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posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by reflex/deflex 64:
Send your oil sample to a lab Show the lab recommended interval to her so she ca, andn rest assured it will be alright. $38 I believe I use Blackstone labs sample kits are free.


Caterpillar is cheaper and their labs are top notch. You just go into a CAT dealer, buy the sample kit, and I think it's $25 a sample, they give you the sample bottle, a shipping bottle, and prepaid mailing sticker, you just put the oil sample in the shipping bottle and the sticker on it and drop it in the mailbox and in a few days your results are emailed to you.

My oil life monitor will go to 0% life left on my 2008 expedition every 6 months on the dot like clockwork regardless of how little miles I drive. Or it will go off every 5,000 miles. Some oil monitors are more advanced than others.
 
Posts: 21335 | Registered: June 12, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Do No Harm,
Do Know Harm
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by jimmy123x:
quote:
Originally posted by reflex/deflex 64:
Send your oil sample to a lab Show the lab recommended interval to her so she ca, andn rest assured it will be alright. $38 I believe I use Blackstone labs sample kits are free.


Caterpillar is cheaper and their labs are top notch. You just go into a CAT dealer, buy the sample kit, and I think it's $25 a sample, they give you the sample bottle, a shipping bottle, and prepaid mailing sticker, you just put the oil sample in the shipping bottle and the sticker on it and drop it in the mailbox and in a few days your results are emailed to you.

My oil life monitor will go to 0% life left on my 2008 expedition every 6 months on the dot like clockwork regardless of how little miles I drive. Or it will go off every 5,000 miles. Some oil monitors are more advanced than others.


What's been your result compared to what the oil monitor life says?




Knowing what one is talking about is widely admired but not strictly required here.

Although sometimes distracting, there is often a certain entertainment value to this easy standard.
-JALLEN

"All I need is a WAR ON DRUGS reference and I got myself a police thread BINGO." -jljones
 
Posts: 11446 | Location: NC | Registered: August 16, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by chongosuerte:
quote:
Originally posted by jimmy123x:
quote:
Originally posted by reflex/deflex 64:
Send your oil sample to a lab Show the lab recommended interval to her so she ca, andn rest assured it will be alright. $38 I believe I use Blackstone labs sample kits are free.


Caterpillar is cheaper and their labs are top notch. You just go into a CAT dealer, buy the sample kit, and I think it's $25 a sample, they give you the sample bottle, a shipping bottle, and prepaid mailing sticker, you just put the oil sample in the shipping bottle and the sticker on it and drop it in the mailbox and in a few days your results are emailed to you.

My oil life monitor will go to 0% life left on my 2008 expedition every 6 months on the dot like clockwork regardless of how little miles I drive. Or it will go off every 5,000 miles. Some oil monitors are more advanced than others.


What's been your result compared to what the oil monitor life says?


What do you mean? I don't bother analyzing my vehicles oil, but must say in the last 10% of life on the meter the oil gets a lot darker if you wipe the dipstick on a paper towel. I just change it when the meter says to, it's cheap enough to just change it.

I use CATs oil sample service for yacht engines, generators, and gears(transmissions) on a lot of different yachts in the course of my business.
 
Posts: 21335 | Registered: June 12, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Do No Harm,
Do Know Harm
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by jimmy123x:
quote:
Originally posted by chongosuerte:
quote:
Originally posted by jimmy123x:
quote:
Originally posted by reflex/deflex 64:
Send your oil sample to a lab Show the lab recommended interval to her so she ca, andn rest assured it will be alright. $38 I believe I use Blackstone labs sample kits are free.


Caterpillar is cheaper and their labs are top notch. You just go into a CAT dealer, buy the sample kit, and I think it's $25 a sample, they give you the sample bottle, a shipping bottle, and prepaid mailing sticker, you just put the oil sample in the shipping bottle and the sticker on it and drop it in the mailbox and in a few days your results are emailed to you.

