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The owners manual for my truck says to change oil every 3,000 or at least once a year I drive a very short commute to work and probably put less than 4,500 miles annually on my truck. So far I think I've had the oil changed about every 8 months. My question is this maintenance sufficient enough or am I causing undue harm to my engine?
The owners manual in a 2011 vehicle tells you to change the oil every 3,000 miles? That sounds like a very short interval for a modern vehicle.
Are you using regular or synthetic oil?
I've gone a year without changing oil in a GMC Yukon Denali and put about 14,000 miles on it with Amsoil synthetic. Vehicle was just fine. Now I change twice a year in my vehicles, once before winter and once before summer regardless of mileage.
for the OP, since you have the short commute, i would recommend that you change your oil every three months to get rid of contaminants that will build up in your oil and wont be gotten rid of because the engine doesnt get hot enough.
Well if youre loading the truck up with weight, then yes I think youd want to change the oil fairly often. Obviously the more weight you load, the more stress is on the engine.
Oil has come a long way in the last 15 years...yea weird right!?
Essentially, the engine in your truck is the same engine that was in trucks 50 years ago. Oil is just different now so Id follow the oil brands directions.
If its synthetic and says 7500 miles, Run it to around 7500 miles then. If its regular dino oil, I would not run it past 4000 miles. It all depends on what the oil can says.
The owners manual for my truck says to change oil every 3,000 or at least once a year I drive a very short commute to work and probably put less than 4,500 miles annually on my truck. So far I think I've had the oil changed about every 8 months. My question is this maintenance sufficient enough or am I causing undue harm to my engine?
Truck is a 2011 GMC Sierra 4.3.
You're fine with that kind of interval.
However, look carefully at the engine side of your oil filler cap. Does it have some "milky brown" stuff on it? With such a short commute, it's possible that you're not getting your engine hot enough - long enough - to get all the condensation out of it. If that's the case, and you have that milky brown stuff on there, change your oil more often. Or better yet, take it out for a nice long drive in the country once per week.
Well if youre loading the truck up with weight, then yes I think youd want to change the oil fairly often. Obviously the more weight you load, the more stress is on the engine.
Oil has come a long way in the last 15 years...yea weird right!?
Essentially, the engine in your truck is the same engine that was in trucks 50 years ago. Oil is just different now so Id follow the oil brands directions.
If its synthetic and says 7500 miles, Run it to around 7500 miles then. If its regular dino oil, I would not run it past 4000 miles. It all depends on what the oil can says.
Strange advice, and I disagree with most of it.
Today's engines are not the same as they were 50 years ago. Yes they have pistons, rings, and an oil pan. But the materials are better, tolerances are tighter, and most of all combustion is vastly different with fuel injection under computer control. Temperatures are rock solid.
I don't look at every brand of oil can (usually a plastic bottle). But I'm not aware of any that say "change every 5,000 miles." Their warranty is usually tied to the OEM specs of the vehicle. Which means use the interval in the vehicle's owners manual.
I looked at Pennzoil and Mobil's websites. Neither has any specific recommendations or specs for oil change intervals. Mobil Super has a 5,000 mile protection warranty, but that doesn't mean they want you to change it every 5,000 miles.
However, look carefully at the engine side of your oil filler cap. Does it have some "milky brown" stuff on it? With such a short commute, it's possible that you're not getting your engine hot enough - long enough - to get all the condensation out of it. If that's the case, and you have that milky brown stuff on there, change your oil more often. Or better yet, take it out for a nice long drive in the country once per week.
Always nice to know that at least somebody on this board has a clue about motor oil and not reciting advertising hype or opinions. The synthetic or conventional doesn't matter as there are few of either left. Almost every oil on the shelf these days is a blend regardless of the labeling. But that doesn't mean they are lousy. Actually the oils you buy today are some of the best ever made. The issue is like GL stated, you have to drive the engine longer to cook off the condensate. Changing the oil buys you nothing as the condensate forms on the metal and stays there as light sludge. Draining the oil does not drain the sludge. The only way to get rid of it is to use a quality oil and drive it at least 30 minutes at full temp once a week. Age means nothing in a modern engine. Because we have a closed crankcase system these days we don't have the free radical oxygen to degrade the oil inside the engine. If you have an old engine with a breather pipe hanging down, you have LOTS of free radical oxygen in the engine and about 3 months is it before the oil oxidizes. The only recommendation needed here is for the OP to drive the truck more, at least once a week or expect the light sludge to turn to heavy sludge and then you'll have issues.
And btw, I did 15 000 miles between oil changes on my 2000 Silverado. Amsoil synthetic. Why you need to do, or decided to do, 3000 miles, on a 2011 model, have no idea. Of course, you might the type that listens to all the crap marketing those oil changes, to make Quick Lube types rich-er.
I use a once a year or 10K change schedule on both of my cars and a few oil analysis show it is adequate.
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