Never Change Your Oil Again !!

[Chilly807]

Just a question that I have every time I read one of these oil topics.I have put a lot of miles on a lot equipment,dino oil and standard filters at about 3-4K mi.I have never had an oil related failure,have you?

In one word.. nope !!

My wife used to have a 98 Saturn with almost 300 K on the clock, never used one particular brand of oil, synthetic was never even considered. What she DID do was change it every 5 k, religiously. We sold it to a friend, he sold it to someone else, last I heard it was still going.

I believe that synthetic will protect an engine better than dino oil, if it really needs extra protection. Most don't.

Some filters are better than others, no question. Does it really make a difference for most of us? No.

So, what is our obsession with ultimate protection? It's a **** tractor, not a space shuttle we're working with here...

Chilly

 

[D7E]

Just a question that I have every time I read one of these oil topics.I have put a lot of miles on a lot equipment,dino oil and standard filters at about 3-4K mi.I have never had an oil related failure,have you?

Only once....On a 120hp 1993 JD tractor freshly serviced went to the field and within 3 hours seized up from a collapsed filter......With the tractor being at nearly 11'000 hrs i thought it would be pointless approaching the filter company for compensation but they agreed to pay for a short motor with no labour..! it was all done quite quickly and with the tractor being so "worn" and the motor being half of it's real value we were happy with that....We still use "orange" filters though...?

 

[fieldserviceengineer]

I did look at the Gulf Coast Filter website. I do not have the time to shoot holes in that large collection of bits and pieces that are lifted out of context in those research papers listed.

Only one thing do I agree with on their site, bypass filtration does much more to remove combustion byproducts (sludge, gum, varnish, soot, etc.) than any full flow filter can. The problem with their approach is that the filter medium needs to be very dense. They got their start promoting the use of their housing loaded with rolls of paper towels as the filter element!

There are less expensive means to add bypass filtration to engines than with their expensive housing method. There are several manufacturers of HD filter products that make bypass filters that are 'spin-on' technology. Try to use the filters that do NOT use pleated paper as the bypass as it does not offer the depth filtration. One of the oldest but still best is the Luberfiner system. I am not employed by them but actually a competitor. The Luberfiner with its bypass cartridge system uses a highly compressed medium composed of sawdust and finely shredded newsprint! Still, it is very effective at bypass oil cleaning as it limits the flow to 2 GPM and adds an additional 3 - 4 gallons of lube oil capacity. That added capacity can also work to lower the stress load on the lube oil and extend the life of the oil change.

It should be noted that not all engines can afford the bypass oil flow requirements as it may take away from the lubrication requirements of the engine. Systems like the Luberfiner need up to 2 GPM flow that is diverted from the oil pump and returned to the sump without having been utilized in lubrication. Some systems may operated at lower flows but be certain that your application can 'spare' the flow for that purpose without undue loss of operating oil pressure.

 

[Jstpssng]

Someone in this thread mentioned that car manufacturer recommend 3000 mile oil changes. The only folks I have seen recommending this is oil changing establishments. Every US made vehicle I have seen since 2003 recommends 7500 for normal oil changes with more frequent in towing or dusty conditions. MY Chevy dealer specifically told me to only change the oil when the onboard computer said to or twice a year if the mileage didnt add up. Only once have I gotten close to the mileage (the computer gives you % of life left) since I am rarely home to drive it. The wife runs hers up on the miles and we usually change at 20% or more oil life left. This usually equates to about 7500 hiway only miles with little to no towing. I dont know what all the parameters the computer uses to establish this, but now I follow the computer rather than the Jiffy lube sticker so they dont see me nearly as often as they would like. Talking to one of my work mates and he mentioned changing the oil in his 'vette' every 6 months since he works overseas a lot like I do. Last time the mechanic said that his odometer must be wrong as it only had 70 miles since the last oil change. He said nope, 35 miles from here to my house. One round trip=70 miles.

