Oil Change Rant..Interval and Oil.

[Arnold]

Not from my mouth   but from a local independant garage I..and a LOT! of others use. 5 bays 5 full time mechanics..cars waiting outside..or being worked on..outside the doors..just a ridiculously busy mad house. I love going there! They often say on the phone.."We fix anything"..They do. The sheer variety of stuff there at any one time is mind blowing really..

"Change your oil EVERY 5000 km..doesn't matter what oil..what vehicle" Again..not from my mouth
(They have a framed letter on the wall there from Ford..taking one of their vehicles to 1,000,000)((btw that one was done on cheap bulk oil but changed every 5k))
 
 Garages don't make any money on oil changes.

 Environmentally..right near one of the great lakes..huge temperature swings..-30C winter to + 30C summer. Humidity from damp to dry.

 I get them to do some stuff on my vehicles and get to pick all the guys brains while I am there.

 If it has to do with dirty oil..sludge..or ALL it's related problems..they deal with it daily.
 Wouldn't be so bad to HEAR IT..but when coincidentally I am ACTUALLY there and get to hear it right from the customers mouth. Used this did that manufacturers recommendations other garages dealers blah blah..get to see  and talk to mechanics dealing with bad oil problems.

 Lately they have been changing a LOT! of engines..AND TIMING CHAINS. Timing chains WTF? I THOUGHT timing chain bs was finished..which became timing BELT bs..Up here anyway..chains have very little tolerance for oil change intervals beyond about 5k. There are a bazillion of those Ecoboost 3.5's up here. Go with the manufacturer or oil company..THEN you get this code..yep..the chain has stretched..that costs $..keep driving it with the cel on and you get this code too..more$ Ford 5.4 3v..cam phasers..there are plenty of other examples..generally..anything with a timing chain,cam phasers(pretty much everything now),turbo (again..lots of those)

  Sure is an eye opener to talk to people who have been there done that.
  I have been a cheap oil every 6000 km or so for a long time now.

  Rant over.

[enjenjo]

I change my oil every 3500 miles using a synthetic blend. My mechanic says 7500 mile like Gm says, or 10,000 like the new Ford recommendations if fine if you only expect to get 100,000 mile out of it.

[Crosley.In.AZ]

I change oil every 5k miles.  Easy to remember. I've done it this way for many years.  Synthetic , blend or dino oil.

The diesel VW Jetta we had.  Oil change factory suggestion was 10k miles.  I changed the oil every 7 to 7500 miles on it.  Bought the recommended oil for the VW diesel engine.  usually a Motul brand

[Charlie Chops 1940]

I recently traded my '07 Trailblazer with the 4.2 inline 6 cylinder. It had 156,000 miles on it with Mobil 1 synthetic and Wix filter changed every 8,000 to 11,000 miles. Never down on oil, not ridiculously dirty, no wear related repairs. Replaced plugs once and cleaned the throttle body at the same time. K&N cold air intake cleaned every 30K or so. One pair of O2 sensors replaced. Never dripped, never leaked. Lots of brakes, wheel bearing, rear end bearing and emissions system crap though.

No oil related issues on the last 3 daily drivers, over 21 years worth using Mobil 1 and good filters. I'm sold on synthetic based on experience. I guess I never bought into the recommended oil change intervals, choosing instead to use common sense and keep my eyes on things.

I've got an '05 CTS-V Caddy with a 400 hp LS and 6 speed. It has 186,000 on it with a regular synthetic diet all its life. Still doesn't use oil and has excellent oil pressure. The transmission, flywheel, clutch, driveshaft needed some attention at 178,000 though. I drive the snot out of it each time I take it out!

[kb426]

I'm with Frank. Between 3500 - 4500. I was raised on a farm where we changed oil every 2000 miles back in the 50's and 60's. EFI has changed a huge amount of the pollution and dissolution in the oil but I'd rather be cautious than not.

[58 Yeoman]

I'm finding that I'm not keeping cars/trucks long enough to worry about high mileage. I had the Ranger for 7 years with 135000 miles. I had the Subie Forester less than that and it only had around 80000 when I sold it. I've gone to once a year for oil changes with Mobil 1.  But...I DO rotate the tires on the 58 & 63 every year, whether I drive them or not.  LOL.

[Bruce Dorsi]

1995-2015 Toyota Previa - 298,000+ miles - 10w30
2006-present Toyota Sienna - 256,000+ miles - 5w20

Filter & oil changed every 3000-3500 miles with conventional oil.  - I felt guilty if mileage got up to 4000 while away from home.

It is/was difficult to see the oil level on the dipstick because it stayed so clean.  ...Never needed to add oil between changes .

I mostly used Fram oil filters which people say are junk, but they did the job for me!

2015 Toyota Sienna uses 0w20 (?) synthetic, but goes back to the dealer every 5K for filter & oil change, despite 10,000 mile recommendation.  ....They do not use a spin-on filter, but back to the old canister-with-replaceable-element style.  ...So far, the dealer's price has been reasonable, and not much more than what it would cost me to do it myself.

[UGLY OLDS]

3000 miles with Dino oil .... 5000 with synthetic ....I have preached to people for years that the oil & filter are the LEAST important part of an lube/oil service ...Making sure that EVERY fitting is greased & eyeballing the COMPLETE undercarriage are more important in my mind ....  

Look--Feel-Wiggle -Taste....THAT'S the important part....  

How many people lubricate door & hood hinges / latches   :?:  
Parking brake cables  :?:  
You get the idea.....You can lube now or pay later...

