How long do you go between oil changes?

[Dargo]

I do miss the smell of that castor based oil in my old BSA flat tracker.

What is Klotz Benoil (not sure on the spelling made from? I used to use it way back when I raced motocross. I recall that smell very well. I know it sounds odd, but I really liked that smell.

 

[MikePA]

I guess the 'ideal' would be to run UOA on every unit before every oil change to make your decisions to change fluids only when needed, but that's clearly a bit less than a logical or reasonable option

'a less than logical or reasonable option' is an understatement for anyone who doesn't go through gallons of oil at each change, which are the vast majority of people both on TBN and in the general population.

A 'quick and dirty' cost analysis shows why this is not only 'a less than logical or reasonable option' it's a no brainer for most people to change oil based on time and/or mileage.

A Blackstone oil analysis costs $22.50 - Click Here

A gallon of Delvac at Autozone costs $12.99 - Click Here

Let's see, spend $22.50 to determine if I have to change the oil or $17.99 (oil and filter) and simply change the oil. As I said, for most people, it's an economic no brainer.

 

[Duffster]

I change my oil in my 7.3 PSD's every 10-12k miles. I use Rotella dino 15w-40 and sometimes JD 50, typically a NAPA filter.

My trips range from going up the street 3 blocks to get a pizza to extended highway trips to plowing snow and not shutting off for 60+ hours.

About equal parts city miles, highway miles, snowplowing hours and trailer pulling miles up to 18k pounds.

My UOA's consist of a visual inspection of the oil in the bucket.

Right wrong or otherwise that is how I roll.

 

[Crash101]

Dodge/Cummins gets changed at 7500 miles, BMW Z4 gets it's synthetic changed also at 7500. Hyundai Genesis 3.8 sedan will get it at 5000 mile intervals, until I change it over to synthetic, then it will also be at 7500. Tractor is done in accordance with the owners manual.

 

[Dargo]

Hyundai Genesis 3.8 sedan will get it at 5000 mile intervals, until I change it over to synthetic, then it will also be at 7500.

Sorry for the departure from oil change intervals in specific, but I'm curious as to how you like your Genesis. I've heard that they are just plain amazing and a particularly good value.

 

[GreenLawnFarm]

every 3000

 

[irvingj]

Used to do it every 3000, but now go to 5000 on gas-engined cars.

VW TDI requires their SPECIAL oil ($$- VW Spec 505.01), but interval is 10,000.

 

[Crash101]

Sorry for the departure from oil change intervals in specific, but I'm curious as to how you like your Genesis. I've heard that they are just plain amazing and a particularly good value.

Had it since last September, wife drives it mostly, but every time I get in it I'm blown away by the overall quality, features, comfort and performance. I sure wish GM, Ford or Chrysler could build something like it and be able to sell it for what a working person can afford.
As far as oil changes, I had the first one done at 5000 miles (dealer supplied), but I'll change over to synthetic for the next one. I still may take it to the dealer (if their not too $$$) It might make it easier to prove oil change intervals if I need to for warranty issues if that should come up later.

 

[FlaDon]

GM dealer up north says 5K. Down here, 3K. I split the diff and do it at 4K. Manual says the oil sentry will tell you sometime between 3 and 10K that it needs changed on regular oil.

 

[scoutcub]

06 F350 PSD, Amsoil, every 10K. Have been considering lowering interval to 5K due to "mostly" medium/heavy towing.....we'll see how it looks next oil change. Been Ok thus far, but new trailer alone weighs #3000 more than old one.....

 

[buckle97]

I figured we'd have seen a really long interval guy by now. You know, something like 25k to 30k between changes.

I'm sure these guys never got past the thread title which included "oil change." It seems like anybody who likes to discuss oil and interval changes are not much on long intervals.

 

[Baucom]

There are a lot of people who like to discuss oil and change intervals specifically to extend their oci to 15K-20K+. They tend to like to discuss things like the best bypass filtration systems and the merits of certain synthetic oils. Done right, extended drain intervals work well, especially for those who put a lot of miles on a vehicle each year. OTOH, most who like to discuss oil start getting the itch to change it before their interval gets too long.

 

[riptides]

I'm sure these guys never got past the thread title which included "oil change." It seems like anybody who likes to discuss oil and interval changes are not much on long intervals.

I beg to differ. I have just plain negeleted my S-10. Like I said earlier I cannot figure out when it had an oil change. All my other vehicles get proper servicing. One of the tractors is in the shop now for 300.5 hour servicing. Say a BIG OUCH on that. Ruptured a hydo line seal. Go figure.

Don't know what it is about the Chevy. Maybe this year I'll get around to it. Oil level looks fine, just c a n 't get i t to the s h op, or crawl under it.....

 

[JIGBUILDER]

Cummins gives us a 7500/15000 mile oil change schedule for our '03 to '07 5.9 HO engines in our Dodge trucks. I currently running the 15k oil and filter schedule on my '03 2500 305/555 HO truck. My wifes '06 1500 GM gets a oil/filter change when the DIC says which is usually around 6500-8000 depending on how its driven.

My tractor is every 80-100 hours depending on how much haying and the season

 

[MESSMAKER]

It seems to me that changing your oil at 3000 miles is overkill. Why 3000. Why not 2000 or for that matter 1000. You need to change oil when it can no longer do the job. Changing your oil at 3000 instead of 7500 will cost you almost $1200-$1500 during the life (200,000 miles) of an engine. I don't call that cheap. I managed a fleet for several years. We based our maintenance schedule off information from New York City cabs(severe driving). They did a long term test on oil changes and found no difference in engine life in the vehicles following the 3000 interval and those following their service manual. I suspect that with a premium filter and synthetic oil, 10,000 is not much of a gamble for most drivers.

 

[Builder]

Doesn't 5,000 miles of trailer towing, snowplowing, etc. break down oil faster than 5,000 miles of driving to the mall? If you own a diesel, you know you're dumping more soot into the oil with harder useage.

I have seen my oil start looking pretty sooty & beat after just 1-2 weeks or 500 miles of heavy tow and look pretty clean for 2000 miles if I'm just driving with normal loads of tools.

You guys oughta consider oil testing and just taking a look at your oil or at least considering how hard your useage is between changes instead of relying on numbers.

Way back I used to work with a heavy truck mechanic on a decent sized fleet of medium & heavy trucks and he would always test the oils, not go by mileage.

 

[Hematite]

Builder:
Yes, that's correct. Short of actually testing the oil, the owners manual on the F150 says 5K in normal service and 3K for severe service. Severe service does include trailer towing. So the oil change interval should be governed by the operating conditions.

 

[tommu56]

My truck (06 2500 ram ctd maxicab) calls for 7,500 miles or 15,000 between changes I usually do it first weekend after I hit 10,000 no problems so far in 66,000 miles in 3 years with dino oil.

tom

 

[Baucom]

OT:

Hematite--how's that MF 2925 holding up for you? The guy that delivered my 2823 had 1 of the 2900 series MFs and spoke very highly of it. There aren't too many of us on TBN with a MF mower.

Back on topic--I stick with the severe svc. schedule in the manual on my truck just because I meet several of the criteria for severe svc. About the only people who meet the "normal" svc. standards are those who put on nearly all of their miles cruising on the hwy unloaded. Stop and go, dusty conditions, short trips, towing/hauling, are all considered severe, and most people will meet at least a couple of those conditions.

 

[Duffster]

I just talked to a friend of mine that does fleet maintenance for an OTR trucking company. He said they change the oil every 30k miles on regular dino oil.

He said they take random samples or if they suspect something on a particular rig.