Maintenance Schedule B

RaymondT said:
The engine coolant temperature will reach its normal operating range but that doesn't mean the oil in the sump is fully warmed up. Many have experienced a situation where the oil level drops noticeably the first time they go on a long highway run of several hours. This after months of shorter trips. This is the result of moisture and/or accumulated acids cooking out of the oil. This is what the severe maintenance schedule is targeting.
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If the coolant is 210*, I'll bet the oil isn't that far behind. How much oil is hanging out in the sump and not circulating through the engine components? I guess the only way to know for sure would be to install an oil temp gauge, yes?
 
RaymondT said:
The engine coolant temperature will reach its normal operating range but that doesn't mean the oil in the sump is fully warmed up.
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WIth the oil in the sump circulating continuously through all of the engine's nooks and crannies, no one is going to convince me the oil temp is going to be significantly different than the coolant temp.
 
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I just love Oil threads!!
Seems everyone has their favorite and the best change interval.
The way I see it is, just do what ever makes you feel good about it.
If you are more comfortable changing it every 3000, then do it. If you want to stretch it out to 5 or even 10,000 miles, then go for it.
I work for a Mechanical company with a large fleet of Chevy 3500 vans as our service vehicles. My van currently has 248,000 VERY, VERY Hard ass miles on it, some have more than mine does. Our Mechanic changes the oil every 10,000 miles and uses Shaffer's Full synthetic, and usually wix and/or Hastings filters. We have NEVER had a Van breakdown due to an oil related issue.
I'd like to know, statistically, how many vehicles end up in junk yards due to oil related issues.
And of those that do, I bet the owner completely neglected the maintenance period.
Even if someone used the cheapest, store brand no name oil they could find and at least changed it every so often the engine would outlast other components in the vehicle.
 
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egclassic said:
Our Mechanic changes the oil every 10,000 miles and uses Shaffer's Full synthetic, and usually wix and/or Hastings filters. We have NEVER had a Van breakdown due to an oil related issue.
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I've never had an oil-related automotive engine problem (no engine overhauls, bearing changes, etc.) in 53 years of driving with conventional motor oils with nothing more than regular oil & filter changes. :)
 
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Jerry Bransford said:
I've never had an oil-related automotive engine problem (no engine overhauls, bearing changes, etc.) in 53 years of driving with conventional motor oils with nothing more than regular oil & filter changes. :)
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That's my point in my above post. I think oil brands / types and filters are the most over thought purchases that are made.
Now, having said that, I am referring to the more modern vehicles (Late 90's-up).
I can remember considering yourself lucky if you reached 100,000 miles on an American made vehicle and every mile after was a gift. Today's vehicles are Much better!
 
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I do a lube, oil & filter service every 5,000 km for 3 Jeeps (TJ, LJ, XJ). I have a simple excel chart that lists everything in the service plus volumes, torques, pressures, etc. and I basically check things off as I go. I use Castrol High Mileage oil which I stock up on when it goes on sale at Canadian Tire. I use MOPAR oil filters from the dealership mainly just to keep in touch with the guys in the parts department. I usually have some dumb parts question and they're always helpful. Their price on air filters is out of sight though so I get them from NAPA. I do a 4 way tire rotation at every other service interval - rears straight to the front and fronts crisscrossed to the rear.
 
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bobthetj03 said:
If the coolant is 210*, I'll bet the oil isn't that far behind. How much oil is hanging out in the sump and not circulating through the engine components? I guess the only way to know for sure would be to install an oil temp gauge, yes?
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Mine hits 195 and stays there after X miles. The oil temp would certainly lag behind that. But who's to know what exact temp is required to cook off moisture. Is it 180, 190, 200? I can attest to a 1/3 qt/liter drop on my Toyota after 4 hrs of highway following a few months of in-town driving. The thinking is that a little moisture is absorbed to offset the little bit of consumption until it gets hot enough. We always reflect on our own driving patterns but the factory cannot. There are many who live their lives in a 3 mile radius. Lots of older people, apartment dwellers, city types. I would put these in the severe maintenance category.
 
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I follow this when I rotate my tires.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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That works well and serves to confirm it is ok to cross-rotate tires so they wear evenly on both sides. The only tires that can't be cross-rotated are unidirectional as indicated by an arrow on the side pointing in the direction of their required rotation direction. :)
 
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Another maintenance question. I have been told to grease zerk fittings until you see the new grease pushing out so you know the old grease was pushed out as well, but I've read that will bust certain types of dust covers. What is your general rule of thumb for knowing when to stop pumping grease into the different fittings?
 
zip04 said:
Another maintenance question. I have been told to grease zerk fittings until you see the new grease pushing out so you know the old grease was pushed out as well, but I've read that will bust certain types of dust covers. What is your general rule of thumb for knowing when to stop pumping grease into the different fittings?
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I stopped worrying about busting the factory dust covers on the steering system when greasing them years ago. I'd rather know the old grease has been flushed out and fresh grease will keep the dust & dirt out.
 
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I grease mine every oil change but never to the point i see grease coming out of the covers.
I pull the trigger 3 times and move to the next one.
 
My mechanic says most people over-grease. He has seen them bust, but he did not say on a TJ.
 
I know this is an older thread and more so geared towards oil changes and such, but.. I figure I'll start here and go elsewhere if needed!!

I picked up my 98 TJ last year (116,000) at the beginning of summer. Didn't do anything to it modification wise, just drove it and enjoyed it. Obviously oil change and the regular upkeep. Now this spring, I'm starting to get the itch to do some modifications/upgrades. I already started in the interior.. New speakers, HU, powered Sub, LED lighting...

Being this is my first Jeep, and the PO wasn't the cleanest person in the world.. Do you insightful minds have any thoughts about what I should do for general maintenance and/or things to check under the hood to keep it in tip top shape? I'm going to check and clean the throttle body this weekend, found great instructions on another thread from Jerry... That's about as far as I've gotten. At times it takes a few turns of they key to get it to start, other times it starts right up. I know I need to replace the following per a trusted mechanic
- U joints are lose
- Steering gear shaft
Outside of those things it is in pretty decent shape and runs well.
 
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