i had a '76 VW Rabbit that developed bad valve guides and used a lot of oil-about 1 qt. every 400 mi. I added so much oil that the oil never got dirty looking. i finally just took to changing the filter about every 4K mi. I finally had them replace the valve stem seals and went back to regular oil changes. Sold the car, still running, at 330K mi. and the engine had never been apart. Same trans and clutch too, though I did break the clutch cable and about 130K.
13,000 miles on cheap dino !!!
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Lots of horror stories. This one ranks right up there. Many decades ago I knew a guy who NEVER changed the oil in his car, just added. He worked in a gas station. The oil he added was oil drained out of other cars. This was in the day of on top of the engine by-pass cartridge filters. He never changed the filter either. I suspect the filtration system was plugged up solid. I remember him pulling the dipstick one day to check the oil level, and you could see the metal and contaminant particles right in the oil on the dip stick.
His policy was to buy a junker car for under $100 and drive it until it stopped running. He'd then remove the license plates, walk away from it and buy another junk car for $100.
His policy was to buy a junker car for under $100 and drive it until it stopped running. He'd then remove the license plates, walk away from it and buy another junk car for $100.
heck, why not? If an oil change will cost $15 then you just sunk 15% of the purchase price into it. I wonder if he claimed that he was "green"?
I think the thing with some of these old tymers who never change and only add oil, run them dry or whatever are probally driving pretty slowly, chugging along and not really hammering it. Try some of those ~zero~ maintenance techniques on a car that's really hammered and- game over.
There is also THIS gem:
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1195125&fpart=1
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1195125&fpart=1
I picked up a night job working Valet at a very high end hotel/resort in Houston while the economy is slow and my engineering job is on the chopping block... After just 3 days, here is what I have seen:
- Oil Pressure light on (and CEL), bad noises, but Honda Accord actually ran. I told the lady she has "important warning lights" on the dash that need immediate attention, she says "oh, they've been like that for quite some time".
- Nearly every car (I'd say 19 of 20) has the Tire Pressure Monitor light on.
- Many cars (I'd say 10 of 20) has "Oil Change Required" light on....some of these from manufacturers known for the 10K-18K OCI range...and it appears that they have been on for quite some time, judging by the oil change stickers on the windshield vs odometer.
And remember these are 95% 2005+ Lexus, Mercedes, BMW, Infinity, Range Rover, and Porsches. The hotel is $350+/night, and the meeting events are not for us peons who make less than 6 figures.
I guess you don't get wealthy by "wasting money" on things like $30 oil changes. Yikes.
- Oil Pressure light on (and CEL), bad noises, but Honda Accord actually ran. I told the lady she has "important warning lights" on the dash that need immediate attention, she says "oh, they've been like that for quite some time".
- Nearly every car (I'd say 19 of 20) has the Tire Pressure Monitor light on.
- Many cars (I'd say 10 of 20) has "Oil Change Required" light on....some of these from manufacturers known for the 10K-18K OCI range...and it appears that they have been on for quite some time, judging by the oil change stickers on the windshield vs odometer.
And remember these are 95% 2005+ Lexus, Mercedes, BMW, Infinity, Range Rover, and Porsches. The hotel is $350+/night, and the meeting events are not for us peons who make less than 6 figures.
I guess you don't get wealthy by "wasting money" on things like $30 oil changes. Yikes.
Odds are they are lease cars and the owners don't give a [censored] about them. Most lease car drivers have the when it dies I'll fix it mentality. I have a neighbor who was leasing GMC SUV's for as long as I know him. He drives them, resets the OLM light when it comes on, and every second time the OLM comes on he changes the oil. His attitude is "it ain't my car". The lease deals now offer free oil changes for the term of the lease hoping people will bring them in when due for an OC.
Frank D
Frank D
Geez, makes me feel glad I change my fiancee's oil in her Escort. 2 oil changes ago (on cheap bulk dino) she hadn't changed it for a year. Then again she only drove 5-6k in that time.
The car still runs cheap dino, changed every 6 months now. I figure $30 a year for oil changes won't kill us.
Personally doing 7500+ mile changes on Schaeffer's 7000. This change I'm thinking of extending to 10k, since the oil has been shown to take it, and I'm kinda not wanting to change it when it's 4 months old currently.
The car still runs cheap dino, changed every 6 months now. I figure $30 a year for oil changes won't kill us.
Personally doing 7500+ mile changes on Schaeffer's 7000. This change I'm thinking of extending to 10k, since the oil has been shown to take it, and I'm kinda not wanting to change it when it's 4 months old currently.
Escort Engines... Or Should I say Mazda engines are bullet proof, a friend of mine has one and it has gone 387,000KM on regular bulk dino oil changes changed at 8,000KM intervals... Even with the Cold winters up here it starts/runs fine and doesn't use/leak a drop. I wouldn't worry about this engine.
As for running 10K on Schaeffers I would do an analysis before extending it just to make sure all is well.
