Filtereing old oil to reuse

[javacontour]

Seems like a lot of extra work. Just leave it in your car longer, ditto for her car. You have two cars, A and B. You put the oil in car A for 3000 miles, and then change it and run it in car B for 3000 miles. Putting a total of 6000 miles on that oil. If you drive each car 12K miles/year, then you are doing 4 oil changes on each one of them, or 8 total oil changes/year. If we assume they each use 4 quarts of oil, then you are using a total of 16 quarts in your car, and then that same 16 quarts goes through the other car, 4 quarts at a time. Now if you just changed the oil in your car every 6K miles, you would have two oil changes/year on each car for a total 4 oil changes, and use 8 quarts in your car. Ditto for hers. Two oil changes per year on her car. Total oil useage is 16 quarts/year. Seems like a lot of extra work for ZERO benefit. Even if you drive your car a lot more than she drives hers, just run the oil longer in your car, like 6K miles or even more. Change hers at least annually, if not twice a year and be done with it. But this seems to be a disaster in the making, not to mention a bunch of busy work.

 

[Captain_Klink]

Even though I joke about it, I used to do the same thing, drain 302 Ford V8 after 3000 miles, oil still obviously clean, use it to change oil in beater, also with a 302. Beater eventually died with a shot engine. Since then I have not re attempted.

 

[hate2work]

To the OP..."Here's your sign!"

 

[qship1996]

Sounds like a part time job at jiffy lube would solve the compulsion to changing oil as a hobby??? would provide a little extra cha-ching for the pocket as a extra benefit!!!

 

[ADFD1]

I think it could be practical if you own a car that is under warranty that doesn't see the miles so it is changed based on time. Lets say every 6 months and has say 2000 miles on the oil. My fathers new SUV would be perfect, its driven about 80 miles a week, 20 miles each way on the highway two times a week. The oil is getting hot enough to burn off any moisture etc. Filter the oil and re-use it, but I wouldn't use it in anything that I really cared about. AD

 

[daves87rs]

Agreed...you could, but Why? Heck, I love love to use Amsoil, but I don't abuse my cars enough to justify it. I just dropped some lovely 5w-30 Napa (@2.99) in the Cavalier, and it loves it. Perhaps you need one of these syn deals.....

 

[mva]

To OP: Switch to a name brand dino oil such as pennzoil or valvoline. Sign up for their oil warranty. Keep changing the oil and filter at 3,000 to 4,000 miles. This will meet your needs, the engines will be very happy and you have an extra warranty to boot. Let me know when you have a used car to sell. http://www.pennzoil.com/#/warranty/ http://www.engineguarantee.com/ http://www.quakerstate.com/#/warranty-information/

 

[ZZman]

So how OCD can you be if you can reuse oil that you know has 3,000 miles on it already? So if money is not an issue than why mess with it? Run any dino for 3,000 miles and be done with it.

 

[brian12]

I've heard others talk about filtering oil and I don't think its such a hot idea. When you filter the oil you'll most likely be filtering out the additives as well as the dirt. I wouldn't do it.

 

[sunfire]

Trying to filter the used oil will probably leave the used oil more contaminated. Filtering used oil is useless because your oil filter is already doing that and more efficiently than any contraption you can cook up.

 

[AdRock]

 Originally Posted By: hate2work

To the OP..."Here's your sign!"

Thank you so much for the insightful post. If you don't have anything useful to say then don't bother at all. Have a nice day.

 

[Audi Junkie]

There are so many contradictions going on, it's silly. Why use AMSoil to drain at 3k? Why drain at 3k? If the oil is no good for one car, how does it becomes good enouigh for car #2? What is the real point, to save money? How? How is that used synthetic better than regular oil? Just because it's "Synthetic"? I'm not being mean, I'm just saying to the OP that he's not the only person who came here with oci-ocd and has CHANGED their ways from learning rational practices. Forget the re-use. Do a UOA, with AMSoil *SAMPLED* at 5k and then decide. Buy some on-sale dino for the wife's car. I DARE you!

 

[dwendt44]

Coffee filters!

 

[AdRock]

 Originally Posted By: John K

Even with use of a clean container and straining/filtering before putting it in the other car I would worry about inadvertent contamination of foreign material and doing some real damage to the other car. There seems to be another issue here, if you can't stand the thought of going over 3k how can you stand the idea of it going past 3k in the other car???

