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I don't think many people are even aware of the fuel dilution issues caused by today's direct injected engines. Going 10k miles with a DI engine is a bad idea.
Location: Butler County Ohio and Winters in Florida
929 posts, read 2,723,462 times
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I think you can skip an oil change from time to time. But never forget to check your oil!
Most engines use at least a little oil over time and miles. Check it and top it off.
I check our van's oil almost weekly.
Location: Butler County Ohio and Winters in Florida
929 posts, read 2,723,462 times
Reputation: 635
Oil
Quote:
Originally Posted by duster1979
I've never paid attention to the "3-4 month" interval. I've got an old truck that we only use to haul things that we just drive maybe 1000 miles a year. I change the oil once a year at around Thanksgiving time (don't ask me why) because it sits outside and we live in an area of extreme temperatures in both winter and summer.
I am with you. My old Ford truck is only driven 3 to 4 thousand miles per year.
I change the oil once a year. I do check it from time to time.
At 67yrs old i've owned quite a few cars, my oil change schedule has always been every 10K miles, as yet i've never had an oil related problem with any car i've owned.For those choosing to change your oil at 3K intervals? if it makes you feel good by all means go for it,However IMO over the life of the car you will be needlessly throwing a lot of money away for those feel good oil changes.
You could just get an oil analysis done by Blackstone labs that will tell you the wear rate of various components in your engine and how much metal the oil has accumulated and use that as a basis for estimating a proper oil change regime for your engine.
Or if none of that made any sense to you...stick to what the owners manual recommends
5K oil changes on my cars. I usually run about 3-4 months in time interval depends on how much I drive but i go by mileage over time. Other than that its factory filters. You can get them on Ebay for cheap by the case. I refust to use Fram or special of the week filters. If i were to use synthetic I would extend to 10K intervals with monitoring for oil loss. I usually pop the hood and check my oil when I get gas. Im just standing there anyway.
I had cars routinely get 200,000 miles and some upwards of 350,000 miles with nothing more than normal oil changes.
I rebuilt one engine but the oil would not of been a factor. The piston was out of round and wore the cylinder wall.
I used to change my oil at 3000 miles. Why? Because thats just what everyone said to do. My stepdad, his friends oil change joints, mechanics, dealers etc.
i stopped doing it a long time ago because when i drained my oil it was still clean. you could still see through it. i know not very scientific but crap its still clean. how worn out can it be. So I extended to 5K. the reason i picked 5k was because it makes it easy to keep track and my diesel manual says 5k changes.
Everyone said trhe same thing. youre gonna blow up your engine its gonna run rough youre bla bla bla killing your car.
At 67yrs old i've owned quite a few cars, my oil change schedule has always been every 10K miles, as yet i've never had an oil related problem with any car i've owned.For those choosing to change your oil at 3K intervals? if it makes you feel good by all means go for it,However IMO over the life of the car you will be needlessly throwing a lot of money away for those feel good oil changes.
A 5qt jug of Pennzoil Platinum at Walmart is about $23. That's not a lot of money IMO to know I have clean oil.
A 5qt jug of Pennzoil Platinum at Walmart is about $23. That's not a lot of money IMO to know I have clean oil.
Plus another perk of frequent oil changes from a DIY perspective.
When I change my own oil i'm under the car inspecting things. SO I can see how the brakes, bushings, seals, CV axles, etc etc are all doing.
Wasting $20 on a premature oil change might be worth it if It helps me catch a busted CV boot sooner.
Plus it gives me a break from the wife
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Oil
