Neal, I finally found an oil filter socket wrench to fit the new filter size. After going to automotive parts stores and my Snapper Dealer, I found one at a Motor Cycle shop. It was an Imperial model IF-6514, 65mm, 14 Flute. This should make removing the filter easier next time around. I don't know why John Deere had to change the filter size without changing the part number. At least I now have a filter socket to fit my JD tractor and my Snapper mower, both with Kawasaki engines. Take care, Charles Ranheim

I like the Alero. To me it looks like the new Dodge Avenger, which I also like. Try to find a four-cylinder, if you can. Not only will it get better gas mileage, but the four-cylinder in that car does not produce much less power than the V6, and it's a good engine. The V6 is not bad, but that series of GM engines has intermittent problems with intake gasket leaks, which is not an insanely expensive problem, but obviously you'd rather not have it. As for the other mechanical problems you have referred to, I am not sure what you mean. Most of the parts in the car went into a lot of other models; they are probably not the absolutely most reliable things you could get, but they're common. The car's powertrain is pretty solid, especially with the four-cylinder. The 4T40/45 series automatic transmission is one of the cheapest to replace, and it's one of the more reliable ones out there. I like Saabs, as well. They're different and just "quirky" enough that you're not driving something that's like everything else on the road. On the plus side, many have been owned by people who are relatively well off, including car enthusiasts who appreciate the car for what it is, and these types of people usually take good care of their cars. (This same factor, in reverse, probably accounts for a big percentage of the share of reported problems with less expensive cars, such as the Alero: People buy them as workhorses, treat them as such, and they have more problems.) One downside with the Saab is it has a turbo, which I am not fond of in older cars you want to keep a while, as it's an expensive thing to replace, tends to put the engine under more stress, and it makes oil changes crucial. (The heat of a turbocharger will turn oil into sludge very quickly if oil changes are let go.) So if you buy one, I'd want to see maintenance records showing frequent oil changes -- preferably more often than the minimum owner's manual requirement. One other thing about the Saab is make sure you have a dealer that's not too far away. Their dealer network is not that large, and some people who live in small towns might be 100 miles or more from a dealer. Everyone I've ever talked to who has owned a Saab says the dealers are great, they really know the cars, and that's ideally where you'd want to have it worked on. But if there's no dealer anywhere nearby, that could be a problem. In fact, if I were thinking of a used Saab, I'd probably take it to the dealer before buying it to have it inspected and use that as an opportunity to introduce myself to them and get a feel for whether you'd want to deal with them.

Yah steveo, typical moronic response. Pull out your wallet and pay for a diesel rebuild compared to a gas engine. Thanks for the thoughtful comment ... *rolls eyes* I gotta figure that if diesels really were all that fragile and all that expensive to maintain, you wouldn't see them in heavy-duty pickups, construction equipment, tractor-trailers, locomotives, steamships, and emergency generators. In commercial applications, money talks. If diesels were as problem-prone as you say, especially in such long-term or critical duty, they'd be in the dustbin of engine history by now. Funny thing -- they're not. Sure, a diesel can break. Sure, repair can be expensive. You don't put Band-Aids on surgical incisions, either. You spend the money so it lasts. And you take care of it to start with. Oh, and BTW, the smoke from diesels is soot, a byproduct of normal diesel combustion. Even a new, properly-broken-in diesel will smoke if you feed it crappy fuel or give it "wide open throttle" in a high gear. My diesel does not smoke under normal circumstances and now, with ULSD, it almost never does.

As an engineer myself for a top midwest manufacturer of diesel engines, I can almost guarantee you that the 5W20 recommendation in the service manual was not put there by an engineer with knowledge of determining a single oil that would be best for the engine's life. I'm sure that the engineers have an input, however those decisions are made by marketing people and managers sitting in a meeting room and deciding the "image" or "message" they want to convey in the literature. It's part of their "overall fuel mileage average" strategy which is more important to them than trying to go from 250,000 to 300,000 miles life from an engine. I can easily see the 5W20 recommendation as a marketing "dictate" to "force" best fuel mileage for all customers. The fact that the same oil is recommended for all climates seems odd to me, and the fact is that temperature does affect the viscocity of oil. That's the reason for different grades of oil in the first place. That still exists. The statement that "No-one knows as much or more than the engineers that designed and built your car, no matter how pretty their website is" may be a true statement, however it's naive to conclude that those engineers wrote that recommendation in the manual. They only have one vote and their vote may not even be counted in the final determination. I cannot imagine an engineer concluding that there is only one oil that is suitable for an engine in all conditions. Engineers typically look at all conditions, and they are not all the same. And back to the timing chain. Does anyone know if the Ford 500 engine has a chain or a belt?