Confused about schaeffer's drain interval...

[nick]

Hi guys, first post (but I've spent the last two days searching and reading). Anyhow, I've searched for the answer to this question but am getting conflicting information. I want to run schaeffer's 5w30 blend in my new 03 Xterra at my first oil change (scheduled at 3750 miles). I've seen suggestions for drain intervals with this oil at anywhere from 3000 miles all the way up to 12,000 miles. I was hoping to get close to 5K or 6K oil change intervals with the 5w30 blend and the oem Nissan oil filter. Is this something I should shoot for, or should I change out earlier? Also, should I wait longer than 3750 miles to switch to the schaeffer's? I wasn't sure if Nissan used a moly factory fill in the Xterra like in the Honda's. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Nick [ September 26, 2003, 09:06 PM: Message edited by: nick ]

 

[Al]

I'm not sure I would wait until 3750 miles to change the first time-but that's a personal preferance. I really don't know if the factory fill has moly. Of course the Schaeffer's does. I think 5 or 6K miles will be fine for the Schaeffer's but I would not go right up to that. I would run the first one maybe 4K. It would be nice to do an oil analysis at that point. People on this board are addicted to oil analysis . Is th filter for this vehicle the larger one?? If not use the one intended for the year 2000 maxima ane earlier. :

 

[pscholte]

nick, Wanted to make sure you received an "official" even though I am not the guy to answer your question. Hopefully, Bob (as in "The Oil Guy") himself will answer you or someone else who knows Schaeffer's capabilities. Obviously, Al is quicker at the post than me! [ September 26, 2003, 09:19 PM: Message edited by: pscholte ]

 

[rugerman1]

nick , Bob's advice to me on BobZoil: 1. Run your first BobZoil interval to your standard length.I'm guessing 3750 in your application.Mostly up to 5000 miles. 2.Run your second interval the same distance and take a sample. This second interval will give you a good idea how your engine/driving habits like the oil.During the first interval,BobZoil is doing it's best to coat your engine with it's additive package.The second run is showing you how it will run thereafter. If analysis indicates,extended drains may be possible. Mark

 

[mulepacker]

To all of you, this is probably a DUMB question...but WHAT IS MOLY IN NEW CAR BREAK IN OIL? Why is it important? What's a proper first drain interval? What type/weight of oil? Thanks

 

[nick]

Wow, two welcomes within two minutes, thanks guys! Al, you say you wouldn't wait until 3750 miles for the first oil change so do you suggest changing out at say 1K, with something like Castrol GTX, and then waiting until 4K to do the switch to schaeffer's? I'm asking because I've read that switching too soon can cause higher wear numbers down the line. Will a UOA at 4K miles tell me if I will be able to push the next interval up to 5K or 6K? Also, thanks for the tip on the Maxima filter. Nick

 

[nick]

Mark, I posted before I saw your reply but after reading it I'm starting to get the idea. After my second interval with the schaeffer's I'll do a UOA and see what they say. Nick

 

[rugerman1]

nick , Al gave good advice on short-changing the factory oil.Unless there are issues with a Nissan(like Honda),dump the factory oil out at about 500-1000 miles.Run some Wal-Mart dino oil for another short run,1000-2000 miles.Then switch to BobZoil. I'm not familiar enough with Nissan engines to give advice on the factory fill. Mark [ September 26, 2003, 09:50 PM: Message edited by: rugerman1 ]

 

[nick]

Thanks guys, I'll dump the oil this weekend and then put the schaeffer's in after a few more thousand miles have racked up. Nick

 

[Ken2]

Nick, You'll do well running the Schaeffer's the full oil drain interval shown in your owner's manual. After the first couple of oil changes, if you want to run the oil more miles, get an oil analysis at the recommended interval in order to protect your warranty. Depending on the engine and your driving conditions, 10,000 or more miles is doable, but not without analysis to get a trend and to protect your warranty. Ken

 

[Patman]

I have always changed my factory fill of oil at a very early stage, sometimes as low as 200 miles, and almost never above 1000. But I'm wondering if there honestly is a need to, and this thread reminded me of how some engines like in the Maxima, actually seem to do better if you leave in the factory fill for longer. It got me thinking, why do we honestly feel the need to drain out the factory fill so soon, when so many of us find a 3k oil change too soon later in it's life? We've seen a few UOAs on here of factory fill which shows that there isn't an insane amount of wear metals in there. It's not like we see 200ppm of iron and lead in new oil. So why do we even bother changing it before 3k? And even if the wear metals are higher in that new oil, what harm will they do? If anything it could help the engine break in a bit quicker. Now if I ended up needing my existing engine rebuilt, that would be a different story, since aftermarket rebuilds are not as "clean", meaning the guy usually slaps on a lot of assembly lube on the cam, etc. In that case I'd do an oil change as soon as I got the car home, and possibly even one more time a week or two later, just to be safe. But with factory fill, more and more I am beginning to think that if I get a new car, I'd leave in the factory fill for 3000 miles (especially if it was a car filled with synthetic like a Corvette). Then I would definitely do a UOA just out of curiosity.

