High Mileage Oil

[RichZ]

Is there really any advantage in using high mileage oil? I have 2 pick-ups and a cargo van on my farm. My 2001 Chevy Siverado 1500 has about 130,000 miles, my 1999 Ford F-250 has about 95,000, and my 2000 GMC 2500 Cargo Van has about 120,000. I bought the Siverado and Van new, and the F-250 with about 60,000 miles on it, but the guy I got it from maintained it like I do. I always change the oil every 3,000 miles. The last vehicle that I got rid of was my 1990 GMC cargo van, which had 306,000 miles on it, and I only had to do routine maintenance on it. I keep my vehicles as long as I possibly can, so if there's something that will help them last, I'll use it.

Thanks for any input!!

 

[KICK]

I dont know the answer but I suspect the HIGH MILEAGE thing is more marketing than anything else.

 

[frank_miller]

My take is HM oils have major seal swelling props in there. I personally do not think they are needed; if you take care of the engine or clean it.

 

[Sully2]

If it has run 130,000 miles using engine oil "X"...what makes you think it wont run ANOTHER 130,000 miles with the same oil??

With the next oil change..spend the $$ and have OA done on the oil removed to see if anything "weird" is going on inside

 

[frank_miller]

If it has run 130,000 miles using engine oil "X"...what makes you think it wont run ANOTHER 130,000 miles with the same oil??

With the next oil change..spend the $$ and have OA done on the oil removed to see if anything "weird" is going on inside

I agree. The UOA's are priceless! Should be doing this from day 1

 

[Z-Michigan]

If you have no issues, I would keep using whatever oil is working well for you. My dad has told me many times how his 1986 SAAB 900 got over 200,000 miles on dino oil (mostly Valvoline, I think) and OEM oil filters and was not using any oil or smoking at all when he sold it at around 206k miles. It is probably running great now. Of course my dad did oil changes reliably every 3k miles, which may be more often than required but probably helped. The 80's SAABs were definitely well made, but you can find similar stories about vehicles from lots of manufacturers, including the Big 3 (despite the ridiculous grief they get from coastal anti-US types).

The only high mileage oil I know much about is Valvoline. It has a bunch of extra additives, including high moly levels. It probably has seal swellers too. I don't think it will harm anything, but it probably is totally unnecessary if you have no issues with an engine. I would consider using it if you had symptoms of low compression or valve seal leakage, or significant oil leaks.

If you are especially concerned about keeping vehicles a long time I would consider using synthetic oil and premium oil filters (WIX, Amsoil Ea, Purolator Pure One, or Mobil 1 filters). But if you got 306k miles from your last van without doing this, it probably isn't necessary for you.

 

[RichZ]

Thanks guys. I pretty much thought it was just marketing. I always get a a lot out of my engines, primarily, in my opinion, because I make sure the oil is changed every 3000 miles. I run whatever oil meets warranty specs that is on sale, and if nothing is on sale, I use Walmart Super Tech. I always thought as long as it meets minimum specs, that it's all you need. And I've never sold a vehicle with less than 300,000 miles, so it works for me.

 

[anthonyk]

Guys, I have to politely disagree.
I'm one of those guys who now changes his own oil and filters and used to pay the dealership or jiffy lube to do it every 3000 to 3500 miles.

3 years ago I bought a Dodge Ram 2500 with the Cummins diesel engine.
The oil changes were 80 bucks a piece at the dealership!!!
After the breakin period of about 7500 miles, I switched to Amsoil Heavy Duty Diesel.
It cost a bit more, than most synthetics, but not much.
Every 10,000 miles I changed the filter (Donaldson-about 12 bucks) and sent them a small sample for analysis (I think about 15 bucks).
They do a complete analysis of the oil explaining it's properties such as soot, iron copper, lubricity, etc (this can be useful in predicting maintenance) and tell me to either keep using it or change it.
I don't change it until they tell me.

Well, I just changed it for the FIRST time and the oil had 95,000 miles on it!!! No joke.
So if I'd had regular oil and done the scheduled 3000 mile changes, it would have cost me $2,533.00 over the last 3 years.
Instead it cost me $243.00 plus the initial oil cost ( I can't remember exactly, but let's say 50 bucks to be safe)
So instead of $2,533.00, I spent app. 300 bucks, did less work, had better oil, and didn't have to dump 81 gallons of oil into the environment. I saved approximately $2,233.00
In my book it was WELL worth it.

anthony

 

[MrJimi]

I have a 1994 Chevy S-10 I bought used about 3 years ago with the 2.2, 4 cylinder engine. I have changed the oil in this little truck before 3K miles since I have owned it and I DO NOT have any leaks anywhere. I use Exxon 5-30 in it and it's great, the oil does NOT get dirty and it don't use any at all and I only get 32 MPG miles in town with it
I love my little truck
Jim

 

[Z-Michigan]

Guys, I have to politely disagree.
I'm one of those guys who now changes his own oil and filters and used to pay the dealership or jiffy lube to do it every 3000 to 3500 miles.

3 years ago I bought a Dodge Ram 2500 with the Cummins diesel engine.
The oil changes were 80 bucks a piece at the dealership!!!
After the breakin period of about 7500 miles, I switched to Amsoil Heavy Duty Diesel.
It cost a bit more, than most synthetics, but not much.
Every 10,000 miles I changed the filter (Donaldson-about 12 bucks) and sent them a small sample for analysis (I think about 15 bucks).
They do a complete analysis of the oil explaining it's properties such as soot, iron copper, lubricity, etc (this can be useful in predicting maintenance) and tell me to either keep using it or change it.
I don't change it until they tell me.

Well, I just changed it for the FIRST time and the oil had 95,000 miles on it!!! No joke.
So if I'd had regular oil and done the scheduled 3000 mile changes, it would have cost me $2,533.00 over the last 3 years.
Instead it cost me $243.00 plus the initial oil cost ( I can't remember exactly, but let's say 50 bucks to be safe)
So instead of $2,533.00, I spent app. 300 bucks, did less work, had better oil, and didn't have to dump 81 gallons of oil into the environment. I saved approximately $2,233.00
In my book it was WELL worth it.

anthony

That is great info, but you missed the question. The question was "do oils marketed as being specifically for high mileage vehicles have any benefit for RichZ based on his usage?" You apparently are responding to a hypothetical question about extended change intervals.

On the other hand, I have a 2006 Ram/Cummins which has been getting synthetic (but not Amsoil) oil changes every 7500 miles, so I may have to consider trying the Amsoil and UOA path. We got tired of $100 oil changes with dino 15W-40, so are doing them at home with Rotella-T 5W-40. Apparently your dealer is a bit cheaper on service! I actually have Amsoil ATF and gear oil (diffs) currently inbound for it.