Motor oil decal for engine compartment?

[adam1991]

This is absolutely not true. There are a lot of idiots in this world, and I'm sure some of them change their own oil. How the hell are they supposed to "proof it"?

Wave to customers walking by as they do the oil change?

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[VirginiaHeritage]

I dunno about that. Have you been around here long?

Working in the garden dept of a Hechinger hardware store as a teenager, we had a middle eastern gentleman bring in his mower he’d purchased there that had stopped running. He also brought in the bottle of “oil” he’d used in it.

It was pool chemicals.

I had to take over the customer interaction because my manager suddenly lost the ability to speak and walked away when confronted with this.

 

[Danielsand]

Wave to customers walking by as they do the oil change?

Only if you a nice enough person, belonging to an exclusive ranks of Raptor owners.

 

[wgw]

Yes, but someone posted previously about a dealer “tech”’ putting in the wrong oil despite that. That’s where the “idiot-proofing” factors in. Maybe if I make it impossible to miss…

Ur assuming they can read

 

[Brian_B]

I appreciate the feedback. If I documented all the dealer service department f-ckery I’ve dealt with in the past, I would surely hit my character limit for a single post. Wrong power steering fluid used (despite a CLEAR label on the cap), brakes not properly bled after a fluid change, etc, etc.

At the same time, I already have over 30 engines I take responsibility for when it comes to basic DIY maintenance and I’m not looking to take on a new one when it’s still under warranty and more complex than any other I deal with. That day may come with the Bronco if it becomes a keeper. I’d prefer that Ford has limited wiggle room on any warranty issues in the mean time.

You need to find a better shop I think. Unfortunately there are a lot of stories like this with dealers (and auto shops in general), and no one wants to fess up when they find a good one because then they get too busy with no time for their car any more

 

[CrystalRedTintCoat]

I’m thinking of putting a decal in my engine compartment with oil info on it to somewhat idiot-proof my truck for dealer oil changes. I found these on Etsy and they are vinyl. I would prefer a metallic foil type decal but haven’t been able to find one yet. Wondering if these vinyl ones would be likely to hold up to the heat in there mounted on one of the plastic (intake?) tubes that cross the engine compartment up top. Anyone done anything like this or have a better idea? I’ll get to DIY oil changes when it’s out of warranty.

Honestly, I do it myself, not b/c I want to, but b/c I know it’ll be done correctly when I do it.

I also change every 3-4K, not 10k, and I have a Ronin Factory Oil Pan plug installed and simply do not trust anyone to NOT rip it out rather than use the key to open it.

 

[userdude]

Your best option after doing it yourself (which is really just, you have no one to blame ), is a relationship. Find an oil change place (could be a dealer service department or not) that does good documentation and go in and ask to meet their best tech. If they can't tell you who that is, then leave.

Once you're faced with someone you think you can trust, have a conversation with them. If you feel like it's someone you can trust to do it right, then look them in the eye, tell them that and that you'll be in when they're available to handle your oil changes.

Then go in when they are there, make sure they are doing the changes, and make sure they're doing it right.

Because even if you do all the above (I had a place for nearly 20 years...), one day it'll get screwed up. And you won't find out until checkout, or you're looking at the paperwork at home. At that point, you want to be able to call and talk to someone who knows you care, and that you trust them to tell you the truth.

If you don't want to do that, you have two choices: Do it yourself or watch 'em like a hawk. Y'know, like that time the guy just spills all the oil on the engine plate and spends 20 minutes cleaning it with rags instead of just taking it off. I don't know who THAT happened to...

Good luck!

 

[SeptuagenerianSasquatch]

Working in the garden dept of a Hechinger hardware store as a teenager, we had a middle eastern gentleman bring in his mower he’d purchased there that had stopped running. He also brought in the bottle of “oil” he’d used in it.

It was pool chemicals.

I had to take over the customer interaction because my manager suddenly lost the ability to speak and walked away when confronted with this.

So he thought he was using the right camel pee?

I put a decal inside my engine bay, because I want the best product available for my crankcase!

I used it on my Karmen Ghia for years!

 

[BluebroncoNC]

I'm thinking of getting one that says, " Please remember to fill with oil" as they forgot to put oil in my F-150 at a FORD DEALERSHIP QUICK LUBE.

Edit: Btw, I check before driving off with any of my vehicles, now. Call me paranoid.

 

[Karl_in_Chicago]

So he thought he was using the right camel pee?

I put a decal inside my engine bay, because I want the best product available for my crankcase!

I used it on my Karmen Ghia for years!

When I was a kid, and the Snake and the Mongoose were duking it out on the drag strip, my friends and I collected stickers like this. We wrote letters to STP, FRAM, Hooker, etc. saying we were fans and politely requesting stickers or similar swag. We traded them like baseball cards - I remember the Thrush Hush being pretty popular. Yeah, we were 2nd/3rd graders writing letters by hand and finding out the HQ addresses, stamping and dropping them in the post.
STP . . . It's The Racer's Edge!

 

[SeptuagenerianSasquatch]

When I was a kid, and the Snake and the Mongoose were duking it out on the drag strip, my friends and I collected stickers like this. We wrote letters to STP, FRAM, Hooker, etc. saying we were fans and politely requesting stickers or similar swag. We traded them like baseball cards - I remember the Thrush Hush being pretty popular. Yeah, we were 2nd/3rd graders writing letters by hand and finding out the HQ addresses, stamping and dropping them in the post.
STP . . . It's The Racer's Edge!

Nice memories! I grew up in the 50s, a teen in the 60s, my golden era. And car stickers were part of my culture.
Actually--not to rain on your parade-- my post, above was a poke at crankcase oil fanatics. You may recall that we eventually learned that STP not only failed to assist horsepower, performance, or engine longevity, but it was actually a negative. That goo was supposed to lubricate cylinder walls and protect the engine during cold stars, overly-hot engine temperatures, and so on. It turned out that it messed up engine viscosity and was harmful to engines. /

Suddenly, STP was not cool!
I'm not sure what their product is now, or does, or is supposed to do, but they seem to have reinvented themselves with motor oil, filters, and...additives.

I myself avoid all that, with one exception: Consumer Reports says pure synthetic is unnecessary, but I pay for it anyway.

 

[VirginiaHeritage]

Consumer Reports says pure synthetic is unnecessary, but I pay for it anyway.

Those are some bitter, sexless people. I used to listen to them. They are worth reading on certain things. But they rate the Bronco low for being exactly what it is supposed to be and because they are sad, passionless killjoys who can’t appreciate anything but a benign, smooth, quiet, non-threatening vehicle. Car & Driver gets it.

 

[JWool]

I have to agree with do it your self, which I typically do but for a couple years do to time I had a good convenient oil change shop do it for me, they even would use the oil I preferred.
That ended when the guy in the pit was telling the guy above the ball joints were dry of grease like it hasn't been done in a long time.
I was steaming, the dumb ass didn't realize I was only getting it done at that location about 3 to 4 times a year, I didn't say a word I was done.
I went back to what I believed if I want it done right do it myself.

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