Oil change intervals

[ranchito]

Buy the lift, my only regret - not buying it sooner. I have a 4 post BendPak 9000xw. When not in use my ZTR sits on it, saved me from putting up another garage....

Yep, first item installed in the new barn. I went with a BendPak 2 post asymmetric and leave a car in the space. Even handy for stacking cars with the less driven car on top. I even lift a vehicle for a wax job. Sure beats bending over at an advanced age.

 

[bmg88201]

Wow, a lot of good advice and experience posted about oil change intervals. I will do the first oil change at 5,000, then Toyota does the first free one at 10,000, then I change it at 15,000 and they do it at 20,000, by that time the 2 year free oil changes are probably done and I will change it at 5,000 - 7,000 (have’nt made up my mind yet) from then on. That’s my plan. Can’t help myself, my OCD kicks in when taking care of my cars.

 

[big bubba]

a question for the oil experts that i haven't seen addressed: on a smaller truck engine (4.5 qts w/filter), do the same recommended oil changes intervals w/synthetic apply the same as the bigger sump capacities of today's truck engines? so simply by virtue of sump capacity, will a 4.5 qt capacity accumulate contaminates faster than say a v8?

also, agree changing according to severe vs normal service. to me, strictly town use, cold starts, mall cruising is more severe than longer runs, & should be changed more often. strictly my opinion.

as a footnote, my 4cyl Toyota 4x4 (prior to Tacoma) purchased new in '92 (only new i've owned) single owner, currently has 298K on original engine/drive train, never been broken into, uses qt or less every 5k change. i would never dream of going 10k on a change. i go 5k
is this flawed thinking on my part to change more often on a smaller engine. thx in advance. i'm looking forward to joining the 300k club 30 yrs in the making, regards

 

[tomplum]

Oil threads seem to bring out the opinions from everyone, not sure how many of us are oil experts! I'm sure there are many factors in determining when to change your engine oil. But I think certain engines need a bit more care in that department. These newer boosted engines seem to be happier with more frequent changes as an example. Does size matter? The age old question....

This was interesting:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Justrolledintotheshop/comments/xfcflt

 

[Cougsfan]

I find it amazing that so many people don't trust the manufacturers advice about oil change frequency, what grade gas to use, proper air pressure in tires, etc. With virtually no expertise, they somehow think they know more than the experts. My experience is just the opposite. If anything, the manufacturers recommendations are usually on the conservative side. They certainly don't want their reliability reputation tarnished by offering bad recommendations.

But people will still change their oil way too frequently because of good, but misguided intentions and bad assumptions.

 

[ASGAR]

I have a 2016 Toyota 4Runner that pulls 3-4K trailers about 15% of the time and mixed driving for the rest, some woods. This was my first '10K' oil change interval car and it bugged me to no end. After trolling the internet it seems like the oil filter will filter the oil during use to a level that it has less big particles then it had when new in the jug, viscosity does not break down over time (if the engine is not leaking fuel into oil) and it comes down to the amount of particulates the oil can suspend before sludge forms and when the additive package becomes used up and acids start to form which attacks the bearings. The additive package / resistance to acid forming can be measured as a 'TBN' number. I use a real toyota filters and Mobile ! 0W-20 (normal 10K interval) oil. My 60K mile oil change oil analysis came back today. This oil ran 10K miles and 14 months, no make up oil was added during this time. Everything in the analysis was typical for this engine baselined on 6k mile intervals. The TBN number was 4 times higher than the minimum expected. No abnormal wear profiles. The oil analysis lab recommended going to 12K next time and sample. End result, the oil was fine, plenty of additive package left. But... that is with an engine in really good shape, no ring blow by, no antifreeze seeping in, no fuel contamination etc. The reason I spent the money on this was I have two other cars in the family that I maintain that run 0W-20 and 10K intervals. I also did not have any confidence that Toyota was not pumping up the interval miles to make the car look like it had less operating costs. In Canada and Japan the same car has lower oil change intervals, closer to 6K from memory. So, bottom line for me with these modern cars is to enjoy the savings and run the cars to the 10k change intervals. For my marine and tractor diesels, 85 diesel squarebody, old jeeps etc I change yearly regardless of hours or miles. Usually low miles and hours for these but they do a lot of sitting around, condensation, dirty environments etc. Small engines I change when I feel sorry for them or it has been a few years and I have a qt or so of oil on hand. Motorcycles I change often due to the wet clutch and I ride pretty hard and very inexpensive to change. Cheers!

 

[Bob Rooks]

A wise person that believes in science instead of wives tales, hearsay, sales pitches, and glossy brochures, will change oil by analysis.

 

[greenman48]

Im getting a new Tacoma and this will be my first vehicle that uses full synthetic oil. They will change the oil every 10,000 miles for three years. But it’s hard to imagine going 10,000 miles on oil even though it’s synthetic. I’m old school and my thinking is I could change it at 5,000 and then they change it at 10,000 etc. Then after the three years of free oil changes I would then change it every, say 7,000. Is my thinking wrong?

As someone who has been using synthetic lubricants for over 20 years, here is a common mistake that many people make when using synthetic: Don't use a regular/standard oil filter. Use one that is SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED for synthetic lubricants. The reason is that synthetic lubricants have a smaller molecular diameter than petrolium-based oils so much smaller contaminates are trapped by the filter than a regular filter (the oil doesn't break down as fast as patroleum-based does). Needless to say, there is a definite science behind lubricants and there is a great deal of misleading info out there that could cost you big bucks if you aren't aware of it. Petroleum-based oils start breaking down noticeably after 3 thousand miles because of heat and friction whereas synthetic doesn't until 10+ thousand miles. Your engine is only one part of the equation when it comes to wear and tear on your drive train. I have synthetic in my engines, transmissions, differentials, and even my wheel bearings, which all contribute to the wear and tear on the drive train as well as how you drive and use your vehicle. This is why jet aircraft have been using synthetic lubricants for decades. I even use synthetics in my small engines as well as my gas and diesel equipment. If you are crazy enough to want more info on this subject, drop me a line.

 

[big bubba]

I find it amazing that so many people don't trust the manufacturers advice about oil change frequency, what grade gas to use, proper air pressure in tires, etc. With virtually no expertise, they somehow think they know more than the experts. My experience is just the opposite. If anything, the manufacturers recommendations are usually on the conservative side. They certainly don't want their reliability reputation tarnished by offering bad recommendations.

But people will still change their oil way too frequently because of good, but misguided intentions and bad assumptions.

good points....my '92 orig owners manual recommends 3k oil change intervals. understandable for the time
i now use full syn & go 5k. but yes, think we'd both agree that oil analysis would be the best guide on change intervals given one's own use. @ 4.5 qt capacity, & doing the change myself, will continue w/5k changes @ around $35 w/oem filter per change. thx for note

 

[Yander]

I run full synthetic in all of my vehicles and change them between preferably 6k but sometimes as long as 8k. Depending on when I think about it and get it in. I used to do it myself but now I take it in for an oil change. When I get my lift, probably next spring, I will be doing them myself as well as brakework.

I had some nuckleheads mess up my brakes on one of my cars, took it to them twice before realizing they don't know what they are doing, then took it to a dealer and they still are not right. I mean it isn't that hard, I think they used the cheapest crap brakes and parts. I will be re-doing them myself when I get my lift. I need to bleed them before that though. They feel like they didn't get bled right.