 

[shortyb]

nick, again Congrats on the Xterra purchase, I'm sure you'll love it. I have an 00 with over 105K trouble free miles. I'd like to replace it with an 04 SC but the wife is set on a Murano. Oh well, another VQ35DE in the family. Like Al and others said, change the factory fill around 1K. Nissans in general shed flash and other manufacturing waste rather quickly and it tends to build up in the oil fast. Alittle bit of wear material is not bad I suppose, but whenever I have done a factory fill change at 1K, the oil has visible wear particles in it (kinda like glitter in the oil drain pan). The OEM filter (15208-9E000) is small and could get overwhelmed with debris. Alot of folks with the 3.3 are using oversized filters from Mobil1, K&N, Baldwin etc. because the sump is small, 3.5 quarts with filter. I don't know any part #s, anybody using something larger than the 9E000? Al? Could add another .25qt. Every little bit helps with this engine. 2 runs of Schaeffer's, maybe 3K on first and 4-5K on second, then do a UOA. That will give you a good idea of how the engine is doing. After my ARX treatment is over in about 500 miles, I'm switching over to the 703 myself. Seems to be great stuff. BTW, I believe that Honda uses lots of moly in the factory fill to plate the engine quickly. Obviously the more time it is in service, the more likely the moly will plate, hence the long interval for the factory stuff. I wonder if they are doing this to allow 5W-20 to be run safely?

 

[Al]

I use the K&N-HP 1010 filter in my Sentra. The Mobil # is 110. The ST (Wallyworld) is 7317. Don't know if there are bigger. This filters will fit all of Nissan Carlines. Patman-I know what you are saying about the shortchanging the first oil cycle. Probably isn't necessary. But I think it's a prudent practice. As was mentiones- Nissan doesn't mind having its oil changed early. I put Mobil 1 in at about 30 miles and the thing uses almost no oil. I would say it doesn't use a drop-but we know a vehicle must use a very small amount . shortyb-I sent you an email .

 

[Robbie Alexander]

quote:

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Originally posted by shortyb: ---***--- BTW, I believe that Honda uses lots of moly in the factory fill to plate the engine quickly. Obviously the more time it is in service, the more likely the moly will plate, hence the long interval for the factory stuff. I wonder if they are doing this to allow 5W-20 to be run safely?

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What's Lots? And yes the longer it is there it will build up but most packages contain so little moly that most people don't see the fuel savings or other benefits.

 

[Cutehumor]

my dad bought a new 2003 nissan sentra 1.8 liter this year back in March. He didn't change out the factory fill until 3700 miles. He has 15k miles currently in 6 months He does alot of highway driving for work. I wanted to put Mobil 1 synthetic in his car since he drives so much but he's doing 3750 intervals for warranty reasons. He also has a 75k extended warranty on the car too.

 

[shortyb]

quote:

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Originally posted by Robbie Alexander:

quote:

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Originally posted by shortyb: ---***--- BTW, I believe that Honda uses lots of moly in the factory fill to plate the engine quickly. Obviously the more time it is in service, the more likely the moly will plate, hence the long interval for the factory stuff. I wonder if they are doing this to allow 5W-20 to be run safely?

---

What's Lots? And yes the longer it is there it will build up but most packages contain so little moly that most people don't see the fuel savings or other benefits.

---

I have heard that it is around 1000 ppm . If I'm not mistaken there is a UOA floating around here that shows similar moly #s on the factory fill. Its probably going to be hard to see or experience the benefit of extra moly. I think thats the purpose behind it. It prevents scuffing wear so nothing drastic happens. If not, then what you would see is $$$ from the repair bill

 

[Patman]

"To change or not to change, that is the question!" - Patman 2003 Seriously though, I was just thinking that if I bought a new car (which isn't likely in the near future), I would probably be tempted to draw an early sample for analysis, and if it wasn't loaded with wear metals, I'd just keep running it until 3k. [ September 27, 2003, 12:39 PM: Message edited by: Patman ]