Engine Oil Change

[gone-ot]

Originally Posted by mcrews

First ...that's way TOOOO visual!!!


second.... '......or cheap white vine?'

...maybe, but I'll bet that NOBODY mis-understands the "analogy" being conveyed, ie: that you can NOT tell 100% just by LOOKING.

[Frank Lee]

But since you know the history of it, you can tell a lot!

[mcrews]

there nice thing about the report, is that they give you an idea of where you are at from a 'wear' point of view.
(the top portion)
the bottom portion tells you how much life you have in your oil.

a freind had bought a used truck w/ about 50k on it from a dealer. They said the do an oil channge on all used cars they sell. After driving to ca from texas and back, he remembered that I has given hom the free colloector and mailer.
so w/ about 7k on the oil he got back the results. The oil was still good and had another 5-7k of usible life left.
It reasured him that the dealer was not only reputible but actually used quality oil and filter.

[gone-ot]

...when you DON'T have a good picture, accept the DATA contained in the 1,000-WORDS!

...but, (as President Reagan said) "VERIFY!"

[A.J.]

Originally Posted by beatr911

Other factors to consider are, if the vehicle sits in a garage, carport or in the weather. Does it get an occasional long distance drive to boil out water and gasoline from the oil?

Vehicle sits outside.
I take 200 miles (one-way) road-trips 4 times a year.

[Ford Man]

One of my cars is a '97 Ford Escort that's mainly used when we take longer trips and only has 32K miles on it right now. I change the oil (conventional) in it every 3K miles regardless of elapsed time. It's a 15 year old car with 32K miles and has had 10 oil changes since new so it's averaging an oil change every 1.5 years. Viewing the head/valve train from through the oil fill hole it still looks just like new inside. With the type driving I do in this car I wouldn't be afraid to let it go 5K miles between changes regardless of elapsed time. The oil I drain out of it when I do the oil changes still looks very clean, I pour it back into oil bottles and use it for topping off oil in my '88 Escort Pony which uses/leaks lots of oil. If it were me and most of the trips were short trips of under about 10 miles where the oil barely reaches temperature I'd continue to change it every 3K miles, but if the oil get hot enough to burn off moisture it should be able to go 5K miles with no problem regardless of elapsed time, maybe even further on synthetic.

When I was a child my dad had a '68 Mercury that was used basically for longer trips for the first several years of it's life. He changed the oil every 3K miles regardless of elapsed time and this was back when oil wasn't as good as it is today. When he sold the car it had 168K miles on it and if I recall correctly it wasn't using but about 1/2 quart of oil between changes.

[Frank Lee]

When I was a child my dad had a '68 Mercury that was used basically for longer trips for the first several years of it's life. He changed the oil every 3K miles regardless of elapsed time and this was back when oil wasn't as good as it is today. When he sold the car it had 168K miles on it and if I recall correctly it wasn't using but about 1/2 quart of oil between changes.

I think this is the key reason the 3000 mile change interval is still with us in this day and age of far better oils AND engines: momentum. Plain and simple momentum. For every story about a long lived car with excessively changed oil, I can give one about a long lived car that didn't have lots of/regular oil changes.

[user removed]

I have seen a Nissan 2 liter 4 cylinder with 540K miles that looked like new inside and ran like new. 110 mile commute every week day. The car was rusted so bad you could see the pressboard of the door's inside trim panel from outside the car.

regards
Mech

[luvtheus]

Amsoil ASL series will allow up to 25,000 miles or one year between oil changes or their SSO (signature series) will allow up to 35,000 miles or one year. Ofcourse this depends on the type of driving you do, normal or severe service and condition of your engine. You must also use an Amsoil oil filter to obtain this extended oil change interval claim from Amsoil. The SSO or signature series is a 0w30. Go to the Amsoil web site and check it out. I use their products in all of my vehicles including their lubes. You will also save money along with using less oil plus your engine will last forever. Find a dealer in your area as you cannot buy Amsoil at any parts places. This is how they keep their prices low. Once you start using Amsoil you will never stop using it.

[redorchestra]

can you change an oil filter without draining the oil? would it be a good idea to change the filter and top up the oil if you were going to go long intervals between changes?