Break in oil change worth doing

I honestly don't think it will make much of a difference either way. 1k, 3k, 5k, or 10k. Obviously I did the oil change, so clearly I think it's worth doing, but I don't expect this is the cheatcode for infinite mileage truck. The reality is the type of person who is willing to spend the time and money to change oil early is probably the type of person who also is going to stay on top of literally every maintenance thing. So it's not really the oil, it's just the mindset. I went full fanboi and even replaced the oil with 6 quarts of TGMO 0W-20. So my total cost on this was $41.35 for filter, crush washer, and oil. I know objectively it's not better than a $16 Costco oil, but I did it anyway. The oil change was the same price as two rounds of trap shooting, and I don't have a problem throwing away $50 to miss a bunch of clay pigeons.

 

I only have 450 miles on my truck so I’m not even close yet

 

Oils and engine design tolerances have come a long way. I did oil changes on my Mazda MX-5 and CX-9 every 10k mi from purchase. Sold them at 125k with no issues. Used Mobil-1 Extended Performance Full Synthetic oil / filters rated to 20k mi.

I don't doubt the MFG 10k mi interval is safe (in recommended mostly mall crawl use case) and will probably follow that after initial 5k mi change for break in. That being said, oil is cheap insurance so I don't blame anyone for choosing a lower change interval, it definitely can't hurt.

 

The thing is, 125k is nothing. 100-150k is usually the range you start seeing the first side effects and repercussions of doing 10k oil changes vs 5k or 3k. My advice for anyone is if you plan for this to be a 250k+ years and years of no car payment type of vehicle…cut that manufacturer recommendation in half and go by the severe maintenance schedule for all maintenance. If you aren’t going to pay off the vehicle or go beyond 150k minimum, just do manufacturers recommendation. Unless you are starving the engine of oil the effects of long interval oil changes take a long time to show.

 

OP did you start a maintenance record in the owners manual's blank pages and leave it in the glove box or something? That kind of historical record will be interesting and probably valuable 20 years from now

 

Im going with 5k oil changes

 

All of our fleet 2.7 2wd tacomas got 10k mile oil changes. Most of the time this interval got extended to closer to 15k miles. All 10 trucks were traded in over 250k miles with zero engine problems. Some were over the 300k mark. Trucks got the cheapest synthetic from Walmart.

I personally do my first oil change early, 2-3k miles, and then every 5-6k after that.

 

Internal engine tolerances have essentially been the same for over 30 years. Look up a bearing gap spec from any Toyota motor from 30 years ago. It's pretty much the same as any modern Toyota motor.

 

This and other anecdotes are causing me a little cognitive dissonance, but I'm handling it well. Filled up the windshield washer fluid with a half gallon of the -30F stuff today.

 

For me 10k oci and some over that and 230k trouble free miles so far with whatever synthetic is on sale

 

I don't really see the correlation you are trying to make with the washer fluid comment.

Coming from someone who deals with many fleet vehicles on the road, I feel like my "anecdotes" may hold more weight than others.

Our current fleet(12 units) of 3.5 3rd gens all close or just over the 100k mark with the same 10k-15k oil change interval. No engine issues yet. Only 1 timing cover leak.

We have about 40-50 chevy 2500 vans on the road at all times. We drive them to 200k then trade them in. All get the same 10k oil change. Some are V8 some are V6. I have yet to see an engine failure in the 10 years I have been with my company.

 

Of that I have no doubt. There are always outliers and of course other factors such as driving conditions, types of driving, etc. But oil analysis and oil research is pretty solid on this front.

 

Changed oil and filter a few weeks ago. Changed the filter again a few days ago. My oil is so clean it’s fn ridiculous.

 

Good lord..you need to change the air in your tires

 

I actually do. I have a little book I keep in the glove box. I write down what mileage and date, what I did, what parts I used along with part number, price I paid, and the invoice number from the dealership.

 

Absolutely you should do your first oil change early. Up to 90% of break-in is completed by 500 miles, why in the world would you want to circulate metal throughout your engine for any longer than this. Most of the debris created by the break-in is from the piston rings mating to the cylinder walls, and this happens very quickly. Invest in a magnetic drain plug as well.

https://youtu.be/X4424Q5lLR8?si=8eLFwEy1cJYW2iVB

 

Man. How did we ever "prove" stuff before there was you tube????

 

Usenet. And before that, FidoNet. And before that microfiche in the bowels of the moveable stacks at some university library.

 

Do you still have a Hayes 1200 baud modem?

 

The good ol days.

When disinformation was limited to 1200baud.

Unfortunately porn was too.