Oil Change interval based on time

[moman1]

Hi everyone. I did a search for oil changes based on time and not mileage and didn't find much so I thought I'd ask.

I'd like to get some opinions on how often to get an oil change based on time. I live in Colorado where it is a bit dryer than other areas of the country. My 2012 Discovery 40G (diesel) is garage kept and over the past couple of years, we haven't gone on many long road trips. We typically dry camp about 75 miles away about 6 times a summer. Beyond that, we take it out once every month or so year round to keep things circulating. My last oil change was in May of 2014 and I've put about 1,000 miles on it over the last two years. With oil changes costing upwards of $250 or more, I thought I'd find out if there are any thoughts on how long is too long to go between oil changes. I'm not looking for 'why not spend the $250 to make sure your $200k investment is safe?'. I just want to know if I'm the only one that thinks they can go longer between oil changes.

Thanks in advance!

Kevin

[msmith1199]

Terryallan wrote:

msmith1199 wrote:

45Ricochet wrote:

luvlabs wrote:
Check what your engine manufacturer recommends. Cummins, for example, on their later engines has dropped the mileage requirement and just says once a year or every 16,000 miles. Easy to remember.

Yeah this is true but I sure don't know why Roger. I once got a test back from Blackstone and the comment stated " oil just doesn't go bad setting there". This was a base test and the Ram wasn't driven much that year.
I'll do it the first year and I should be pretty close to 12k this year but after that I'll just have in tested every spring.
They make a Fumoto drain for your oil pan OP. Really easy to pull a sample each year.
Fumoto Site

I've been told by more than one person that oil does go bad just sitting there. And these were experts in the field. I have no idea who to believe on that issue. The people who sell the oil say it goes bad, but that's because they want to sell you more oil.

So do you ever see WalMart, or Advance Auto rotate their oil stock??? No?? They just let it sit there until it is sold.

I've never monitored the oil on the shelf at Walmart or Advance Auto so I have no idea how long they let it sit. But I do know it's sitting in sealed containers and not subject to moisture or heat like once it's put into a engine. So it would seem to the fact that it may be able to sit while in a sealed container doesn't prove much.

[Terryallan]

msmith1199 wrote:

45Ricochet wrote:

luvlabs wrote:
Check what your engine manufacturer recommends. Cummins, for example, on their later engines has dropped the mileage requirement and just says once a year or every 16,000 miles. Easy to remember.

Yeah this is true but I sure don't know why Roger. I once got a test back from Blackstone and the comment stated " oil just doesn't go bad setting there". This was a base test and the Ram wasn't driven much that year.
I'll do it the first year and I should be pretty close to 12k this year but after that I'll just have in tested every spring.
They make a Fumoto drain for your oil pan OP. Really easy to pull a sample each year.
Fumoto Site

I've been told by more than one person that oil does go bad just sitting there. And these were experts in the field. I have no idea who to believe on that issue. The people who sell the oil say it goes bad, but that's because they want to sell you more oil.

So do you ever see WalMart, or Advance Auto rotate their oil stock??? No?? They just let it sit there until it is sold.

[Busskipper]

Ivylog wrote:
Consumer Reports debunked the 3K oil change 40+ years ago using NYC Checker Cabs... I went to 5K back then (easy to track by looking at the odometer). 30+ years ago oil testing let me increase from 100 hours (Cat recommend hours) to 250 hours on my Cat heavy equipment. Even at 250 hours the oil was still useable but 250 was easier to keep track of... just look at the hour meters. Oils have come a long ways in 30 years, not even including synthetics.

A good filter does not go bad in a year or five.:S If you believe they go bad then just put on a new filter each year.

All of this applies to Diesel engines where it's gallons of oil, not quarts. If I had a gas MH I would change the oil ever 5K miles reguardless of time. Easy to keep track of when it's needed.

Just one more for the extended oil life/service intervals. Back in the early Amsoil Days I started to go to 25K and synthetics in the over the road trucks and 500 hours on the equipment - in 25 years and Millions of miles/hours of service we never had an engine or pump failure.

When the oil was changed we then used it for heat in the shop in the winter.

Low oil will kill an engine, but today's synthetics Last a long time.

On a totally different subject - Low air pressure is the cause for most tire failure not age.

JMHO,

[Valkyriebush]

supercub wrote:
I attended a seminar and we were told one of the reasons to get the oil changed at least yearly, even though it has very few miles is, the oil filters elemnets begin breaking down after being saturated with oil after a year or so. I just changed the oil in my motor home at the one year interval, even though I had less then the recommended miles between oil changes. $200 for a diesel engine oil change is cheap insurance to me.

Although the oil analysis is free with any fluid change at Rush trucks, they charge $25.00 otherwise. This is cheap scientific insurance on how your oil and ENGINE/TRANNY are really doing. No guessing on wondering. Last one recommended extending the drain time. I still have it changed at 10K regardless. I have all oil and trans analysis saved since ownership. The report also saves the last one, because it compares it to the previous one. $200.00 is cheap by the way for an RV oil change and chassis lube?

[Ivylog]

Consumer Reports debunked the 3K oil change 40+ years ago using NYC Checker Cabs... I went to 5K back then (easy to track by looking at the odometer). 30+ years ago oil testing let me increase from 100 hours (Cat recommend hours) to 250 hours on my Cat heavy equipment. Even at 250 hours the oil was still useable but 250 was easier to keep track of... just look at the hour meters. Oils have come a long ways in 30 years, not even including synthetics.