My oil life monitor will go to 0% life left on my 2008 expedition every 6 months on the dot like clockwork regardless of how little miles I drive. Or it will go off every 5,000 miles. Some oil monitors are more advanced than others.


What's been your result compared to what the oil monitor life says?


What do you mean? I don't bother analyzing my vehicles oil, but must say in the last 10% of life on the meter the oil gets a lot darker if you wipe the dipstick on a paper towel. I just change it when the meter says to, it's cheap enough to just change it.

I use CATs oil sample service for yacht engines, generators, and gears(transmissions) on a lot of different yachts in the course of my business.


I was meaning vehicles.

My last car (diesel) had 10,000 mile changes, synthetic. I sold it at 312,000 miles, engine trouble-free.

Current one (gas) has 5,000-7,500 mile changes (also synthetic).

To me, driving around 24,000 miles a year, that means 7,500 miles. An oil change is $80.

To the dealership/oil change places, they really want it to be 5,000 miles. Roll Eyes




Knowing what one is talking about is widely admired but not strictly required here.

Although sometimes distracting, there is often a certain entertainment value to this easy standard.
-JALLEN

"All I need is a WAR ON DRUGS reference and I got myself a police thread BINGO." -jljones
 
Posts: 11446 | Location: NC | Registered: August 16, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
I Am The Walrus
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by chongosuerte:
To the dealership/oil change places, they really want it to be 5,000 miles. Roll Eyes


There are some people out there who still believe in the 3,000 oil change. After being educated about that interval being incredibly outdated (outside of severe use such as commercial vehicles), the only refute they have is "it's cheap insurance" or "you can never change the oil too soon" or "I've always changed it at 3,000 miles in 40 years of driving and nothing has ever gone wrong" as if that was the only factor.

Some old habits die very hard, if ever.


_____________

 
Posts: 13047 | Registered: March 12, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Picture of Oldrider
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Some good points in this thread.
But I'd like to question waiting until oil's at 30 percent to change it. 70 percent of the lubricating properties gone?
Vehicles are expensive, at least in my case. I've no desire to spend $$$ I can't afford to replace spun bearings and recondition cylinder walls for new rings. Oil is cheap compared to this.
Keep in mind some still use dino oil, which our good buddies in the EPA have mandated eliminating zinc. Zinc is hard on cats I know, but it was originally formulated into motor oil to protect the shell bearings of crankshafts and rod bearings. The need to change oil is more necessary in such cases. I did go to synthetic Mobil 1 for this reason.
In retrospect, I may have spent too much time staring into crankcases. Smile


___________________________________________________________
Your right to swing your fist stops just short of the other person's nose...
 
Posts: 360 | Location: Outinthesticks | Registered: October 08, 2016Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Picture of grumpy1
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quote:
Originally posted by Oldrider:
Some good points in this thread.
But I'd like to question waiting until oil's at 30 percent to change it. 70 percent of the lubricating properties gone?


It is not that 70 percent of the lubricating properties are gone. It is a reminder that you have about 30 percent of the calculated time period until recommended oil change.

If you get a dental cleaning every 6 months it would be like a reminder that your next dental cleaning is due in 1.8 months.

But my wife, and apparently others, believes it means how much oil is left in the oil pan LOL.
 
Posts: 9730 | Location: Northern Illinois | Registered: March 20, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Picture of just1tym
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by Oldrider:
Some good points in this thread.
But I'd like to question waiting until oil's at 30 percent to change it. 70 percent of the lubricating properties gone?
Vehicles are expensive, at least in my case. I've no desire to spend $$$ I can't afford to replace spun bearings and recondition cylinder walls for new rings. Oil is cheap compared to this.
Keep in mind some still use dino oil, which our good buddies in the EPA have mandated eliminating zinc. Zinc is hard on cats I know, but it was originally formulated into motor oil to protect the shell bearings of crankshafts and rod bearings. The need to change oil is more necessary in such cases. I did go to synthetic Mobil 1 for this reason.
In retrospect, I may have spent too much time staring into crankcases. Smile


Maybe you just need bigger cats Big Grin



Regards, Will G.
 
