Does oil get old?

40Kchicks · Sep 19, 2003

So what the deal?

I’m getting ready to do my 500hr service on my CAT 216 skid steer. My warranty requires that I set up an oil sample schedule which I started at 250hrs. Now that I’m at 500hrs I’m ready to send in another sample. This sounds good to me. However the owner’s manual says that I should do the oil changes every 500hrs or 3months with the first one being done early at 250hrs. I only put about 250 hours a year on the skid steer. If I changed the oil every three months it would be like throwing away new oil. I can understand the maintenance intervals being set hourly but I can’t understand the short timeframe of some of these service intervals. Surely the oil isn’t going bad just sitting in the tractor.

So unless you guys and give me some insight to why this needs done every 3 months I will continue to change my oil every 250hrs and call that good.

Eric

shady1701 · Sep 19, 2003

Yes.. but not old it gets water and diluted fuel in it. Mainly the less hours over a given time the greater the diluted fuel and debris that is in it since it tends to be not at operating temp alot.

StanInCalif · Sep 19, 2003

I agree- I would go with 250 hrs/once a year. This is assuming your hour meter is a Hobbs or other clock type. If your meter is tach-driven, disregard, but I don't think this is the case. Tach-driven meters rack up the hours much more slowly.

pruntyc · Sep 19, 2003

I personally would go with the 250 hours once a year. I do that in my old pickup, a 1977 chevy with over 100,000 miles on it, and they didn't make them to go much over that in those days. Never had the heads off or valves done either. Don't use much oil either. But the thing that would really make a difference is how long do you run it when you do. If for very short times, then you would be better off doing it more often. If you don't run it very often but for longer times, once a year or 250 hours should be fine.

Junkman · Sep 19, 2003

The only reason that I can think of the manufacturer wanting oil changes every three months regardless of engine hours is that engine combustion causes acids to develop in the oil. If you allow these acids to remain in the crankcase for long periods of time, they can attack the bearing material and eat into it. This is the same reason that your muffler will go bad in time and it isn't a matter of hours of use. I know that when I put my old car away for the winter, that I always change the oil just before. I bring the engine to operating temperature and drain the oil while it is hot. After is cools, I replace the filter and refill the crankcase with fresh oil. Drive it into the garage and finish by spraying anything that can rust with WD 40. When I take it out in the spring, it is ready to go cruising......

40Kchicks · Sep 20, 2003

Thanks guys for the replies. The meter is a hobbs meter so I should be OK there. Most the hours are put on while I clean out my chicken barns every couple of months. I will be running the tractor at least 8hr a day for a few days in a row during that time. As far as acids in the oil I will have to look at my results from this next oil analysis. I would think that would be one of the things they would check and report back. I will be sending that off in the next couple of weeks. I think the three months service is kind of like the Jiffy lube commercials that tell you to bring your car in every 3000 miles or three months. They are in the business to do service. The more service they do the better business they have. Thanks for the suggestions.

Eric

glennd · Sep 21, 2003

I maintain a lot of diesel equipment. The spares and rarely used machines are inspected every 3 months and oil is serviced annually. I have a machine that's 10 yrs old with 60 hrs on it. It holds 36 qts of oil in the engine and 28 more in the compressor. Of the 60 hrs, I'd say 52 of 'em were me allowing it to run an hour during service to burn the moisture from exhaust system. You will not have a dillution problem within the 1 yr time frame unless you have a leaking injector or other engine problem. Just watch and make sure your oil level doesn't start to grow!

40Kchicks · Sep 21, 2003

Thanks Glennd
Anouther good suggestion. The cat is only 2 1/2 years old and hasn't had one problem yet.
Eric

Hambone · Sep 22, 2003

I agree with Glenn also.
When I was in the Army, we oil sampled everything. We would only change the oil when the oil analyst said too. When were hanging out in the motor pool, the trucks and tanks never got too many hours on them.