oil change frequency

[OLDSPUD]

I've been quite a fanatic about the old 3K, 3 month oil change routine. But once in a while I slip up. [I changed to synthetic oil a long time age, over ten years, I won't disclose what Kind, But its Valv...-syn-tec(hope that doesn't start another war on oil).]<br />My truck and Landcruiser have oil change life meters, they tell you when to change the oil, these guages seem to run long over the <br />3K-3 month rule, how harmful is it to go by the vehicle guage, or should I be religous about the other routine. I have never dirven the same truck or car more than four or five years, I turn them in for new models. Should I even care about interval of changes or type of oil if I don't hold on to the auto very long? <br /><br />I also run KNN air filters in them, how long between cleaning or oiling? and how do I do it?<br /><br />Spud

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: oil change frequency

Okay, the guages in the vehicles measure heat, rpms, load and calculate oil changes very accurately. They are actual on the safe side to follow. The initial design of the guages was to save the evironment by saving oil and saving us money. That's the theory.<br /><br />The guages were installed by the people who "sell" cars to the consumers and use it as a selling point to save $$$ and oil which is true. Now if you ask the "service" side of the corporation they will tell you every 3k miles. (That is what is preached at our dealership and I believe it is to keep the mechanics busy) I live in a rough climate and drive in rough conditions with severe weather swings. There is more than normal winter weather so I stick with the every 3K miles. If I were in a "normal" place and did not contend with weather and mountains I would watch the guage.<br /><br />If you do not drive a great deal the oil life moniters will run up to 7500 miles and even to a low side of 2200 miles under severe conditions. I will still have a concern about moisture (condensation) and build up from non use. In that case I would not go longer than 6 months regardless of mileage.<br /><br />For people who have leased vehicles I tell them to follow the guage and save the money! (A hint to those who purchase "off lease" vehicles )<br /><br />If it is a late model vehicle I tell people to have at least every other oil change done at a dealership to keep abreast on recalls and have specific mechanics (Ford GM Chy) look at the car. Better a set of trained eyes looking over the engine versus the "cheap lube" kids at $6.50/hour.<br /><br />Did you know that Speedi Lube, Jiffy Lube and muffler shops pride themselves on getting the customer to purchase more services.<br /><br />As for the K&N I would oil it every oil change and clean it every other one. That's the same frequency that I rotate tires.<br /><br />Bob

 

[Twidget]

Re: oil change frequency

The company I work for uses its vehicles to 200k miles. We use regular oil and change it at 4k. We have had good luck with this practice. <br /><br />I used to have a BMW with the oil change gauges, it was set for 7k miles. I changed the oil in the middle of the gauge and never had a problem. Well, other than having to purchase the reset tool. I kept that car for almost 200k miles, when I got rid of it, the engine still ran great. The front end/power steering had self destructed and it would have cost more than the car was worth.

 

[JB]

Re: oil change frequency

Both of my MLs had/have a sensor in the crankcase that monitors oil electrical conductivity. That information, along with the mileage, temp, throttle position history, number of cold starts and a bunch of other parameters I can't remember right now are used to predict mileage to when one should change the Mobil 1 and the filter.<br /><br />Both vehicles go from 8,000 to 15,000 miles before asking for oil and filter change.<br /><br />Now, ask yourself if Mercedes Benz is gonna let you do anything harmful to the vehicle. Any oil other than full synthetic voids the warranty. They recommend Mobil 1.<br /><br />My ML320 had 135,000 on it when I traded and diagnostics indicated no measurable wear. Neither vehicle has burned a drop of oil while I owned them.

 

[LubeDude]

Re: oil change frequency

Trust your oil monitoring system, (they "REALLY" do work). Use Synthetic oil. You will not go wrong.

 

[Realgun]

Re: oil change frequency

Ha Ha Ha we have two vans at work both ford E-150 with the 4.2L V-6. The one I share has over 230,000 miles on it and gets oil changed about every 10,000. The other van has 170,000 and gets about the same treatment. The van does get its oil checked and they both use about a quart in 3000. So both vans get 3 new quarts between changes. And they both pass emmissions.<br />They both run very well for a small V-6.<br />They still use the 5w-20 oil too.

