Retired - Maintenance ??

I just retired so I won't be putting many miles on since I no longer have the daily commute - I'm a maintenance nut but I'm thinking I should start changing fluids on a time basis rather then mileage for instance changing oil every 6 months instead of every 5k because I've read oil deteriorates over time. I have been changing trans, diff and brake fluid every 50k and drain rad and fill every 30k or so. Any advise on time vs mileage appreciated .

 

Depends what your driving habits are, if the vehicle just sits alot but when you do drive it you put 10-20 or more highway miles on it I wouldn't worry about it as much but if you just drive alot short trips (<10mi) I would change it on a time schedule rather than mileage for sure.

 

Spring and Fall to remind yourself of the time you've earned

 

Mine doesn't get driven very much either, and it's mostly short trips. To avoid the milky oil I try to get it on the freeway at least once every 2 months. I keep maintenance records, do 6 month oil changes because I never reach 5k miles before 6 months. It does come out dirty but not milky. Then every once in awhile I'll dump & refill with new oil. Drive it for a week, then change the oil & filter.

Congratulations on your retirement.

 

I've had my truck for 4 years and put a little over 25k on it. I'm on the 6 months plan for engine oil. Set it my calendar and I'm good to go. My other oils are on the 3 year plan. I did the power steering and brake fluid at about 80k just in case.

 

Thanks guys - sounds like you guys agree with me on the oil change every 6 months - any more opinions on the other fluids - and yes I did read Bikinaz 3 year and 80k. Thanks again for the replies.

 

Oil change based on time is a waste of money unless you repeatedly drive short trips and get crankcase condensation. There are dozens of UOA reports at bobistheoilguy showing that oil that sat in a vehicle for years still had strong TBN numbers, trace moisture, and no additional wear metal PPMs for the mileage driven.

Brake fluid, however, is hygroscopic and should be changed on a time basis.

 

Interesting - I'll check out bob - good stuff. So if I drive for a few longer trips it should burn off the condensation but I should change brake fluid - How often would you say I should change the brake fluid ?

 

You're probably right. However, oil is relatively inexpensive and I sleep better at night on the 6 month plan. I had a hellava time just getting off my every 3000 mile habit of 40 years.

 

Brake fluid I believe is every other year? But it would also depend on how much humidity is normally in the air where you live.. so more frequently if you live in FL, maybe less frequently if you are in AZ.

I do mine about every other year, and the speed bleeders make it an easy job (although messy, as is the nature of brake fluid).

 

Just curious on the type of synthetic oil everyone uses or suggests. Going to teach my son how to change his oil on his 07 AC/4.0 in the next few days. Thanks and enjoy your retirement. My retirement isn't official until Dec 6 so i'll have to wait 6 more weeks to celebrate.

 

My Tacoma is no longer my daily driver, so I don't put as many miles on it as before. I change the oil every 5K miles or 1 year, whatever comes first. I've hit the 1 year mark every year since the pandemic started. Hopefully I'll start putting more miles on it now...

I use Costco's full synthetic oil. Two 5-quart jugs runs ~$35, so it's almost as cheap as "dino juice."

 

I change the oil/filter every 5k miles or 6 months. As gas prices go higher, my mileage is lower, but changing the oil is key to long engine life. Fumato valve makes it easy.
It's a good idea to crawl under the truck every six months and have a look around.

 

Subliminal message for the newly retired?

 

IMO, 6 months is total and complete overkill. Oil is not going bad in 6 months. It's not even going bad in a 12 months.

You're going to get a million opinions here and you're almost certainly going to fall victim to some form of confirmation bias because it's simply human nature like that. Instead, I highly recommend you gather data and make the determination for yourself. No one else is going to know what's best for YOU in YOUR situation. Spend the $30 to have your oil analyzed and ask the guys at Blackstone Labs for recommendations on oil change intervals based on your specific situation and analyses results.

I stopped listening to anyone's opinion on oil change intervals 15yrs ago and now simply use DATA, not hearsay. It's removed a lot of the smoke & mirrors and scare tactics you see reinforced online continuously and allowed me to actually feel confident that I'm doing the right thing rather than just hoping or having a false sense of security.

 

I was using name brand oil but the price keeps going up like gas prices do so I switched to Walmart full synthetic every 5K - now I'll do every 6 months - at least that's the plan. I read a lot about Walmart full synthetic - specs who makes it etc. everything seems 2 B A OK. I used to use Fram filters til I read about them - garbage - then I used Wix which got the best reviews - just bought OEM filters on Amazon cheaper then Wix - lots of fake stuff on Amazon just hope they are real.

 

The best way to try and save money is to extend your oil change interval as long as possible. This is also good since you end up wasting less natural resources and generally consume less. If you're able to change your oil half or a third as much as you used to that's a HUGE savings. Saves your time too.

With my last daily driver I started my oil change interval at 6k, had the oil analyzed and got the go-ahead from Blackstone to extend by 2k miles. Rinse and repeat. At the end, before I sold that car I was doing 12k mile intervals and the oil I was pulling out was still quite healthy and robust. I probably could have kept going, perhaps up to even 15k. I just wish I had started doing analyses earlier on when I was driving that car 25k/yr. I would have saved quite a bit.

 

Blackstone might be a good idea - I've thought of it before but then figured I could just change the oil for the $30 which is what I did - the only thing I was thinking about was moisture in the oil because of just short trips. Thanks.

 

Yeah, I use Toyota filters in bulk and whatever name brand oil is the lowest price in my flavor. I also change my cabin and air filter once a year too. Probably overkill on that too, but I justify it in my mind because I live in Arizona and spend a lot of time on unimproved roads. Tons of dust here.

 

I made a cabin filter that I can clean - there's instructions on TW and I bought a air filter that I clean - I use Dawn and air gun - saves $$ on replacement.