Can one change oil too often?

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callbay

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For engine oil, I have gotten the idea from reading BITOG that the most wear occurs right after an oil change because the new oil removes the good film built up on the engine parts.

So it seems like one would not want to change the oil till it went somewhat close to its worn out state and then change it.

Am I wrong in my thinking?
 
I also have wondered about that. Especially in my classics which get driven only 1000 to 2000 miles per year (All summer, mostly all long drives) Would it be better to NOT change it every year?? They are stored all winter.
 
Most vehicle owners do not have this problem (it's just the opposite), but technically speaking, yes an OCD person can change their oil too often.
 
Originally Posted By: callbay
For engine oil, I have gotten the idea from reading BITOG that the most wear occurs right after an oil change because the new oil removes the good film built up on the engine parts.


I have never heard of such a thing. Not only that, I'll take a reduction in film for a meaningless amount of time for an increase in anti-wear additives that new oil brings.
 
Ford did a study 10+ years ago that said the ph change was a shock to the system and less frequent changes averaged lower wear.
 
I say it's an Internet myth. There will always be an oil film on all the engine internals. Plus you're only draining the oil pan,which all of the oil drains down into anytime the engine is shut down.
 
There was a blog a few years ago where a guy took oil samples from his engine every 1000 miles without changing the oil. The longer the oil stayed in, the lower the wear metals were per mile driven. I think he went 10,000 before he finally changed the oil.
 
Originally Posted By: C4Dave
There was a blog a few years ago where a guy took oil samples from his engine every 1000 miles without changing the oil. The longer the oil stayed in, the lower the wear metals were per mile driven. I think he went 10,000 before he finally changed the oil.


I read that. I also wonder if the close to one qt. of dirty oil remaining in the sump when the oil is changed mixes in with the fresh oil and there's an immediate spike in wear metals as a result of the mix? Food for thought.
 
Originally Posted By: callbay
For engine oil, I have gotten the idea from reading BITOG that the most wear occurs right after an oil change because the new oil removes the good film built up on the engine parts.


That's about as B.S. as B.S. gets. Don't believe everything you read on this board. The fact of the matter is, you can't change your oil too often. The more you change your oil, the cleaner your engine will be. When running too long on oil, you run the risk of developing varnish stains which puts a sticky brown film on the engine parts. It looks nasty and impedes the flow of oil.
 
Originally Posted By: C4Dave
There was a blog a few years ago where a guy took oil samples from his engine every 1000 miles without changing the oil. The longer the oil stayed in, the lower the wear metals were per mile driven. I think he went 10,000 before he finally changed the oil.


There was something like that done by a BMW 335d (diesel) owner a while ago on one of the BMW forums (sorry, no link). He drew a small sample thru the dipstick tube (late model BMW diesels still have dipsticks) and sent in for a uoa. He did this at 3k, 6k, 9k, and at around 11k he did a computer-called for drain. No makeup oil IIRC. He found that approx 40% of the total iron wear occurred during the first 3k miles.

He was prompted to do this by both the Ford study and this one -

http://web.archive.org/web/20101024230758/http://neptune.spacebears.com/cars/stories/mobil1.html
 
I get confused here when I read people saying to do long intervals but as soon as a thread is out regarding sludge or a filthy under the valve cover you are told it is best to do multiple short OCI's to clean it up. So why do long intervals and wait until it gets filthy when you can do them frequently and keep it clean?
 
I can see this with today's oils, if you change it to often your are increasing the time the engine oil is in the intitial boil off phase.
 
If there's any truth to it, it's insignificant as I would think it would be impossible to physically measure in an actual engine tear down.
Given the choice I would always prefer to have fresh oil in the sump than used oil. That said, I change oil for a number of reasons and rarely because it in no longer serviceable.

Originally Posted By: old1
I also have wondered about that. Especially in my classics which get driven only 1000 to 2000 miles per year (All summer, mostly all long drives) Would it be better to NOT change it every year?? They are stored all winter.

If as you say, you usually bring the oil up to temperature when you drive your classic cars and before you put them away for the winter you have pretty much eliminated time as a factor in the oils degradation; you can rely on mileage alone.
I've gone 5 years and longer with some of my cars over the years.
 
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