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compulsive oil changers

redvett

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TonyMazz Enthusiast

TonyMazz

Posted
Posted

I agree that changing oil every 3000 miles is a waste of resources, but apply no credibility to simply picking a mileage and sticking with it.

 

It is arbitrary and false, that's why we should be using GM's oil life monitor on the newer vehicles, because it's 100% tailored to the motor you are driving and your particular driving habits, engine load, running temperature, and based on engine revolutions.

 

I think that is as close to a science as you can get to a specific condition for your motor.

 

I have been one of those 3,000 oci guys, and did it for years, coming from a drag racing family...the older motors, the chemistry of the oils from the 60s, 70s, 80s etc.

 

Today we have much better oil, much better fuel delievery with injection, closer tolerances and motors going well beyond 100K.

 

My last truck (99 blazer) before I bought my new tahoe went 180,000 miles with out any issues what so ever.....but I spent a fortune on changing oil....every 3 grand...

 

Today, with my oil life monitor I am going to run it till she says change the oil...

 

AND you don't need synthetic to do it...I am using Castrol GTX 5W-30 which meets the GF-4 requirements of GM. Talked to a GM engineer who designs motors and he said no need to go synthetic unless the motor came with it...that means when they ran the motor wide open for their testing and tore it down, the heat requirements suggested synthetic...i.e the corvettes..

 

My tahoe.. 4.8L been test with dino oil so that's what I am using.....I have 10,500 miles on truck and have done two oil changes. One to get the factory oil out at 1000 and next one cause it was free, now I am rolling on the OLM system.

 

Just my 2-cents....

lrymal Senior Enthusiast

lrymal

Posted
Posted

Excellent article!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is what many of us "old-timers" have been saying on this board but were lacking in the resources to back it up. I especially appreciated the last half of the article. :confused:

 

Remember, oil does it magic of protection by suspending particulates. Also, we have been saying that the changing of oil at 3,000 mile intervals is typically a marketing ploy, and finally, the oil life monitor than GM and others use does a pretty darned good job because it compares engine temperature per trip, RPM, speed. It will certainly flash sooner if a vehicle is used primarilty in the city, as compared to a highway cruiser. Below is the second half of the article:

 

* Engine wear actually decreases as oil ages. This has also been substantiated in testing conducted by Ford Motor Co. and ConocoPhillips, and reported in SAE Technical Paper 2003-01-3119. What this means is that compulsive oil changers are actually causing more engine wear than the people who let their engine's oil get some age on it.

* Topping up the crankcase is a critical component of extended oil change intervals, and frequent filter changes are most likely the key to extreme-length intervals. The cumulative effect of even minor top-ups, let alone a filter change, substantially increases the longevity of the oil.

 

Based on the results we've got here, we'd recommend 8,000 miles between oil changes on an engine that uses no oil at all, perhaps 10,000 miles on an engine that uses some oil, and 15,000 miles or beyond with a filter change every 5,000 miles. This, of course, isn't any kind of guarantee, and you must evaluate for yourself what your engine requires. One thing we're pretty sure about though: 3,000-mile intervals is a huge waste of resources.

 

Great job posting this! :fume:

redvett Senior Enthusiast

redvett

Posted
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When i was working at GM (retired) i would go to Powertrain building at the Tech Center and look at test tear down engines and many with 100000 mi and NO oil changes only filter and topped off would have almost no wear. Some of these engines would be put back together and run somemore.

lrymal Senior Enthusiast

lrymal

Posted
Posted
...

My last truck (99 blazer) before I bought my new tahoe went 180,000 miles with out any issues what so ever.....but I spent a fortune on changing oil....every 3 grand......

 

 

 

Boy, has this topic hit a good nerve on me. Just a brief note in addition to the other. We had a used car that had an oil pan leak. Didn't know the oil drained out and thought we caught the problem in time. Well, some damage was done but the motor basically ran fine for another 80,000 miles or so, until we finally got rid of the poor car due to its crummy sheet metal.

 

It would burn up a quart of oil every 1000 miles and all that we did was top it off with some cheap stuff. We would change the filter the same time we changed the other vehicles' filters.

 

That motor never got worse, just did its thing until the body fell apart with salt and age.

redvett Senior Enthusiast

redvett

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I have personally used Mobil 1 in every vehicle and gas engine i have owned since 1973 and some of our vehicles for example 89 Beretta GT had over 220000 mi when my kid drive it on delivery job and all i did was change filter at 5000mi and top off and run until 10000mi and change. This was started on the car when i bought it new. Sold car in 98 and at one point owner told me it had over 300000mi. Not bad for an engine that never was opened up.

bigdogxx Enthusiast

bigdogxx

Posted
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Thats all just fine and dandy if all you needed to do was change the oil on these trucks but it's not!Go without lubing your ball joints and idler arms ect ect every 10 grand and see how long they last you!Im not saying there wrong that oil can last well past 3k, but there are many other items that need inspecting and maintance at 3k intervals!If i waited another 2k before changing oil really im saving at the most 50 bucks a year.

