I came across this I thought it might help some on the oil tropics that keep coming up , even though its still a persons choice. I still do mine between at 3 thousand :::::::::::::::::::::::::: Oil Change Intervals
With improved technology, does the old mantra of 'every 3,000 miles' still apply?
by Larry E. Hall
Most of us already know that regularly scheduled oil and filter changes are a vital part of routine car maintenance that is necessary for engine longevity.
During the miles between changes, the oil in your vehicle's engine gradually becomes contaminated with soot, metal particles, gasoline and other impurities. As mileage accumulates, so do the contaminants in the oil. Eventually, enough impurities accumulate that the filter cannot remove them and the oil cannot keep them in suspension.

When this happens, the resulting sludge can dramatically shorten engine life.

Even though modern technology has vastly improved engines and the oils that lubricate them, regularly scheduled oil and filter changes are still a vital part of regular, preventative auto maintenance. The question is: Just how often does the oil need to be changed?

At regular intervals
The old mantra of responsible motorists that said, "Change your oil every 3,000 miles!" is being replaced. Today car manufacturers' recommendations for oil changes range from 5,000 to 7,500, or even 10,000 miles for many cars when operated under "normal" driving conditions—more often if conditions are "severe."

Before you relax, let me point out that the way most of us drive is listed as severe by the automotive experts. According to the owner's manuals of many new cars and trucks, normal operation of a vehicle is at least 20 minutes, at a medium speed with a steady throttle, and in a clean environment.

According to one car maker's owner's manual, the oil change interval is seven months or 7,500 miles under normal driving conditions, three months or 3,000 miles under severe conditions. This is how severe is defined in the manual:


Repeated, short distance driving.
Extended periods of idling or low speed operation.
Extensive use of brakes.
More than 50 percent driving in heavy city traffic during hot weather above 90 degrees F.
Driving for a prolonged period of time in cold temperatures and/or extremely humid climates.
Driving in dusty conditions or sandy areas.
Driving in areas where salt or other corrosive materials are being used.
Driving on rough or muddy roads.
Driving in mountainous areas.
Well, it looks like the old mantra about oil changes isn't out of date after all. But what about synthetic oils, don't they extend oil change intervals?

Several car manufacturers do recommend synthetic oil for their high-performance models because of the superior protection from friction and extreme temperatures. The protection comes from the processing required to manufacture the base stock and the different additive packages they require.

Despite this better performance, synthetic additives wear out just as they do in conventional motor oils, and need to be changed. The key is driving conditions — normal or severe.

How about just changing the oil filter, can a car be driven farther between oil changes?

Changing the filter is great, but the oil must be changed along with it, given that the oil's additives wear out and contaminants get into the oil itself. The filter can only capture the bigger particles suspended in the oil, not replenish spent additives.

Pinching pennies
From an economic point of view, it would appear that waiting an extra few thousand miles between changes will save money. For example, based on $25 oil changes every 5,000 miles instead of 3,000 miles, more than $300 is saved per 100,000 miles. Sounds pretty good, but if you drive the average of 17,000 miles a year, it will take you almost six years to reach that mileage — or $50 per year savings.

Extending the oil change interval beyond what the manufacturer recommends can seriously shorten the useful life of your engine, and cost you several times that $300 savings. Just ask a professional service technician how often he or she changes the oil and filter on their personal vehicle. Chances are the answer will be 3,000 miles.

That's the answer given by Don Beyer, automotive services director for AAA's Washington/Inland chapter. Beyer, an ASE master technician and former repair-shop owner, says that it is imperative to change the engine oil and filter every three months or 3,000 miles. "I'm doubtful that anyone, regardless of where they live, drives under the normal conditions defined in owner's manuals."

Bottom line: Don't push the limits of motor oil and flirt with damaging your car's engine, especially when chump change is all it takes for an oil change.

Larry Hall writes about cars and the automotive industry from his home in Olympia, Wash.

 

i know exactly what some of you are going to say. ( wasting money ) but i use valvoline synthetic in all of my vehicles and i change it every 5000 miles. if its a waste so be it. i have never lost a motor so i feel its worth it.

just my 2 cent$.

https://www.f150online.com/galleries....cfm?gnum=4704

 

Has anybody anywhere ever heard of an oil related engine failure of any engine if the oil was changed every 5,000 miles? I haven't but I've only been driving 47 years and been around the car business the whole time. Back in my youth, we changed oil every 1,000-2,000 because the oil was lousy and people wouldn't use a detergent oil.

 

Thats funny that this was brought up. Yesterday I had my oil changed at the Ford dealership and when I checked the sticker they put in the window it said my next oil change was due at 10,000 miles (truck has 5,000) or August 3. I called the dealer and asked them about this and they said that the new Ford cars do not require service every 3,000 miles.

 

If you look in the "scheduled maintence book" it states oil to be changed every 5K unless you drive on dirt roads all the time, in that case they say every 3K

 

Most people will not have an engine failure due to extended oil changes, because they don't keep a car past the 100k mileage marker. I've got a friend that does outside sales, and he puts in excess of 70,000 miles per year. It is not economically feasible for him to get a new vehicle every year or two. His current vehicle is a GMC 1/2 ton pickup. Current mileage is 430,000 miles. His discipline is to change the engine oil every 3000 miles. He's never had the engine opened for internal work. His transmission has been replaced once, but I'm sure his luck is based on his services every 3000 miles. If you don't keep a vehicle that long, change it when you want. Me, I'm a 3000 mile kind of guy.

