Hey everyone , there's some skipping happening , I'm not sure if it's the tranny( yikes if it is ) , 4 speed manual btw or I need a tuneup , I bought my 85 GT that sat for years and my guess is the motor oil since it's black and the light came on in the dash as well , I need to replace it desperately. Any Oil brands and Filter recommendations? This is my 2nd car so far and i'm only a high schooler so i'm still learning and lack most tools because of a tight budget plus I live a small apartment.

Thanks.

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1985 Pontiac Fiero GT , Just picked her up.
1987 Merkur XR4Ti
1994 Ford Taurus SHO ( Sold )

Black oil is bad, you are right.....any kind of clean oil is better than that.

Do you know how to read the codes?

[This message has been edited by Gall757 (edited 11-07-2011).]

Yea , I know what oil to use ( 5W ) and everything , but i'm trying to get an idea for what brand to use. Not synthetic obviously.

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1985 Pontiac Fiero GT , Just picked her up.
1987 Merkur XR4Ti
1994 Ford Taurus SHO ( Sold )

Oil is like beer....people argue about the brands all day and it doesn't mean much.

oh....forgot you are in high school.....probably not the best comparison.

lol , I'm positive it's the oil , i'll change it and tell you how it went.

OK, but that has nothing to do with 'skipping'. If you could describe that a little more somebody may be able to help.

Pick the Oil you want. When I was your age I just started using the oil my Father used. Still use it 36 years later and it has not let me down. Just pick one that someone you know uses and go with that. Any Major brand will be fine. 5W30 is the weight I would use.

As for the skipping, I`m gonna guess it has a miss fire. Check your spark plugs, and you may need new wires at the same time.

BTW, change your oil filter at the same time. Again, pick a major or known brand and you will be fine.

Yes that is also another cause , the plugs and wires need to be replaced soon as possible , @ Gall757 I can't really explain it really , the Oil Light came on after I took the dipstick out to examine the oil and put securely back in , after about a 15 min drive the light came on and while I was driving to park it in a garage we rent on the other side of town , then the car seemed it didn't want to make any power in 2nd and 3rd gears , it was sort of winding , I didn't wanna push it , it wasn't going to have enough RPM for 4th. It just didn't have any ump really , I just bought the car so I was extremely nervous about this issue.

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1985 Pontiac Fiero GT , Just picked her up.
1987 Merkur XR4Ti
1994 Ford Taurus SHO ( Sold )

So you are talking about oil pressure and not the service engine light. Let's hope that your oil is low and that is the end of it....clean oil is important on these V6s...

yes the oil light.

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1985 Pontiac Fiero GT , Just picked her up.
1987 Merkur XR4Ti
1994 Ford Taurus SHO ( Sold )

I use Valvoline 5W30 oil and Delco oil filters.

Got 206K on a Formula and 298K on an '88 Coupe.

5-30 weight oil and spark plugs & wires. The plugs on the firewall side will be a PITA to get out. All done by feel, and many POs didn't change them so they get rusted in place. If you can get a socket on them, don't force the turn out. Use lots of penetrating oil. On my 88 GT it took me about two weeks to get mine out after 50,000 miles and eight years. If they do come out add anti sieze compound to the threads on the new ones.