 

I use to crack open plenty of engines that were on 10k oil change intervals when in highschool working on city trucks and let me tell you it's not a pretty site, i think ill stick to 3-4k change intervals and could really care less what a engineer or anyone else claims!

bigdogxx Enthusiast

bigdogxx

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How long age was that? Since fuel injection and emissions and much better oil has come around thats not necessary.

 

 

 

 

I agree oils last longer but that still does not change the fact that other items call for some attention well before 8-10k!Like i said i could careless what someone elses opinion is on this subject, i spent a crap load of money buying a new truck and being cheap and saving a whole 50 bucks a year is just plain retarted!

lrymal Senior Enthusiast

lrymal

Posted
Posted
...it's not!Go without lubing your ball joints and idler arms ect ect every 10 grand and see how long they last you!Im not saying there wrong that oil can last well past 3k, but there are many other items that need inspecting and maintance at 3k intervals...

 

 

 

Well, true......... the suspension is in a very hostile environment and needs regular maintenance. Over-extending lube jobs on the suspension is risky on these trucks.

 

Regarding tearing-down motors by both Amsoil and Mobil after 100,000 miles revealed very clean motors. No sludge, no crud in the crank case, or sticking to the valve cover's inner side. Indeed, both companies take great pains in their advertisements demonstrating this. I'm sure the motors had regular filter changes, include any crankcase filtering, PCV, or whatever..., but I honestly can't remember.

TonyMazz Enthusiast

TonyMazz

Posted
Posted
Thats all just fine and dandy if all you needed to do was change the oil on these trucks but it's not!Go without lubing your ball joints and idler arms ect ect every 10 grand and see how long they last you!Im not saying there wrong that oil can last well past 3k, but there are many other items that need inspecting and maintance at 3k intervals!If i waited another 2k before changing oil really im saving at the most 50 bucks a year.

 

I use to crack open plenty of engines that were on 10k oil change intervals when in highschool working on city trucks and let me tell you it's not a pretty site, i think ill stick to 3-4k change intervals and could really care less what a engineer or anyone else claims!

 

 

 

 

What does lubing ball joints have to do with OCI ? There isn't much maintenance on a new vehicle, hell even the serpentine belts last 100,000 miles....air filter, 10K, lube the ball joints say every 3-5K, then what ? Rear diff fluid's synthetic that's good for say 100K, tranny good for 30k on hard service...front diff, standard GL that's good for a while too...

 

So I am confused as to what would you be worried about.....if you didn't change your oil every 3k ...say you went to 6k...

Chronic Enthusiast

Chronic

Posted
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just plain retarted!

Just too funny for me to not correct you on this but retarded is how you spell it. I switched over to Mobil 1 just the last oil change myself. I don't think I'll be waiting for the DIC to tell me to change the oil nor doing at 3K intervals. I figure about every 5K. Even my service advisor at my dealership told me to use Mobil 1 and how often I should be in for a change. Kinda surprised he didn't want me in sooner to make more $$$, but definitely appreciate the honesty.

bigdogxx Enthusiast

bigdogxx

Posted
Posted
Thats all just fine and dandy if all you needed to do was change the oil on these trucks but it's not!Go without lubing your ball joints and idler arms ect ect every 10 grand and see how long they last you!Im not saying there wrong that oil can last well past 3k, but there are many other items that need inspecting and maintance at 3k intervals!If i waited another 2k before changing oil really im saving at the most 50 bucks a year.

 

I use to crack open plenty of engines that were on 10k oil change intervals when in highschool working on city trucks and let me tell you it's not a pretty site, i think ill stick to 3-4k change intervals and could really care less what a engineer or anyone else claims!

 

 

 

 

What does lubing ball joints have to do with OCI ? There isn't much maintenance on a new vehicle, hell even the serpentine belts last 100,000 miles....air filter, 10K, lube the ball joints say every 3-5K, then what ? Rear diff fluid's synthetic that's good for say 100K, tranny good for 30k on hard service...front diff, standard GL that's good for a while too...

 

So I am confused as to what would you be worried about.....if you didn't change your oil every 3k ...say you went to 6k...

 

 

 

 

 

No the suspension needs attention every 3k that is very much a known fact especially on gm ifs setups!I dont have the time or patience anymore to crawl under my truck and save 10 bucks and dont want to have to make a trip to just have a lube only done!It takes me about 4-5 months to hit 3k so like i said saving 50 bucks a year would be a cheap and stupid thing to do in my case!

Shoot2Thrill Enthusiast

Shoot2Thrill

Posted
Posted

Good information. I was a 'every 3,000 miles' guy with my S10. I have been using Castrol GTX since back to my Ford Ranger days. I was wondering when the sensor would go off in my Silverado for oil service. I decided to get it changed at 4,000 miles because I sat in traffic for 7 hours escaping a hurricane a few weeks ago. :-(

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