cant afford to keep running Royal purple! help! | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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cant afford to keep running Royal purple! help!

DieselDean89

Member
Joined
September 14, 2008
Messages
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City, State
Columbus,Ohio
Year, Model & Trim Level
1999 XLT 4.0L SOHC
i started using royal purple idk why i started but its a mony pit. how can i safely switch to something cheaper?
 



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What do you mean safely switch? It's my understanding you just replace it with another oil at your next oil change.
 






yeah its not like its a super oil that cant be changed you can just use another brand of oil you wont have any issues
 






how is a money pit..? I've been running RP in my SportX...wow it's a $56 oil change without filter....but thats why you just change the filter at 5000 and refilter the oil that was in the engine through something like a coffee filter add a quart. Then you're good until 10000mi have gone by since original oil change ... then change the oil with new oil:thumbsup:
 






i wasnt implying that it was "unchangable super oil" lol
ive just always been paranoid about sludge.
but whats that about a coffee filter?

also how long is your standard Purolator filter last? because most of the filter packages dont say anthing about filter life
 






how is a money pit..? I've been running RP in my SportX...wow it's a $56 oil change without filter....but thats why you just change the filter at 5000 and refilter the oil that was in the engine through something like a coffee filter add a quart. Then you're good until 10000mi have gone by since original oil change ... then change the oil with new oil:thumbsup:

Just use a non-cardboard element oil filter and you don't even need to change the filter. Most people don't realize that a quality oil filter in a well running vehicle doesn't need to be changed every single oil change. It's usually changed though because they are inexpensive and a burden to drain the oil from when you change oil. Just use a Fram or STP Tuff Guard oil filter and your good to go for the full 12,000 miles between changes. *NOTE* only pertains to Royal Purple products. *NOTE*
 






i wasnt implying that it was "unchangable super oil" lol
ive just always been paranoid about sludge.
but whats that about a coffee filter?

also how long is your standard Purolator filter last? because most of the filter packages dont say anthing about filter life

Sludge is just burnt oil and contaminates. To eliminate sludge pickup an anti-sludge additive, drain oil, keep filter on, add 1 qt treatment to old oil, run engine 5-10 mins, then drain. Flush with a bottle of cheap oil until you see clean oil draining from pan. Then continue oil change as normal.

Most places have the treatment, I have even used 1 qt of diesel instead of the treatment as it's almost the same thing.


*Key note* Don't run your engine longer than bottle advises with this stuff or you can damage your engine.
 






I run Dead Link Removedand an Dead Link Removed. They recommend I change it one year or 35,000 miles. Any way you slice it, with only one change per year, I'm not spending more money than I would with conventional dyno oil and I'm getting much better protection.

Might want to apply the same math to your situation.
 






i wasnt implying that it was "unchangable super oil" lol
ive just always been paranoid about sludge.

LOL!! It amazes me how effective those Castrol commercials are. Good marketing sticks!

I've only ever seen one engine that truly had a sludge issue... It was a 93 Bronco lease car that still had the original oil in it after 30,000 miles... The rocker arm gallery on the head looked like someone poured knox gelatin into the oil fill.

Here's the inside of my SOHC when it had 120,000 miles on it. (Had the oil pan rot through from the outside in... Too much salt in its diet I guess)
666439.jpg


The dark spots are 3000 mile old oil, not 'sludge.' I've peeked down into the oil fill cap... The oil there looks the same. Where's the sludge? I've never used anything more exotic than plain old Quaker State (or Castrol if it was cheaper) 5W30 in the winter and 10W30 in the summer. 166,000 miles and it's still running (knock on wood).

So, getting back to the original question, change back to whatever oil you want to run. Synthetic or dino oil and it won't matter much as far as the engine's concerned. Heck, you could probably run canola oil through there in a pinch. It would be better than nothing!

-Joe
 






Yea sludge is a non-issue for today's oil and motors. The oil is much better than it used to be.

I know back in the day sludge used to be a bigger problem, but it was also partially because a lot of people didn't change the oil. But it also had a lot to do with having a lot of wax in the old oils so the oil congealed a lot easier.

Don't worry about sludge. As long as you keep up on oil changes, no matter what the oil or filter you use, you will be fine.
 






wow it's a $56 oil change without filter
I have never paid that much for Royal Purple. But then again I get it from here:
http://tinyurl.com/df96qf
This is where most 3800 performance parts come from. 5qts you are looking at about a 35 dollar bill. Then shipping for everyone that is not all that close.
Dan
 






Also note the brand of filter Joe is using. The brand of filter DOES make a difference.
 






Just use a non-cardboard element oil filter and you don't even need to change the filter. Most people don't realize that a quality oil filter in a well running vehicle doesn't need to be changed every single oil change. It's usually changed though because they are inexpensive and a burden to drain the oil from when you change oil. Just use a Fram or STP Tuff Guard oil filter and your good to go for the full 12,000 miles between changes. *NOTE* only pertains to Royal Purple products. *NOTE*

you said a non cardboard element filter.. you realize that both the filtering element and the bypass valve in fram filters is cardboard, right? have you ever cut a fram filter apart, its ridiculous. run a purolator, pure oil now and pure oil later!
 






