Don't forget!

dodge man · Dec 10, 2008

To check your oil that is. A coworker came in today and his Jeep died about 1/2 a block from the office. He had just put a battery in it so I was thinking his alternator was going bad. Went home and got some tools and was going to take it off and help him put a new one on. Just for grins I had him try to start it. It howled really bad. I mean really bad. I checked the oil. Not a drop on the dip stick. It took 5 quarts to bring it up, its a 6 quart system. I took the belt off thinking maybe it was a bad bearing on one of the accesories. They felt fine to me. I'm thinking he fried the bearings in the engine. He lives about 20 miles away and who knows how long or how far it was driven like this. Its a 2003 inline 6. He got an extended warranty when he bought it but I don't know if they will honor it. Needless to say he can't afford to fix it if he has to pay.

Doc_Bob · Dec 10, 2008

Once a month on my cars and every use of my tractors, and other outdoor tools.

Life is too short to scrimp on checking the oil. The time saved not checking oil will be paid in spades getting it fixed for lack of oil.
Bob

blueriver · Dec 10, 2008

I came from the old school, dads old tractors used oil and it was preached as a kid that the dipstick needs to be pulled before the key is turned ... still today, everytime before any engine is cranked I check the oil .... I know a little overwhelming ....

DieselPower · Dec 11, 2008

I'm the same way, old school that is. I check before the first use each day.

RalphVa · Dec 12, 2008

Had some friends who had a Mercedes. They thought, "A Mercedes; it doesn't use oil." Burned out the engine due to lack of oil. Benzes DO use oil. The older ones were designed to do so.

Ralph

Ammy1012 · Dec 15, 2008

blueriver said:
I came from the old school, dads old tractors used oil and it was preached as a kid that the dipstick needs to be pulled before the key is turned ... still today, everytime before any engine is cranked I check the oil .... I know a little overwhelming ....

Once when I was still in university, my dad and I wanted to go to see my grandfather, but dad forgot to put oil in and we found that on the way...

ultrarunner · Dec 15, 2008

Kinda hard when some of the new cars don't have oil dip sticks.

The reasoning is the drivers don't like to open the hood so they replaced the the dipstick with a sensor tied into the engine management system.

Bird · Dec 15, 2008

With the old cars that frequently used oil, and having grown up working in my Dad's service stations, I was accustomed to checking the oil frequently. However, I still change oil & filter every 3,000 miles (yeah, I know, some think I'm wasting money, and maybe so) and in 3,000 miles neither of my vehicles has ever been much more than a half quart low. So, yep, I've become very lax about checking the oil; very rarely do so.

3RRL · Dec 24, 2008

I'm like you Bird.
I grew up checking the oil in my car every time, but as of late with the brand new vehicles, they rarely use any oil. So I don't check them every fill up or trip religiously like I used to. Maybe for a long trip I will? But on my tractors, yes I still check the oil before I fire it up. It's part of my pre-check look-over routine.
My tractor does use oil so it's important. My wife's tractor does not ... go figure?