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Oil change: 3,000 miles or 5,000 miles?

How often do you change oil?

  • Total voters
    39
Wife's 13 Malibu has the life meter on it so when it says to, we change it. Napa Gold filter and Valvoline Max Life 5W20. I've never bothered to figure the interval on it.
My big truck gets the oil changed about once a year, before the family beach trip. Mileage varies. Napa Gold filter and 10W40 Havoline.
For the first change on the Xterra I'm going with manufactures recommended interval but the oil is clean and its not burning any so I'll probably go longer next time and use Valvoline Max Life 5W30 in it with the factory Nissan filter.
K5 gets it once a year (when its running) and had never been near the 3k mile mark. It gets Havoline 10W30 and a Napa Gold filter.
 
ChrisPerry said:
I run full synthetic and change once a year. Then again I only put 3000-3500 miles a year on my truck.

My work truck we change by the oil meter. 10,000-12,500 usually.
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Same here. I run Royal Purple full synthetic and maybe only do 2500 miles a year, so once a year is how often I do it too.
 
I call bull on the 6 month thing. I've sent samples to blackstone that were a year old and there was never an issue of acid build up. I think 1 year on a change is just fine, and in fact on some of my low hour use equipment like forklifts, bobcat, etc. I go 18-24 months.
 
rjfguitar said:
I call bull on the 6 month thing. I've sent samples to blackstone that were a year old and there was never an issue of acid build up. I think 1 year on a change is just fine, and in fact on some of my low hour use equipment like forklifts, bobcat, etc. I go 18-24 months.
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All of the oil analysis I've seen reference to (real world stuff) since we went down that road indicates the same...easily one year, if not two or three, and that's with conventional oil or synthetic. Learn something new every day, and it's decent news for those of us that have vehicles that sit for long periods. Carbed engines tend to exacerbate the problem, but much of it still seems to revolve around the oil getting hot, as it should.

Even with milky oil (from short trips, high humidity, cool weather) the one result I've seen showed the oil was still able to do its job. Fuel dilution was a bit of an issue, but that's going to be engine dependent, and I assume also related to not getting the oil nice and hot.
 
My '15 Dodge Cummins is 15k , when I first saw it I felt the need to call the dealer to verify it. Currently at 60+k no problems. This replaced a '06 Ford 6.0 turd that specified 5k oil changes.

My older trucks and Jeeps are more on a yearly type schedule, or when I think they need it, as they don't see many miles.
 
My 6.2L takes 8 quarts of 0w20. I have had 5 oil changes and just turned 30,000 miles. Usually hits 30% on the OLM around 5000 miles. However, I had one oil change that it didn't hit that until 8,000 miles. But that was a lot of highway driving because of going on vacations. The OLM seems to factor in temperature (probably because of condensation). They don't make a big oil filter for this motor so I use a Purolator synthetic filter. Since they're rare, I have like 20 of them I picked up on clearance for $2.99 at department stores.

My previous truck was a L86 (aluminum) 6.0L, it was changed every 6500-9500 miles. It took 6 quarts of 5w30.

My wife has had several 2.4L 4 cylinders taking 5 quarts and 6 cylinders taking 4 quarts, each going 4500-7500 miles. Sometimes these got all the way down to 0% before they looked dirty.

I usually factor in the OLM with how dirty the oil looks. If it looks dirty at 30% it gets changed, if it looks clean at 20% I keep running it.

Everything else, lawnmowers, mud truck, tractor, trencher, etc it gets changed once a year or when it looks dirty. The reason I change it at the one year mark is moisture.


