Bringing this thread back up since I've acquired some new "experience" with extended OCI's. As mentioned in one of my posts above, the Ford diesel car I have here in Europe recommends 20,000km oil changes which were done by the dealership for the first 170,000 or so km's with synthetic oil. I've owned the car for 2 years and have added another 50,000 km's to it with synthetic oil change intervals of 10,000 km or about 6,000 miles. Over a long road trip last week, I started hearing a sound that sounded suspiciously like a turbine wheel touching the housing when going from coasting to on-boost.

I pulled the turbo last night and sure enough, my turbo with the equivalent of 137,000 miles on it is on the way out. When I first got the car, I felt the quality of nearly 20,000 km oil in the engine was very poor based on tactile feel. I cut the OEM recommended change interval in half and even that is on the high side for my other vehicles which are still going strong at nearly twice the mileage of this car. I would suggest again that 20,000 km (roughly 12,000 mile) OCI's are not in the best interest of the consumer if you plan on keeping your vehicles for a long time.

Adam

 

 

I've never owned a diesel....but have always changed my oil at 5K and always use full syn with my gas motors.
I run my trucks 250K miles or more and never had an engine issue

 

Sounds like the only solution is to trade in the truck and get a new one when the oil needs changing and let it be the next owners issue.

 

To the 3000 mile club people...anyone consider your creating 23 more "DRY" starts over the coarse of 100K miles as compared to every 10K...this doesn't seem conducive to engine longevity either.
I change it when indicated by the truck usually between 7500 and 9500 miles

 

Yes, I've considered that part of the equation too. I've been part of the 4000 mile club with my wife's Landcruiser until recently I bumped it up to 5000 miles. All told, that vehicle has 50 oil changes that I've done and at least 4 more before we owned it. At 250,000 miles, it runs flawlessly.

I always change the motor oil after my vehicles are up to temp. There will always be some residual oil where it needs to be so nothing is technically "dry" when I go to start it back up and usually oil pressure comes back up within 5 seconds or less.

In my mind, OCI is related to how long you want to keep a vehicle. If I was leasing and changing them out every few years, I'd put as little money into them as I could get away with. I hang onto my vehicles for a long time and I've determined (in my own mind at least) that they will last longer and provide much better service with extra maintenance here and there. And let's be honest, manufacturers do not want their products to last forever. A 10,000 mile OCI will get most vehicles to 250,000 miles before it's time for a rebuild and this service is satisfactory for most of the buying public. I've got 3 vehicles at or well beyond 250,000 miles and they all run exceptionally well, far better than most other vehicles at half their age and mileage.

For those that want to criticize how much damage I'm doing to environment by changing my oil too often, let's say I've done 25 extra oil changes over the 200,000 miles I've owned that vehicle. That equates to 43.75 gallons of motor oil, which ultimately gets recycled into some useful after I'm done with it. Over that same mileage, I've consumed over 14,300 gallons of fuel. In one good day of travel, I can easily consume 43.75 gallons of unleaded, so the overall impact on the environment is negligible in the grand scheme of things.

My $.02 at least.

 

 

Love the 10k mile oil changes. Everything changes, things have come along way since oil was in cardboard. Even equipment has gone from 250hr to 400hr. I do blackstone checks on my oil and can go even longer if I wanted, but I'll stick with the ease of the notifications.

 

I was just looking at the manual the other day for oil changes since I'm at 3k miles

 

What brand of oil do you diesel guys use ????

 

I've been using Valvoline Premium Blue Extreme in 5w-40 (full synthetic). If Rotella T6 is on sale when I need it I'll give that a try.

 

Motorcraft

 

Can't go wrong with Shell Rotella........Shell / Pennzoil / Quaker State makes the best oil for the money.....good stuff !!

 

This put a smile on my face thank you

 

You have hit the nail on the head with that comment. Everyone needs to do what is most comfortable for them.

Frequent oil changes provide a great deal of satisfaction to some. Others see it as a job jar activity, best put off until absolutely needed.