 

The whole oil change debate and what type of oil is sort of pointless in my opinion. I would think 5,000 is a reasonable limit though for anyone under any conditions. Reason I say this is because of personal experience - I sold a 1990 Chevy Beretta (3.1 V6) a few years ago and it had 225,000 miles on it...still ran great!...and the engine was clean as a whistle when you looked inside the valve covers. I changed my oil every 3,000 to 4,500 miles or so - never being absolutely consistent about changing it at a certain milage. I used regular Castrol oil - nothing special. Also used other brands if it was more conventient to buy. Nobody will ever convince me (and my dad is a lifelong mechanic in case someone think's I'm a truck driving airhead that knows squat about cars) - but nobody can convince me that you MUST change your oil every 3k miles or your engine will simply fall apart. That's nonsense. I change it in my truck at about 4,000 miles using Ford's recommended oil/filter. I'm sure I'll have many, many pleasurable miles from my 5.4L I've already got 24,350 miles on it since last March when I bought it!

 

My big question is the time between changes.

I've had my truck since July 04 and I'm at about 6200 miles total. Took me until January to get to 5000 miles. What is the amount of time, forgetting mileage that is recommended?

 

5,000 is not extended oil changes and do you know of any failures?

Even if they don't keep them past 100K, somebody puts the rest of the miles on them. Except for my only new truck, I usually buy them with over 100K on them and when I sell them at 170K+, they engines are still good and the rest of the vehicle is worn out. When you buy a high mileage car, buy a fancy one because the original owner could afford to keep them maintained and usually do. If you buy a Town Car, a Park Avenue or some other high end car with high miles, they are cheap and usually well maintained. If you buy a Cavalier, Hyundai, etc. the original owners may not have been able or willing to keep them maintained and you don't get as good a car.

 

For what its worth(...again), my dad has a 95 Bronco with 198,000 miles on it. He hasn't "changed" the oil in it since it had 5X,XXX miles on it. Every 3,000 miles he changes the filter and adds a quart of Castol Syntech. The truck runs perfect and doesnt burn a drop of oil. It may just be luck but its worked for him...btw he was told by an engineer that works in engine development for Deere to try this "service plan".

 

You make a great point....I wont keep my truck past 80K miles I am sure. All this money I am spending on synthetic oil and crap is just going to benifit the guy that gets it from me. To heck with him....I am going start running store brand oil and will only change it when I can't touch it wth the dip stick anymore!

 

If you look in the owners manual it describes severe conditions that require 3000 mile change intervals. Few drive those conditions, but the dealer will make you feel your commiting a deadly sin if you go to 5000. My Lincoln says to change at 5000 and it uses the same oil and drives the same roads as my truck. 5000 it is.

 

5000 intervals isn't the problem. The problem is people who forget to change their oil alltogether. I know, because I used to be guilty when I was younger. I remember going 9K-11K (including a lot of towing) and promising myself that I'd do it 'as soon as I had time'. Well, who'dathunkit but I burned up the motor at 70K miles.
Since then I've had three vehicles go well over 100K without using oil and it comes down to changing the oil when it's dirty- period. I got some little stickers from the office supply place, about the size of a small retail price sticker. When I change my oil I write the mileage down and stick it on my dash next to the odometer. At a glance I can always see how long I've gone since my last oil change. I aim for 4K-5K intervals and haven't gone over 6K in 10 years.

 

7 quarts of Motorcraft 5w 20 and a Motorcraft FL820S filter every 3,000 miles; the way it is

 

I've enjoyed reading this thread, but I noticed your question went unanswered, so I'll jump in here. With that low of miles you are at risk of fitting perfectly into the severe service category. If you have low miles because your trips are short then you'll have a lot of water in the oil that does not get evaporated off. The water then mixes with the sulfur to produce sulfuric acid, which is corrosive. If you try and take that oil 5,000 miles you will experience excessive wear, which will shorten the life of the engine. On the other hand you’re ok if you drive 20-mile trips only very seldom.

I find this topic interesting because I just analyzed my oil at 21,000 miles (W/by-pass). The test results showed it was still good, and I could continue with the same oil, though I drained it because of the black color. One gentleman even poked a little fun at the situation suggesting I had thrown out good oil and it would have been nice if I had saved it for him.

That’s the way we do things around here. If you say changing the oil at 3,000 works you are right, can never be wrong. It’s impossible for that opinion to be wrong. The problem with going farther is we don’t know how far we can go with your driving habits. Looking at severe service we have all driven down that road at one time or another. Just because we have driven a mile of severe service does not drop us into that category. A typical month consists of good miles and bad. For example, I just took my wife out for breakfast. It’s a mile to the restaurant, and a mile back. Everything I need is within a mile or two of my home. That won’t be a problem though, because I have to go to the hardware store for a project after I type this in, and I seldom get the right part the first trip.

The original post is one sided and sometimes even misleading. I could have a lot of fun counter pointing his points. His opinion is to error on the side of caution. I did an analysis of the oil in my son’s car. At 5,000 miles I was told we were destroying the engine at this rate of wear. His main driving then was half a mile tip to school. He was driving about 6k a year, it took him a good 9 or 10 months to get to 5k.