As for running 10K on Schaeffers I would do an analysis before extending it just to make sure all is well.
Quote:
As for running 10K on Schaeffers I would do an analysis before extending it just to make sure all is well.
+1 on that, make sure your application can take that long of an interval. I ran the 7000 for no more than eight thousand miles. Anything past that was a bit of a stretch. Of course this was what you would consider severe service, so YMMV.
As for running 10K on Schaeffers I would do an analysis before extending it just to make sure all is well.
+1 on that, make sure your application can take that long of an interval. I ran the 7000 for no more than eight thousand miles. Anything past that was a bit of a stretch. Of course this was what you would consider severe service, so YMMV.
Originally Posted By: Gary in Sandy Eggo
Lots of horror stories. This one ranks right up there. Many decades ago I knew a guy who NEVER changed the oil in his car, just added. He worked in a gas station. The oil he added was oil drained out of other cars. This was in the day of on top of the engine by-pass cartridge filters. He never changed the filter either. I suspect the filtration system was plugged up solid. I remember him pulling the dipstick one day to check the oil level, and you could see the metal and contaminant particles right in the oil on the dip stick.
His policy was to buy a junker car for under $100 and drive it until it stopped running. He'd then remove the license plates, walk away from it and buy another junk car for $100.
HAHA!
Lots of horror stories. This one ranks right up there. Many decades ago I knew a guy who NEVER changed the oil in his car, just added. He worked in a gas station. The oil he added was oil drained out of other cars. This was in the day of on top of the engine by-pass cartridge filters. He never changed the filter either. I suspect the filtration system was plugged up solid. I remember him pulling the dipstick one day to check the oil level, and you could see the metal and contaminant particles right in the oil on the dip stick.
His policy was to buy a junker car for under $100 and drive it until it stopped running. He'd then remove the license plates, walk away from it and buy another junk car for $100.
HAHA!
Sounds like my dad... He regularly runs his oil in his clunker mini-van to 10K - 13K (KM's)...
The longest I've gone (by mistake) is 18,000 miles on Delvac 5W40 in a V6 Toy 4Runner. Good thing it was Delvac, I'm sure there would have been problems with regular dino!
Friend has an '04 Civic. She bought it with 36k and I assume the oil was changed before she bought it from the dealer.
She finally decides to change it at 50k, which is TWO years and 14k on the same oil. This car was operated under severe service.
Supposedly when her and her friend changed the oil, they needed to use a nail to "dig" inside the drain hole in order to get the lumpy stuff out.
The next time I saw the car, I immediately added a full bottle of Auto-RX. She ran that for 2-3k and said the oil was very dark when she changed it again. No noises or oil pressure light, and the car still runs today.
She finally decides to change it at 50k, which is TWO years and 14k on the same oil. This car was operated under severe service.
Supposedly when her and her friend changed the oil, they needed to use a nail to "dig" inside the drain hole in order to get the lumpy stuff out.
The next time I saw the car, I immediately added a full bottle of Auto-RX. She ran that for 2-3k and said the oil was very dark when she changed it again. No noises or oil pressure light, and the car still runs today.
When i was little my parents always had old beaters.
My mom had a 1980 /6 Cordoba that made it to 220K miles. That car would get 15K mile oil changes when it was lucky. Also we didnt know you had to adjust the valves on the /6 so it sounded like a type writer being operated by a monkey on meth. I still remember that sound very well. Sounded like that for years.
Finally it bent a pushrod and a lifter popped out letting the oil PSI go to zero.. after driving it a week like that it was retired. (BEfore the wrecker came to get it I took the valve cover off and learned all this when i was like 14. I wanted to fix it and keep it but dad said no).
After that she had a 2nd hand 88 K-Car with a 2.5. Also got the same great service and made it until about 100K. Ended its life at 70MPH in to the back of a stopped car on i95. Had the typical tired mopar 2.2/2.5 sound.
Me and my brothers pre-pay for her oil changes now and get on her case if she misses them. Im guessing her newer caravan isnt as forgiving as an old /6.
My mom had a 1980 /6 Cordoba that made it to 220K miles. That car would get 15K mile oil changes when it was lucky. Also we didnt know you had to adjust the valves on the /6 so it sounded like a type writer being operated by a monkey on meth. I still remember that sound very well. Sounded like that for years.
Finally it bent a pushrod and a lifter popped out letting the oil PSI go to zero.. after driving it a week like that it was retired. (BEfore the wrecker came to get it I took the valve cover off and learned all this when i was like 14. I wanted to fix it and keep it but dad said no).
After that she had a 2nd hand 88 K-Car with a 2.5. Also got the same great service and made it until about 100K. Ended its life at 70MPH in to the back of a stopped car on i95. Had the typical tired mopar 2.2/2.5 sound.
Me and my brothers pre-pay for her oil changes now and get on her case if she misses them. Im guessing her newer caravan isnt as forgiving as an old /6.
