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Oil Change - Time vs Mileage


Horn_Spanker

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12 hours ago, Hawndoh said:

The oil was in the ground for a few million years, but it's going to go bad in 3 months. 

 

I have a lawnmower that I've been using for 14 years that I've never changed or added oil to. Still starts on one pull and runs fine. 

much sarcasm right?

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1 hour ago, phdhorn said:

My bet is 80% of the population is too busy/lazy to change their oil anyway and go 20,000 miles between changes.  

It's a discussion that will continue into eternity...

However, based on the limited sample size I have experienced here at work since taking over as fleet and maintenance director, I'd have to say stick with the recommended intervals.   Hell oil's cheap.

When I came to this department nearly 4 years ago we were spending an ungodly fortune on engine replacement/repair on pickups and equipment.  One of the things I noticed even prior to taking the job is that timely, preventative maintenance in the shop was practically non existent.   I purchased and installed a fleet management computer program that tracks all vehicles and equipment mileage and hours and sends alerts when service is due.  Of course we also log all repairs, accidents/incidents etc.   Since the implementation of a strict maintenance program our replacement/repair cost on engine and driveline components on vehicle and equipment has dropped over 70%

Granted, our people are used to beating the hell out of vehicles and equipment so we have also started cracking down very severely on vehicle/equipment misuse or abuse and that too has been a contributing factor.  A full service oil change on one of our F-250 diesel pickups runs around  $200.00 if done here in house, that's cheap compared to nearly $20,000.00+- for a replacement.  We had a major overhaul/rebuild on a 6.7 liter powerstroke that ran exactly $19,798.57.  Ridiculous?  Yes, so give me regular (even if early) oil changes all day long.

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Alot of the intervals are based on what kind if driving is done and the vehicles intended use.

 

I change oil regularly but intervals are defined on what I use the cars for. BMW every 5k w/mobil 1 due to it being a turbo car. My diesel truck every 7.5 w/Rotella, not a daily driver. My muscle cars every 3k with Brad penn racing oil (has high ZDDP count) as I drive them pretty hard. Different strokes for different folks.

 

 

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1 hour ago, SHOOTER12 said:

Granted, our people are used to beating the hell out of vehicles and equipment so we have also started cracking down very severely on vehicle/equipment misuse or abuse and that too has been a contributing factor. 

Put a $25/month GPS/AVL on every vehicle that tracks location AND driving habits and you'll easily recover the cost of the GPS and lower wear and tear.

Keep in mind that you might end up finding out that some of your really good people, really fuck up trucks, and then you'll have to weigh that against firing them.

Edited by Orange&White
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51 minutes ago, Orange&White said:

Put a $25/month GPS/AVL on every vehicle that tracks location AND driving habits and you'll easily recover the cost of the GPS and lower wear and tear.

Keep in mind that you might end up finding out that some of your really good people, really fuck up trucks, and then you'll have to weigh that against firing them.

100% of your post is absolutely correct.  I've been arguing with ownership for 2 years about this, but you know how it is when someone already knows everything, or is afraid of angering their "best" employees.

They could just make an example out of 1 or 2 of them and it would make a difference.

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53 minutes ago, ImissWallyPryor said:

Piston strokes is the only way to determine when an oil change is due. An engine can idle for hours, but the odometer won’t move.

His fast can you count?

It's not a matter of how fast I can count, but how fast I can stroke😁

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3 minutes ago, Orange&White said:

Another thing to consider is that they will (likely) immediately change their behaviors when they know the device has been installed.

That's true, but I didn't want anyone to know about the devices until the first couple got busted.

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15 hours ago, po elvis said:

they have people brainwashed. cars can go like 15k miles between oil changes. 

If the Owner's Manual says so, then yes. Maybe even longer. Maybe not. tl;dr: 100% go by what the owner's manual recommends.

 

...

In other news, I dove back down the internet rabbit hole to see if I could find a real source for the belief that Mobil 1 5w-30 is crap in certain engines, and the short version is, it's all a bunch of hooey. Some guy even ran tests and had it running completely fine. So, in short, if it's the spec for your car, it's probably great.

 

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1 hour ago, SHOOTER12 said:

That's true, but I didn't want anyone to know about the devices until the first couple got busted.

Why?  Shouldn't your goal be to change the behavior, not to bust the drivers? 

If you have a school zone where people are speeding, do you want to hide the cop, or put him out in the open, if your goal is to stop the speeding in the school zone?

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5 hours ago, phdhorn said:

My bet is 80% of the population is too busy/lazy to change their oil anyway and go 20,000 miles between changes.  

I looked at my window sticker today. The date I was supposed to change the oil was 6/22/18 but I am only 1000 miles past the recommended mileage.