I think synthetic is a waste. I used to run Mobil 1 in my xterra and stopped because I simply couldn't justify it anymore. Our expedition has 210,000 miles on it and just used valvoline every 3000 and no engine problems. I've had this debate on EF before and it seems the rest of the board is 50/50 but I stick w/ conventional oil every 3000 no matter what. I also change my filter every time. I'll never agree on 5000,7500, 12,000 mile intervals.
 






Not to debate it, but the owners manual in my LS and Mustang both say 5000 intervals, the LS calls for a synthetic blend too.
 






I agree, use a good quality oil filter, I like the Purolator PureOne filters. As what a previous poster said, if you run a quality synthetic oil, you can go extended drain intervals, but should still change the filter every so often. Its the topping off of oil that adds some fresh additives to the oil.

Dan
 






Heck- same cars in the US say 3k and in the UK they are 5k, some say 7.5k intervals! Same cars, same engines. All pushed by the oil industry here, IMHO.

I gave up on synthetic also- I think properly maintaning a vehicle and changing regularly is more important than running synthetic vs. dino/syn blend. I have run Valvoline high mileage for all of my cars over 60k and my lower mechanicals in my cars and trucks look similar to Joe's cars.
 






I think synthetic is a waste. I used to run Mobil 1 in my xterra and stopped because I simply couldn't justify it anymore. Our expedition has 210,000 miles on it and just used valvoline every 3000 and no engine problems. I've had this debate on EF before and it seems the rest of the board is 50/50 but I stick w/ conventional oil every 3000 no matter what. I also change my filter every time. I'll never agree on 5000,7500, 12,000 mile intervals.

I'm on the other side of that 50:50 debate. Amsoil Signature Series is good oil and I love not having to deal with watching the odometer. I put a one year reminder in my Outlook and change it every year no matter what. Aldive has done oil analysis on the Amsoil setup and he can go longer than a year if needed. It's good stuff.

Sure Amsoil markets their products and makes it sound like the best thing since sliced bread, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that there is something to their formulations. Take if with a grain of salt if you may, but I'm sold and I tend to be a skeptic when it comes to bold claims.

Anecdotally speaking, the biggest testament for Signature Series came when I put it in my wife's 2002 Subie Outback for the first time. She's far from mechanically inclined and needs to be prodded to keep her maintenance up on the car. She was having some issues a while back with assorted "sounds" that troubled her. Remarkably enough, those sounds vanished when we did the Amsoil change. She instantly noticed a more responsive car and better mileage. Coming from her, this testament meant to world to me.

I've seen the the synthetic vs conventional debate for eons and to me those against the debate resist change like the plague. There is no true evidence that I've seen that supports 3000 mile oil changes benefit anyone but the sellers/manufacturers of the oil, and oil change places.

The debate continues.
 






i also agree with running a good quality filter as well as a good quality oil. this doesnt necessarily mean run synthetic, and doesnt mean if you do run synthetic to run something as expensive as royal purple. although some other brands like pennzoil and mobil one are equal if not more in price to royal purple.

I've been running valvoline synpower 5w30 in my 97 302 for as long as i have had it. it is my daily driver and use to see daily interstate trips of 50+ miles. I wanted a oil that will hold up for an interval of 5-7k miles before a change. i immediately noticed after running the synthetic oil that my oil stayed cleaner longer and i lost less oil between changes. synthetic oil is expensive nowadays, and to be honest, if im a quart low i usually grab a cheaper synthetic blend like max life or motorcraft top off. every few months valvoline synpower goes on sale, at either a buy one get one price, or a reduced price for 5qts and a filter. when this happens, i stock up. i have had a great experience with this oil.

now my 93 on the other hand, with about equal mileage, isnt my daily driver. im not saying that bc i dont drive it as often that the oil shouldnt be changed regularly bc it should, bc of condenstion and things from sitting. i wont however run $7 a quart oil in it. about a year ago i got a really good deal on about 8 purolator pure-one 3001's so it does get a good filter, but as far as oil, i usually stock up on max-life 10w30 when its on sale, i have noticed an advantage from using this oil over conventional valvoline.

this is all personal opinion, and each owner has a different metod/philosophy when it comes to oil, i just thought i would share mine.

p.s. ill say this once again, Fram filters are junk.
 



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Sludge in old cars was common mostly because of Leaded gas. Leaded gas caused more problems in cars then it solved.

I would consider increasing the interval on oil changes. Even my Volvo says to go 5k miles on dino oil, 10k on synthetic, and that's with a turbo on it. 3k is just an old hold over and can easily be increased.

I've been changing regular dino oil in my explorer ever 5-6k miles for 320k miles and the engine still hums...
 






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