 

[Boomyal]

Re: oil change frequency

Never! I use ***oil and never change it. Many of ya'll have heard this story b4 and are probably sick of it, but here it is again.<br /><br />1997 E-150 4.6L V-8 with 190,000 miles, running 1k to 1.5k lbs overweight, using 1 qt of 0w-30 every 4500 mi and I've never changed the oil!!!<br /><br />I do have a fine filtration by-pass filter on it, in addition to the OEM filter. Every 20k miles I change both filters and top it off with two new quarts of ***oil.<br /><br />The motor still runs like a swiss watch. It is just now on it's third set of spark plugs. Now that is one heck of a lot of time not spent at Jiffy Lube. <br /><br />When I pulled the 302 out of my boat last summer, I drained the ***oil out of it, poured it into quart bottles and now use that in my van as well.

 

[snapperbait]

Re: oil change frequency

Watch the oiling of the K&N, Spud.. Too much filter oil can foul the element on the mass air flow meter (if equipped)...<br /><br />Wash it with the K&N filter spray cleaner... Let the cleaner soak in for a few minutes, then rinse it...<br /><br />Let it dry..<br /><br />Oil it.. (I like the spray can versus the squeeze bottle)<br /><br />Of course, for what all the cleaners and oils cost, you could buy several OEM filters which filter better, BTW...

 

[OLDSPUD]

Re: oil change frequency

Thanks for the info, I've been leaning towards lengthening the interval. It will save a lot of $. Even whin I change my own, it still costs upwards of $75 to $80. To do both of my auto's, I'm at 13 quarts of oil, and the filters are seven or eight dollars each.<br /><br />And thanks for the tip about the OEM filters, I'll check it out, where would I find these? I'll start looking at the parts store. Leaving the filter in so long goes against my warped brain cells.<br /><br />Spud

 

[snapperbait]

Re: oil change frequency

By OEM, I mean stock replacements by Fram, AC delco, ect...

 

[KM2]

Re: oil change frequency

Spudd- The main reason I switched to syn oil is to go more miles because I change my own oil. My owners manual says 7500 miles on regular oil under normal conditions. Since I tow a little and MN winters are harsh I run syn and change every 7500 or so. I usually have to add one quart along the way. I don't keep vehicles more than 4 or 5 year either and don't expect to ever see a motor go. (From an oil problem anyway) Change the oil less and save the money for Tranny fluid changes, radiator flushes and gear oil changes. <br /><br />You didn't mention your driving conditions, so what we do may not be the right schedule for you. <br /><br />Got a K&N also, I don't really notice any difference. Was hoping for some MPG improvement. Since I spent the money I'll keep it but next time I'm sticking with the cheap OEM filters.

 

[mattttt25]

Re: oil change frequency

toyota recommends a 7500 mile interval, decreased to 5000 miles for "heavy" driving conditions on my tacoma. i usually change filter/oil somewhere between the two. usually use quaker state 10w-30 and fram filter. nothing fancy here.

 

[dhammann]

Re: oil change frequency

If you are going to trade every 4 or 5 years why are ya concerned about oil schedules? I change mine once a year if I feel like it...have never had an engine failure..the rest of the damn vehicle wears out long before the motor dies. Consumer Reports done a scientific study on a fleet of taxis in NY, they ran half of them on scheduled oil changes and the other half on extended schedules. After 100k they tore the engines down and found no measureable difference between the two methods.

