for the guys that are into recreational oil changing...

Exactly right. Does it matter to you, OP, that you could save time and
money by doing it less often, without affecting how well it 'works for
you'? If not, go for it.

It's all in what matters to you.


RFT!!!
Dave Kelsen

 

Not liars. Not even idiots. Just clueless.

 

Yeah verily. One of the sludge issues was caused by dealers setting up
a stall aimed at just oil changes, sucking oil out with a small tube
inserted through the dip-stick sheath. That last pint never was drained.

Another issue not addressed in this thread is driving patterns. For a
few years I was overseas and my wife was driving my Pontiac with a 454.
All one or two mile trips. Engine never reached a proper operating
temperature. Car suffered with constant crankcase dilution (with the
oil level crawling UP the dipstick between changes. 3K wasn't often enough.

For cars with large engines and short trips, synthetic oil may be a
mistake since synthetics tend to be hygroscopic. A better choice is a
good petroleum based oil.

 

Which may hark back to what I was saying about oil change places and
some dealers charging for an oil/filter change and not really doing it.

 

I was just giving my experience as the owner of a 2.7 and reader of the
various LH car forums. Wasn't trying to contradict your experience with
other engines.

 

No that isn't true. And that is the problem with most of the thinking on
this subject - there are no absolutes. It is just like saying it is
scientifically proven that smoking causes cancer. That isn't accurate.
There may be a strong correlation but smoking does not absolutely
guarantee you will get Cancer. Smoking only increases the risk. The same
with those cars. An unacceptably large number of the cars may develop
sludge with extended oil change intervals but many of them won't.
Many manufacturers recommend that if you drive in high temps you should
change oil more often. But that doesn't mean someone who lives in Death
Valley and regularly drives when it is 110F can't get away with 10000
mile OCI. What it does mean is that the probability of the oil being
exposed to high enough temps long enough to start to break down and lose
viscosity and shear properties significantly increases in hot weather.
But in a perfectly functioning automobile even at that high ambient temp
the cooling capability of the engine should work and the oil shouldn't
break down. But you can't say absolutely that is going to hold true for
every car.
The fact is even with 3000 mile OCI there is a possibility that some
cars may suffer damage if the cooling system isn't up to snuff. The
probability of a problem occurring increases with extended intervals.
And it is not as if no car ever overheated in cool weather, but the
probability and the severity of such an event go down with the
temperature.

That is right. Good advice should include the notion that there will be
risk involved in everything. If you are dependent on someone else to do
oil changes there is always the possibility that service provider may
not actually do the work. The probability of surviving the oil not being
changed without damage certainly goes up for those who take it in to be
changed every 3000 miles compared top those who do at 10000 miles.

The people who say they are reducing their risk by changing oil
frequently are in fact correct. However they really have no way of
knowing how much (or how little) they are reducing risk. There really
are not much in the way of scientific research or statistical analysis
on passenger car engines that looks at car engines much past 100000
miles. What if you are interested in keeping a car well past 100K miles?
There is really very little to go on but private anecdotes.

-jim

 

I used to have one of those. 14 years old, eh? Did you get one of the
ones in which the engine wiring harness supplier used wire with the
wrong type of insulation, and the insulation literally turned to dust
after about 5 or 6 years?

 

Dave Kelsen wrote:

You state you have zero personal first hand knowledge and no belief
system. So what's left? you are omniscient?

yeah but if you're omniscient you already knew he was attacking you -
even before he wrote it.

And pray tell what facts have you presented?

 

From the (G37) maintenance schedule: "Infiniti developed Premium Maintenance
for owners who want the ultimate in preventative maintenance." What they
call Schedule ! Is the "severe" schedule with 3750 miles oil changes and
checks. There is no peril in not following the "premium" schedule on an
Altima or Maxima (unless having that extra cash in your wallet constitutes
peril).

 

I'm sure that is true, but I was talking about an even worse scenario in
which the "what the customer doesn't know won't hurt them" (at least
until it's too late for it to be tracked back to us) philosophy of
business is in play and the customer is billed for the oil change that
is not performed. I caught the local Chrysler dealer at that when she
took he brand new Concorde in for its first oil and filter change. She
was charged for it, yet the original factory filter was on it (painted
flat black with "ORIGINAL FACTORY FILTER" paint stamped on it) and the
oil was exactly the same level and color as when she took it in.

There was another episode on a Jeep my daughter bought that was supposed
to have been "religiously" serviced (oil and filter changed every 3000
miles) for the previous owner at their local Amerilube (their next door
neighbor was the manager). Funny thing was that when I went to do the
first oil change on it, the filter on it was Mopar brand, and had heavy
rust all around the un-painted seam at its base.

 

Sarcasm,right?

 

I think we see things the same way.

 

oops - meant to say "my elderly mother" there.

"her" not "he"

In too much of a hurry.

 

Thanks for the reply. IIRC I've seen Honda use the cab metaphor "stop
and go" conditions (damned if I know where nowadays, of course).

Right.

 

That's hot, no 2 ways about it.

 

I hate finding the butter with elephant tracks. Any special kind of
garlic.

 

As does the fact they both agree that as little as 3000 miles may be
appropriate for short trips, extreme cold, oe extreme heat.

 

No, the i sulation on the wiring has not been a problem (yet) but the
wiring connectors all seem to be a size or two too small. Almost the
only problems with the car so far have been electrical connection
failures.

 

or
that a manufacturer's oil change interval has to account for the MANY
owners who think nothing of missing an oil change every now and then.

 

Elephant garlic?