Re: Automakers Lengthen Oil Change Intervals

Another $ynthetic $ucker.

You have never sent a oil sample to a lab have ya?

Yep, when working with over the road rigs. to watch for antifreeze in the oil and excessive bearing wear. not needed in the consumer market when changing oil at the proper interval of 3k.

So you have not sent in a oil sample to determine the condition of oil at 3k or more. What did the otr truck samples show regards wear? I would think that your sample on otr truck had to do more with fuel dilution rather than a/f. As everybody knows a/f eat's a bearing up in short order proabaly faster than the turnaround on a sample.

ANY glycol in the oil indicates requirement for repair. Wet sleave engines in particular require this to be tested. Fuel dilution on a properly running long distance hauler is seldom an issue as it gets well warmed, driving the fuel out. Fuel dilution is actually used on some engines to aid cold starts.

Hardly. Non-synthetic tends to start breaking down between the 7000 to 10000 mile mark. Not worth the risk. For an extra $15 I double the safe oil change interval and save myself half the work I would otherwise do changing oil on 4 vehicles. One day each year they all get their oil changed.

Our fleet people tried the "oil sample" route to determination when to start worrying and found that by the time you found a problem thru oil analysis it was too late for the typical vehicle. There may be some special cases where it makes sense, but not for the typical light fleet vehicle where you compare the cost of the $18 oil analysis versus just changing the oil for $20. Even on most heavy stuff you are running a big risk if your PM program depends on catching things thru an oil analysis.

Depends what kind of use the fleeet gets.

Sorry but you are mistaken. The 6000 mile change works fine for either use with today's cars. Just as you are mired in the 60's with your 3000 mile oil change you also are mired in the 60's as far as cleanliness of engines. Back then with carbs and chokes and generally rich running engines short trips were terrible on cars. Lots of unburned fuel, water condensation and the like contaminating the oil. Today's vehicles just don't contaminate the oil like that anymore. The run CLEAN almost from the instant they are started and they stay that way usually for the life of the vehicle because the pollution control laws require them to run clean to past 100K or the manufacturer has to pay the repair costs. It's very rare for the emissions systems to malfunction anymore. Our fleet has 100s of vehicles, mostly domestic, and engine or transmission problems are pretty rare. Of the 100 or so vehicles I've been personally involved with in the past several years I can't recall any that had an engine or transmission problem with the exception of some Dodge trucks with a design defect causing them to go out at 30K. Most run to over 150K+ and then get auctioned. The last time I had a vehicle breakdown with any of our fleet domestics was back in the 80s. The fact is, statistically the domestics are exceptionally dependable and durable. Sadly, the media and clever advertising has convinced people the imports are somehow better even though I know many instances of people putting many thousands into their relatively low mileage imports to keep them on the road. Most people won't let facts get in the way of their opinions.

On the imports 150K is just broken in, when properly maintained.

Usually when people end up spending big money on repairs on ANY vehicle it is due more to neglect than abuse, and more to abuse than poor quality. (just that a LOT of import owners maintain their vehicles better than most American car owners, from my past experience)

All of this is hype. Maybe it wont, maybe it will. The average driver runs what,

Whitelightning

If you want insurance, use a full synthetic at 5000 - 6000 mile intervals. You will be providing much better engine protection than conventional oil changed at 3000 mile intervals.

I guess it's because you import owners just don't see much besides your own little world.... you starry eyed import lovers always post these stories of how some Toyota got a lot of miles as if getting a lot of miles is some rare event. The domestics just as often get that kind of high mileage. One guy I know has over 400K on his early 90's explorer, another has put around 200K on several domestics, and our fleet trucks, fords and chevies, regular run anywhere from 150K to

It's insurance that buys you nothing. Why not change it every 1000 miles or every 500? Wouldn't that be cheap insurance? There is ZERO value in changing it every 3000 miles, you certainly don't need your brakes or anything else inspected that often. If you think you do then present some FACTUAL BASIS for the selected interval, not just "it seems like the right mileage to me". Has someone done a study showing a statistically significant difference in the number of on the road failures between those vehicle "inspected" every 3000 miles compared to those inspected every 6000?

If you hit the dealer, mine

It's your money to waste but it's not good advice to anyone looking for teh answer to the question "how often should I change my oil".

Actually, changing the oil more often will cause more wear and tear, I think.

In oil filters, there are tiny holes n the filter that eventually get plugged with dirt. Until the holes are plugged, the filters will let more dirt through than an old filter.

So the optimal time to change the oil is when it is needed, not before.

Jeff

"Ashton Crusher" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

I base my desicion on one simple fact, I always get at least 300,000 miles out of my vehicles.

Whitelightning

It's not cheap if your wasting your money.

The phrase "cheap insurance" is like permission to waste your money.

Jeff

you DO. If the sliders stick (which many do) your brake performance and life goes down the tubes. I check and lube my brakes twice a year. And that's on the GM. About every third time I find a sticky slider.