Low, low mileage....change oil or not?

[clemsonfor]

My Y2K GMC has traveled 800 (!!!) miles since the last oil and filter change last October, my '04 Lesabre 3,000 during the same period and the oil life monitor registers 68% on the car. I always get both engines fully warmed up when the vehicles are driven and they are never subjected to stop/start operation. I use Shell 5W-30 in both and a K&N filter in the GMC and a Delco in the Buick...would it be foolish to change the oil and filter in either engine before winter given the low mileage since the last change? Thanks for your input.

I know your retired but didnt you say your wife still works? Even if not how can you only drive 3800 miles since last year on 2 vehicles? You must live on top of the town and not far out. I mean we would get hundreds of miles a year just getting groceries. Heck if i assume i only go to church half the sundays a year (prolly will make it to more than that just saying) it will add up to 375 miles a year!!!

But to your question, Oil is cheap, if your not in a heated garage i would change it, so that oil doesnt hold moisture that will condense in the engine and rust things. Or sit in a pocket at the bottom in all that time and rust.

 

[clemsonfor]

Honestly, I cant recall a date when they were last changed. I change then strictly on mileage alone. All my trips are highway though. Never any issues at all and one car has 160k miles.

But that said, if I were in your shoes Id change it. Simply (as others said) for peice of mind. Odds are, if you go another year. you will have no problems ever related to that. BUT...it will ALWAYS be in the back of your mind everytime something goes wrong, or everytime you hear a funny noise.

heck it will probly be fine for 10 years and still run, but what damage is it doing that yearly changes would prevent? I would change it like i said.

 

[Soundguy]

My Y2K GMC has traveled 800 (!!!) miles since the last oil and filter change last October, my '04 Lesabre 3,000 during the same period and the oil life monitor registers 68% on the car. I always get both engines fully warmed up when the vehicles are driven and they are never subjected to stop/start operation. I use Shell 5W-30 in both and a K&N filter in the GMC and a Delco in the Buick...would it be foolish to change the oil and filter in either engine before winter given the low mileage since the last change? Thanks for your input.

just my opinion.. but I usually like at least YEARLY changes on any machine i own.. even a tractor that saw only 50 hrs use gets a change... 5-6 qts oil and a filter just aren't that much money..

 

[IkeRoberts]

All oil companies recommend a change after xxx number of miles or xxx number of months. The reason is contamination.
Several people on here have mentioned acids. They only build up after extensive miles between oil changes or when the vehicle is not brought up to full operating temperature.
Other contaminants in the oil are water, and unburned hydrocarbons. The hydrocarbons are taken care of by the full operating temperatures. That leaves water. It builds up from temp changes. This happens more if the vehicle is left sitting in the sun rather than in a garage.
Solution or answer to your question
Check your gas mileage every tank full. When the oil begins to get contaminated, the mileage will drop 2-3 mpg. This is different for every vehicle. I've had one that was every 2400 miles. And then I had one that was every 4200 miles. I changed it anyway at a regular interval of 3000 miles just because it was easier to keep track of.
Another tip- If you park your car outside on a regular basis, keep the gas tank full. It reduces water in the gas due to condensation.

 

[JDgreen227]

I know your retired but didnt you say your wife still works? Even if not how can you only drive 3800 miles since last year on 2 vehicles? You must live on top of the town and not far out. I mean we would get hundreds of miles a year just getting groceries. Heck if i assume i only go to church half the sundays a year (prolly will make it to more than that just saying) it will add up to 375 miles a year!!!

But to your question, Oil is cheap, if your not in a heated garage i would change it, so that oil doesnt hold moisture that will condense in the engine and rust things. Or sit in a pocket at the bottom in all that time and rust.

Wife still works and she drives a third vehicle (Saturn) that gets twice yearly oil changes. As for location we live 13 miles from downtown of closest large city and an equal distance from a Menards or Lowes. The low milage on the Buick and GMC is because I might go someplace once a week and combine errands and do them all in one day (groceries, materials pickup, etc) with the GMC and the car is reserved for long trips.

 

[WilliamBos]

Change it, as you may have condensation built up in the oil.

 

[sixdogs]

I'm in my 60's and have gone through this since the 1,000 ? or so mile change requirement of the 1950's. Then it was 2,000 or maybe 3,000 miles but it doesn't matter because I faithfully followed the required change intervals. Remenber the 1,000 mile grease requirement?

Times changes and I was slow to go along and stayed with the 3,000 mile thing until a couple years back when I read up on synthetic oils and extended change intervals. Even at greatly extended oil change intervals and even under duress operating conditions, mechanics said the engines looked great and oil analysis looked good. So I got with the program, switched to synthetics, lengthened the intervals and freed up time and money for other things and seem to have suffered no adverse effects. Works for me.

I'll add that I can envision a day when there is either no oil change requirement or maybe something like 50,000 or so miles. Heck, we don't even grease cars and more.

 

[Gary Fowler]

If you are only putting 1500 miles per year on a vehicle, save your money on synthetic and just use regular oil and change it once per year whether it is needed or not. As long as you continue to make long trips with no stop and go driving, I think you will be good at that interval.

 

[JDgreen227]

If you are only putting 1500 miles per year on a vehicle, save your money on synthetic and just use regular oil and change it once per year whether it is needed or not. As long as you continue to make long trips with no stop and go driving, I think you will be good at that interval.

I have been changing my own oil for at least 40 years now and have never considered using synthetic oil in any engine I owned. There are many good reasons to use synthetic oil but few of the reasons have any appeal to me....partly because it's hard to justify spending the extra money when I don't really get any benefit over dino oil. To me, it's akin to using premium gasoline in a car that will run fine on 87 octane. Tell you guys something, I inquired elsewhere on TBN about oil change intervals for my tractor, when I revealed I was doing an oil and filter change every 50 hours, I was told I was wasting money and to go to 100 hour intervals...and the Deere manual recommends 200 hour intervals. Last week I changed the oil and filter in the tractor, it had gone 100 hours over 13 months...and the oil was so black I couldn't imagine leaving it in the engine for another 100 hours as Deere recommends.

 

[Soundguy]

just to let you know.. diesel oil soots up fast. It's not uncommon to see new oil soot immediately... so the 'look' of that oil isn't specifically a problem... though i don't disagree with changing it yearly as a minimum.. hours or not..e tc..

I also don't run syn on many of my machines simply becaiuse it costs more and i will not get the benefits of the extended drins since i don't put enough hours on them.. for something that gets 50 hrs a year.. i'd rather just change it yearly with dino oil.. at 50 hrs.. the oil hs to be practically new... etc..