I'm interested in maintenance tips and modifications that will add to the dependability and longevity of my trucks - added horsepower and performance is a secondary concern.

I recently acquired a used '97 Blazer LT from a dealer. Beautiful with two tone silver/black exterior and leather interior. The vehicle was so clean I thought the previous owners probably kept up routine maintenance. Now, a few months later with a little over 100,000 miles, the engine is dead. A junkyard engine has been inserted and the vehicle is on the road again.

I would think these Vortec engines would be good for roughly 200,000 miles provided the oil was changed on regular intervals. Maybe I just had bad luck, or maybe the previous owner didn't do frequent oil changes. Doesn't matter, I'm ticked off enough to become a gear head myself.

Differences between synthetic and petroleum based oils are talked up all over the place. I haven't seen much about bypass oil filters and pre-ignition oilers though. I'd like to try them but they are a bit pricey and I'm a little intimidated about the installation (though it shouldn't be all that bad).

What is a bypass filter? We all have "full-flow" filters that we change regularly. In these forums I've seen people say that AC Delco filters are decent, K & N should be better, and Fram filters are junk. These are all examples of full-flow filters that attempt to filter small particles out of oil in "real time" as the oil flows through them. From what I've read, a large amount of engine damage occurs from particles between 5 and 20 microns in size. Full-flow filters, apparently, have a hard time filtering these out with high efficiency. In addition to a full-flow filter, an aftermarket "bypass filter" can be installed which filters oil "offline." In other words, the bypass filter will take a portion of the oil from your engine and slowly filter it until it is virtually perfect - at least that is the theory anyway. Besides removing tiny particles, a bypass-filter is supposed to be able to remove water from your oil. This can extend the life of your additives and could be quite useful for a vehicle that is seldom driven. Vehicles driven at highway speeds regularly will burn off water buildup, without the help of a bypass-filter.

What is a pre-ignition oiler (or charger)? In basic terms, engine oil is a slippery substance used to keep metal parts from rubbing against each other. When the engine is running, the oil is circulated throughout the engine. But what about when you start your truck in the morning? There are a few seconds where metal probably rubs against metal before the oil is sucked up from the pan and distributed to where it needs to go. Synthetic oils are supposed to stick better to engine parts, but what if you haven't started your truck in over a week? Probably even synthetic oil wouldn't stop metal against metal rubbing. From what I've read, it's almost as if you kill your engine a little bit every time you start it. A pre-ignition oiler is an aftermarket item that pushes oil to all corners of your engine before you start the engine. It will beep for several seconds after you turn your ignition key halfway. When the beeping stops, it's then safe to turn on your ignition because oil has been safely distributed everywhere - at least that is the theory.

This sounds great, but to get both a bypass filtration and pre-ignition setup will run about $500 per truck from AMSOIL (American Made Synthetic Oil). That's a lot of money, especially when you consider that the 3,000 mile oil change is supposed to provide "adequate" protection for your engine. What do you guys think, are these kind of mods worth it for "superior" protection? Have you or someone you know actually performed one of these types of mods?

Here are links to AMSOIL products I mentioned. Perhaps there are other systems that are better or similar?
http://www.amsoil.com/products/bf.html
http://www.amsoil.com/products/amk.htm

Thanks,
-- recurve

Truckers use a pre-oiler in diesel engine applications, also in Heavy Equipment. When you consider for example, that a Mack engine with PROPER maintenance is good to at least 400K to 500K miles before an inframe rebuild versus over 750K to 1000K miles the expense of the pre-oiler is nil. As for by-pass oilers, in Heavy Trucks or Equipment, you can virtually go without ever having to change the oil, but how that works is for another forum.