3,000 mile paranoia. Who has it here?

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Yep I bought a junked abs unit, pulled the module and had to take it to the dealer to get it synced w/ my car. Never had the blend door issue. Vac lines were never an issue on my 9-5. They (and radiator hoses) all rotted from heat on my 1997 900, though. We finally traded it when my wife needed a van and the trans was starting to slip b/c I'd let too much fluid leak out since the cooler lines came loose. I think it was also about to go through another DI cassette at the time.

Regarding the oil changes in it, after I got most of the sludge out and updated the pcv, I ran really whatever I wanted, supplemented w/ auto-rx for about 5k at a time.
 
If 3k miles was the norm in the states, 10k km (6.4k miles) was the norm here with synthetics. I still stick to that with gassers, diesels depending on application can handle extended drains better.

Then there is my co-worker who has always changed Mobil 1 every 5000km (3k miles) and continues to do so. He drives quite alot of easy highway miles so it's a real waste. Good Mobil 2 for a beater?
grin.gif
 
No paranoia here. Oil technology has come a long way since the 3mo/3,000 mile days. I always do my oil changes every 5,000 mi.
It's so much easier to remember.
 
Originally Posted By: DavidZ28
No paranoia here. Oil technology has come a long way since the 3mo/3,000 mile days. I always do my oil changes every 5,000 mi.
It's so much easier to remember.


It's not only oil tech , improvement in oil filters has helped with extending OCI's
 
Originally Posted By: skellyman


It's not only oil tech , improvement in oil filters has helped with extending OCI's


Another big factor in longer oil change intervals now compared to a few decades ago is the elimination of carburators in new cars. A lot of fuel ended up in the oil with carburated engines, thus necessitating a much lower interval.
 
Originally Posted By: Patman
When I bought my first bottle of synthetic oil in 1988, it was $8 per liter. That was for Mobil 1 5w30, and at the time we could only buy it at Esso gas stations up here. On Friday I picked up a 4.4L jug of Mobil 1 0w20 at Canadian Tire for $31.79, which works out to $7.22 per liter.


Yep, I see that special is on again. Synthetics have definitely stayed relatively steady, compared to gas or conventional. For years, while running the taxis, a price of over a $1 per quart was a deal breaker, until it became the norm and sales never went that low again.

Originally Posted By: tig1
In 1978 when I started with M1 5-20(only wt available) I paid $5 a qt. Today I am paying around $5.50 a qt at WM by the jug. So my OC coast have stayed level for the last 34 years.


As you see above, our regular prices were never quite what yours were, but we've held steady, too. Of course, certain retail outlets have absurd "regular" prices, but such is life.

As for the 3000 mile thing in general, my view is application specific. The G has short 3750 mile OCIs for warranty, so that's that. When the old F-150 had the bad carb, fuel dilution was a major problem, so 3000 miles might have even been a stretch. With the taxis, it was always at 6000 miles with no problems. My Town Car was similar, since it was almost exclusively highway miles.
 
I had a Toyota 1.6 liter motor sludge up on me and blow. This was a used car and I had only been able to change the oil twice, but it really woke me up to the importance of not sludging up your motor. I do 3,000 oci in the winter and 4,000 oci in the summer. I do both city and highway driving. Oil is much cheaper than a new engine, especially if you have to pay someone else to put it in...

Oh, and I still use Dino.
 
On my first three cars - 1985 Skyhawk, 1986 Civic, and 1991 Corolla - I was a pretty anal 3k changer.

When I got a 1993 323 to replace the Toyota, it soon became a POS and I didn't give a hoot about it, so I just stopped changing the oil on it. Having the engine just keep truckin' along pretty well cured me of not going past 3k on an oil change.

Since then, I've done everything from 4k to 21k, all on conventional...but i'm back to being 'sensible' on my current ride - 5-6k on conventional. I DO get 'nervous' past 6k.
 
Originally Posted By: addyguy
On my first three cars - 1985 Skyhawk, 1986 Civic, and 1991 Corolla - I was a pretty anal 3k changer.

When I got a 1993 323 to replace the Toyota, it soon became a POS and I didn't give a hoot about it, so I just stopped changing the oil on it. Having the engine just keep truckin' along pretty well cured me of not going past 3k on an oil change.

Since then, I've done everything from 4k to 21k,


It sure would have been nice to have seen a UOA....on that 21K conventional OCI......
 
Originally Posted By: crazyoildude
Warning! changing your oil and filter at 3000 miles can be a bad thing for the engine!
Dry starts are bad, realy bad!


I also remember reading on here that changing your oil will temporary increase wear, don't remember the reason why.
 
My aunt likes to buy a cheap $700.00 car and she will never change any fluids in the car. She just keeps them topped off and drives the car until it dies. Me and my dad laugh about what she does, but she has had a few cars last a long time doing this. She even took her latest old jalopy's on a long road trip without breaking down.



Originally Posted By: addyguy
On my first three cars - 1985 Skyhawk, 1986 Civic, and 1991 Corolla - I was a pretty anal 3k changer.

When I got a 1993 323 to replace the Toyota, it soon became a POS and I didn't give a hoot about it, so I just stopped changing the oil on it. Having the engine just keep truckin' along pretty well cured me of not going past 3k on an oil change.

Since then, I've done everything from 4k to 21k, all on conventional...but i'm back to being 'sensible' on my current ride - 5-6k on conventional. I DO get 'nervous' past 6k.
 
Originally Posted By: Oregoonian
Originally Posted By: addyguy
On my first three cars - 1985 Skyhawk, 1986 Civic, and 1991 Corolla - I was a pretty anal 3k changer.

When I got a 1993 323 to replace the Toyota, it soon became a POS and I didn't give a hoot about it, so I just stopped changing the oil on it. Having the engine just keep truckin' along pretty well cured me of not going past 3k on an oil change.

Since then, I've done everything from 4k to 21k,


It sure would have been nice to have seen a UOA....on that 21K conventional OCI......


I did!

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubb...rue#Post2143742

laugh.gif
 
Originally Posted By: skellyman


It's not only oil tech , improvement in oil filters has helped with extending OCI's


To a point. I believe the engine air filter is more important at keeping insolubles out of your engine and in turn out of your oil. First line of defense is the air filter, at least that's always been my thinking.
 
lol, used to go 3-4k, now on my second fill up of switching to synthetic im going to 8-10k oci, shouldnt be an issue in my truck
 
Not 3k paranoia, but I do run full syn. and change it every 6k or so. Manual calls for 5k on dino.

Im sure I could go longer, but I see it as cheap insurance and I like to do it.
 
I dont get paranoid about the miles, but the time. We do a lot of short distance driving. Any other travel is long distance (75-120 miles, or 600+ miles). We see a lot of extremes, short distance or long distance. I still go at least 5k-6k between oci's with a quality synthetic.

We do 6k in anywhere from 3-4 months. I get paranoid if we are approaching 4 months and have not put 5k miles on yet. I get concerned about acid build up due to fuel dilution.

My 2006 Colorado sees town driving mostly (2.5 miles to work, home for lunch, back to work, then home). Looking at doing 6 month OCI's (syn blend for summer and full syn 0w/30 for winter).
 
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