RodeoRamCowgirl

ok, new here, so if this is somewhere please dont shoot me, but I doubt the DF guys can answer these questions.

I have an 06 Colbalt LT Coupe. 2.2L EcoTech Auto w/ OD, She has 41,630 miles on her.

I have thought about switching her to synthetic oil vs conventional which she is on right now, What are the pros/cons to this. How much of a price increase would I be looking at & would it still have to be every 3k or would it go to something like 5k for every change?

Also, what have other people done to clean the engine? Mine is a little dirty (well its Oklahoma Mud red) and I want to hose it or clean it but I dont knwo what to use, DF has said engine something but I was wondering if there was a easier and cheaper way to do it, or better yet, can I use what I have when I go to the hand wash and all that?

And the last thing, does anyone know where you can get car seat covers? I want to get some for my front and back seats but am clueless on on where to go and having the sport bucket seats in the back and the seat belt arm on the front seats does present a challange...

Thanks! Rodeo

EvansBlue

You can use purple power and a scrub brush to clean the outside of the engine as long as its relatively cool. It won't bother it at all.

A Synthetic swap is nothing but pros and no cons. It can only do you good.
You can run 3000 miles, change the filter and add a bit, then change everything at 5000 miles. You can also, with some oils, change the filter every 2000 miles up to 15,000 miles

Gwampa

Doesn't that 06 have the oil change monitor built into the ECM? My 06 Impala does, or does that feature only come on certain 06's?

RodeoRamCowgirl

I believe its an option in the Colbalts - its the "drivers information center" option - its programmed to calculate you to run 7,000 miles - I know that its standard on the LT's which is one of the reasons that I got an LT. But the DIC is based off how many miles you run it - not the actual quality condition of the oil.

EvansBlue

No matter what the vehicle tells you, its still good to change at 3000 under normal driving conditions. If you do a lot of hi-rev stuff, might wanna go with every 2000.

wolfi

Hi everybody!

I am from germany and I've been to the USA several times now, often renting a cavalier or cobalt , last november in Florida for example.

I just got into this forum and was wondering about this thread on oil change. 3000 miles looks ridicoulous to me - my little Opel Meriva (made by GM Spain) has an interval of one year or 30.000 km, about 18.000 miles. How come?

Have I missed an additional zero, or what? In Europe the regular interval for oil change is betwen 15.000 and 20.000 miles, some cars even have "long life oil" that has to be changed only every 30.000 miles or 50.000 km!

Greetings from Europe, hope to be in the USA soon, maybe NY and Niagara around easter,

wolfi

RodeoRamCowgirl

Quote:

Originally Posted by wolfi

Hi everybody!

I am from germany and I've been to the USA several times now, often renting a cavalier or cobalt , last november in Florida for example.

I just got into this forum and was wondering about this thread on oil change. 3000 miles looks ridicoulous to me - my little Opel Meriva (made by GM Spain) has an interval of one year or 30.000 km, about 18.000 miles. How come?

Have I missed an additional zero, or what? In Europe the regular interval for oil change is betwen 15.000 and 20.000 miles, some cars even have "long life oil" that has to be changed only every 30.000 miles or 50.000 km!

Greetings from Europe, hope to be in the USA soon, maybe NY and Niagara around easter,

wolfi

No you are right on the 3000 milies, you also have to think and factor in that we use a different metric system than you do, you are talking Kilometers and we are talking thousands of miles. Different measurements :

For example
18000 km = ~11,184 miles

It depends on what type of oil that you use, and how you drive, some vary in 3k - that is standard change intervals in conventional oil that has wax in it, and then there is synthetic and mixed oil...

I am swapping my Cobalt to Synthetic - and I am putting Mobil 1 in 5-30 (i think - whatever weight it has now) and I plan on running it to 6,000 miles and changing the oil filter out at 3k like normal.

There are some oils out there that say they can go 35,000 miles but there is a trick to all that... and that is changing the filters, and topping off the oil as it burns off and the level drops, and you make sure our oil pressure stays in a good pressure range...

--Rodeo--

wolfi

@rodeo...girl:
Thanks for your answer, but I still think something is strange there. I (and most other Opel drivers )use oil with a special specification: GM-LL-A-025. And GM Europe says this oil is good for at least a year up to the max of 30.000 km or about 18.000 miles (as you remarked). Of course you should aöways top it up with the same quality but in my experience you need at most one litre/ one quart over this distance.

By the way:
We really made it to New York this march and from there drove to Niagara Falls via the finger lakes (tried some wine there, staying in Geneva for a night) and back. It was a fantastic holiday!