Category: Vehicles

Can I change my oil and forget about it for a year?

AMSOIL’s Signature Series line of products has a service life of:

  • Normal Service – Up to 40,000 kilometres or one year, whichever comes first.
  • Severe Service – Up to 24,000 kilometres or one year, whichever comes first.

Here in Canada everyone is limited to the Severe Service schedule so that simplifies things even more. But knowing the service life of the product doesn’t mean you can simply forget about your oil or your vehicle until the mileage or the time expires. That is the same service interval as 4 “normal” oil changes!

Below are some situations when you should check your oil level:
Continue reading Can I change my oil and forget about it for a year?

Vibe Oil Change

I used the vacation day to change the AMSOIL XL 5W-30 oil in the vibe using a Mann ML1009 oil filter and rotated the tires today.

I love my air tools. The Stanley impact wrench makes short work of getting the lugs off the wheels. The Vibes rear driver side studs are really sticky and corroded. Not sure if the impact wrench or a breaker bar is best for stuck and corroded threads on the fasteners. Switching out the Vibes winter tires in the spring I snapped a stud in the lug trying to get them off with the impact wrench. The corrosion seems to be worse with the rear drums than the front rotors. DO NOT use anti-seize or oil on those lug threads!

Don’t forget to change the oil in your compressor this fall to keep those air tools running strong. My impact wrench is very efficient working on a home duty 5 gallon tank – but most are air pigs.

Signature Series Showcased in Magazine Ads

AMSOIL has showcased its Signature Series Synthetic Motor Oil line in two national print magazines Car & Driver and Popular Mechanics.

As an AMSOIL independent dealer I’m looking forward to working with people who have read the ads and are interested in more information about AMSOIL products and business opportunities. Feel free to reach out and contact me directly for more information or though the AMSOIL online store.

AMSOIL has a wealth of excellent products above and beyond automotive applications. Motorcycles, ATV’s, watercraft and all kinds of outdoor power equipment just to name a few.

AMSOIL Expands Motor Oil Offerings

Good news for both lube shops and those with newer Ford, Toyota or Honda’s. AMSOIL has brought on board offerings for 0W-20 oils with the standard pricing for each respective line. OEZ should do quite well in the OE line of oils as your best value to maintain your new car warranty.

If your vehicle takes a 0W-20 oil you don’t have the opportunity to use a basic mineral oil. You’ll have to purchase at least a blended or semi-synthetic oil to get down to the 0 weight at start-up. Some car manufacturers allow a 5W-20 to be used but suggest going back to a 0W-20 as soon as possible.

I’d suggest stepping up to a quality synthetic oil like AMSOIL. Here is what the press release had to say about the new offerings:

With the continuing trend toward lighter viscosity motor oils, AMSOIL has expanded the Signature Series, XL and OE lines. The Signature Series line now includes a 5W-20 oil (ALM), while the XL and OE lines now each include a 0W-20 oil (XLZ, OEZ). Like the other oils in their respective lines, each new oil is formulated to provide outstanding protection and performance and meet the latest API SN/ILSAC GF-5 specifications. XL and OE 0W-20 are API licensed.

Fuel Economy and Friction Losses

A great article was published in the July Preferred Customers edition of AMSOIL Magazine titled “Frictional losses account for big part of fuel energy inputs“.

The article shows where most of the energy associated with a unit of fuel is consumed or wasted by a vehicle. The spoiler is that only about 12.6% of the fuel energy is passed through the system to drive the wheels of the vehicle. Think how your fuel economy could improve if you could decrease wasted energy by friction – even small gains in reducing friction will add up at the pump.

Some of the AMSOIL fluids you can install in your vehicle to reduce friction include: Continue reading Fuel Economy and Friction Losses

2009 Mitsubishi Outlander Differental & Transfer Case

I took my 2009 Mitsubishi Outlander to Erin Mills Master Mechanic to get the transfer case and rear diff fluids changed out. Replacing the OEM fluid with AMSOIL Severe Gear® Synthetic Extreme Pressure (EP) Gear Lube 75W-90 (SVG).

I wasn’t confident about my plan to use wheel ramps on the down slope of my driveway to get an almost level vehicle. What I really needed was a lift so I reached out for some help to the local mechanic shops in my area. Master Mechanic Erin Mills was happy to install my own fluids for reasonable labour rates. An average oil and filter change would run abut $20 – call ahead to make sure the bays aren’t filled.

Back to the rear diff. The drain plug has a 10mm hex head which is near the bottom, not sure of the size of the fill plug above it to the right.

It is a really simple drain and fill – make sure you get the fill bolt cracked before you try the drain. Once you get the drain out, open the fill completely and make sure your catch basin is in a good spot for full flow – it’s only ~0.5L so there isn’t as much head pressure as the crankcase oil. You require a level vehicle to fill the diff/transfer case. Pump in the new fluid until it overflows then insert the fill plug and you’re done.
Continue reading 2009 Mitsubishi Outlander Differental & Transfer Case

Mobil 1 On Sale @ Canadian Tire This Week

Mobil 1 SuperSyn and Extended Performance are on sale this week at my local Canadian Tire. Sale prices are $35.99 (Reg $47.99) for SuperSyn or $41.99 (Reg $55.99) for the EP – both in 4.4L jugs. AMSOIL pricing is easily competitive and the products are even better.

The best part about AMSOIL is the fact you don’t have to wait for a sale, then go to the store only to find out the 7 bottles they had in stock sold out on the first morning of the sale. This used to happen to me. AMSOIL is available to you with 2 days notice any time you need it – no need to stockpile oil or filters.

I’d put the AMSOIL XL line of oils against the Mobil 1 SuperSyn and the Signature Series with the Extended Performance. They don’t quite match up “apples to apples”, but they are close.

Before you spend $36 on 4.4L of SuperSyn ask me how you can get AMSOIL Extended Life (XL) oil for around $33 – any time you need it.

Pontiac Vibe AMSOIL Conversion

Our Pontiac Vibe came due for her 160,000 oil change this weekend. I switched this older vehicle to AMSOIL Extended Life 5W-30 Synthetic Motor Oil. In the three tiers of motor oil at AMSOIL this is the mid-range product that is capable of 16,000km or 6 months.

Since I’m switching over a vehicle that already seen quite a few miles and has been run on oils ranging from bulk tank specials at the local lube shop to whatever was on sale at Canadian Tire. I decided to run some AMSOIL Engine and Transmission Flush though the engine.
Continue reading Pontiac Vibe AMSOIL Conversion

Transfer Case

I attempted to replace the fluid in my Mitsubishi Outlanders transfer case tonight with AMSOIL Severe Gear® Synthetic Extreme Pressure (EP) Gear Lube 75W-90 (SVG).

Ran into a bit of a problem once I realized the drain bolt was a hex head and I don’t have the correct socket. The 3/8″ hex from my old Chevy Cavaliers brake calipers fit but was a little loose. Just looked up SAE to metric conversions and 3/8″ is 9.525mm so it looks like a 10mm hex head for the drain bolt.

I didn’t want to strip out the hex plug with the wrong sized socket so I packed it in for tonight. Tomorrow I’ll call the dealership get the fastener sizes. I was able to get a 17mm socket over the standard bolt head of the fill plug.