 

[craze1cars]

Re: oil change frequency

The 3,000 mile oil change rule is a waste of money and natural resources. Was put in place by the advertising campaigns of oil companies years ago and they did a very effective job of brainwashing the public. No manufacturer recommends such frequent oil changes except for the most extreme of driving conditions. I change oil & filter every 7,500 or one year, whatever comes first. Sometimes I stretch it to about 10K. I keep my vehicles usually to about 150K to 200K and have never had a lubrication problem, no sludge in the engine, and no oil burning problem on any. I run Mobil 1, but believe that regular petroleum oil would handle this interval fine, too. <br /><br />The only time I'd recommend anything more frequent would be if the vehicle is run for very short trips (for example a daily work commute of 10 minutes or less) on a regular basis, because under these conditions moisture will build up inside the engine and it never gets warm enough to evaporate out. Causes water to pool in the bottom of the oil pan (oil floats on water). Many a "little old lady's" car has had oil pans rust right through from the inside due to this problem...I remember replacing a number of oil pans on 10 year old 30,000 mile cars when I ran my own shop years ago.<br /><br />Incidentally, K & N air filters do absolutely nothing for stock vehicles. If you do other mods that allow the engine to pump more air (head porting, etc.), then you may need more airflow that a K & N may help. But if a filter and maybe exhaust system are your only mods, the same old stock engine still can't pump any more air through it than it did with the stock filter and exhaust, so usually a waste of money. They also let more dust through and don't filter quite as well as disposable paper filters. I run K & N's, they're a good product, but only in my modified race cars.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: oil change frequency

Consumer Reports did a test on NYC taxicabs with 4.3 V-6 chevies. Some they changed oil every 3000 others every 6000. They tested all the major brands & synthetics too (this was close to 10 years ago, however). After 100k miles, i think it was, they tore down all the motors. Know what they found???<br />No difference in wear between oil brands and types, and no difference in wera between the 3000 mile changes and the 6000 mile changes. They did admit that these cars are started at the beginning of the day & left running all day, so cold starts weren't a big factor. Only in that instance did they think maybe synthetics would have helped the wear issues.<br />Our leasing company requires us to change the oil every 5k.

 

[kenimpzoom]

Re: oil change frequency

7000 miles interval with cheapo oil here in Houston.<br /><br />I dont follow the change oil light.<br /><br />Ken

 

[one more cast]

Re: oil change frequency

I'll never forget my boss asking me if I thought he should change the oil on his little Toyota. I ask him how many miles were on it and he said he changed it for the first time at 20,000 miles and it now had 120,000 miles on it. I told him it might be due for an oil change but it might put the car in shock. I change mine at about 4000 mile intervals but I may start going by the light.

 

[LubeDude]

Re: oil change frequency

Well, I guess weve settled it.<br /><br /> "OIL" <br /><br />Buy it, Change it sometimes, Be happy, Trade the care off and start over. <br /><br />If you trade your cars off at or around 100,000 miles, it doesnt matter what you use if you follow the manufactures guidelines.<br /><br />If you trade them off sooner, you could probably never change your oil, just top it off, I mean, who cares what the next guy gets.<br /><br />If you want whats best for the car, change regular oil at around 4,500 miles, Synthetic, Depending on the oil and filtration between 7,000 and never.

 

[JasonJ]

Re: oil change frequency

I change my oil once a year, and that is only due to condensation concerns. I learned in the military about the hype of oil changing. We did not change the oil in our vehicles at all. We did regular oil analasys. If the analasys can back bad, we changed the oil and ran it. If the next analasys came back bad, we fixed the problem. In the eleven years I was in, I can only think of a handlful of times we ever changed oil. Cinsidering the engine in an M2 Bradly holds 5 gallons of oil, you can imagine the massive waste of taxpayers dollars changing oil. In fact, I am about a year and a half into the oil in my 95 F150. When I check the oil,it is still relatively clean, and does not smell. Yep, its all hype....

 

[SlowlySinking]

Re: oil change frequency

The only problem with some of the oil change routines noted is if you have a major engine mechanical breakdown and return to the dealer for under warranty repairs. <br /><br />When the service folks ask for the your oil change records what will you show them?<br /><br />I change the oil & filter myself in all my cars every 3k, at about $10-$12 each time it adds up to about $330-$400 in the first 100k miles. Compare that to the cost of an out of warranty and out of your pocket engine.