Oil Change Interval
I own a 2015 Toyota Sienna van. The warranty is almost up. My question has to do with the oil change interval shown in the maintenance manual. It stipulates a 6 month/5k miles interval between changes...
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I have 110,000 miles on my 1997 7.3 diesel pickup, almost all of those miles were either hauling my RV around or pulling an overloaded goose neck trailer loaded with baled hay.
I've stuck religiously to the 5,000 mile oil change intervals, started with 15-40 Rotella and switched to 5-40 T6 Rotella when it came out.
Anyway, last week I had to replace the passengers side valve cover gasket. On a 7.3, the injection harness is routed through the valve cover gasket and the molex connector failed. Consequently, I had to pull the valve cover and replace the gasket to repair the harness.
When I pulled the valve cover, I was amazed at how clean everything was. The overhead looked NEW. The inside of the valve cover had NO varnish or deposits at all. In fact, wiping it with a clean white towel yielded nothing but oil.
Even the valve springs had their paint marks visible. The injector tops were factory yellow and the serial numbers plainly readable. Nothing but oil in the head cavity, ran my finger in the oil in the lower part of the head...nothing. No sludge, just oil.
I'm sold on One, Rotella and 2 synthetic, even though the first 10 years on the engine was 15-40 conventional. I'm also sold on sticking to the recommended oil change intervals, even though Blackstone tells me I could extend (I regularly do oil analysis on all my engines, farm and car).
Oil is cheap, rebuilding an engine, especially a turbo diesel isn't.
Your mileage may vary but I know what my mileage will be.
I've stuck religiously to the 5,000 mile oil change intervals, started with 15-40 Rotella and switched to 5-40 T6 Rotella when it came out.
Anyway, last week I had to replace the passengers side valve cover gasket. On a 7.3, the injection harness is routed through the valve cover gasket and the molex connector failed. Consequently, I had to pull the valve cover and replace the gasket to repair the harness.
When I pulled the valve cover, I was amazed at how clean everything was. The overhead looked NEW. The inside of the valve cover had NO varnish or deposits at all. In fact, wiping it with a clean white towel yielded nothing but oil.
Even the valve springs had their paint marks visible. The injector tops were factory yellow and the serial numbers plainly readable. Nothing but oil in the head cavity, ran my finger in the oil in the lower part of the head...nothing. No sludge, just oil.
I'm sold on One, Rotella and 2 synthetic, even though the first 10 years on the engine was 15-40 conventional. I'm also sold on sticking to the recommended oil change intervals, even though Blackstone tells me I could extend (I regularly do oil analysis on all my engines, farm and car).
Oil is cheap, rebuilding an engine, especially a turbo diesel isn't.
Your mileage may vary but I know what my mileage will be.