Posts: 9660 | Location: 140 mi to Margaritaville, FL | Registered: January 02, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Picture of Prefontaine
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It’s a bullshit indicator and should just lamp up BS. If you ever want to really know how your oil is doing, pull a sample mid drain and send it off to Blackstone.



What am I doing? I'm talking to an empty telephone
 
Posts: 12569 | Location: Down South | Registered: January 16, 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
goodheart
Picture of sjtill
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Thank you for posting this!
My wife loves her '06 Odyasey--BUT we put in Mobil 1 and when it got down to 15% I once again looked this up.
Honda does NOT actually have an oil life sensor. The car's computer calculates oil life based on miles driven, other factors and throws an estimate out.
I stopped at Pep Boys on the way up from San Diego to northern Cal to get some therapy on this. The guy agreed that the oil life warning meant nothing; the dipstick showed full and the oil was the color of honey. I said I may have to change the oil just so it stops flashing at me--he said it's up to you. I didn't change it.
Now we're at -999, and I can tell you all that's as high as it will go.
What gets me is that I understand that it is quite possible to measure the quality of the oil. Years ago I sat next to a guy on a plane who told me that oil changes resistance to electric flow as it gets dirty, so it would be quite simple to have a sensor that actually measures whether the oil should be replaced or not.

Thanks for listening!
I may or may not get it changed before we drive back to Sandy Eggo.


_________________________
“ What all the wise men promised has not happened, and what all the damned fools said would happen has come to pass.”— Lord Melbourne
 
Posts: 18018 | Location: One hop from Paradise | Registered: July 27, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by Prefontaine:
It’s a bullshit indicator and should just lamp up BS. If you ever want to really know how your oil is doing, pull a sample mid drain and send it off to Blackstone.


An oil change on most vehicles (including mine) is around $30. The price of Blackstone to sample the oil is $30 plus you have to get dirty anyways pulling the sample, so if you're running normal or semi-synthic oil, you might as well just do an oil change instead for the same money.

Oil condition and when to change it has MANY variables. Stop and go traffic, hot climate, very dusty air, length of time, fuel dilution and overall condition of fuel system and piston rings, all shorten the life of oil. And, with the same driver can vary from one 6 month period to the next 6 month period. Engines are lasting 3x as long as they did in the 1980's and 1990's. Bottom line, if you're using normal oil or synthetic blend, just change the oil when the manufacturers manual tells you to. If you're going to synthetic, well perhaps you can extend the time between changes, but how much is the big question. Judging by the color of the dipstick is a big fail, all that will tell you is how many hydrocarbons are diluting the oil, it will not show humidity, coolant, or wear metals in the oil to judge it's total condition on.
 
Posts: 21335 | Registered: June 12, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Saluki
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by chongosuerte:
quote:
Originally posted by jimmy123x:
quote:
Originally posted by reflex/deflex 64:
Send your oil sample to a lab Show the lab recommended interval to her so she ca, andn rest assured it will be alright. $38 I believe I use Blackstone labs sample kits are free.


Caterpillar is cheaper and their labs are top notch. You just go into a CAT dealer, buy the sample kit, and I think it's $25 a sample, they give you the sample bottle, a shipping bottle, and prepaid mailing sticker, you just put the oil sample in the shipping bottle and the sticker on it and drop it in the mailbox and in a few days your results are emailed to you.

My oil life monitor will go to 0% life left on my 2008 expedition every 6 months on the dot like clockwork regardless of how little miles I drive. Or it will go off every 5,000 miles. Some oil monitors are more advanced than others.

What's been your result compared to what the oil monitor life says?
oil sample was taken at 10% which was 9400 miles. All the metals and contamanants were negligible base levels indicated there was life left in the oil. Blackstone suggested going another 3000 miles and retest.

