Engine Oil/Additives for high mileage 3.0

It's so irritating and bizarro this particular design of the dipstick.
I never had any other car that was difficult to read. Now when I want a
reading, I take a dipstick of my own design. Basically a clear vinyl
tube that is calibrated against the original dipstick. I put it in, and
close the end, as one does with a pipette in a lab. And then I try to
see if there is any connection between the original dipstick and this
very accurate way of using a vinyy tube inside the dipstick tube.

There are some tricks I've heard about. Like take the dipstick out and
leave it out overnight. That helps just a tad. Or read only one side of
it. That helps a little if you can figure out which side has the
correct reading.

There are 2 tiny holes on the dipstick. Sometimes I go by the holes
which are slightly above the FULL mark.

It's funny. Something so common and mundane becomes an adventure with
this 3.0 Mistubishi from Chrysler. I'd love to meet the engineer who
designed this dipstick. Was this some kind of kill the customer
routine? All I can think of was this was some trick to get the dipstick
to remain seated. But other cars with somewhat similar designs do not
have this problem. It's just a dumb dipstick. Well, the only dipstick I
have seen with sharp bends and angles in it.

 

My point is that it *is* true. Whether the problem is real (as I
believe) or imagined (as you believe), posts *precisely* like you said
appear all the time, so I think what you say about it being a PR problem
is not correct. All kinds of atrocious design problems happen all the
time on cars, and usually by the time the mfgr. reacts (if at all, and
then only when forced to by politics or - yes - bad PR, but only under
certain, very special conditions), it's a moot point as the next
platform has replaced the old with a new set of problems. I can give
you a list just on LH cars. It is a myth that serious problems with
products result in huge PR problems. How about split dashboards on
300M's. ...sludged up 2.7L engines. ...a.c. evaporators guaranteed to
leak after 5 or 6 years. ...window regulator attachment clips that
routinely break. ...windshield wipers that run erratically and stop
randomly in weather below 30°F.

There are all kinds of examples of bad and even unsafe products that are
real but that the public is so ignorant of that the PR effects are
insignificant (after all, "the competition has problems that are just as
bad, so we kind of blend in"). Modern business slogan: "We're no worse
than anybody else."

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

Sorry - www.dodgeintrepid.com - known by the "cool" people as DI.net.

Bill Putney
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address with the letter 'x')

 

Sorry again - its www.dodgeintrepid.*net*

Bill Putney
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address with the letter 'x')

 

Guess you didn't mess much with Lincolns of the 1980s. Damn dipstick was
about 3 feet long with all kinds of twists and crapola.

 

Or the transmission dipstick from any full-sized rear-drive van. The
only dipstick you have to step *away* from the vehicle a couple of steps
in order to remove. My arms aren't long enough.

 

And you want me to believe your stories about synthetic oil?

Matt

 

Since you say such posts appear all the time, perhaps you could steer
me toward some of them.

 

I don't want you to believe anything. What is this - some kind of snob
behavior?

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

They have a very good search engine. Let your fingers do the walking.

Bill Putney
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address with the letter 'x')

 

Never had the pleasure of messing with the Lincolns.

 

Oh - sorry - that would be on www.dodgeintrepid.net - I was mistakenly
thinking your question was directly in the branch of the thread where
that had been mentioned.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

But, of course! I'm an engineer, it is expected.

Matt

 

I searched for "synthetic oil" a few minutes ago and found nothing about
engine failures in the first 4 pages of hits. I found some claims of
smoking and leaking after changing, but no claims of engine failure.
And I saw more supporters of synthetics than detractors. Are you sure
this is the right place?


Matt

 

You're the one making the unfounded assertion. Let's see a few
examples of these many posts where people say they had problems in
high-mileage engines after switching to synthetic oil.

Come on. It should be pretty easy, shouldn't it?

 

You might have to use different words - they may say Mobil 1 or some
other brand without mentioning synthetic.

Can't help that. Where have I said people should not use syntyhetic
oil, especially in a relatively new car? Whether synthetic oil is good
or not was not the question.

Are you sure this

Yep.

Bill Putney
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address with the letter 'x')

 

Sure - but I'm willing for you to think me a liar rather than go to the
trouble. Knock yourself out.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

High mileage engines might be touchy. It would be good to hear that
it's okay. In my case, a semi-synthetic seemed to do much better, so
far, touch wood, than the regular dinosaur oil. The car seems better
and does not burn oil whereas before it would burn a quart every 1000
or 1500 miles. This is 5W-30 ConocoPhillips. There is one dealer who
uses it in all the cars, and I mean all, so I'm inclined to use this
dealer for oil changes, which are more expensive than other places,
just because of this product. I don't think it's a coincidence. Or it
could be just this particular semi-synthetic is good. The dealer bought
this in a really big bulk package so I'm hoping the dealer still has
some of the same stuff this year. Who knows.

 

That's the response I was expecting. Thanks for playing.

Truth be told, there's no reason *not* to switch to a synthetic at any
time during an engine's life. They're not going to shake loose all
sorts of crud that's built up through the years. And if you use them
from the start, chances are you'll have a lot less crud build up
through the years.

I don't understand these attitudes toward synthetic oil. It raises
such passions. On one hand you have the Amsoil droids spewing
testimonials all over the place, and on the other hand you have people
raising all sorts of concerns about the use of synthetic oil.

It just isn't that different.

 

That's why I didn't go to the trouble - you'd not be convinced anyway,
would you (answer: no). I've played that game with other dishonest
people before.

Your opinion - and that's fine.

Duh! Where have I said otherwise. You're being dishonest by implying
that I've said anything like that. Once again, that's why I didn't go
to the trouble of doing your search for you - pearls before swine.

I've been nothing but matter of fact thru this whole thing. I simply
state a precaution about suddenly switching over on a high mileage
engine. The only "passion" as you call it that I've seen here is from you.

And I am neither one of those.

To quote Ronald Reagan: "There you go again. When you want to talk
about synthetic's temperature stability, you want to talk about how
superior (different) it is. And quess what: I agree. Does that shock
you? Once again, you've proven your dishonesty by emphasizing how
*different* it is in some characteristics (when it serves your purpose),
but when I want to point out what I think is another difference, you
want to emphasize that "there really isn't much different".

As with many things in life, we both are free to choose what we believe
based on whatever. Whether right or wrong in a given area, we will both
reap the benefits or suffer the consequences of our beliefs. I'm calm
about it. You're the passionate one.

When it comes to synthetic, though you have me saying things that I did
not say, I think it boils down to only one point of disagreement. I'm
satisfied to accept that we disagree on that point. Are you?

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')