Why you should change your oil

[Looking4new]

I got my '01 Jeep in '04 when it came off lease. It had fresh oil in it then and 2000 miles later I changed it to the grade & brand I always run. Quaker State 10W30. Now fast forward to the past 3 years and I only change the oil in the spring. I am now running QS Synthetic 10W30. My high summertime mileage just got a lot less than previous. I do maybe 1000 miles in spring, summer and fall and another 1000 miles in winter. She doesn't burn a drop of oil between changes. There was 71,600 kms ( about 44,000 miles) and it now has 278,800 kms (171,500 miles), I think I got a 'keeper'. She gets greased twice a year. At the start of Winter and in Spring.

Oil and grease is cheap compared to the co$t of a motor and labour.

 

[teg]

...I could not believe the miles driven over a 13 month period...18,136???..

I average 17K/year on my truck and 13k on a work truck that's used only 6 months out of the year! I feel like I'm changing oil every month in one vehicle or another!!!

 

[ray66v]

I got my '01 Jeep in '04 when it came off lease. It had fresh oil in it then and 2000 miles later I changed it to the grade & brand I always run. Quaker State 10W30. Now fast forward to the past 3 years and I only change the oil in the spring. I am now running QS Synthetic 10W30. My high summertime mileage just got a lot less than previous. I do maybe 1000 miles in spring, summer and fall and another 1000 miles in winter. She doesn't burn a drop of oil between changes. There was 71,600 kms ( about 44,000 miles) and it now has 278,800 kms (171,500 miles), I think I got a 'keeper'. She gets greased twice a year. At the start of Winter and in Spring.

Oil and grease is cheap compared to the co$t of a motor and labour.

Okay, but, I have a 1997 Villager, with 247,000 on it, which runs like new, never uses a drop of oil, and has never had any special treatment.

I've always changed the oil at 5k miles, used conventional oil, and those "junk" Fram oil filters

I keep all my cars the distance, and have had the same kind of results.

 

[sd455dan]

Bump....

'
GMs need oil changes to... here's what the inside of a 93 350 Chev looked like that I worked on for a (family) member
When i asked about whether the oil had been changed on a regular basis - Oh yeah change it when needed

 

[ray66v]

'
GMs need oil changes to... here's what the inside of a 93 350 Chev looked like that I worked on for a (family) member
When i asked about whether the oil had been changed on a regular basis - Oh yeah change it when needed

When they completely fill with sludge, that has mostly to do with faulty EGR, and PCV systems.

I just saw a 2007 Chevy 350, that was as bad as it gets. The inside of the valve covers were completely filled.

Engine Oil Sludge | SOS Pre-purchase Inspections

 

[Renze]

Well, the tire OEM's really haven't moved their tire technology from their heavy duty offerings to the auto and light truck realm. I typically will get well over 400,000 miles out of a set of drive tires on my commercial trucks, and over 200,000 miles on steer tires. Will still have 8-9/32 tread left and get $150 each for the old tires when I put on new ones. Sure, the heavy truck tires cost more, after all they are bigger and more plys and better tread compounds, but with what they deliver, they are far more cost effective than auto/pickup tires.

You can get cheap chinese HiFly tires that last forever. That is, when you manage to keep the vehicle on the road when it rains. They have no traction at all because of the hard rubber, similar to truck tires.

My mate had Pirelli's under his Honda CRX. They stuck like glue, but wore very fast. Commercial truck tires last because they have a higher contact force on the road, and therefor can do with a harder, more wear resistant compound.

 

[Retiredguy2]

When they completely fill with sludge, that has mostly to do with faulty EGR, and PCV systems.

I just saw a 2007 Chevy 350, that was as bad as it gets. The inside of the valve covers were completely filled.

Engine Oil Sludge | SOS Pre-purchase Inspections

Just saying here: I recall reading a story in an older issue of what I think was Popular Mechanics magazine that featured an ongoing story like "Gus Wilson's Model Garage" or whatever, and one story went: "We loosened the valve covers on the engine, and I am danged if they didn't rise up from all the deposits underneath them when we loosened the bolts holding them down...." Yes...the story actually said that !!

 

[Soundguy]

'
GMs need oil changes to... here's what the inside of a 93 350 Chev looked like that I worked on for a (family) member
When i asked about whether the oil had been changed on a regular basis - Oh yeah change it when needed

Last gm (ever) I owned, its lil you constantly changed the oil it leaked so much..

 

[not2old]

Dad bought an old Fairmont really cheap because it needed a motor and we were going to do a cheap patch job as a second vehicle. Discovered lots of sludge in valley and valve covers. Put it back together, ran clean oil and additives several times, starting with mild detergent and progressively stronger. It quit burning oil and Dad drove it for several years.

 

[94BULLITT]

When they completely fill with sludge, that has mostly to do with faulty EGR, and PCV systems.

I just saw a 2007 Chevy 350, that was as bad as it gets. The inside of the valve covers were completely filled.

Engine Oil Sludge | SOS Pre-purchase Inspections

I've seen the valve covers packed full before too.