who wants to test Mobil 1?

[sled_dog]

someone go buy a brand new truck. drain the oil, throw in that 15k oil from mobil one. and test it. i bet its sludgy and ****ty by the "second" oil change. I had a Mitsubishi Endeavor come in, 15K, second oil change. Did an engine oil flush on it. Wasn't the prettiest 15k engine I've ever seen... but of course thats not Mobil 1... just wonder how the hell they are going to try and get away with this. I'm guessing by the time ****s all damaged what do they care they can blame it on something else...

 

[johnathan]

Well if you read the bottle closely it says to follow the recomended service interval which kinda contridicts the whole 15K.....

 

[Cornfield creations]

Well the oil filter is only designed for about 3,000 miles worth of filtering. After that it just bypasses and carbon and metal just keeps building up. I personally think its all a joke. Some manufacturers rec. every 7,000 miles for an oil change. Yes they are making cars last longer these days, but you gotta remember they also want to sell cars. If they build a car that lasts a lot longer, they are going to sell fewer cars.

So we just slip in things like longer intervals, everyday people don't catch on, they think its cool that their vehicle can run longer on their nasty oil. Which 9 times out of 10 is black and nasty. Working at my parents quick lube and seeing peoples habits change is disturbing.

They used to change their oil every 3,000, maybe a few hundred over nothing major, but almost every car that comes in now is at least double over, or more! Then they cry around, why is my oil off the dipstick? why is my engine leaking? Why is my engine burning oil? They realize that the engine is worn out at 75,000 miles because of extended oil changes and they trade it off so someone else has their problems.

Sorry just felt like venting a bit..lol

 

[hawkeye649]

My 1990 GMC owners manual suggests oil changes between I believe 1,500 and (for sure) 12,000 miles. My driving habbits dictate a 7,000 mile change, so using mobil 1 synth I change every 5k. My manual also says that the filter should be changed every other change, but that's hard to remember, so I just change it every time. I usually change my air filter every time as well, barring that it isn't looking clean.

 

[sled_dog]

eh on Mobil1's site they say the filter is fine to go 15k as well...

 

[Diesel Dan]

I remember from college, GM sponsored program, that the filters were good for 2 oil changes. That was from ~1990. But much simpler and easier to explain to the customer to change it every oil change. If the engine is in good running condition, clean filters(air/pvc) and no oil leaks there shouldn't be that many contaminants entering the oil. The kicker can be anti-freeze contamination. It can slowly seep in without discoloring the oil but will affect the lubrication properties, I have seen lab results about this.

 

[sled_dog]

eh did a first oil change on a Mercury Mariner today. 5k miles, black as midnight oil.

 

[Cornfield creations]

Whatever happened to a break in period for oil? When you rebuild an engine, they say to change it at about 400 miles and so on. Doesn't that apply to a brand new engine as well? Changed oil first time on a motor home, 8,000 miles, 2 quarts low and black as can be. It was a g-3500 with a 350

 

[neverendingproject]

Well the oil filter is only designed for about 3,000 miles worth of filtering. After that it just bypasses and carbon and metal just keeps building up.

What about the 2 quart filter on my SBC?

 

[sled_dog]

Whatever happened to a break in period for oil? When you rebuild an engine, they say to change it at about 400 miles and so on. Doesn't that apply to a brand new engine as well? Changed oil first time on a motor home, 8,000 miles, 2 quarts low and black as can be. It was a g-3500 with a 350

manufacturers don't care. When I build an engine myself, yep, 400 or so mile oil change. Second one at about 2,000 and a specific break in procedure. You buy a car from the dealer, 0 miles, beat the hell out of it and no break in period. Don't know what they do to them before the engines get into the cars but who knows.

 

[cbbr]

German manufacturers recommend oil changes at around 15,000 - the cars have computers that dictate maintenance. They also have very specific break in periods. They have some of the longest lasting vehicles on the road. See a pattern...

 

[HarryH3]

The machining done at the factories these days is orders of magnitude better than what you'll find at the local engine reman shop. With closer tolerances, low-tension rings, etc. and a clean environment, there isn't much break-in required on factory engines today.

 

[HarryH3]

Already performing that test. Bought the '91 S-10 Jimmy brandy new in 1992. After the first 10K miles or so, it has had the oil changed every year, whether it needed it or not. Once each summer it gets a new batch of Mobil 1 and a new filter. It has 167K miles on it and runs like a top. I usually have to add 1 quart during the year to keep it topped off. I can't complain about that!

It's also still running the ATF that it left the factory with. A buddy in the trans biz told me to NEVER change the fluid in a 700R4 and it would last much longer. I decided to test his theory and am amazed at the results. This little rig has wheeled all over Colorado and I even managed to bust the rear pinion gear, but the trans is still going strong.