The part that baffles me is that my new truck takes 2 quarts more oil and it doesn't go any farther on an oil change. It also loses fuel economy as the oil gets older. I think maybe as the oil gets dirtier/loses viscosity GM keeps the oil pump in high pressure mode more. It has a 2 volume/2pressure oil pump in it.
 
i am using Mobil 1 synthetic and mobil 1 filter in the 4.3 and am thinking of 5000---it would work out to be about 6 months anyways and i don't think that is too obsessive compulsive :o

i ran Redline 10W-30 synthetic in the 305 and the only reason why i ran this brand is because the 305 had flat lifters and Redline was one of the few oils that had enough ZDDP and i wanted to be safe even though stock engines with stock valve springs may not need the extra ZDDP? i would change this once a year before i overheated it. Because i didn't care--- this engine was already 36 years old----it was from a 78 malibu. i mean this was back when Carter was in the white house. It ran good though.

Now, both Mobil AND Royal Purple are stating 15,000 before oil changes! So i don't know. But i feel every 6 months is not too anal or wasting money because it's not that much money.
 
beags86 said:
I have my opinion, interested to hear yours.
What is your preferred oil change interval?
3 thou, 5 thou or something else.

Don't care if it's carb'ed, efi, diesel. Just your opinion on what's right and wrong.
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I change mine every 3K miles simply because an oil change is a lot less expensive than an engine rebuild and it can NEVER hurt to change more than needed. Now if you want to get technical regardless of miles if the oil becomes dark or black it NEEDS to be changed whether it's got 3K or 3 miles on it.
 
Justin V said:
Doesn't matter as long as you use a BG MOA additive, get the cheap chit.

At least that is what I do. Good filter, cheap oil, and an MOA.

I watched a BG demo once. 350 in a permanent free standing cradle (no trans, just a flywheel), wired and plumbed to run. The oil pan wasn't bolted on, it was held up by a scissor jack that was welded to the sump. Before the Rep fired the engine, he put 4 qts of off the shelf cheapo oil and a can of MOA. He let it get to temp, and showed every person there that the oil pressure guage was functional by running through the RPM range and observing the pressure changes. He then set the engine to approximately 2K RPMs, and lowered the Jack holding the pan up. Oil pressure hit zero, and the guy would just let it run. 5-6 minutes at a time, not worried about a thing. Coolant temps never rose, and the engine never knocked.

Granted, it never had any significant load, it was just a motor in a cradle. It sold me though.
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they have a video out...

 
5k on my Silverado and the wife's 2013 Toyota Highlander with the 3.something V6.

Either Mobil 1 or Valvoline synthetic and either NAPA or WIX filters. Whatever I find at the time.

Could probably go longer on both but I am comfortable with the interval. I put at least 20k a year on my Silverado (90 mile commute 3-4 times a week) and while she doesn't drive a lot we live about 2 hours from any real cities.

Even run the same filter/oil in my John Deere lawn tractor. Yearly changes although I'm overdue on it.
 
'03 2500HD 6.0L that was bought new and '07 Honda Odyssey was bought at 1 year old get changed when the oil life meter tells me to, and honestly don't pay that much attention to how many miles that actually is. Both have over 130k miles on them with no issues.

'03 Hyundai Elantra work beater that was bought new by my mother-in-law. She put over 90k on it before I got it and was pretty good on getting it serviced but not sure how many miles she went. The car now has over 170k on it and I change it about every 6,000 miles.

'90 K5 with the "old school" 6.2L diesel got the oil changed around 3,000 miles when I daily drove it many years ago. I bought it in '94 with around 49k on the clock and it now has around 120k. The older diesels got a LOT of soot build-up in the oil. You would change the oil and filter and after running the engine for 2 minutes it looked dark and dirty again. I once changed the oil twice in a couple hundred miles just to see what it looked like and still looked black after the second oil change.

For oil I used to use Mobil1 synthetic in the 2500HD and Honday for years but now just use the correct viscosity standard oil based on what is on sale at the time. On the Hyundai I don't know what brand of oil was used before I got it but the guy who did the services (her neighbor that worked on cars out of his garage) always used the cheapo house-brand Autozone filters. The Blazer always has gotten Rotella T.
 
In my '89 Isuzu Amigo, when the oil needs a change the pressure drops when the engine is up to temperature. That's when I change the oil.

I used to use Castrol GTX 20-50, but I can cannot longer find it anywhere. 20-50 oil in any brand seems to be scarce now too.

