Another Oil Q-Tip

That takes me back....

 

Ha - right I spent 4 hours in an emergency room today from a stroke-scare... was driving my 2021 when my vision
suddenly went to hell with no warning, double/ triple/ quadruple vision ... pulled into a parking lot and waited until it went away.
I knew something was wrong didn't want to dent my pretty 2021 - my son should drive a clean ride 'eh ?..

Googled it, called my doc who said dial 911 right now and/or get your azz into an emergency room fast. Luckily there was an
Emergency room real close so I eased in there....

Found a few issues was most likely a mini-stroke luckily no short or long term damage but they told me to keep my
phone on 911 speed dial if it happens again...

I suppose my oil needs a good change too...

 

Mr Q, has this oil regime you follow been a life long thing that you have used on any previous vehicles you have owned? If so, what kind of overall miles have you been able to attain with it?

Would you say that this routine is more of a hobby to keep you busy and in tune with your truck, or is there a measurable scientific advantage that you know for sure about that dictates this much attention to the oil?

It would be interesting to purchase two identical spec trucks at the same time. Then perform the typical Toyota recommended service intervals on one, an no remote starts ever. Then go about your personal maintenance routine on the other. After 200k miles or 20 years, have an independent shop pull both motors apart and do an evaluation on everything.

 

Huge thank you to everyone who has provided advice here. The time you have taken to inform me is much appreciated and I will immediately modify my process. This is EXACTLY why I come here and peruse the threads- I learn a little bit each time, sometimes a lot, and will continue to participate within the shadows. Peace.

 

I have been a religious oil change nut for 30+ years but only the past year have I incorporated the monthly bypass element.

I had a Honda CRX I purchased new and went to 325,000 miles before I swapped the engine out to a larger integra engine. The motor was fine and the swap was initiated by a valve gasket that required replacing and the desire to see what a more powerful engine would be like in that small car.

I currently have a Honda Insight that has 250,000 miles and going strong. Covid has put a damper on my mileage because I now work from home.

I take this more in depth approach because I believe there’s an incremental benefit and it doesn’t take me much time at all. I do this for two vehicles each month and it probably takes me about 30 minutes a month.

I have all owned Honda’s, Toyota’s and Mercedes all of which would have yielded the same mileage I’m sure with only regular changes.

 

Idling your engine for 5-10 mins to warm it up is completely unnecessary. Not only you are diluting your oil with gas quicker, you are wasting your gas. The best/quickest way to warm up your engine is driving it.

Give it a minute or so then gently drive it for a few minutes.

 

Great thread Mike.

 

Are you running your truck hard every 1k miles
? Pick up a lot of ferrous material with your magnet?

This sounds very high on the diminishing returns spectrum.

I stick to the manufacturer's schedule.

 

No. Not running hard. As far as the magnet. This is a new idea just now being incorporated.

 

I'd like to see some data of your results showing the necessity of this.

 

So now I work for you? I need to prove to you what I do is required, necessary and is supported with data? Why are you #153 posts deep in a thread asking me to justify what I do? If you have a good question I’ll answer just like you will find I have done throughout this thread. Not to convince anyone but to allow you to understand my mindset. What you will also find is that I’m genuinely listening and taking advice from posters. Your post however is not productive for me or possibly anyone else.

 

I had a 2002 Durango. I religiously changed the oil every month from the time it was brand new. I got 320K out of that engine before I finally gave it away in 2017 because no dealer would take it in on trade as it had a book value of $0.00 and looked piss-poor due to all the wheeling it did.

OP's regime is stringent, for sure, but if it is what he wants to do and it gives him data to analyze (data that may help someone), who is it hurting?

Hell, I clean my tools weekly and I have a lot of tools. Why? Mostly because it is cathartic and keeps my powder dry.

OP - good write up.

 

I only wish my propensity to go to extremes with my oil and lawn spilled over to other endeavors. I’m a bit relentless on my job where I work more and harder now from home than I’ve ever done. I’m not very good at balance, but yes, as Tom just mentioned, my extremes are cathartic to me and I know it doesn’t make sense to many. I’m perfectly IMPERFECT.

 

My post was not an attack, no need to be defensive. My question is exactly as it is on its face. "I'd like to see" is not a command. Obviously there is no requirement to respond. You replied this is a new process, I responded that I'd like to see your results. That's it. That's the post. I apologize if my attempt at a neutral tone failed.

 

Sorry. What kind of data might anyone find useful and I’d be happy to share and update along the way? I too would love to learn if this process provides any benefit.

 

There's zero reliable data here to analyze other than OPs process is extreme overkill.

 

Primarily if you're actually catching any ferrous debris with the magnet.

Honestly, with these trucks running 200, 300, even 400k miles without this process, I do not see a valuable return outside of a normal mx schedule. Especially with normal, non-off road/stress/dirty driving.

I went over 100k with my 2nd gen doing my own half-ass DIY oil changes using cheap Fram filters (cringe, I know) with zero issues.

I am open to being corrected.

 

I agree and stated previously that I’ve had two vehicles with 325,000 and 250,000 going strong on simply regular change intervals. I have $12 invested in a magnet and another $200 in the bench bypass filter, that I use for two vehicles,so that is sunk cost. My time to do this each month, on two (2) vehicles, is only 30 minutes and it is extremely easy. So I will continue with my modified process- no remote starts, lol.

Some of you have inquired about the magnet so I’m attaching a couple of pics below.

The oil in the container is 5,000 mile oil that will now be used in my 250,000 mile Honda. It’s been bypassed every 1,000 miles except for the last interval. So, we have 5,000 mile oil filtered at 1,2,3 and 4K miles. You will see that I don’t get any particulate from swiping through the oil, either on the magnet or the clean rag.

If this were difficult or timely to do I wouldn’t be doing this. At this point there’s essentially no extra cost and limited time each month to continue-on with an overly unnecessary process.

One could argue, I won’t, that the extra filtering at fairly frequent intervals could extend the life of my vehicle filter but I’m not trying to pinch pennies here. During many years pennies were important to me. Now I go for ease of use while trying to compete with myself to see how far we can push the boundaries.

 

Here's some data to help bring this thread down to earth:

I put over 375K miles on a '91 F150 with the 4.9 straight six.
Probably 1/4 of those miles would have been towing between 1,500 & 2,000 lbs.
Oil changes with traditional 10-W-40 every 3-4 thousand miles. No brand loyalty on the oil or filters.

The truck was still running fine the day it left my possession. If the AC compressor hadn't just gone out for the second or third time, I'd probably kept it a little longer.

Just a work truck getting regular maintenance. Nothing special, and not really all that uncommon. My brother has done the same with both a first, and second gen Tacoma. No dialysis machines necessary.