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#1
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Stupid question (was Changing the oil filter only)
Sorry for the stupid question...............
When I have my oil changed (and filter) ...they say 3000 mile or a date......lets say 3 months.......If I drive my car only 1000 miles in at 3 months , do I really need a oil change (and filter). What if I drove my car only 3000 miles a year......do I still need to change the oil every 3 months......... Just how old is the oil that you buy off the shelf........1 month or 6 months......or........... Not trying to be a wise ass.....................more question to follow.......not the same subject...........Thanks |
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#2
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Bill F wrote: > Sorry for the stupid question............... > > When I have my oil changed (and filter) ...they say 3000 mile or a > date......lets say 3 months.......If I drive my car only 1000 miles in > at 3 months , do I really need a oil change (and filter). 3000 miles or 3 months is a rather "conservative" figure. It's a nice round number that's easy to remember. Most carmakers now specify a slightly longer period (3750-5000) for their "severe" conditions oil change. If you're driving short trips every day and only racking up 1000 miles......yeah - do it every three months. > What if I drove my car only 3000 miles a year......do I still need to > change the oil every 3 months......... Tough call. If you're mostly taking the car out for 10+ miles at a time and garaging it otherwise, then twice a year might be a better choice. That's what most manufacturers would recommend. That's a rather unusual driving pattern, and the manufacturers' periods don't adequately cover that. What if a car is mothballed for two years while someone is overseas? I don't think the oil needs to be changed on a car The ideal would be one of those cars where an onboard computer recommends oil change times based on driving conditions and time. Those actually crunch the numbers rather than simply provide a "lowest common denominator" that's really meant to cover their collective asses. Of course most people here used to 3000 mile oil changes would freak out at how long these things say to go between oil changes. > Just how old is the oil that you buy off the shelf........1 month or 6 > months......or........... I wouldn't get overly anal about it. The oil is probably stable, but the container's seal might not be tight enough to prevent moisture from entering. > Not trying to be a wise ass.....................more question to > follow.......not the same subject...........Thanks This stuff is discussed all the time. |
#3
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"Bill F" > wrote in message ... > Sorry for the stupid question............... > > When I have my oil changed (and filter) ...they say 3000 mile or a > date......lets say 3 months.......If I drive my car only 1000 miles in > at 3 months , do I really need a oil change (and filter). > What schedule does the manufacturer recommend for your model of car? Follow this, or if you are particularly fussy, shorten the schedule by 15 to 20% using the recomended oils and filters. Remember in particular that there is much more to servicing your car than oil changes. > What if I drove my car only 3000 miles a year......do I still need to > change the oil every 3 months......... > You've got to be kidding? If you have any common sense at all, use it. > Just how old is the oil that you buy off the shelf........1 month or 6 > months......or........... Wasn't it born in the time of the dinasaurs? Why should it worry you? It is not fresh cream after all! Officially, most oils have at least a five year shelf life but an unopened can will last almost indeffinately. Be aware that oil standards change [for the better?] on a fairly regular basis so if you buy too much oil today, it would probably not be suitable for thae car you run in five years time. Huw > > Not trying to be a wise ass.....................more question to > follow.......not the same subject...........Thanks |
#4
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Bill F > wrote in
: > Sorry for the stupid question............... > > When I have my oil changed (and filter) ...they say 3000 mile or a > date......lets say 3 months.......If I drive my car only 1000 miles in > at 3 months , do I really need a oil change (and filter). > >snip< > > Just how old is the oil that you buy off the shelf........1 month or 6 > months......or........... Yes, but maybe not at 3 months, could probably extend it to 4. The problem is all the contaminents the oil picks up while in the crankcase, and the additives it looses while in the crankcase. While on the shelf, the oil is not in contact with metal, rubber, fuel, carbon deposits, water and acids like it is when it is in the crankcase. The anti-corrosion additives in the oil get used up, whether it is running in the motor, or sitting in the crankcase. Running the car actually will improve the life of the oil over sitting, as a considerable amount of the contaminents get 'boiled off' or evaporated when the oil is heated for a long enough time. -- Anthony You can't 'idiot proof' anything....every time you try, they just make better idiots. Remove sp to reply via email |
#5
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Anthony wrote:
