Speedco rip off

This is one of those "teachable moments" I often find myself in. Lesson to learn here is to ASK the price of everything in advance.

You sure the other guys who checked your trans fluid didnt screw you around? Speeco might be the heroes here as they just saved the life of your transmission? Im not saying, im just saying ya know lol...

TA in Boise PO'd me royal a couple weeks ago. They had some Nigerian dude in there doing oil changes. Most annoying human being I have ever seen. He made me look at everything he did, as he did it. He must have torqued my oil pan bolt to 300ft lbs with his torque wrench. "Here it click" he says as he tightened the oil pan bolt about ten times in a row with his torque wrench. Finally I HOLLERED STOP CLICKING THE #### THING your gonna stretch the threads. This drew the attention of the manager and he comes out to see what the fussing is. lots of help this water head was as the manager proceeded to explain to me what a torque wrench was like I was a 3 year old. ARGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!! I also showed the manager the grease strung from one end of my truck to the other, and told him to wipe the #### zerk fittings off, as he'd done the messiest job I have ever seen. Im guessing his gun was leaking as he walked around my truck, as there was a snail trail everywhere. Apparently this was a big deal to the manager as he started fussing the mechanic about excess grease!

Ugggghhhhh. This moron of a manager placed more importance on excess grease, than the severely over torqued oil pan bolt.

I actually have an email in to TA over this deal. Weve communicated about it a couple times now. If I get my way that manager will be washing dishes in the restaurant...

 

It is unfortunate--when speedco first showed up--they did a good job at a reasonable price--but they have morphed into your standard--jiffy lube clip joint--with great new terminology--like the--inordiante particulates relative to your motors cooling capcity need to be balanced out--by proper oil system interval flushing--and of course we can offer you this necessary service for only $239.00!--and really that is only 1/000 of the cost to rebuild your motor if you do not do this! LMAO
As for the post on CAT Filters--and I know I have posted this before--very well qualified wrenches--that I trust at 2 of my favorite CAT shops have told me the same thing--according to all of CAT'S own studies--there is NO discernable difference between CAt and other other brand filter--until--your oil change interval goes beyond 20k at that point Cats research has shown a ddifference in filters--so I guess if you run synthetics and do that fleet mileage 30k+push it may matter--personally I can't remember the last time I broke 15k--typically more like 12--and I know and have heard all the arguments about longer intervals and synthetics--
Just my $.02

 

Learned that too, not quite the issue you had but...went in to a dealership special preventative maintenance deal & oil change was quoted at $199. Oddly my bill was $249, had to charge extra for shop towels, grease & whatever else they threw in. This was NOT at a Speedco, but just be sure to ask the total out the door price for anyone about to work on your truck.

 

doing mine every 30,000 no problems. 520,000
thats what ryder & penske recommend.

 

test question... what is a "true" synthetic base made from? I assume by a "true" synthetic base you are meaning a Group IV and not a Group III.

 

Group IV and V is made from a Poly base, an actually man made synthetic oil.

Group III just comes from a highly refined dinosaur oil base...and the U.S. is the only country that recognizes a Group III based oil as "synthetic" ...a marketing term not a true description.

I did do a little homework before deciding on Redline for my bike...truth be told I probably spent more time deciding on bike oil than most people spent on who to vote for President.

 

Actually Group IV is made from natural gas. You are correct that Group III is severly hydrocracked mineral oil. Both are made from "natural" sources so I suppose the term "synthetic" and whether one is a synthetic and one is not is purely a matter of semantics. Neither is "man made" per se. Natural gas provides a very uniform molecular structure that has been the primary characteristic of a Group IV base oil.

One thing for sure though, the differences between them have grown tighter over the years. There is barely much difference in performance in the typical engine, that the typical user would not see any perceived difference. While at the same time, the price variance makes Group III a solid buy compared to Group IV. Whether a court ruling or the E.U. declared a Group III to be "synthetic" in name only, the price / performance of Group III makes it a good buy. Except in extreme situations or special applications, I wouldn't waste the money on a Group IV. Not enough bang for the buck. Personally, I split the difference anyway. I get a 50% Group III combined with 50% Group II and the cost (so far) has only been around $9 a gallon delivered to my house. Compare that to something like Amsoil, Royal Purple, Delvac 1, etc Group IV oils that are double the price at best. I have tried these types of oils in the past, and not gotten oil sample results that were better than what I am using now.

But, some choose to pick oils and stand behind them much in the way they pick and choose other things. Nothing wrong with that. Glad we have such a variety of choices available to us. Whatever oil gives a person warm and fuzzy feelings is what they should buy.

 

Well, for what it's worth.... I run Mobil Delvac ESP1, using NTZ bypass filters, two, model AL29, adds about a gallon to the system... using Luberfiner full flow filters, the extended long life ones, Imperial XL... change interval of 45k to 50k miles, have 560k on the engine, and it doesn't use a drop between changes... Personally, I like the Mobil product

 

I think its kind of funny that the same guy that is going to charge me an arm and a leg to rebuild the motor is the same guy that says 50,000 is OK. I'm just sayin

 

I could be wrong, but I think that Detroit improved it's filtration on the new motors. Detroit themselves have set the service interval for an oil change at 50k.....

UOA is worth the money, and it's the only real way to determine the change interval. I'd be willing to bet that if you were using the better oil, (Delvac1), that you could extend the interval beyond the factory recommended 50k for the DD15... but without the analysis it would be just a guess. Like I posted above, I've extended my interval out to 45 to 50k, and honestly, the wear numbers were terrific on that oil, I dumped it because of the soot percentage, (4%), Mobil says it can hold 5% soot in suspension, I like to change it before then....