I went about 7500 miles on my '98 GMC with a V-6. When I got rid of it at 225K miles it still sounded and ran good. I also did similar with my '91 Dakota, until it turned 190K.
By that time it was using a quart at 3000, so I started changing it then.

What I did notice though was that over time the oil got dirty quicker. Whereas if you change every 3000 miles it will be just as clean when you change as when you put it in.

Now I just use my company truck and have it changed about every 4K. I probably shouldn't admit it but I haven't pulled a dipstick on a truck in 5 years... they trade before 100K, when the warrantee runs out.


They really don't build 'em like they used too... Thank God

 

[EastTexFrank]

They got their start promoting the use of their housing loaded with rolls of paper towels as the filter element!

I knew a guy a while back who ran one of those bypass filters on his F250 and he put about 100K miles a year on it. He still changed the oil every 15,000 miles. He said the oil that came out was as clean as the day it went in. He showed me the filter and I swear it was exactly as you said ... a roll of paper towels.

Me, I think I'll just keep on changing the oil and filter at recommended intervals if for no other reason than it keeps me feeling happy.

 

[Bill_C]

Let's stop and think why we need to change oil.

First, the oil gets "dirty"...stuff gets in there. This could be carbon from blowby, or metal from parts wearing, or whatever. Theoretically I guess the contaminants could be filtered and separated out keeping the oil pure, forever. A bypass filtration system will indeed help here.

But here's reason #2 that oil needs to be changed: The oil itself breaks down at a molecular level. It loses viscosity; it loses lubricity. Filtration cannot correct that. Additives cannot correct that (though they may offer a band-aid).

I agree with other posters: for the cost of a remote filtration system plus ongoing oil analysis...its easier just to go ahead and change the oil in my truck, even at $60 for the oil and filters.

Now on our big gearboxes at work, different story. We've got 4000 horsepower (yep 4 thousand) boxes with hefty service factors, running 24/7. They use lots of expensive oil, and their gear sets are not cheap or easy to replace. We use remote filters and oil analysis there, plus regular teeth inspection, to prevent or predict failure. But in gear reducers we don't have combustion byproducts being blown back into the oil. Oil shearing is still a concern though.

 

[valley]

I have learned that oil does not breaks down. I have read, heard, seen that it doesn't and have found that to be true. Clean undluted, un contaminated oil is just that.

 

[irwin]

I have learned that oil does not breaks down. I have read, heard, seen that it doesn't and have found that to be true. Clean undluted, un contaminated oil is just that.

No offense to anyone that believes that oil isn't negatively impacted by it's duty in an internal cumbustion engine (aside from contamination)..it is affected by thermal failure, oxidation and the effects of compressive heating. , The Lowdown on Oil Breakdown .

I spent the last thirty years in auto repair..I've learned that oil does break down. I've read, heard and seen that it does. Oil analysis will prove scientifically that oil can be degraded on a molecular level.

Sorry, I usually don't involve myself in these lubricant discussions. I've had my say..almost everything will degrade over time. I say almost only because of the vast time involved to degrade some elements.

 

[valley]

You are right oil can be burned or things can be added to it so that no one would want in an engine.

 

[dmccarty]

I looked at bypass filtration for the truck about 10 years ago and read a bit on Gulf and FS. At the time both companies where arguing over whose system was best on thedieselstop website. Kinda fun to watch.

On company, I think it was Gulf, used paper towels as a filter element. They other had spin on filters as I remember it. Installation for either system was not difficult.

Paper towels as a filter element scare me. Should I use Brawny? Or will the cheaper store brand variety work just as well? Does it need to have printed flowers or teddy bears? Can I use blue shop towels?

Too many questions for me...

I decided for me the best thing to do was run synthetic oil with a good filter and UOA. Oil with 10K mile has been perfectly fine and had lots of life left when I threw it away. The bypass systems just did not seem needed for my truck much less the tractor. But they look good in the magazines!

Later,
Dan