Changing oil not Necessary

[greenitup]

if it isn't getting dirty maybe, but you would still need to add oil regularly. If you fail to have enough oil for lubrication your engine will eventually just die and you either buy a new engine or car.

[Ford Man]

My theory on this matter has always been oil is cheaper than parts. The only car that I ever had that I didn't change the oil in was an old Chrysler I used to have. It had in access of 200,000 miles and was using a quart about every 300-400 miles so I just changed it by continuously adding oil. At 300-400 miles between adding a quart it was essentially changing its own oil about every 1500-2000 miles. I drove it about 30,000 miles without an oil change then ended up selling it because I had bought another car. I know the person I sold it to drove it several thousand miles before getting rid of it. I certainly wouldn't recommend not changing the oil on a regular basis. One of the cars I currently own is an '88 Ford Escort that has had regular service intervals of 3000-4000 miles and currently has 478,000+ miles on it and is still only using a quart of oil about every 1000-1500 miles. I feel sure that regular service and maintenance has played a huge role in its longevity.

[Artan]

I agree with Roman. The oil never gets broken, especially Full Synthetic Oil. I own a VW Passat 1.9 TDI 2003, Now i have 33000 km (20500 Miles) 18 months since i dindt change the oil and i am never going to do it. I inspect the oil every month and the viscosity is as it is new. The oil in the engine is Castrol Edge TurboDiesel 5W-40 (it says should be changed every 15000 km (9500 Miles )or max 12 months. I will never change this oil unless it losses viscosity. So far everything is perfect. The regular oil change is what the oil companies want! But the truth is something else. Anyway you decide but dont forget the oil that you change they take it in the lab again put a spoon of chemical and resell it back to you. This is all fraud. And about the small particles of metal, come on these particles most of them are stopped by the filter and the really small ones are so small that if you put them in the eye of the human they wont cause you any problem. I absolutelly believe that there is no need to ever change the oil in the engine.

[dremd]

Artan, I would suggest that you have your oil analyzed by Blackstone (or similar Lab) to see how abrasive your oil is getting, it VERY WELL may be perfectly fine, but it is entirely possible that it is loaded with Metal and is wearing away at your motor.

[Artan]

Mr. Dremd; I regularly check the oil in my car. I put some on my finger and supressit it with other finger. ON the other hand i put the same oil but NEW to check if there is a difference between old and new oil. Absolutely nothing. The viscosity is totally the same. If metal particles would be big you would feel it on your finger. There are metal particles in the oil for sure but there are extremely small, so small that even if you put it on your eye they wont hurt. I will keep contacts on this blog and i will report periodically to whats happening with the oil in my engine. I am absolutelly convinced that we never need to change oil in the engine as long as the oil doesnt get contaminated with water, fuel, other external chemicals or contaminants.

[dremd]

Quick story.

My Dad purchased an 06 Sprinter 87,000 miles, I changed the oil with Rotella T6 (same blue jug I run in my TDI). I pulled a sample at 10,000 miles and sent it to blackstone it felt fine, looked normal etc. A few days later I got a call from Blackstone asking what kind of top end work had just been done, iron was 136 (normal is 37, and my car runs around 40), Silicon was 33 (normal is 5 my car is 4) and aluminum 28 (normal 14, my car 4). I don't know of any work done to the van, but hey advised to drain IMMEDIATELY and resample in 2,500 miles. (he hasn't racked up that many miles yet).

Anyway, I tried a simple single blind test of "feel, look, and smell" for the 2 viles of oil (mostly just to verify that I could in fact look at oil as well as a typical mechanically inclined person). None of the 3 participants (nor myself) could tell them apart even though the Sprinter oil had at least 5 times the contaminants as the VW.

Seriously, looking, feeling, smelling is basically usless for metallic wear until you need a motor (your oil clearances are much smaller / smoother / harder than your fingers are).

You can detect Fuel in oil, partially by nose, and partially by putting a drop on a white paper towel (Diesel fuel wicks out farther than the oil), however fuel in oil is only one potential issue.

Another thing to check when extending drain intervals is your thermostat, running your oil (TDI has an Oil-> water heat exchanger) at the appropriate temperature helps evaporate the water out of your oil which can cause acid formation which in turn corrodes parts.

Best of luck to you, and seriously, there is a good chance that your oil is in decent shape, but how do you know.

Oh, BTW: my longest drain interval in my TDI was just over 60,000 miles, I drained it at timing belt change just because, the UOA still looked fine. I do have a Bypass oil filter and working thermostat, and I drive 20 miles each way highway several times per week (gets oil all the way up to temp). My oil consumption is about 1/3 cup every 10,000 miles, but I do have a leaky valve cover gasket, which accounts for some of that. My car has 238,000 miles just over 100,000 of that is with me owning it with a bypass filter installed.

[Thymeclock]

Maybe this thread belongs in The Unicorn Corral?

[jkv357]

Some surprising comments...

Thinking you are saving money by not changing your oil is crazing IMO.

Oil picks up contaminants like acids and moisture, and the additives wear out. Worn oil may still feel slippery, but it's not doing it's full job inside the engine.

Regular oil changes with high quality synthetic oil is dirt cheap compared to repairing the damage that can be done by broken-down overused oil.

[Frank Lee]

Originally Posted by Daox

You can most likely increase oil change intervals, but you still need to change filters every few thousand miles to ensure it stays filtered.

I have never seen any evidence, anywhere, printed or from personal experience to indicate there is enough impurities and gook floating around in an engine to warrant filter changes more frequent than factory recommended for "normal" duty, with the exception of off-road or agricultural equipment.

The crankcase should be basically sealed from the exterior elements, so what the filter has to deal with is primarily blowby (which could contain some particulates if one is in the habit of running no air filter) and some wear particles from internal bearing surfaces.

I'd be more concerned about oil additive packages wearing out, and accumilation of acids and possibly moisture, than particulates. It follows then, that changing the filter and not the oil doesn't do much good.

I've seen a vehicle with "no oil changes" before; it didn't seem to be affecting it in any bad way at all. That said, I'm a creature of habit too and while I'm comfortable with far longer change intervals than many others, I can't bring myself to stop oil changing altogether. My experience is that extended oil changes have resulted in no harm as I've not had any lubrication-related problems at all since I've abandoned the frequent/recommended change schedules.

[Artan]

We have to think logically and not what somebody else is imposing us to believe. It is very simple to determine whether your engine needs oil change or not. Did anybody ever in his life saw a test with two same engines, one changing the oil and the other no? I have never seen such a test. It is very simple to determine but the oil companies dont want that test. They wanna sell more and more. They dont care for pollution and global warming. It is extremely simple to find out, i have never seen any documentation program which could be done very easily with two same engines! Think people,