jug at Walmart full syn for under 20 bucks. I'm no keeper of prices and it is the budget Walmart brand, but under 20 bucks for 5 quarts seems as cheap as ever too me. I remember when i changed my own oil with Dino oil it was around the same price for 5 quarts like 3 bucks and that was for regular conventual oil like 20+ years ago. But the shelves were all stocked so no brands were missing and i think mobile 1 was around 28-30 for the 5 quart jug, not really that expensive imo at like 6 bucks per quart.
I wouldn't buy a 5 year old truck just because of the 6 speed vs. 10 speed. You really have no idea how it was treated and the motors surely have improved over time so I figure the newer the better - get a new or 1-2 year old truck with very low miles - I really prefer to buy new vs. a year or two old too so you can really know exactly how it has been treated and maintained - I think the first 25K miles are pretty critical in the long term reliability of these trucks.
Techron and other "PEA" fuel system cleaners are still useful. They take just about any kind of deposit and dissolve it using the PEA ingredient and then it all gets eliminated in combustion. This can be anything inside the tank, lines, or injectors themselves. You still want to maintain clean injectors and an optimal spray pattern, and direct injection systems need that too. Most good-quality fuel (doesn't have to be Top Tier), as long as you're using your vehicle regularly, should maintain a pretty clean fuel system by design. I don't think it hurts to dump a bottle of Techron or other PEA-based cleaner in every once in a while for a boost. Take note, these cleaners "maintain" clean, they don't undo any severe buildup. It's not a fix in a bottle.
It's true, any "fuel system cleaner" you dump in your tank isn't going to be effective at cleaning deposits off of valves. Direct Injects, all of them, unless they are also combination Port Injection like in some Toyotas, will dirty the intake valves over time to some extent.
Media-blasting the top end, i.e. "walnut shells" is for severe buildup. Direct Inject top ends can still be chemically flushed and don't require media blasting if the buildup isn't too bad.
On a modern direct inject like the 2.7 I'd ask someone who truly knows what they're looking at between 30-50k. Does it need to be cleaned? It can't be just a bottle of cleaner, that won't do it. You'll need a top-end service if there's a lot of buildup.
Modern direct injects don't build up like the early ones from 15-20 years ago, but is something to keep an eye on.
Most of my vehicles are north of 150K miles. I don’t add anything to the fuel or oil. My gas in town is Kroger gas not a top tier. My wife’s car 2011 Genesis is only driven to town 8 miles then back. I’m not saying additives don’t work. I’ve seen them work miracles on ViceGrip garage. I did partake with the Wynns additive in the CRV through the dealer. I did it only for the warranty. Especially with the CVT transmission. But my daughter needed a car. And of course she’s not following through. I’m only relating my experience. I don’t think they’re needed, generally.
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