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20 minutes ago, TXSooner518 said:

Why?  Shouldn't your goal be to change the behavior, not to bust the drivers? 

If you have a school zone where people are speeding, do you want to hide the cop, or put him out in the open, if your goal is to stop the speeding in the school zone?

Reason 1, I know our people and "someone" meaning everyone would find a way to damage/disable/remove them and then come up with an excuse for what happened. 

Reason 2, When a couple are busted and terminated, that should change behaviors.  To me, warning them would be like warning people about a random drug test coming.

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4 hours ago, SHOOTER12 said:

It's a discussion that will continue into eternity...

However, based on the limited sample size I have experienced here at work since taking over as fleet and maintenance director, I'd have to say stick with the recommended intervals.   Hell oil's cheap.

When I came to this department nearly 4 years ago we were spending an ungodly fortune on engine replacement/repair on pickups and equipment.  One of the things I noticed even prior to taking the job is that timely, preventative maintenance in the shop was practically non existent.   I purchased and installed a fleet management computer program that tracks all vehicles and equipment mileage and hours and sends alerts when service is due.  Of course we also log all repairs, accidents/incidents etc.   Since the implementation of a strict maintenance program our replacement/repair cost on engine and driveline components on vehicle and equipment has dropped over 70%

Granted, our people are used to beating the hell out of vehicles and equipment so we have also started cracking down very severely on vehicle/equipment misuse or abuse and that too has been a contributing factor.  A full service oil change on one of our F-250 diesel pickups runs around  $200.00 if done here in house, that's cheap compared to nearly $20,000.00+- for a replacement.  We had a major overhaul/rebuild on a 6.7 liter powerstroke that ran exactly $19,798.57.  Ridiculous?  Yes, so give me regular (even if early) oil changes all day long.

jesus h christ on a pogo stick... what are y'all doin' that an oil change costs $200?

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Well, when I say oil change, it includes fuel filters (2) sometimes transmission filters, cabin air filter, and of course engine air filter.  The oil itself is the singular highest priced item, and considering diesel pickups depending on make and model can take up to 18-20 quarts of oil each.

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To further itemize, and this doesn't include labor, this was the expenditure on my last "oil change" in my company truck

1. Air Filter-$53.75
2. Fuel Filter-$39.54
3. Oil Filter-$17.84
4. Oil-(4.25 Gals), $10.79/Gal

TOTAL:$158.69 Not including labor, disposal fees etc.

Edited by SHOOTER12
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I had an old Dodge Dart in the 80s that I drove for 8 years. I don't know how many miles because the speedometer/odometer didn't work. Never changed the oil. It was running like a champ when I sold it. My excuse was that I only paid $100 for the car, so what was the point of changing the oil. That old slant 6 was indestructible. /CSB.

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10 minutes ago, Bat Guano said:

I had an old Dodge Dart in the 80s that I drove for 8 years. I don't know how many miles because the speedometer/odometer didn't work. Never changed the oil. It was running like a champ when I sold it. My excuse was that I only paid $100 for the car, so what was the point of changing the oil. That old slant 6 was indestructible. /CSB.

Hard to argue with that.  Older cars in general imo were a lot more "bulletproof" than new models.  I had a '76 Grand Prix that I abused the hell out of and one Thanksgiving my BIL was over while I was messing with and pulled the dipstick and asked how long it had been since I changed the oil?   I honestly didn't know.  One thing of note:  he nearly had to scrape the oil off with a knife.   Changed it two days later and sold the car 5 years later (1993) for $1000.00 after it had set for 2 years.  Hooked up a battery and it started on the first crank.

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40 minutes ago, SHOOTER12 said:

Hard to argue with that.  Older cars in general imo were a lot more "bulletproof" than new models.  I had a '76 Grand Prix that I abused the hell out of and one Thanksgiving my BIL was over while I was messing with and pulled the dipstick and asked how long it had been since I changed the oil?   I honestly didn't know.  One thing of note:  he nearly had to scrape the oil off with a knife.   Changed it two days later and sold the car 5 years later (1993) for $1000.00 after it had set for 2 years.  Hooked up a battery and it started on the first crank.

Certainly, have heard of straight sixes that don't seem to break. But with many modern cars making it to 200k miles without needing anything more than maintenance, I'd take today's engines. It just sucks to fix them when they do fail. 

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23 hours ago, Upgrayedd said:

What does your Owner's Manual say?  Do that.

Part of my problem with that is my opinion that some companies have extended the oil change life because they offer free maintenance for x number of miles or because they want to show customers a low cost of maintenance in the sell process. In addition several companies have had issues with engines and immediatly blame the customer. After a lot of court action they suddenly offer to fix the "problem". I do mine every 5K with synthetic and know it's early but it's my vehicles.

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