Why you should change your oil every 5k

75 for synthetic. And Yeah you're probably right I just want another set of trained eyes on it. It's basically peace of mind.

 

As someone else mentioned, that gunk has to come from somewhere. Quite often engines with more blow by or poor air filters end up like this. Not to make this any more inflammatory, but considering the previous owner used premium gas did she also have a k + n filter?

Not oiling that filter enough could lead to exactly what happened to this engine.

I go 5K or 6 months, whichever is sooner, on my oil changes using Pennzoil Platinum and an oversize Bosch filter. Call me crazy, but it's cheap insurance and changing the oil plus greasing the driveshafts is a great time to check on a bunch of little things under the truck too.

As for oil change intervals, either play it safe (5K changes) or use 3rd party testing to determine your change interval. While on warranty, stick to the warranty if you want to keep it.

 

Oh thats not bad then. Agree with you on catching things early for sure.

 

It's his to flush.

 

True but at 20$ an oil change with a good filter I'm ok with it. Do the same with the wife's car!
Whoosh there goes more.

 

There are also detergents in the oil that remove the debris from the motor, and suspend it in the oil itself. Once those detergents can hold no more, you get the sludge. I always kinda thought that in addition to bad air filters, gas, etc, you got the sludge from the oil simply pulling debris out of the motor from intended use. I think we often forget that in addition to lubricity, oil does double duty as a cleanser as well.

 

That kind of gunk was very common many years ago every thing has changed since the 60's when every one changed their oil at 3,000 miles today's oils are nothing like they once were but still you do need to change the oil once in awhile. 3K is pretty excessive any more. The stuff that is in there probably will never be an issue but don't poke at it that trashed many an engine back when that kind of crap was "normal" by plugging up the oil pickup. We used to vacuum up the gook in old GM engines when we replaced lifters to keep it from getting into the pan.

 

Since you have the head off and the gasket is toast anyway you can use almost any non-water based solvent (not simple green!) to clean it out. You can open the drain and let the sludge plus solvent drain off. As you will be removing all lubricant with the solvent I would coat the inside and mechanicals with clean oil before reassembly.

 

I drove a Jeep Comanche for 29 years, and changed the oil and filter every 3k. It never used any oil. I sold it to my neighbor and he drives it every day. I don't consider I flushed any money.

I will change oil in my Taco at 3k. I will stay with what works for me.

 

Why not 1k? If 3k is good, 1k is better, right? I mean if we're just using arbitrary #'s instead of scientific analysis and better safe than sorry, right?

 

A cheap oil filter or expensive one wouldn't change that motor much if any at all. If you look at engine oil flow you will find very little oil actually goes thru the filter. Yes it all eventually makes its way thru the filter, but it mostly bypasses via pressure valve in oil pump. Not saying buy cheap filters either. That's just neglect in time or cheap oil.

 

While I agree that every 3k is probably overly cautious, it's his money. It's not going hurt a single thing to change at more frequent intervals, and it's absolutely better to error on the side of caution. I tend to follow the manufacturer's guidelines, personally. Anything more frequent is just a matter of how much the peace of mind is worth to you.

 

I'm waiting for him to answer, thanks.

 

Are we not helping each other? I may have missed where we pivoted from that to something else. Either way, it looks like you're suggesting there's merit to changing oil less frequently (outside of being less wasteful). Is that the point you're trying to illustrate?

 

All things considered, the engine went 154k miles despite the neglect!

 

Could be. Still waiting for the guy who claims 3k is the best and why he doesn't choose 1k if we're just going with arbitrary low #'s you know... to be safe.

 

I get both sides of this "argument" regarding intervals but it's a waste of time. Yes modern oils are better as are the engines so no need for 3k changes and 5k seems to be the norm but short of sending your oil in for YOUR DRIVING STYLE AND YOUR SPECIFIC MOTOR AND OIL for analysis it's arbitrary and personal preference for sure. You should see the motorcycle forum guys fight this out in the forums. For transparency I do 5k for my Taco.

 

Ah, ok.

 

It's really as simple as not being a dick on this site sometimes. Who cares if someone is changing his oil more often than you are. It's not like anyone is saying 3K is better than 5K. It's his money, if he wants to spend it on early oil changes I don't feel the need to berate him over it.

 

I'm not being a dick. If they want to change their oil every time the drive their vehicle then so be it. Their vehicle & their money. Just don't come on here making statements that make it seem like those who change their oil when it's actually due to be changed (based on wear characteristics determined by simple and inexpensive oil analysis that ANYONE can do) are somehow in danger of damaging their engine. They're not.

Q. If oil still has life left in it at 10K miles based on an analysis what are you gaining by changing it at 3k miles?
A. Nothing. At all.

It drives me nuts when people come in here spouting 'facts' from like 5 decades ago as gospel when we have undeniable sceintific proof to the contrary. You want to change your oil every 1k miles (sounds silly, doesn't it? Well 3k sounds silly to anyone who actually knows anything about oil) then that's fine but don't post on forums looking down on those who don't agree as they're somehow damaging their vehicle. They're not. If you're under warranty & are worried about being denied a warranty claim based on your longer OCI then follow the manual and document everything. I get that. If you're past your manufacturer's warranty then there's absolutely no reason to think you're somehow treating your truck better by changing the oil more often.

I've even seen you argue that some oils are proven to be better than other oils (even more expensive oils) so how are you not being a dick for trying to save people money too? Seems like some kettle & pot shit to me.