Anybody else notice that?

Since the Eco-friendly oils hit the markets, I also add 1/2 bottle of Lucas Break in lube to for the ZDDP that these older flat tappet/rocker/lifter engines have.

Castrol is still my preferred brand, Valvoline comes in second and then Rotella or Delo. I never use any Pennsylvania based oils since my days as an engine rebuilder and I saw the coagulated junk in the engine.

I saw many Ford 302s with a 360 degree wall of sludge, 5 inches high that looked like clotted pudding around the oil pump pickup on those little engines. The tip off was when I'd pull the pan plug and nothing came out. The other tip was that 1/2 quart of new oil showed 2 inches up the dipstick from not showing on the stick before.

Did I mention that I dislike Arnie's tractor too? Millennials won't know what that means.
 
"Arnie's tractor" = Penzoil,correct ?..

When I worked at a parts store in the 80's we had some customers blow their engines up after using Quaker State 10W-40 that was mis-labled--it was really SAE 40!..some who got their engines to start at 10 degrees had them suffer lack of lube long enough to spin a bearing or seize them--they had a recall and ended up paying a lot of damage claims!..

My dad used to use only Quaker State or Sears "Spectrum" oil back in the 80's..never had any oil related troubles,but he was a stickler for getting the oil changed every 3000 miles on his own vehicles..
I have seen some engines run on oils from PA that had "jelly" in the valley and the oil pan,the crank & rods had cut channels in the goop,and wouldn't drain out if you removed the drain plug unless you added a quart or more of kerosene to the crankcase!..

I still see 20W-50 around,though not as much as in previous years--stores stock some in Castrol GTX ,but most of it is off brand stuff like Kenwood or Tech 2000 Walmart,etc...straight weight oil is getting harder to get,SAE 30 is widely available,but anything thicker or thinner is rather scarce around here now...

Some of the SAE 30 sold locally is an off brand mineral based crap,says on the bottle "not for use in cars made after 1932"...it is labeled as "non-detergent" and I only bought some of that to put in my garden tractor transaxles that specify SAE 30 ND,though I have used gear oil in them with no ill effects so far also..its OK for an air compressor too probably,and your squirt oil cans to lube stuff around the house--but not much else!..
 
I still see STP locally ,though not as much as in past years..
I think Lucas,Bardahl, and Motor Medic and similar oil thickeners have become more popular ..

Years ago I came across STP gear treatment that comes in tubes like shampoo,at a "Big Lots" store that buys up a lot of close outs and overstock--with I had bought several tubes,I only picked up a few for a buck each..when I went back to get more,the entire display was gone!..

That stuff is real thick,almost like a gel,and clings like crazy to anything you apply it too,it'll make a "string" when you pull the tube away..it has a lot of zinc and anti-wear additives in it,makes a great assembly lube and it resists washing off ,so you can brush it on things you dont want to rust too..I use it on ball bearings I stash away to keep them from rusting in storage..
 
diesel4me said:
I still see STP locally ,though not as much as in past years..
I think Lucas,Bardahl, and Motor Medic and similar oil thickeners have become more popular ..

Years ago I came across STP gear treatment that comes in tubes like shampoo,at a "Big Lots" store that buys up a lot of close outs and overstock--with I had bought several tubes,I only picked up a few for a buck each..when I went back to get more,the entire display was gone!..

That stuff is real thick,almost like a gel,and clings like crazy to anything you apply it too,it'll make a "string" when you pull the tube away..it has a lot of zinc and anti-wear additives in it,makes a great assembly lube and it resists washing off ,so you can brush it on things you dont want to rust too..I use it on ball bearings I stash away to keep them from rusting in storage..
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I know it's super hard to find out exactly what's inside a given additive, but that sounds a lot like the Lucas stuff that is still easily found.
 
3000 miles on my square / other hobby vehicles (carbs run dirtier, flat tappet cams are fussier), and 5000 miles on my modern daily driver. Theyre all spotless under the valve covers.
 
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