Determining oil change intervals via analysis

Discussion in 'General Motoring' started by dbltap, Aug 3, 2006.

  1. dbltap

    Matt Whiting Guest

    I was talking a top-end. That can be done in two days tops. And a full
    overhaul doesn't take months. Where'd you get that? A good mechanic do
    do that in 3 days. And many folks get a factory reman and that takes
    about two days to do the engine swap.

    Matt
     
    Matt Whiting, Aug 3, 2006
    #41
  2. dbltap

    Guest Guest

    I was of the impression that a major overhaul was mandated at so many hours
    running time.. Was it 5,000 hours, or more?
     
    Guest, Aug 4, 2006
    #42
  3. dbltap

    Stubby Guest

    2000 hours is a typical number. But so what? I would certainly have
    an oil test done within the first hour on a new or rebuilt engine.
     
    Stubby, Aug 4, 2006
    #43
  4. dbltap

    Guest Guest

    I am sure you would.
     
    Guest, Aug 4, 2006
    #44
  5. dbltap

    Matt Whiting Guest

    Only if the aircraft is used commercially. The typical TBOs are 1500 -
    2000 hours.

    Matt
     
    Matt Whiting, Aug 4, 2006
    #45
  6. Faith based car maintenance?
     
    The Ghost of General Lee, Aug 4, 2006
    #46
  7. dbltap

    JS Guest

    Hah. That all depends on how deep your pockets are. I've seen an
    engine exchange ($$$$$$) in a commercially-owned single-engine tri-tail
    bonanza. Total downtime was 3 days, but they prolly spent $25k on the
    job in the mid 90s.

    The biggest issue with general aviation aircraft is they're still using
    100% manual engine controls. While our cars have advanced greatly in
    engine management, airplanes are still dicking around with mixture and
    carb heat knobs. All it takes is one descent with the mixture knob out
    to destroy an engine. Or you run overrich and get crappy economy and
    clogged up sparkplugs.

    JS
     
    JS, Aug 4, 2006
    #47
  8. dbltap

    jim beam Guest

    sure! beats bothering to actually learn anything.
     
    jim beam, Aug 4, 2006
    #48
  9. dbltap

    JS Guest

    Once a year here, sometimes twice. Pine pollen season clogs them up
    noticeably every time. Sometimes hay season can do it, too.

    On my dodge truck, OTOH, which spends time on sand/silt roads and has
    the worlds crappiest air intake design ever (it sucks air right off the
    passenger wheel), its about 3x a year and I put about 1/3rd as many
    miles on it.

    JS
     
    JS, Aug 4, 2006
    #49
  10. dbltap

    Jim Warman Guest

    So... I take it nobody has seen that this cross posting bastuhd hasn't
    replied to his thread????

    "I'll have spam. spam. spam, spam, baked beans and spam"....
     
    Jim Warman, Aug 4, 2006
    #50
  11. dbltap

    Matt Whiting Guest

    Not all airplanes. Check out Cirrus and other new designs.

    Matt
     
    Matt Whiting, Aug 4, 2006
    #51
  12. Agreed. I was referring more to the people who are absolutely convinced
    that they must change their oil more frequently than the recommended
    7500 mile intervals.
     
    Brian Nystrom, Aug 4, 2006
    #52
  13. dbltap

    Guest Guest

    Makes me wonder what the ulterior motive was behind the original post.
     
    Guest, Aug 4, 2006
    #53
  14. "must"? No.

    "Cheap insurance"? ABSOLUTELY. There is no cheaper insurance for an
    engine than oil changes.

    Figure out how much you want to pay for that insurance, and set your
    intervals accordingly.

    If you want to keep the car a long, long time, then 3K intervals (or
    even 5K if you bought the car new and are using good oil) are extremely
    cheap yet very effective insurance.
     
    Elmo P. Shagnasty, Aug 4, 2006
    #54
  15. dbltap

    Guest Guest

    No, I dont regard ignorance and stubbornness as virtues. There are a
    lot of people who are impressed by apparently highly technical data
    and specifications, and who really dont know what, if anything, it means.
     
    Guest, Aug 4, 2006
    #55
  16. dbltap

    Bob Adkins Guest

    On every change, put a drop of oil on a piece of glass and check it under a
    $2 10x eye loupe in strong light. You can easily see metal fines in the oil,
    most of which are normal. You can determine if they're ferrous or
    non-ferrous by passing a magnet underneath the oil drop. If you see larger
    particles than normal, better get it checked out.

    I'm guessing that antifreeze can be detected in oil with a $5 dollar black
    light in a darkened room.
     
    Bob Adkins, Aug 4, 2006
    #56
  17. dbltap

    Bob Adkins Guest

    You would be surprised how easy it is to learn what the data means.

    That said, it isn't worth it. It's cheaper just to change the oil.
     
    Bob Adkins, Aug 4, 2006
    #57
  18. dbltap

    Bob Adkins Guest


    You're right to a point.

    However, engine failures are seldom directly oil-related. An engine usually
    fails from part failure or abuse long before they wear out from infrequent
    oil changes. By the time you start to see oil-related wear, a car is usually
    very old, and has over 150K miles on it.

    Rather than worrying about 3000 mile or 5000 mile oil changes, I worry about
    things that happen suddenly, such as cooling system failure, cracked block
    or heads, broken timing chain or belt, punctured oil pan, broken valves,
    etc.
     
    Bob Adkins, Aug 4, 2006
    #58

  19. You're right to a point.

    However, engine failures are seldom directly oil-related. An engine usually
    fails from part failure or abuse long before they wear out from infrequent
    oil changes.[/QUOTE]

    Well, but parts can easily fail due to infrequent oil changes.

    Yes, parts can also fail independent of that. That's why all insurance
    is a gamble....but I reduce my gamble by buying a Honda, Acura, Toyota,
    or Lexus.
     
    Elmo P. Shagnasty, Aug 4, 2006
    #59
  20. dbltap

    Matt Whiting Guest

    But it is wasted money, no matter how cheap. And with synthetic oil it
    isn't all that cheap.

    I prefer to not pay for things I don't need. I change at 5K miles now
    because it is easy to remember. I change at 10K when the warranty runs out.

    I keep my cars a long, long time at 5K and 10K intervals. My minivan
    had 178,000 when it was totaled and it was doing fine on 10K changes.
    The reality is that you have absolutely no evidence that more frequent
    changes extend engine life, because no such evidence exists,
    unfortunately. I've looked for years.

    We call make decisions that make us comfortable, but none are based on data.


    Matt
     
    Matt Whiting, Aug 4, 2006
    #60
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