No Oil Change in 25k miles

[PolyCule]

Hello BITOG members, long time reader first time posting. My friend who did not get her license until her mid 20’s/just informed me that she hasn’t changed the oil in close to 3 years, but that she has topped it off several times. According to the sticker on her window it has been 25k+ miles since it was last changed. To make matters worse, much of her driving is short 1-3 mile trips that don’t reach operating temperature.

2018 Toyota Corolla 1.8L, OEM specs 0w20 GF-5 oil. Only 65,000 on the odometer!

I am going to do an oil change on it soon using M1 EP 0w20. I will keep an oil sample of the old stuff to send to blackstone just for fun as well as cut open and examine the oil filter and post results. Besides just fresh oil, I feel a need to do some sort of cleaning after that amount of neglect, but don’t want to knock any deposits loose and clog up oil passages/screens. Im also not going to be able to constantly monitor her vehicle. My question is, how should I now proceed to remove the contamination left behind?

A.) Some solvent flush (LM engine flush or other?) added to old oil and drain. Refill with new M1 EP oil and run a shortened 3k OCI

B.) no solvent flush, drain and fill with 1/5 oil cleaning additive like HPL EC30/MMO/SeaFoam/Auto-RX or others and use something like T6 Multi-vehicle 5w30 (as the additive will likely dilute the viscosity closer to 0w20) and 3k OCI.

C.) Drain old oil, fill the whole thing to the top with diesel fuel (or something else?) let it sit a day and drain. Refill with cheap rinse oil and filter - run for 30 minutes - drain. Fill with M1 EP 0w20 and run 3k OCI.

D.) No special flushes or additives, Fill with M1 EP 0w20 and run 3k OCI.

E.) Some combination of treatments listed (or not listed) above.

I haven’t evaluated the engine yet to see how much sludge exists, I will do my best to document and update this post. I wouldn’t worry about doing any of these options on my older Toyota 2UZ-FE engine, but I am a little cautious on this newer 0w20 vehicle that has been running the same oil for almost half its life. Thanks for your insight, hoping for someone with experience in a similar vehicle

 

[BHopkins]

I would skip all the special treatment ideas. Instead, I would do another oil change in about 1k - 2k miles, and then resume a normal oil change interval.

Does she have an idea of how much add-in oil she has added?

 

[ATex7239]

I’d just change the oil with VRP and keep it moving.

 

[Corollaman]

I would just buy some cheap Supertech 0w20 and a Supertech oil filter run it for 3,000 miles or so. I would probably just keep using SuperTech at 5,000 mile intervals.

 

[nickaluch]

I would just buy some cheap Supertech 0w20 and a Supertech oil filter run it for 3,000 miles or so. I would probably just keep using SuperTech at 5,000 mile intervals.

I agree just cheap 0/20 synthetic oil changes every 3k for about 4 changes then go a little longer but not to long it's a short trip car

 

[dishdude]

I'd stay out of it...

 

[Corollaman]

I'd stay out of it...

Probably the best advice in really a no win situation.

 

[melk]

I vote a quick change with whatever for a few thousand miles and then switch to VRP

 

[Elkins45]

Is this friend going to blame you if it develops a rod knock in the near future? I would determine that before I did anything, but if you do decide to tackle it I would just use a decent synthetic and swap filters in 500 miles. Cut that filter open and use that as a guide on whether to dump the new oil and start again.

 

[addyguy]

As long as the oil was kept topped off, it will be fine. These engines are very easy on oil, even with 25k it will be very dark but not sludgy.
Just change it and monitor consumption.

 

[PolyCule]

Here’s how it went. Checked the engine out, oil was above the full mark for who knows how long. No real buildup on fill cap. I ended up going with a wix filter and what was in stock at the local auto store Mobil 1 EP 0w20, and I did pick up the LM proline engine flush. Drained the warm oil down to the bottom fill mark and bottled some before adding the flush. Idled 10 min and let it drain for about 2 hours before filling back up. My scan tool said the trip was last reset 17k ago, so maybe that was the actual last oil change? I really saw zero big chunks of sludge or anything but oil was so black my 500 lumen light couldn’t pass through it. Plenty of smaller metal bits in the pan (cleaned before). Cut open and squeezed the oil filter (Prime Guard). It was dark and seemed poorly made, but really had minimal buildup compared to what I was expecting. The used oil was an unknown mix so a UOA won’t say anything about the brand, but is anyone curious?

Probably shouldn’t have used the LM Flush, would have been fine with just shorter OCI. I’ll do that next time I guess. I found out she’s owned it since almost new at 5,000 miles.

 

[Urshurak776]

Run.......

 

[fueldelusion]

A flush is at best a waste of money, worstcase a ruined motor. Id do one early change and go back to normal, shorter OCI due to the short trips.

 

[Patrick0525]

A flush is at best a waste of money, worstcase a ruined motor. Id do one early change and go back to normal, shorter OCI due to the short trips.

Agree, a flush is not necessary and u would have saved time + money. Sometimes more is not better. Hopefully u calmly discussed ur findings, the OC plan, her behavior, responsibilities and consequences moving forward. I would have gone berserk on this incident. Lol

 

[Donald]

A flush is at best a waste of money, worstcase a ruined motor. Id do one early change and go back to normal, shorter OCI due to the short trips.

If the flush loosened a big chunk of crud and that blocks the oil flow from the head back to the oil sump then you are screwed and possible have ruined the engine. And you would need to pull the valve cover to get a good handle on the sludge situation. That's why slow is best for sludge removal. Let quality oil do it's thing and not rush it with a flush.

The oil in your picture does not look like it's gone anywhere close to 25K miles. So maybe the person forgot that they got their oil changed a few times. Or it burns or leaks oil badly so what's in there now is mostly make-up oil.

Knows enough to add oil (on her own) but not enough to get oil changed. Does not add up

 

[Slick3914]

I wouldn’t touch, send her to the dealer.

 

[Patrick0525]

Knows enough to add oil (on her own) but not enough to get oil changed. Does not add up

Agree, if she forgets the OC mileage, but for the grace of God please ask her to change the oil once a year.

Proper dental hygiene requires a dental cleaning at a minimum of twice a year if u want to keep ur original teeth.

U cannot be that forgetful.

 

[Elkins45]

Those are some mighty big chunks of metal in the drain pan.

 

[Donald]

Those are some mighty big chunks of metal in the drain pan.

Well a drain pan could have anything in it. You cannot trust what you see in an oil drain pan unless it was new and this is the first time using it.

 

[AZjeff]

I wouldn’t touch, send her to the dealer.

Little late for that bud.

@PolyCule , good luck to you sir, you've rolled the dice. Are you taking over maintenance of this car or is this a one time favor?

 

[Elkins45]

Well a drain pan could have anything in it. You cannot trust what you see in an oil drain pan unless it was new and this is the first time using it.

OP said it was cleaned before.