I have an 01 250 7.3. The manual says to change oil at every 5K, but I have gone 6K now so far and the oil is still semi-clear on the dipstick, not really black. I was told I could go 10K between oil changes. I run RotellaT 15W40. I have no driveability issues that I know of. Am I okay?

 

I usually go 6k some people go 10k. It all depends on how you drive or if you tow. I tow daily so my oil doesnt last as long. If you do not tow you are probably good to 10. The only way to really know is to take an oil sample and have it analysed. Still being semi clear is a good thing though.

 

This truck was a given to me, so I don't really use it to its capacity. It is just a daily driver about 60 miles per day 95% highway at 65 (1800rpm). I drive easily. So I should be good to 10K? What about changing the filter more often than 10K?

 

Just change the filter when you change the oil. I was able to buy 10-12 (cant remember how many are in the box) filters on ebay and save a lot of money.

 

I would not go over 5k w/o an oil analysis. Some recommend less to extend the life of injectors and other components.

 

I went 8k on my last Rotella syn oil change, waiting on my Blackstone to come back.

 

Oil analysis is really the best bet. When you send in a sample, they will report back to you what they found and recommendations. You will find this helpful and based on YOUR driving you will be able to figure out a good interval. I use analysis on all of my vehicles and find it to be useful for knowing what exactly is going on with my oil.

Here is the lab I use: Blackstone Labs Just click on the free sample kit link and they will send you kits. Cost is $25.

With the way you drive yours and the miles you put on it a day, you are a prime candidate for extended intervals.

 

I don't really have anything to add except that these guys all have good advice for you. Having your oil analyzed is the only real way to tell what your frequencies should be.

Ken,
I sample quite frequently myself and found ALS labs. They are local so it's nice just to drop off a sample and save on postage. Page 2 of the attachment shows their locations...(not sure how far Portland is from your location...)

At any rate, I like their format better than Blackstone since it separates the readings into wear metals, contaminants, additives and physical tests. At my age it helps to keep things simple.

If you prepay (10 tests for $170), then you are saving quite a bundle compared to Blackstone especially when you factor in the fact that ALS includes the base number for that price. Just throwing this out there in case you are interested. Check out the graphs on page 2, I can see how they will become useful as I get more samples under my belt. At only $17 bucks a sample, I'll be sending samples from both my trucks at each oil change plus a trans fluid sample every spring.

 

Like the others said, oil analyses is key if you're planning to run more than 5K between oil changes.

The reason behind it isn't how dirty the oil is.... it's the shearing. These engines utilize oil at very high pressures (approaching up to nearly 3000 psi in stock form) via the HPOP. That HPOP shears the oil, causing the oil to wear out faster than other diesel engines.

Personally, I would NEVER run oil more than 10K miles on these engines. I've personally gone as high as 8K on a stock single HPOP, and by that time the oil was starting to become fairly sheared.

 

i change my oil out every 4k i dont tow but with 81k on the clock im hoping it will run forever

 

Thank you for sharing this. How do you get a sample container? I do not see web site contact info, just addresses and phone numbers.

 

Greg,

I see they have a branch about two miles from where I work in Everett, I will give them a call and see if the do analysis there. Thanks for the tip!

 

http://www.blackstone-labs.com/free-test-kits.php

 

As with most things, there are positives and negatives. The negative with ALS Laboratories is that you must pre-pay for sample containers. The plus is that you can buy 10 at a time for only $170 and it includes the base number work. This begins to make sense if you have fluids sampled frequently like I do. I put about 3k miles a month on my truck so I change oil every other month or so. My wife's truck seems to be on a 4 month cycle. I then plan on sampling the trans fluid once a year on her truck and twice a year on mine. So, I can burn through 10 pre-paid containers in a year or so. They give you 2 years to use up the 10 samples so it works out for me.

Plus I don't have to pay for shipping since I can just drop them off in person here in Phoenix.

Blackstone is great because they will ship you one container at a time but you pay extra for that feature. I think they are up to $25 plus $6 or $7 for the TBN so that's about $32 plus shipping. However, they also have the 10 pack prepay deal but I went with ALS anyway since they are local and I like the way their reports are formatted better than Blackstone.

So, if you want to pre-order a 10 pack of containers. Then call Quenton Beals at 800-445-7930 and he'll send you all 10 containers with pre-paid information cards. The containers can be mailed individually and they come pre-printed with ALS address so it's just as convenient as Blackstone.

You can get in with a group of friends and split the cost if you like.

 

Do you guy's pay the extra 10$ for the "TBN" testing at Blackstone or is it not necessary?