Car Oil Question

Rain

I read an article, that I can't find, a few weeks ago. It stated that the idea of changing your oil every 3000 miles is outdated. So I look in my owners manual, and it has my scheduled maint at every 8000 miles or 6 months, when it says to change the oil. So..is that confirming that I only need to change my oil every 8000 miles, or is it saying every 3000 AND every 8000? Thanks for the help.PS - I don't know s*** about cars.

pross

Go by the manual. Any more often is a waste of $. There have been a lot of articles written on the 3,000 mile myth, and all I have seen advise you to follow the owners manual recommendations..

kingjk729

I would say follow the manual as well ..... just make sure that you are using the oil they recommend ... Very few companies use pure synthetic and a lot are now using a conventional synthetic blend, and then some still just recommend conventional oil. Never the less if you vehicle manual says conventional and 5k or 8k then do it ... I would just recommend getting a good oil change with either quaker state, penzoil, or valvoline oil not some generic off brand . My company has us change the oil in the company car every 4k but its because there are times that happens in less than 30 days but usually every 6-7 weeks for an oil change.

ddubridge

An oil change is a pretty cheap insurance policy on an engine that could cost upwards of 5k. Engines will naturally burn oil, and if your going 8k between oil changes, you could be burning up to half the oil in your engine before you get it changed. I see it every day. Pull the drain plug and about 2 qts come out. If youre going to go 8k you should probably check your oil pretty often.

Rain

ddubridge:

An oil change is a pretty cheap insurance policy on an engine that could cost upwards of 5k. Engines will naturally burn oil, and if your going 8k between oil changes, you could be burning up to half the oil in your engine before you get it changed. I see it every day. Pull the drain plug and about 2 qts come out. If youre going to go 8k you should probably check your oil pretty often.

Hmm, thanks for all the advice guys. I guess that when I clean my car every Sunday, I'll also try to do some basic checks IE tires, oil etc etc. That way I'm not changing it too much, but I'm also not running on 1/4th the amount of oil I need.

Rain

Another question..is this true? The oil lubricating system is a closed system: The oil does not get used up or go anywhere. If it's consistently low, there may be an oil leak. Leaks always get worse, and losing all the engine oil will require expensive repairs and/or replacing the engine. If so, then how can you lose oil without a leak?

ddubridge

False. No matter how new the car/truck, some small amount of oil will be burned in the combustion process. No matter how good the rings are some oil will get past them. There are seals and rings that keep the oil system semi closed, but it is not a perfectly sealed system, nor would you want it to be.

0patience

pross:

Go by the manual. Any more often is a waste of $. There have been a lot of articles written on the 3,000 mile myth, and all I have seen advise you to follow the owners manual recommendations..

Exactly.
If you follow the owner's manual and change the oil at the manufacturer's specifications, you cannot go wrong.
And yes, a lot of vehicles are going 7,000 and up on their oil changes, because of the oils they are using and the materials being used in todays vehicles.

ddubridge:

False. No matter how new the car/truck, some small amount of oil will be burned in the combustion process. No matter how good the rings are some oil will get past them. There are seals and rings that keep the oil system semi closed, but it is not a perfectly sealed system, nor would you want it to be.

Yep.
No oil system is closed on any internal combustion engine. It can't be or you would blow seals out. Most newer systems are "tight". Meaning there is little escaping, but the engine creates crankcase pressure, which pushes oil vapors out. Most of those vapors are captured by the PCV system and pulled into the intake and combustion of the engine. Those are burned and pushed out the exhaust.
The intake (air filter) and PCV valve should be checked, cleaned or replaced when they show signs of being dirty or plugging, as they can cause unnecessary oil consumption.

Most newer engines will use or burn 1 qt per 5,000 miles. That is an acceptable usage by Ford, Toyota, GM and Chrysler.

ddubridge

1 qt every 2k is GM exceptable. thats 4 qts in 8k and that is 80% of most vehicles oil capacity. We have people come in all the time with streched timing chains for going with manufacturer's specifications. Oils are made better these days, but engines are more complex and sensitive. I'm just saying changing your oil is cheaper then replacing your timing chains.

0patience

ddubridge:

1 qt every 2k is GM exceptable. thats 4 qts in 8k and that is 80% of most vehicles oil capacity. We have people come in all the time with streched timing chains for going with manufacturer's specifications. Oils are made better these days, but engines are more complex and sensitive. I'm just saying changing your oil is cheaper then replacing your timing chains.

Which is why you check your oil.
It's not that hard to do and can save you a ton of headaches.
If you've ever changed the timing chain on a Cadillac engine, it's 16 hours labor.
Not something anyone wants to have to do. LOL!

ddubridge

I feel yeh. Timing Chain on Acadia...Step 1: Remove drivetrain from vehicle. ouch! People aren't hands on with cars these days. Guys like you and I are golden, but Rain who "don't know s*** about cars" probably didnt know he should check his oil on the regular. Probably in that same Owners Manual it also says check your oil everytime you fill you car with gas. I know for sure GM Manuals do. I dont even do that. Oil changes are super cheap for me so I just do it every 3 months. If I need it or not.

0patience

2012 Ford F-450 diesel. Developed an oil leak at the rear of the engine.
Beings as we put a lot of miles on our trucks, it was out of warranty.
To get to the oil leak, you have to lift the cab off the truck. What genius designed this?