A good filter does not go bad in a year or five.:S If you believe they go bad then just put on a new filter each year.

All of this applies to Diesel engines where it's gallons of oil, not quarts. If I had a gas MH I would change the oil ever 5K miles reguardless of time. Easy to keep track of when it's needed.

[JimFromJersey]

Anyone who changes their oil at the old 3/3 service interval, with the possible exception of Manhattan taxi fleets, is simply throwing away perfectly good, and expensive, oil.

Motor oil formulations have improved by leaps and bounds in the last 15 years or so, to the extent that even average-grade conventional oils, in a typical usage pattern, will perform perfectly well for 7500 to 10,000 miles, if not more.

An RV sitting for 4 months of the year doesn't age the oil at all. Sitting oil does not degrade.

The same holds true, gasoline or diesel. I deliver products to several large commercial shops, including diesel repair and maintenance shops, some with quite large fleets. They do analysis every now and then, but the consensus seems to be a year of SERVICE, not a calendar year, is their measuring stick. And one guy changes out his Cat's oil every 25000 miles. He's done it 10 times so far. 🙂

A good filter is a necessity. Don't get the cheap one, go for the best grade available in your favorite brand.

Short trips, as noted, can be killer - the oil doesn't get hot enough to boil off the moisture that's accumulated. If it's SITTING, let it SIT! Don't start the engine up and let it run for 10 minutes - that's simply not doing any good whatsoever.

A good synthetic like Mobil-1 or Quaker State in a gas engine, and the old standby Rotella in a diesel is good stuff. But don't drain that stuff every 3 thousand miles or three months, or you're throwing money away.

[DAWg134]

The reason for oil changes based upon a specified time interval in lieu of driving the maximum number of miles during that same period is the presumption that you are driving the vehicle on short-haul trips that never allow you to reach the specified mileage interval.

If you are driving only short distances, the engine never has an opportunity to heat sufficiently to boil off moisture that has accumulated in the crankcase. Moisture contamination in in-service lube oils is perhaps one of the most destructive forms of engine corrosion second only to particle contamination.

Water contamination in oil can be categorized into three forms of water; Free, emulsified, and dissolved. All forms of water have direct consequences to the oil and gears of the engine, but indirect consequences as well. Direct consequences include changes in pH and viscosity which can be problematic in themselves. Other factors that affect engine corrosion are contamination of glycol, soot, and particle corrosion. The presence of water exacerbates each of these factors and can cause irreparable damage to the engine.

If you are frequently driving short-haul distances, then you should probably change the oil more frequently. However, if you are only driving long distance on an infrequent basis, chances are that your engine oil is just fine and you should therefore change it on a mileage basis due to particle contamination concerns. An engine oil analysis can certainly alleviate your concerns.

[prstlk]

We are full time and though recommendation is 15k we do it at 10k. I under stand that is not your situation. The Allison is another story I think it's full service fluid and filters at 100k or 1 year. I have never had it serviced and rely on Blackstone for a yearly analysis. The service is expensive and doing it yearly would not be cost effective. Blackstone is $25.00

[supercub]

I attended a seminar and we were told one of the reasons to get the oil changed at least yearly, even though it has very few miles is, the oil filters elemnets begin breaking down after being saturated with oil after a year or so. I just changed the oil in my motor home at the one year interval, even though I had less then the recommended miles between oil changes. $200 for a diesel engine oil change is cheap insurance to me.

[edm3rd]

I would be interested in the opinion of an agricultural equipment owner on oil change interval. Some equipment (combine comes to mind) may only be used once a year, and usually has an hour meter rather than odometer.

Any one care to comment?

[msmith1199]

45Ricochet wrote:

luvlabs wrote:
Check what your engine manufacturer recommends. Cummins, for example, on their later engines has dropped the mileage requirement and just says once a year or every 16,000 miles. Easy to remember.

Yeah this is true but I sure don't know why Roger. I once got a test back from Blackstone and the comment stated " oil just doesn't go bad setting there". This was a base test and the Ram wasn't driven much that year.
I'll do it the first year and I should be pretty close to 12k this year but after that I'll just have in tested every spring.
They make a Fumoto drain for your oil pan OP. Really easy to pull a sample each year.
Fumoto Site

I've been told by more than one person that oil does go bad just sitting there. And these were experts in the field. I have no idea who to believe on that issue. The people who sell the oil say it goes bad, but that's because they want to sell you more oil.

[Valkyriebush]

I've been getting my oil changed approx. every 10K miles. At each change Rush Trucks does an oil analysis on the oil. Had the M-3 last week, one recommendation on the report was I could extend drain time. Just showing signs of engine breaking in at 71k miles. Normal wear. I'll stick to mileage vs time. The report shows all kinds of other scientific data, plus an overview in laymen terms sorta. I've had this report with oil changes whenever serviced. I normally go approx. two years in between changes.

[WILDEBILL308]

You might like the post I just made. on what lab to use.
Bill

[Terryallan]

scrubjaysnest wrote:
We always followed the rule 3 months or 3 thousand miles for our vehicles.

Why would you throw away oil that has not been used?:?