 

[6.2Blazer]

I do long-term durability testing for a living. Most of the newer gas engines were going 15k between oil changes with non-synthetic oil and performing a very harsh test. We also did leak down and compression testing at regular intervals on these vehicles and rarely ever saw any notable engine issues, and of those issues you probably would have had most of them even if you did oil changes at 3K.

Heck, the oil in my diesel looks extremely black after about 10 seconds of running even after 8 new quarts and a new filter.

 

[Greg72]

eh did a first oil change on a Mercury Mariner today. 5k miles, black as midnight oil.

Unfortunately, 5000 miles is a meaningless value..... that could represent anything from 80-100 operating hours (lots of highway driving) to several hundred hours of operation (little old lady).

Most heavy machinery (and boats, IIRC) measure service intervals in HOURS, not miles... which makes a lot more sense to me.

You could leave an engine idling (with an infinitely large supply of fuel) and the mileage would be 0, even after months of operation.....but I'll betcha the oil wouldn't look too good!!!!


I've always thought that adding an "hourmeter" to an engine I really cared about would be a better way to schedule it's service.

 

[chopped&bobbed77burb]

Mobil 1 is good oil but I wouldn't run it for 15k without changing the filter every 3 thou . Oil filters come in all sizes and the one for my Toyota Tercel and MR 2 is a little filter so it is going to get changed every 3 thou . I use Amsoil full syth oil and wix, hasting or k&n oil filters and I also have a filter mag attatched to the filter to catch all of the little metal particals . I have this set up on 3 of my rigs . I have noticed that when going from reg oil to synth you should change your filters a little sooner than 3k as syth oil is a high detergent oil and it really cleans the motor up and loosens up the crud and that crap has to go somewhere and it's the oil filter . Burb is getting the duel filter set up and changed over to full syth . I know people that run amsoil and keep a spare qt of mobil 1 cause its cheaper . Not all syth oil is the same .

 

[Big89Burban]

German manufacturers recommend oil changes at around 15,000 - the cars have computers that dictate maintenance. They also have very specific break in periods. They have some of the longest lasting vehicles on the road. See a pattern...

I work for BMW and we do the 15k service on all our new cars. I would def. not go past the 15k that they reccomend. In fact I would change it at 7k. My buddy bought a brand new 325i (2002) and was doing his services at 7k and everytime he changed the oil it came out just as clean as the new stuff going back in.

BTW Seems like the only car with a specific break-in is the M5 & M3. The other ones really arent definite.

 

[surpip]

It's also still running the ATF that it left the factory with. A buddy in the trans biz told me to NEVER change the fluid in a 700R4 and it would last much longer. I decided to test his theory and am amazed at the results. This little rig has wheeled all over Colorado and I even managed to bust the rear pinion gear, but the trans is still going strong.

see i just cant see how that is good.
i change the fluid and filter in my tranny every other oil change

 

[tch777]

Another thing to remember is that oils are better today than they were 20 years ago too. Proven fact that most people are changing their oil too often if they are changing every 3000 miles. Do a search on the internet and you will find a bunch of web sites that have information to support this. One that comes to mind is http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/.

The other thing to remember is Mobil wants you to use the Mobil 1 filters when you do the extended drain intervals. The mobil 1 filters are really good they are what I use on my Sub and the PSD.

I prescribe to the theory of extended drain intervals when done correctly.
I have bypass oil filter on my PSD and will be adding one to the SUB in the future. The sub I am little concerned about as it mostly gets short trips in town. This is the biggest thing that does kill oil lots of short trips where you don't get the enigne running at fun temp for a long enough time. Then the water and fuel that can build up in the oil will not burn off and you get the acids that build up in the oil making it black, sludgy and nasty. Also the short trips without getting things hot make the oil pretty black from carbon build up too as the rings aren't always sealing well until the engine is up to temp too. Most of the time I have seen really nasty oil was from the above issues, otherwise there have been engine problems, leaks, too rich, etc...

Just something more to think about.

Tim

 

[sled_dog]

Unfortunately, 5000 miles is a meaningless value..... that could represent anything from 80-100 operating hours (lots of highway driving) to several hundred hours of operation (little old lady).

Most heavy machinery (and boats, IIRC) measure service intervals in HOURS, not miles... which makes a lot more sense to me.

You could leave an engine idling (with an infinitely large supply of fuel) and the mileage would be 0, even after months of operation.....but I'll betcha the oil wouldn't look too good!!!!


I've always thought that adding an "hourmeter" to an engine I really cared about would be a better way to schedule it's service.

yeah, we do the maintenence on the Comcast trucks/vans in this part of Pennsylvania. I'd hate to see an hour meter on one of those or on the police cars that come through our garage. Cops and Fleet drivers, two groups that just let their truck idle all day long.