Simply put: buy your car a recliner chair
and keep the A/C on 67 during the summer and a heavy afghan blanket during the winter and everything will be fine.
Old oil, LOW miles: The TRUTH please?!
- Thread starter Drew1987
- Start date
and keep the A/C on 67 during the summer and a heavy afghan blanket during the winter and everything will be fine.Astro to Astro...
Note sure why this would matter if they take the cars out and drive them to full operating temperature each Spring. Am I missing something here?
Because in one case - you get a lot of moisture in the crankcase. In the other, you don't get much.
Getting rid of the moisture in the spring by driving it off stops whatever negatives happened while it was in there, but there is a difference in how much moisture was in the oil, and for how long. That is what would concern me.
My Packard is stored in a climate controlled space.
My tools rust less quickly in that space than they do in my garage. Same zip code.
I'm not sure the oil is the same once the water is driven out of the engine. Doesn't the degradation depend on the degree of exposure?
- Joined
- Jul 22, 2022
- Messages
- 832
If the oil sitting in the sump is good then it's good. In fact you may have laid down a tribofilm with it. So go ahead and change that low mileage oil for no particular reason except your need for the warm and fuzzies and strip that film. Doesn't make sense. Engine oil won't degrade by just sitting there.
The degradation of the engine increases with level of exposure, but the oil isn't going to be any different once moisture is driven off, than the perpetual small amount of blow by and PCV, EGR water cycling through it anyway with normal driving.
However I'm not all that convinced that the interior of the engine is going to age much differently based on ambient humidity, nor ambient temp fluctuations unless they are extreme. Crusty outside surface, particularly on aluminum castings, sure, but internally?
IMO, the greatest issue is short tripping it before storage. Get it up to temp to drive as much water out as possible before put into storage.
I see this thread title with all caps TRUTH..
We need the video clip from A Few Good Men where Tom Cruises character says, “ I want the TRUTH and then Jack Nicholsons character yells, you can’t handle the TRUTH ! ! “
I should have added that I only meant, if for some reason you choose not to replace the oil before storage. If you settle on an annual OCI, it is better to have it sitting with fresh oil rather than end of use, contaminated oil.
I'll chime in.
Perhaps someone could add their educated knowledge on what I'm about to say.
I come from a marine and aircraft point of view. Meaning oil is recycled after so many hours of use. Not mileage, not how long it sits in the engine, although that is a factor. But what I mostly commenting about is hours the oil is run. I don't hear much on that.
My old Toyota 4Runner had a engine hour clock on it. This gave me a good visual on after 3 months of driving. I could compare to the last 3 months of driving and see the mileage versus the hours on the engine. I used to get a pretty good comparison just off of smell and color.
So does anybody have any thoughts on engine oil versus the hours being run. Hope this all makes some sense. Thanks in advance.
Perhaps someone could add their educated knowledge on what I'm about to say.
I come from a marine and aircraft point of view. Meaning oil is recycled after so many hours of use. Not mileage, not how long it sits in the engine, although that is a factor. But what I mostly commenting about is hours the oil is run. I don't hear much on that.
My old Toyota 4Runner had a engine hour clock on it. This gave me a good visual on after 3 months of driving. I could compare to the last 3 months of driving and see the mileage versus the hours on the engine. I used to get a pretty good comparison just off of smell and color.
So does anybody have any thoughts on engine oil versus the hours being run. Hope this all makes some sense. Thanks in advance.
Here are a few previous discussions on this topic that might be of interest:
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/engine-hours-vs-miles.376449/
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/engine-hours-instead-of-mileage.384760/
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/oci-engine-hours-vs-mileage.371723/
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/operating-hours-versus-mileage-for-oil-changes.364235/
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/oci-based-on-hours-not-miles.298345/
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/changing-oil-based-on-engine-hours.2608/
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/oci-in-terms-of-hours-vs-mileage.13882/
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/changing-oil-by-hours-instead-of-miles.53107/
Thanks for the links. Quite a bit of information.
I've been watching hours on oil for years and visually looking at the oil on a white sheet of paper. I know this is isn't science but it gives me an idea on how the oil looks off the dipstick. I also go by smell. I've got a pretty good nose for gas!
Looking at these direct injection engines and seeing the short driving idle situations with dilution, it's pretty obvious that these little engines, especially on short drives, are getting hit with a lot of fuel in the oil.
Also, I'm just comparing it to the old technology engines that did not get a lot of fuel dilution. You could drive for a thousand miles and the oil would still be clear and smell like oil not fuel. These new engines are definitely different Beasts!
Going to keep a close eye on this one. Thanks all for your comments and links.
I've been watching hours on oil for years and visually looking at the oil on a white sheet of paper. I know this is isn't science but it gives me an idea on how the oil looks off the dipstick. I also go by smell. I've got a pretty good nose for gas!
Looking at these direct injection engines and seeing the short driving idle situations with dilution, it's pretty obvious that these little engines, especially on short drives, are getting hit with a lot of fuel in the oil.
Also, I'm just comparing it to the old technology engines that did not get a lot of fuel dilution. You could drive for a thousand miles and the oil would still be clear and smell like oil not fuel. These new engines are definitely different Beasts!
Going to keep a close eye on this one. Thanks all for your comments and links.
Chevron sets an expiration of 5 years on their oils.
Additive separation is mostly the concern.
But not like it'll destroy anything. I've run 30 yr old in stuff before.
Additive separation is mostly the concern.
But not like it'll destroy anything. I've run 30 yr old in stuff before.
Last edited:
We can't do remote chemistry of your situation to determine that. The issue wouldn't be the oil potentially going bad from sitting during that short window. It would be the condition of the oil when you let it sit and interact with the engine. (acidic, basic, fuel dilution, water contamination, etc.)
iT's BeTteR tHaN tHe absolute d-bag morons WhO tYpE lIkE tHiS
They think it's like, super cool, and makes them special.
Speshul they are, indeed.
Yes absolutely it should be changed every 6 months regardless of mileage. It’s not the oil that breaks down inherently it’s the water and fuel in the oil that degrades the anti-wear additives and takes a big toll. Very small price to pay for engine longevity and keeping your wear numbers down. Short trips are the worst for oil longevity.
Similar threads
