dumb question.

Why not try a can of STP?

I try not to put additives in the oil. Figure the bottles have enough as it is. :)

From what I've read (and I've read a lot in the past hour or so) it seems that 5W30 is the standard oil that all Dodge dealers install and is more for the modern engine with tighter clearances. Since my 4.0 doesn't burn any oil or drip even with synthetic it should be fine for the next 3,000 miles.

Worst off I get an excuse to drop in a nice shiny stroker kit. :D

My owner's manual (1995 YJ) says to "Select oil viscosity according to the lowest air temperature expected before the next oil change using the engine oil viscosity chart". According to the chart, 5W30 is good up to a "lowest air temperature expected" of 60º, and 10W30 is good down to 0º! There is considerable overlap there. According to this information, I could probably get away with either 5W30 or 10W30 year round, living where I live.

It's not just easier starts. An oil that is too heavy can cause increased wear during cold starts, because it doesn't get to the bearings fast enough. Gene Berg said that "the heavier the oil, the less it lubricates"

third paragraph. Ignorethe part about clamping a cow magnet to the outside of your oil pickup tube.;^)

Like you, I would probably have chosen 10W30 for an oil change in August, but this little misunderstanding won't hurt anything.

Earle

I put a couple of hard-drive magnets on the oil filter. Figure it won't hurt anthing and if it picks up some metal that's good too.

That's my feeling. Maby they will send me up to Peterson AFB this winter. :)

It doesn't matter. You're still getting the protection of 30 weight oil at normal summer temperatures, within the design life of the oil. For more than you probably want to know about motor oil ratings, see:

And $19 is a good price. I last paid $30 at the local qwik lube. But they put in enough to bring it up to the "full" mark on the dipstick, too.

Here's one, though: The guy at the lube shop claimed that the red dye in ATF fluid is designed to give up and turn brown about the same time as the additives in the fluid give up. Anyone know if that's true?

DougW wrote:

---snippy---

One thing you always want to keep in mind, is how much education and ambition it takes, to work in a lube shop. Now with a dealer technician, maybe they send him to a service school once in a while, and maybe he actually studies the material instead of using it as a chance to party every night on the boss' dime, but how much in-service training do you think lube shop guys get?

He's got one thing right though. If the fluid is any color but red, you do want to change it.

Earle

The new manuals say that color isn't a reflection of fluid condition.

I'm not so sure what I think about their statement on color and smell though.

The following is an excerpt from the '02 WJ manual:

DESCRIPTION - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

FLUID

NOTE: Refer to Service Procedures in this group for

fluid level checking procedures.

Mopar ATF +4, type 9602, Automatic Transmission

Fluid is the recommended fluid for

DaimlerChrysler automatic transmissions.

Dexron II fluid IS NOT recommended. Clutch

chatter can result from the use of improper

fluid.

Mopar ATF +4, type 9602, Automatic Transmission

Fluid when new is red in color. The ATF is dyed

red so it can be identified from other fluids used in

the vehicle such as engine oil or antifreeze. The red

color is not permanent and is not an indicator of fluid

condition. As the vehicle is driven, the ATF will begin

to look darker in color and may eventually become

brown. This is normal. ATF+4 also has a unique

odor that may change with age. Consequently, odor

and color cannot be used to indicate the fluid condition

or the need for a fluid change.

I found a few of those at Midas.... I think somewhere they give that ASE patch away in brekfast cerial boxes. :/ Those were the folks that tried to weld tabs to make brakes fit my ZJ that wern't for my ZJ rather than check the part number.

Oddly enough that shop is still closed (has been for the past five years). They probably killed somebody. :(

Still not needed, Doug. COS hasn't seen more than 2 days below zero in a long time and AIR the coldest we saw this last winter was like

-5. This global warming thing is questionable in it's extreme application, but we haven't had much winter for a good 8-10 years. Of course, the decade following the last string like that made brass monkies an endangered species .

Ok, this is also OT, but serious-what is a "brass monkey", if anyone knows (they very well may not)? It appears to be an old (circa

1890's-early 1900's) railroad term, but all efforts of historians to find out have been so fruitless that no one can even speculate as to what it was. I find the origins of old terms in our language interesting, so I would love to know if ANYONE in here has any idea.

Dan

The best explanation I have heard dates to the old navy times. They used a formed/dimpled brass plate on the old ships to stack cannon balls on, the brass monkey. When it got cold enough the brass would shrink and the cannon balls would roll off. "Freeze the balls off a brass monkey"

Of course this raises a new question. Why did they call it a brass monkey?

Lurch

Hootowl wrote:

That's one of the better discussions of the phrase I've seen. Thanks.

billy ray wrote:

Interesting, and fun. There may have been more than one type of "brass monkey." We'll probably never know for sure. It's also weird that my internet search for the origin of the term a couple of years of so ago didn't turn up the navy device. I hadn't heard of the Wikipedia back then - was it around then?

Dan

Hootowl proclaimed:

Old sailor's term, predates railroads.