Posted: Aug 31 2010 at 7:28am | IP Logged

There always seems to be interest on this board about oils so I thought I would update you all on my 2007 Crew Cab V-6 auto Frontier.  I just hit 31,000 miles ans since I moved to central PA where it is colder, I wanted to change out the old fluids and run something a bit more in keeping with the winter temps and even the hot summer temps to come.

Rear and front diffs:  Mobil 1 75W-90 (I have the C-200 rear).  Have used this in the rear since I drained the factory fill at 1000 miles but it is new for me in the front diff where I had used Valvoline SemiSyn 80W-90.

Transfer case:  Mobil 1 Dexron/Mercon ATF Synthetic.  This is a basic match for the Matic D but is fully synthetic.

Engine:  Mobil 1 0W-30 with a Purolator Pure One filte. 

Auto trans:  Drained out 4 qts from pan and added 4 qts. Nissan Matic S.

Everything went well, used new copper or aluminum washers from Nissan as required and torqued all bolts to spec.  Truck runs very nicely.  Everything quiet and smooth.  My last tank of gas gace me 20.0 mpg and this included some city driving.  I use Shell high test which around here is $2.89/gallon.  I did notice the black "fur" on all of the magnetic drain plugs from the diffs and transfer case but the amount was minimal and just made a black stain on a rag when wiped.

Posted: Sep 01 2010 at 6:30am | IP Logged

Been a user of Mobil 1 products for decades.  I use 0W-30 in the colder months.  Gets me faster lubrication on startup with a full 30 wt at operating temps.  In summer, I'' probably  revert to a 5W-30.

Have you ever gone to Bobistheoilguy.com?  They have a great forum on oils there and contributors who have retired from the major companies.  One thing that I've learned on there is that with most syn oils like 0W-30 is that there are NO viscosity improvers in them (or quite minimal) as syn fluids have the natural characteristics to give the desired viscosity behavior.  This means more oil and less adds per volume.

I'm down in State College by the way.  Let me know if you are coming this way.

Posted: Sep 02 2010 at 5:49pm | IP Logged

As an organic chmist, I would NEVER let my oil go more than about 12,000 miles, no matter what.  At $21/5 qts at Walmart, I change my Mobil 1 twice a year with a high quality filter, ususally a Pure One  from Purolator. That usually works out to about 5000 miles and since the truck is still under warranty, that is a safe mileage to keep the warranty inforce.  In my wife's car (off factory warranty) I use Mobil 1 5W-30 EP and let that go for esentially a year /10,000 miles with no issues. The engine internals in her Saturn L300 with 80,000 miles are shiny and spotless.  No varnish at all.

Also, I find the sales and distribution of Amsoil to be a pain and something of a scheme to get higher prices.  I like to buy my oil at a store, not from "dealers" who are on the Internet. So for me, it is easier to use Mobil 1.