> Bill F > wrote in > : > > > Sorry for the stupid question............... > > > > When I have my oil changed (and filter) ...they say 3000 mile or a > > date......lets say 3 months.......If I drive my car only 1000 miles in > > at 3 months , do I really need a oil change (and filter). > > > >snip< > > > > Just how old is the oil that you buy off the shelf........1 month or 6 > > months......or........... > > Yes, but maybe not at 3 months, could probably extend it to 4. The > problem is all the contaminents the oil picks up while in the crankcase, > and the additives it looses while in the crankcase. > While on the shelf, the oil is not in contact with metal, rubber, fuel, > carbon deposits, water and acids like it is when it is in the crankcase. > The anti-corrosion additives in the oil get used up, whether it is > running in the motor, or sitting in the crankcase. Running the car > actually will improve the life of the oil over sitting, as a considerable > amount of the contaminents get 'boiled off' or evaporated when the oil is > heated for a long enough time. Most oil bottles are not hermetically sealed (i.e. air-tight), with the exception of 4/5 quart jugs. You could get some moisture in there, but I wouldn't worry about storing a bottle of oil for four or five years. I guess it's tricky for a car in long-term storage, or even a car stored over the winter. I understand the ideal would be to have the engine run every month or so, but the trick is finding someone to do it. I can't imagine that a car that's stored and driven less than a 100 miles over two or three years would really need to have the oil changed every three or six months. These are "one size fits all" guidelines for cars that actually driven regularly. |
#6
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Ever consider using synthetics to extend the period between changes? More
up front cost but it basically evens out to be the same. Synthetics hold up much better in storage as well as through regular driving intervals. If I had a vehicle under these circimstances, I would do synthetics and only change once a year. Just my two cents. Bill F wrote: > Sorry for the stupid question............... > > When I have my oil changed (and filter) ...they say 3000 mile or a > date......lets say 3 months.......If I drive my car only 1000 miles in > at 3 months , do I really need a oil change (and filter). > > What if I drove my car only 3000 miles a year......do I still need to > change the oil every 3 months......... > > Just how old is the oil that you buy off the shelf........1 month or 6 > months......or........... > > Not trying to be a wise ass.....................more question to > follow.......not the same subject...........Thanks |
#7
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"Gettin Dizzy" wrote:
> If I had a vehicle under these circimstances, I > would do synthetics and only change once a year. FWIW, the maintenance schedule for my 2004 VW Golf (2.0L gasoline engine) advises to change oil every 10K miles (except under severe driving conditions, or for the very first oil change at 5K miles). Frankly, I get nervous at the idea of going 10K miles between oil changes -- even with synthetic oil. What do other readers think? Rich Wales http://www.richw.org |
#8
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I have a 1997 Grand Caravan with the 3.3V6. I drove it 4-miles each way to
work at about 5K to 6K a year. I figured, like you, heck with the 3-monthy oil change and did it every 6-months. Well at 29K miles the lifters started sticking and the engine started "ticking". It seems that the oil never got warm enough to "burn off" contimanants, especially to allow water (from the byproduct of combustion) to "evaporate off". Result..SLUDGE that eventually blocked/restricted oil passages to critical engine components. So there really IS a reason why there is a time component to oil changes as well as a mileage component and it's written "which ever occurs first". Oil changes are cheap...do then! |
#9
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"Rich Wales" > wrote in message g... > "Gettin Dizzy" wrote: > > > If I had a vehicle under these circimstances, I > > would do synthetics and only change once a year. > > FWIW, the maintenance schedule for my 2004 VW Golf (2.0L gasoline > engine) advises to change oil every 10K miles (except under severe > driving conditions, or for the very first oil change at 5K miles). > > Frankly, I get nervous at the idea of going 10K miles between oil > changes -- even with synthetic oil. What do other readers think? > In areas other than the USA these cars have up to 20,000 mile service intervals and the diesels have up to 30,000 mile intervals, so I hardly think you should be nervous. In fact they don't even need an early oil change in most countries but their experience in the USA was that when they tried this, a large proportion of owners changed before the first thousand miles to the detriment of proper running-in. If these high quality engines have their oil changed too early they will never bed in and will consume oil in large quantity. The reasoning of VW USA worked because when they shortened the first oil change to 5k miles the number of people who changed extremely early fell substantially and so they had fewer complaints of oil consumption. FWIW I have experience of an Audi which was serviced every 20,000 miles and which was sweet as a nut at 200,000 miles. This does not mean that I advocate your car to run at those intervals. I only use these examples to illustrate why 10,000 mile services are conservative for these cars. Huw |
#10
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"James C. Reeves" > wrote in message ... >I have a 1997 Grand Caravan with the 3.3V6. I drove it 4-miles each way to >work at about 5K to 6K a year. I figured, like you, heck with the 3-monthy >oil change and did it every 6-months. Well at 29K miles the lifters >started sticking and the engine started "ticking". It seems that the oil >never got warm enough to "burn off" contimanants, especially to allow water >(from the byproduct of combustion) to "evaporate off". Result..SLUDGE that >eventually blocked/restricted oil passages to critical engine components. >So there really IS a reason why there is a time component to oil changes as >well as a mileage component and it's written "which ever occurs first". >Oil changes are cheap...do then! > Jeez! For a developed nation you put up with some really crappy engines filled with even crappier oil. Huw |
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