Older car, will changing oils hurt it?
 

I just bought a used 2009 370z with 54,000 miles on it. And I never trust what anyone says they do to something that they are trying to sell me("yeah we did an oil change"..."just like nissan suggests...", etc) so I am going to do the 60k maintenance on it soon here. I have no idea what they have used in the car so far, but this is what I have in my shopping cart so far and was wondering, will switching to these things possible cause any issues since the car already has 54k miles?

Nissan Blue coolant with Redline Watter Wetter
Redline MT-85 Tranny Oil
Redline 75w90 GL5 Gear Oil for the Dif
Redline 5w30 Motor Oil

Just want to make sure I can't cause any issues before I submit my order for some, not so cheap, stuff lol

Also, if you have any recommendations of other things I should check, replace, etc on the car just to make sure it lasts a long time(check plugs, filters(air filter being replaced), etc) let me know. I want this thing to be around a LONG time lol. :driving:

Shouldn't have any problems switching oils in the car, most of the guys on here have at some point in the cars life. i for one changed all but the engine oil to redline at about the same as you're at now. engine oil i started redline before that. other wise if you're already going to be bringing it in for the 60k check, you should be fine.

I am doing the 60k maintenance myself. I'm pretty good with cars, been working on them for years. My only concern is a while ago I remember someone causing an oil leak in a car, but with over 100k miles, by switching from conventional to synthetic because something about the conventional oil was thick enough to get into small forming gaps and kind of sludge up and keep a leak from happening. And when switching to synthetic, that loosened up and the lighter slipperier oil got through. I didn't want something like that to happen to the Z, or something worse.

Thanks for the response!

P.S. anyone know of a cheaper place to get redline besides right from the company?

The old car switching to synthetic == oil leak tale is one of the more popular intertube stories on many a car forum. Its crap. Don't fall for it.

Switch away.

As for Redline, my last buy I got it from Amazon...was just patient to score free shipping :)

- b

You'll be fine. But I would try and drain as much of the old oil as possible. Also add a magnetic drain plug. I personally stick to Nissan Ester and oem filter.

:eek: :tup:

Thanks for the reassurance guys I appreciate it. Labor day weekend I'll be switching over. Can't wait!

Also, do you see any issues mixing redline water wetter in with nissan blue coolant?

the only thing i would also keep in mind with a "higher mileage" car if you're going to change all the oils, pull the fill plug first on the tranny and diff, just incase.

Just stick with it once you switch.

Yeah I plan to break free the filler on both before the drain. Wouldn't want to drain it and not be able to fill it. Thanks again!

Jacking up the up only the driver's side gets out a lot of leftover oil too.

Almost all the advice floating around on the internet regarding oils and engines is marketing and the placebo effect of paying more money for something and feeling an improvement. Your list looks fine and it looks like you did your homework before even posting +1 to you.

The only additional thing I might recommend is an Engine Oil Analysis. It may tell you if something isn't quite right but if you have 60k with no issues I doubt you will have any problems anytime soon. They are not too expensive in the grand scheme of things and give you a lot of info.

BTW I use the same exact oil in my car (Redline 5W-30) I also use a magnetic drain plug and a magnet on the filter too. I didn't notice too much picked up by the drain plug but these days less and less engine parts are made from iron.

PS I don't know how true this is but it was on Wikipedia so it must be true =) The VSD fluid breaks down in about 30k miles. How's your's holding up @60k?

I'm not sure on their maintenance while they owned the car, so not sure if they changed the dif at 30k or not. But the car seems to run fine. I haven't heard or felt anything odd. For all I know there was redline put in it 5k miles ago lol. This is for mainly peace of mind to know what's in my car.

I definitely agree with confidently changing the oil to synthetic without any issues. I've done it on a personal used car at 120k miles with no issues whatsoever. Definitely stay ahead of that maintenance curve and enjoy the car. Congrats on your Z! :tup:

I don't use water wetter anymore, I use the yellow one you can buy from any auto parts store or Walmart, and no issues, few degrees cooler on average, not a whole hell of a lot, more depends what percentage you're mixing