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I was dating this chick for awhile a few years back. Somehow we got to talking about our cars one night when we were on the phone. The subject came to how many miles our cars had on them. She said her`s had a lil over 30k. I somehow mentioned that I needed to change my car`s oil. The next thing she said was,"Huh? You mean a car is supposed to have it`s oil changed???????"
Back in the 70's I had a friend whose father owned a Buick, big block V8 455 IIRC. The old man would brag to me and his son when we'd get together at his house to change oil etc, that he "never changed his oil". He had well over 100,000 miles on the car, and would change the filter and keep adding oil as needed. He would tell us that, "oil don't wear out, and as long as the filter was clean and the oil was full you'd never have a problem". I can remember him, the car, the smell of oil burning, and the blue cloud behind the car, like it was yesterday. Glad I didn't listen to him.
Frank D
Frank D
Originally Posted By: Solo2driver
I picked up a night job working Valet at a very high end hotel/resort in Houston while the economy is slow and my engineering job is on the chopping block... After just 3 days, here is what I have seen:
- Oil Pressure light on (and CEL), bad noises, but Honda Accord actually ran. I told the lady she has "important warning lights" on the dash that need immediate attention, she says "oh, they've been like that for quite some time".
- Nearly every car (I'd say 19 of 20) has the Tire Pressure Monitor light on.
- Many cars (I'd say 10 of 20) has "Oil Change Required" light on....some of these from manufacturers known for the 10K-18K OCI range...and it appears that they have been on for quite some time, judging by the oil change stickers on the windshield vs odometer.
And remember these are 95% 2005+ Lexus, Mercedes, BMW, Infinity, Range Rover, and Porsches. The hotel is $350+/night, and the meeting events are not for us peons who make less than 6 figures.
I guess you don't get wealthy by "wasting money" on things like $30 oil changes. Yikes.
An upscale car means you got a loan in most cases.
I picked up a night job working Valet at a very high end hotel/resort in Houston while the economy is slow and my engineering job is on the chopping block... After just 3 days, here is what I have seen:
- Oil Pressure light on (and CEL), bad noises, but Honda Accord actually ran. I told the lady she has "important warning lights" on the dash that need immediate attention, she says "oh, they've been like that for quite some time".
- Nearly every car (I'd say 19 of 20) has the Tire Pressure Monitor light on.
- Many cars (I'd say 10 of 20) has "Oil Change Required" light on....some of these from manufacturers known for the 10K-18K OCI range...and it appears that they have been on for quite some time, judging by the oil change stickers on the windshield vs odometer.
And remember these are 95% 2005+ Lexus, Mercedes, BMW, Infinity, Range Rover, and Porsches. The hotel is $350+/night, and the meeting events are not for us peons who make less than 6 figures.
I guess you don't get wealthy by "wasting money" on things like $30 oil changes. Yikes.
An upscale car means you got a loan in most cases.
One of my friends has a 1998 F-150 4.6 that gets oil changes with dino every 10K miles or so of it's lucky. It gets no other maintenance to speak of. It still runs and drives great with 120K on the odometer. The brake rotors are badly warped, and it has a cracked PCV hose, but otherwise it doesn't have any problems.
When I worked at JL we had an early 1990s Camry come in with practically no oil. I took the plug out and was barely able to get some drops of sludge out. The car did not sound good, but it ran. Some customers had good intentions about adding oil, but just couldn't figure it out. One guy brought in his late 1990s Passat after filling it until the oil reached the fill hole. Somehow the car was running, though very badly.
Another JL story...another employee there had an Escort that had not had an oil change in at least three years. The oil filter was covered in rust. She said that she didn't know cars needed oil changes before working at JL. Go figure.
When I worked at JL we had an early 1990s Camry come in with practically no oil. I took the plug out and was barely able to get some drops of sludge out. The car did not sound good, but it ran. Some customers had good intentions about adding oil, but just couldn't figure it out. One guy brought in his late 1990s Passat after filling it until the oil reached the fill hole. Somehow the car was running, though very badly.
Another JL story...another employee there had an Escort that had not had an oil change in at least three years. The oil filter was covered in rust. She said that she didn't know cars needed oil changes before working at JL. Go figure.
Years ago (back in the late seventies) I worked as a pump jockey in Southern California. The mechanic there at the gas station I worked at worked at a Cadillac dealership previously.
They had a customer come in because his Caddy was running poorly. Turns out he hadn't changed the oil in 100,000 miles. Just filters and adding oil.
They drained the sludge, put tranny fluid in it and ran in for 5 minutes, refilled it and when the customer came in to pick it up he said, "Well, good for another 100,000!"
True story.
They had a customer come in because his Caddy was running poorly. Turns out he hadn't changed the oil in 100,000 miles. Just filters and adding oil.
They drained the sludge, put tranny fluid in it and ran in for 5 minutes, refilled it and when the customer came in to pick it up he said, "Well, good for another 100,000!"
True story.
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