Remember ...."Preventative Maintenance" really does prevent bad things from happening .....    


Bob...

[chimp koose]

My dad used to always top up the oil and change it rarely . 74 montego  - new motor in 78 , 76 dodge colt expired in 84, 85 new Yorker 3 motors last expired in 95 , 85 mercury lynx expired in 95 w/60000 KM , I put a wrecker 30,000KM engine in the lynx and bugged him to change the oil every other month , that one lasted another 10 years . Real cold weather in a carbureted vehicle spells short oil life .

[phat46]

My oil change story....We bought a new from dealer 1985 Pontiac 6000 STE, top of the line STE. It had the first digital dash I had ever owned with a resettable oil change reminder. I set the reminder at 2,800 miles so I would make sure I had time to get the oil and filter and set aside time to do the oil change. Did that religiously up to 54,000 miles, my wife was driving over an hour each way to work everyday, so most of the miles were not stop and go. At 54,000 I noticed the oil pressure had dropped very low, no numbers on the dash just a digital bar gauge that was now showing only a couple  bars. A gauge screwed into the oil pressure sending unit port showed zero at idle and very little with rpm's up. Tried a new oil pump which brought pressure up for about ten miles then dropped to lower than before. I pulled the engine and took it to a friend that builds motors to check it out. The rod and main bearings were completely wiped out, he said that G.M. had crap for bearings at the time and had seen it before. Then he asked what oil I used...told him, proudly, nothing but Pennziol.... he laughed and said there's your problem....😃 I had two other shop owners say the same thing, one said he wouldn't oil his red wagons wheels with it! 😃 On the other hand I know people that go over 200K using only Pennziol. I play it safe and use semi syn. Valvoline every 3-5K depending on which vehicle.

[58 Yeoman]

Yep. Back when I was flipping VW's, plus having my own Bugs, I used Pennzoil and Fram filters in all my cars. The Bugs were changed religiously at ~3000 miles, as I also adjusted the valves. On the '69 I bought new, I pulled the engine at 65000 to add larger cylinders; the inside was clean as a whistle. I've used all different kinds of oils through the years, and the only time I had problems was when I tried using Castrol 20-50 in my Ford van 351. *...it rattled all to hades. I drained it and put in Penn again, and it ran fine. Never did figure that one out.

I know that a lot of guys will put hate on Penn and Fram, but I've never had trouble with either. I still use Penn if I have it in the old cars; Mobil 1 in the new ones. I really don't know why it doesn't work for some, but does for others.

[tomslik]

My oil change story....We bought a new from dealer 1985 Pontiac 6000 STE, top of the line STE. It had the first digital dash I had ever owned with a resettable oil change reminder. I set the reminder at 2,800 miles so I would make sure I had time to get the oil and filter and set aside time to do the oil change. Did that religiously up to 54,000 miles, my wife was driving over an hour each way to work everyday, so most of the miles were not stop and go. At 54,000 I noticed the oil pressure had dropped very low, no numbers on the dash just a digital bar gauge that was now showing only a couple  bars. A gauge screwed into the oil pressure sending unit port showed zero at idle and very little with rpm's up. Tried a new oil pump which brought pressure up for about ten miles then dropped to lower than before. I pulled the engine and took it to a friend that builds motors to check it out. The rod and main bearings were completely wiped out, he said that G.M. had crap for bearings at the time and had seen it before. Then he asked what oil I used...told him, proudly, nothing but Pennziol.... he laughed and said there's your problem....😃 I had two other shop owners say the same thing, one said he wouldn't oil his red wagons wheels with it! 😃 On the other hand I know people that go over 200K using only Pennziol. I play it safe and use semi syn. Valvoline every 3-5K depending on which vehicle.

what did the pickup screen look like;)


Pennzoil only goes in something i'm going to get rid of IF I happen to stumble across a really good deal at an auction or something...

hate cleaning up after that crap

[phat46]

The pickup was clean, as was the entire engine, it looked like an engine with 54,000 miles that had the oil changed every 3,000 miles. My friend that put he new bearings in said he tried Pennziol in his FED and said it ballooned the oil filter, and poured out like water after two runs. Yet another friend ran only straight 30 weight  Pennziol in an S 10 and sold it to a buddy with 230,000 on who ran it up to about 260,000 and sold it again! Ya pays your money, you takes your choice! 😀

[Crosley.In.AZ]

I worked part time for a race engine builder back in the 1980's..

The 350 in my 1969 Camaro was running rough after 75k miles.  Pulled the heads.  

The back sides of the valves were covered in black carbon goo.  So thick, when the valve closed, the build up was hitting the guide in the port. This crap was nearly filling up the whole bowl area under the valve & it was all stuck to the valve

Engine guy looked at me & said:" you run Valvoline oil?" ...  Yes, I said.  Well, stop it! was his response.

he told me to use Pennzoil or Quaker state... He built many Manzanita raceway  circle track engines, they  required stock OEM rocker arms.  he said the Pennzoil helped the rocker arms live longer.

What works for one guy , may not to another.  I see that daily in high perf transmissions.

[idrivejunk]

I change GTP oil and filter around 4,000 miles. When the DIC oil life monitor is between 30 and 40 percent. I use Valvoline 10-30 high mileage (synthetic blend) and a Delco filter. VR-1 30 weight in the 455, usually twice a year regardless of how few miles. Used Valvoline all my life. When I got my 69GP it would blow the seal out of a Fram and dump the crankcase in a few seconds first poke of the gas. Switched to Delco because the gasket is staked in place.