But then people are stupid too.
The other week, a fella shows up at my house and wants me to fix an engine on his car.
It seems 5 years ago, I built a 427 for a 70 Chevelle and this guy purchased the car and now the engine is having some problems. It seems he thinks I should fix the engine under warranty.

So let's see if I got this straight. I built a performance engine for a Chevelle 5 years ago. On a car that is drag raced at least 6 weekends per summer and driven regularly. And now 5 years later, a person buys this car and expects that work to be warrantied?
Yep, that's exactly what the guy expected.

Uhm, no.
So, I take a look at it. It isn't even a problem with the engine, but the cracked Accel Super coil and 5 year old spark plug wires.
People amaze me.

ddubridge

I see it everyday man. Easiest way to do head gaskets on a new duramax is to take the cab off. I'm pretty sure designers and engineers finish a car and think "what did we forget??? Oil filter, damn it, lets just throw it right here. Nobody ever need to change an oil filter."

Krieg

My wife's sister drove from Maine all the way down to GA with almost no oil in her car...changing your oil is the single most important thing you can do for your car. and for $25, I think it's a no brainer....I usally set my goal to 4k, thats the longest I go without changing my oil...but I also drive the hell out of my car...120mile round trip commute to work for me

firetruckguy

Use full synthetic oil and change oil every 10K. Use a extended drain oil filter like a purolator pure1 or equivalent. I have been using this combination on my Ram for the last 5 years and have had 0 issues.

Amos_Umwhat

0patience:

2012 Ford F-450 diesel. Developed an oil leak at the rear of the engine.
Beings as we put a lot of miles on our trucks, it was out of warranty.
To get to the oil leak, you have to lift the cab off the truck. What genius designed this?

But then people are stupid too.
The other week, a fella shows up at my house and wants me to fix an engine on his car.
It seems 5 years ago, I built a 427 for a 70 Chevelle and this guy purchased the car and now the engine is having some problems. It seems he thinks I should fix the engine under warranty.

So let's see if I got this straight. I built a performance engine for a Chevelle 5 years ago. On a car that is drag raced at least 6 weekends per summer and driven regularly. And now 5 years later, a person buys this car and expects that work to be warrantied?
Yep, that's exactly what the guy expected.

Uhm, no.
So, I take a look at it. It isn't even a problem with the engine, but the cracked Accel Super coil and 5 year old spark plug wires.
People amaze me.

That's hilarious. We used to call that Moxie, or Chutzpah. Like the kid who murders his parents, then throws himself on the mercy of the court 'because he's an orphan'.

ammodors

Maybe this is what you read: http://www.edmunds.com/car-care/stop-changing-your-oil.html I came across it a few months back and it changed my perspective on 3,000 oil changes. Good read.

Lee.mcglynn

Personally I go every 4,000 miles...since I have a older car I will never go synthetic and I'm not sure why certain places try to sell it to you unless it's a brand new car! But even then regular maintenance will help solve that! Every week ill check my oil and for those that don't know some of your cars need good oil pressure in order to run! ie. some push rod engines... But also I find you need a good oil filter if you want to run your engine for extended periods of time without changing your oil

taythegibs

i try to go every 4-5k and use a mopar oil filter when i do the oil on my jeep.

insomnniapb

Don't skimp on your oil changes! Especially if it's an older or high mileage car... You don't need to change it right at 3000, but I wouldn't go much past it. Plus keep a log of it so you can up your resell. It's dumb to not spend $25-30 and a few hours of your time to be 100% certain the life blood of your engine is in good running order.

ddubridge

insomnniapb:

Don't skimp on your oil changes! Especially if it's an older or high mileage car... You don't need to change it right at 3000, but I wouldn't go much past it. Plus keep a log of it so you can up your resell. It's dumb to not spend $25-30 and a few hours of your time to be 100% certain the life blood of your engine is in good running order.

+1

[Deleted User]

My truck tells me when to change it (dashboard message), which I think is 10k. I usually do 4k-6k mile changes and use synthetic or diesel oil (I heard its two separate things by the dealer). If I'm towing a lot, I will do it every 3000 miles.

ThreadJacker3000

james40:

My truck tells me when to change it (dashboard message), which I think is 10k. I usually do 4k-6k mile changes and use synthetic or diesel oil (I heard its two separate things by the dealer). If I'm towing a lot, I will do it every 3000 miles.

What's up James? Anyways, Chula Vista. Isn't that a vampire of some sort that eats goats or something rather?

jadelt

One of my cars has 160,000 miles and has had Mobil1 Synthetic in it since new. It gets changed every 10,000 miles.

Non synthetics get changed every 5,000 miles.

I just look at the odo and if it is at or near a 5,000 or 10,000 increment it goes for oil

I am just too simple to get complicated ..... dont overthink stuff.

[Deleted User]

ThreadJacker3000:

james40:

My truck tells me when to change it (dashboard message), which I think is 10k. I usually do 4k-6k mile changes and use synthetic or diesel oil (I heard its two separate things by the dealer). If I'm towing a lot, I will do it every 3000 miles.

What's up James? Anyways, Chula Vista. Isn't that a vampire of some sort that eats goats or something rather?

it's the offspring of a Chupacabra and a jackalope.