I see your point on possible contamination. As for it going in the other car. I run my car hard. I'm anal about maintenance and checking things all the time. It's my daily driver and I race the car fairly often. So as hard as I am on it I'm also on top of anything that might be a problem. My wifes car on the other hand. My OCD is over my car that I run hard and meticulously take care of. I'm not that way with her car because it doesn't see any abuse at all.

 

[AdRock]

 Originally Posted By: Captain_Klink

Better yet!!! Drain out yours, put through filter and put in Jug1. Drain out hers, put through filter and put in Jug2. Change filters, replace drain plug. Fill your crankcase from Jug2. Fill her crankcase from Jug1. Mission accomplished. Oil has been changed. Tell your wife you have found a new trick, how to change oil for free.

Yea, that's the ticket.

 

[AdRock]

 Originally Posted By: mva

To OP: Switch to a name brand dino oil such as pennzoil or valvoline. Sign up for their oil warranty. Keep changing the oil and filter at 3,000 to 4,000 miles. This will meet your needs, the engines will be very happy and you have an extra warranty to boot. Let me know when you have a used car to sell. http://www.pennzoil.com/#/warranty/ http://www.engineguarantee.com/ http://www.quakerstate.com/#/warranty-information/

With the fact that I race frequently I'm staying with the synthetic in mine. I can tell the difference in how the car runs. I used Motorcraft Synth blend 5w-30 for a while to try it out and I could tell the car ran differently. And as far as the used car comment goes. My car is in better shape than most cars on the road even with my miles and how hard I am on the car. Because I take care of it.

 

[FZ1]

Bad idea. Just buy a cheaper oil and keep running your short ocis if it makes you feel better.

 

[AdRock]

 Originally Posted By: Audi Junkie

There are so many contradictions going on, it's silly. Why use AMSoil to drain at 3k? Why drain at 3k? If the oil is no good for one car, how does it becomes good enouigh for car #2? What is the real point, to save money? How? How is that used synthetic better than regular oil? Just because it's "Synthetic"? I'm not being mean, I'm just saying to the OP that he's not the only person who came here with oci-ocd and has CHANGED their ways from learning rational practices. Forget the re-use. Do a UOA, with AMSoil *SAMPLED* at 5k and then decide. Buy some on-sale dino for the wife's car. I DARE you!

I understand where you're coming from. Part of that was the point I was trying to make also. People will run the same oil for 10k without changing the filter in their cars. What's the difference of having the same oil they're going 10k on go 5k in one car and 5k in another. The only difference I can see with it is that the oil would get a fresh filter at 5k of use. Switching the oil from one engine to another half way through it's useful life shouldn't be a problem if it can go that far in a single engine. I didn't make this thread to start a big [censored] storm. I simply had the thought that if an oil is good to go 10k in a single engine then why can't that 10k be split between to engines? It's a simple question but seems to have really gotten everyones panties in a bunch.

 

[cfromc]

I've done a lot of research on this subject and my conclusion is that there is a blip in wear metals for the first 1000-2000 miles after an oil change. Perhaps due to the way some of the additives activate, but I really don't know exactly why. I would hazard to theorize that those very short intervals of 3K are causing more wear than a longer interval of 5K-10K. If you did one 6K interval you would save more money than the cost of one UOA. Do the UOA and that might put your mind at ease about any increased wear on the engine from doubling the interval.

 

[Geonerd]

I don't see anything inherently wrong with running fresh oil through your car while donating the near-new (3K) stuff to the wifey. BUT... The point is that 3K syn is very nearly new. It will protect your engine JUST as well as fresh oil. All you are doing is introducing the possibility of contamination or a rare mechanical issue (torn oil filter o-ring, stripped drain plug threads, etc.) It's not as if 'filtering' will do anything for the oil. Unless you have access to high end industrial filters, or maybe a centrifuge, don't bother. In all seriousness, I'd work on repressing your crazy OCI/OCD anxiety. (I've got a small streak of it myself. Believe me, if you roll over to it, it will run amok.) Stretch the next OCI to 4K, aiming for a 5K goal. This will allow the oil a useful 10K life with less effort and risk. FWIW, I'd also suggest you buy a high end filter and leave it on for 10K miles. If your engine is clean (how could it be otherwise? ), 10K will not remotely strain the filter. I recently cut open an M1 with 8.5K; it was good as new.