2016 F-150 5 liter. They said the monitor is pretty conservative generally.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: reflex/deflex 64,


----------The weather is here I wish you were beautiful----------
 
Posts: 5130 | Location: southern Mn | Registered: February 26, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Picture of Prefontaine
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by jimmy123x:
quote:
Originally posted by Prefontaine:
It’s a bullshit indicator and should just lamp up BS. If you ever want to really know how your oil is doing, pull a sample mid drain and send it off to Blackstone.


An oil change on most vehicles (including mine) is around $30. The price of Blackstone to sample the oil is $30 plus you have to get dirty anyways pulling the sample, so if you're running normal or semi-synthic oil, you might as well just do an oil change instead for the same money.

Oil condition and when to change it has MANY variables. Stop and go traffic, hot climate, very dusty air, length of time, fuel dilution and overall condition of fuel system and piston rings, all shorten the life of oil. And, with the same driver can vary from one 6 month period to the next 6 month period. Engines are lasting 3x as long as they did in the 1980's and 1990's. Bottom line, if you're using normal oil or synthetic blend, just change the oil when the manufacturers manual tells you to. If you're going to synthetic, well perhaps you can extend the time between changes, but how much is the big question. Judging by the color of the dipstick is a big fail, all that will tell you is how many hydrocarbons are diluting the oil, it will not show humidity, coolant, or wear metals in the oil to judge it's total condition on.


Sorry, disagree. I’ve caught problems before they went to failures by knowing what is in the oil. Also great to have lab reports for warranty purposes.

I’ve run synthetic oil in everything I use for over 20 years. Lab reports also greatly help in figuring out the OCI.

You don’t pull samples for not. You pull a sample while you are doing an oil change. I don’t get the getting dirty bit, I’m already changing the oil.



What am I doing? I'm talking to an empty telephone
 
Posts: 12569 | Location: Down South | Registered: January 16, 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by Prefontaine:
quote:
Originally posted by jimmy123x:
quote:
Originally posted by Prefontaine:
It’s a bullshit indicator and should just lamp up BS. If you ever want to really know how your oil is doing, pull a sample mid drain and send it off to Blackstone.


An oil change on most vehicles (including mine) is around $30. The price of Blackstone to sample the oil is $30 plus you have to get dirty anyways pulling the sample, so if you're running normal or semi-synthic oil, you might as well just do an oil change instead for the same money.

Oil condition and when to change it has MANY variables. Stop and go traffic, hot climate, very dusty air, length of time, fuel dilution and overall condition of fuel system and piston rings, all shorten the life of oil. And, with the same driver can vary from one 6 month period to the next 6 month period. Engines are lasting 3x as long as they did in the 1980's and 1990's. Bottom line, if you're using normal oil or synthetic blend, just change the oil when the manufacturers manual tells you to. If you're going to synthetic, well perhaps you can extend the time between changes, but how much is the big question. Judging by the color of the dipstick is a big fail, all that will tell you is how many hydrocarbons are diluting the oil, it will not show humidity, coolant, or wear metals in the oil to judge it's total condition on.


Sorry, disagree. I’ve caught problems before they went to failures by knowing what is in the oil. Also great to have lab reports for warranty purposes.

I’ve run synthetic oil in everything I use for over 20 years. Lab reports also greatly help in figuring out the OCI.

You don’t pull samples for not. You pull a sample while you are doing an oil change. I don’t get the getting dirty bit, I’m already changing the oil.


Some people pull a sample without changing the oil at a specified mileage to see if they can go even longer without changing the oil at that time.

Oil samples are good for seeing increased wear and so forth. They are not an end all of all end alls. Just because the oil doesn't have high wear metals in it, does not mean that all of the additives (lubricity additives, detergents) in the oil have not been depleted. It also does not determine what the status of the oil filter is. The oil filter might be catching all of those wear metals, but be 99% full and 1% from the bypass opening and not filtering anything at all. While it is a help in determining certain things, it is not an end all to all end all's in determining when to change oil.
 
Posts: 21335 | Registered: June 12, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Picture of rtquig
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But remember that an oil filter that is 75% used up is filtering better than a brand new filter.


