just take the car to the shop like you mentioned. and as for the oil, either you can have them do it or go to walmart for cheap. or the dealer for 30ish bucks

 

Walmart? no. I do not trust walmart with any of my cars. This thing has 186K on it.. i want to make the move to semi synthetic. I dont know what was in the car i bought it from a dealer who got it at an auction, who got it from... I think i'm the 5th owner on this car...

I want the engine to be protected. I babied my 98 monte and she treated me well (all 2 months I owned her god rest her soul), I want to do the same for this one. Nobody should treat their car like crap anyway and it seems like that's what the PO did to this one... drove the trans so hard when they tore it apart all that was left was bits of metal and stripped gears... squealing belts, pitch black oil, that's just asking for something major to happen and it's all simple routine stuff. I'm thinking castrol gtx high mileage or something like that.

 

first be sure it's the belt making noise and not something else. i would check the power steering pump. i have seen these make noise numerous times on high mileage cars. sometimes it could be as simple as spraying some WD40 on the pulley or the bearing may be going out and you have to replace the pump. could be the alternator to as mentioned.

bottom line, check all your accessories before you say it's the belt. if it is none of those, inspect the belt and make sure none of the ribs are cracked or brittle. if not, a nice home remedy is dish soap to stop the squealing. but more than likely, it would be a good idea to change the belt out (with a good quality belt, not an el cheapo brand) if it hasn't been changed in a while. it's a very simple driveway job if you're mechanically inclined, otherwise take it to a shop.

 

Sounds like the PO did not change the oil very often. If you want to stick with a conventional oil, Castrol is a good choice. I would not bother with a semi-synthetic, waste of money, they are not much synthetic at all...either go conventional or FULL synthetic. My personal choice for full synthetic is Mobil 1.

 

Michael with as many miles as she has on her, I'm afraid that a full synthetic would hurt her engine right now, as synthetics tend to be thinner yes? I also hear that synthetics leave wax deposits in your engine...I really don't want anything happening to this car that's going to cause a major mechanical malfunction.

And if I go to walmart they use their crap supertech oil and bleh... I wont trust walmart to do anything on my car. However I think i need a balance and rotation...

 

if you dont trust walmart go to a dealership and have them change the oil. i dont think you want to go to any kind of synthetic with that many miles on the car. or change the oil yourself which is easier and will save you money and a piece of mind knowing you did it yourself

 

I don't have a driveway that is level enough... my driveway is in the back of my house and it's at a complete 90 degree angle. MY dad's mustang and cadillac are in there, no other cars go in that garage. I live on a VERY main street and if a cop rolls up and sees you doing an oil change, he will be an ******* and tell you either you can't do that in front of your own house (because cars zing past all the time) and to do it in the back... to which, there is no clearance between my driveway and the idiot's house behind me's garage... no room it's a very narrow alley. I'm not going to scrape my paint just to save 15 bucks. I'll take her to the dealership tomorrow before work.

 

You guys are lifesavers. i have delt with squealing noise for weeks, changed the alternator, no luck, water pump, no luck, tensioners, no luck..............then the obvious after reading this I change the damn ^%^&$%$%%%%$&%$%$#@!!!!!!!! belt, and no squalling. Thanks a BUNCH. The belt on there was new is why I didnt do it first, so thank you GATES for making a belt thats better than the aftermarket peace of ^$%%^%%$%%%!!!!! You guys out hot rodding those 1000HP engines, just wait, dont think its not wearing out every movable part on them. Probably the next guys problem.