Newbie Question

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So I know I'm going to get a variety of mixed responses here, but for my own sanity I need to ask:

I drive a 2007 Nissan Xterra with 46k miles, and since the first oil change I've been running synthetic with 5k OCI. I changed over to Amsoil Synthetic at 40,700 and was going to try to extend the OCI upwards of 10k. Regardless, due to some faulty repair work the X has been to the dealership four times since the oil change to replace the oil cooler, front cover and to diagnose a troublesome leak traced to the oil pressure sensor. During these repairs, the service report stated that they refilled the oil on all occasions. I was hoping to order a UOA around 7500 miles, but I'm concerned that the oil is shot. I'm left with the options of paying someone to change the oil and running the risk of faulty service again, or wait until I can change the oil myself (not often since I live in an apartment complex ). My preference is to change it myself as I want to stick with Amsoil Synthetic, but can I risk waiting?

Thoughts?
 
What kind of oil did they put in and whats the recommended OCI for your car, also what kind of driving habits do you have?
 
I changed over to Amsoil Synthetic 5W-30 at 40,700 and the dealership never changed the oil during the services - only "refilled" with my existing oil. The recommended OCI for severe use is 3750 miles, otherwise 7,000 miles. My commute for work is 11 miles of steady driving I typically take longer highway trips on the weekends. Occasionally there are the short trips for necessary errands, but they happen 2-3 times per week. That is my long winded attempt at saying I'm probably not a severe driver.
 
No but draining the oil out into a possibly contaminated pan and putting it back in with a possibly contaminated funnel may shorten the service life. I would have it changed to be on the safe side.

Oil is cheap, engines aren't!
wink.gif
 
Conventional Group II oils these days are so good they run 5k miles generally pretty easy. A little conventional mixed with that synthetic will really be no problem. I would continue to your 7.5k mile oil change.

Some people run conventional oils well past 5k miles. Here is a 8794 mile OCI on Castrol GTX 10W-30 … BITOG and the TBN was still 4.4, lots of life left in the oil.
 
Each time they serviced it, I would have given them a new jug of oil to refill it with. In these cases, where u live in an apartment, u need to find a place with a ditch. this will be ur "garage" for changing oil. let the car straddle the ditch, this gives u room to crawl under it, put in a pan to catch the used oil,
refill with something clean of ur choice, and pour the used oil into your now empty jug. take used oil to a jiffy lube place and ask them to dispose of ur used oil, but keep the jug, so you will have a spare one. If you cannot find a ditch, you need to drive one side of the car up on something raised, like where they put gas pumps at a gas station. You may have to scout around, to find a suitable place, that is closed on Sundays for instance. Hopefully the drain plug is either on the left or right side of the pan, otherwise it will not drain fully with this method. proceed like before.
Back to the original question:
If there is any junk debris in the oil, your filter would have easily caught it, so I would not worry at this point.
 
Originally Posted By: newbornthree
... The recommended OCI for severe use is 3750 miles, otherwise 7,000 miles.


Is the vehicles still under warranty? If it is, I'd stick to an OCI in the 6k-7k mile range to maintain it. If it isn't then never mind
 
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