Living the Dream
 
Posts: 4011 | Location: New Jersey | Registered: December 06, 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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There are three reasons for changing oil. One is examination of the oil itself, which should include a spectrometric oil analysis. Hardly anyone does it in cars...but it should also include a sampling of the oil and passing through a screen, as well as cutting the oil filter and flushing it through a screen to check for material. Again, very few do it, most are completely ignorant of the process.

The second reason for changing oil is thermal breakdown of the oil itself, which includes loss of shear properties, lubricity, etc. Most think it's because the oil turns dark, which is ridiculous, but it's because of changes in the chemical properties of the oil. Synthetic oil should stick to a similar change regime as mineral oil, though most people are cheap enough to glob onto the idea that they can stretch the oil interval because it's synthetic.

The third, and most important reason for changing oil, is removal of acids and damaging chemicals. These occur as byproducts of combustion, and wash off cylinder and engine walls with condensation, operation, etc. With time the oil becomes more acidic and this acid works against bearing surfaces, etc. It doesn't matter a bit whether it's synthetic or mineral when it comes to acids and byproducts in the oil; the type of oil is irrelevant, and consequently users should stick to a conservative change schedule. It's very cheap maintenance and insurance.
 
Posts: 6650 | Registered: September 13, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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quote:
Originally posted by sns3guppy:

...It's very cheap maintenance and insurance.


Which is why I get the oil changed every 5K on my 2016 CRV. We were travelling and it went close to 6K and 70%. I follow the dealer guidelines (which I know makes money for them) and did the change along with tire rotation.

It's amazing that some members will spend hundreds (make that thousands!) on gun gear but question those of us who spend $35 for an oil change.
 
Posts: 15899 | Location: Eastern Iowa | Registered: May 21, 2000Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Do No Harm,
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I've driven well over a million miles. My last car was 10k mile oil changes, and I sold it at 312,000 miles. It's still running strong. The one before was 5,000 miles, and I retired it at 336,000 miles.

My current is 7.5k oil changes.

I've never had even the slightest hint of a problem.

Doing it early just to piss away $50 is silly.

I don't do "silly".




Knowing what one is talking about is widely admired but not strictly required here.

Although sometimes distracting, there is often a certain entertainment value to this easy standard.
-JALLEN

"All I need is a WAR ON DRUGS reference and I got myself a police thread BINGO." -jljones
 
Posts: 11446 | Location: NC | Registered: August 16, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by chongosuerte:
I've driven well over a million miles. My last car was 10k mile oil changes, and I sold it at 312,000 miles. It's still running strong. The one before was 5,000 miles, and I retired it at 336,000 miles.

My current is 7.5k oil changes.

I've never had even the slightest hint of a problem.

Doing it early just to piss away $50 is silly.

I don't do "silly".


Well...yes, you do "silly," you just don't know it. George Burns smoked until he was 95 or so before he keeled over, but that really ought not be thought of as hard evidence that it's okay to smoke. Or that smoke doesn't put a lot of toxins in your system. It does. The same is true of engine oil; no matter what you use for oil, the same contaminants enter the oil.

Most likely you drive regularly, which is one of the best things you can do for an engine (sitting, not running is one of the worst...and an engine that sits and never runs still requires regular oil changes...another ignorance-is-bliss fact that few understand).

That you drive regularly and frequently get the engine up to operating temperature with oil circulating helps, and doesn't allow acids to stay sitting and pooled around bearings, journals, rods, shafts, in pumps, etc. It still circulates, and it does experience additional wear if you're running that long between changes, even if you don't notice it.

The nature of the driving you do has a lot to do with the longevity of the engine, too, as does responsible, timely maintenance throughout its life.
 
Posts: 6650 | Registered: September 13, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Picture of Chris Anchor
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I don't rely on the alert which is never reset by the tech after oil change. I use trip meter #2 to let me know how many I have on this oil change (done about every 6K). Chris
 
Posts: 1832 | Location: Cecil Co. Maryland | Registered: January 08, 2012Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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