Occasional users: how often do you change oil?

[Agvg]

If the oil is of normal colour you don't have much water in it, is diesel engines and they are not made of porcelain. I run my tractor a few years on the engine oil, in the rear I changed it in 1988 and it's still like new. It has run 400 hours since then so I might change it some day.

On my other I run 100 hours intervals and that's ca 2,5 years.

 

[Motorboatin]

The biggest problem with water building up is that it causes oxidation to occur in the oil. When the engine warms up the water boils off but the oxidation stays

 

[Industrial Toys]

It depends a lot on your climate. Big temperature swings are the worst.

I never figured out why they (always) say to change oil more often in dusty conditions. Not like engines are run without an air filter.

 

[Trillium Farm]

The problem with oil analysis is the cost. Blackstone charges $28 and it can be cheaper to just change the oil

Exactly!! These UOA are worthless for someone with 1 or 2 units, it's cheaper to do the Oil change than the analysis or pretty close to it. UOA are worth it for someone using machines with same oil & type of work then with 1 UOA you can determine the state of all the others.

 

[Trillium Farm]

As I understand (rightly or wrongly), most moisture and un-burnt fuel in the engine block gets evaporated and vented (or goes to intake) when engine comes up to operating temperature.

Actually as it was explained to me this is not enough. The engine must come up to operating temperature and the Worked for about 30 min for all moisture and fuel to be burnt off

 

[ccsial]

Actually as it was explained to me this is not enough. The engine must come up to operating temperature and the Worked for about 30 min for all moisture and fuel to be burnt off

I agree. My Corvette water temp comes up after a few miles but it takes a lot longer for the oil temp to come up.

 

[Elkins45]

Exactly!! These UOA are worthless for someone with 1 or 2 units, it's cheaper to do the Oil change than the analysis or pretty close to it. UOA are worth it for someone using machines with same oil & type of work then with 1 UOA you can determine the state of all the others.

You can get a UOA kit from Wix for under $10 if you buy it from Rock Auto. That's less than a gallon of Rotella and would be interesting. I just might do one on the oil that's in my tractor now and post the results here.

 

[fried1765]

Well that is the answer for the OP. With oil analysis, he may discover there痴 nothing wrong with going 3+ years on a low hour machine. My manual doesn稚 even mention any change based on anything other then hours used so if an owner is going to change based on something else he is in uncharted territory without an analysis.

Regardless itç—´ your money, do what you want.

I put about 10-15 hours each year on my tractors.
I change oil every 2 or three years.
My tractors would likely be just fine if I never changed the oil.
Both my tractors, and I, are too old for me to be concerned with oil change frequency.

 

[LD1]

Normally every year isn't a problem for my 200hr intervals.

But my opinion: if when you normally operate the tractor, you are working it long enough to get everything up to operating temp....I have non-issue going 2 or 3 years. My backhoe is a good example of this. Maybe 30-50 hours a year....but when I do use it....it's for 3+hours at a time.

Now if you make a habit of just firing it up long enough to take trash out, or bring a bucket load of wood to the shop....and more times than not you aren't getting it up to temp....then I'd do it yearly and be done

 

[BarnieTrk]

This subject is discussed ALL THE TIME on many forums....but that's ok.

My 2 cents are: Once oil/lube is removed from its sealed drum or gallon jub and is placed into service - such as into a crankcase, tank rearend housing, etc. it is being exposed to oxidation and evaporating. Any crankcase has a vent to the atmosphere which typically allows for any offgasing when heated & cooled from operation. This also allows for moisture to enter and for portions of the oil/lube mixture to vaporize off. I am confident there are many times (epecially in the winter) that these lube systems do not get up to temp to clear out any moisture/condensation collect inside. So in considering this fact, regardless of hours ran, I believe it is prudent to change the motor oil & filter at least annually.

Some folks desire to follow the Operator's Manual to the letter. Fine - that's their decision. But I realize that these same manuals are very generalized - only varying between 'cold operation' and 'warm operation'. Secondly, as these vehicles/manuals age, they don't update as newer lubricates become available. My Granddad always told me, "Don't worry about what type of oil or when it was last changed, but just make sure it HAS OIL IN IT." In other words, what is important is to NOT operate it a quart or two low where it may overheat or suck air into the system.....

Rearend lubes, powersteering fluid, hydraulic fluid, etc. less often. If it's simple (like an external, spin-on fitler) I usually try to change the hydraulic filter annually, but only top off the hydraulic fluid. I try to bled brake systems annually, (and I recently will add hydraulic clutches to this annual bleeding). I test the pH of my coolants to track their acidity (keep above 8+pH). Grease stuff at least quarterly or as use dictates..... That's my 2 cents. Please carry on with other opinions.... :thumbsup:

BarnieTrk

 

[rScotty]

I put about 10-15 hours each year on my tractors.
I change oil every 2 or three years.
My tractors would likely be just fine if I never changed the oil.
Both my tractors, and I, are too old for me to be concerned with oil change frequency.

I hear you. I do the same. I had a mechanical repair shop for years, and saw engines come in where the owner probably didn't change the oil oftener than every ten years if that. That made me curious enough to look closely at the innards.

After years I have to say I've seen plenty of engines damaged by loosing coolant, and a fair amount from running too low on oil, but I cannot remember a single engine where I saw wear that I could say was caused by infrequent oil changes or old motor oil....or even by the grade and brand of oil used. And I've seen oil so old that the whole inside of the bottom of the engine was coated with tarry gunk.

Lots of diesels came to the shop with oil so old and black that it hardly seemed like motor oil at all. Same story though...., no rubbing or frictional wear in the engine that I could attribute to the old oil.
just sayin'.....
rScotty

 

[EddieWalker]

You bring up an interesting point. I like to watch some of those car shows and American Pickers, and it's amazing how they can get a car to start after it's been sitting for decades. I've never seen any of those shows do anything about the original oil that's in the engines. They just use fresh fuel and jump the battery.

 

[JWR]

I hear you. I do the same. I had a mechanical repair shop for years, and saw engines come in where the owner probably didn't change the oil oftener than every ten years if that. That made me curious enough to look closely at the innards.

After years I have to say I've seen plenty of engines damaged by loosing coolant, and a fair amount from running too low on oil, but I cannot remember a single engine where I saw wear that I could say was caused by infrequent oil changes or old motor oil....or even by the grade and brand of oil used. And I've seen oil so old that the whole inside of the bottom of the engine was coated with tarry gunk.

Lots of diesels came to the shop with oil so old and black that it hardly seemed like motor oil at all. Same story though...., no rubbing or frictional wear in the engine that I could attribute to the old oil.
just sayin'.....
rScotty

Amen.

 

[diesel85]

My oil change logic: As long as the engine isn't operating odd (rich, using coolant, etc), I stick to the hours. Sometimes a machine won't get it's oil changed for 3 years.

I do the same with my motorcycle's oil and gearbox lube. Every 5000 miles on the nose I change it. Sometimes that takes me 2-3 years to reach that. Been doing that for a long time.

With today's lubricants, as long as water, fuel, or other harmful contaminants get in the oil, time doesn't matter.

Again, been doing this all my life. Even on two farms I worked at.

 

[Looking4new]

I have two cars (oil changed annually in spring), a generator ( change it every two years), ride on mower gets changed annually and the Kioti and it gets changed in spring. I always change filters when I do oil changes. Everything gets greased twice a year EXCEPT the loader which gets greased once a week. The ho gets greased before I use it.