Ask an automobile mechanic.
- Thread starter Patrick
- Start date
Dingo
Well-Known Member
No oil sensors involved. Oil life is calculated by logarithms. Miles, coolant temperature, engine revolutions. Gm had a few models where they were miscalculated, and we ended up with sludged engines and worn timing chains. The fix was a software update.
And then you have the customers that simply reset the oil life back to 100% without changing the oil.
Yea from what I can get out of her they test 30k intervals and then advertise 20k.... these short (3k 5k)oil change intervals are nothing more than a waste of money and time.
This is synthetic oil of course I wouldn't try it with conventional oil.
Dingo
Well-Known Member
I w
I wouldn't try it with any kind of oil. Seen way to many worn out engines due to oil related wear. But that's how I get paid, fixing other peoples problems.
Fat Trout
Well-Known Member
Sweet, 20K oil changes and all i have to do is change filters. Might cost me big in new shirts and oil spill absorbent tho.
I mean if mobile ones lawyers let them advertise annual change on their bottles it's not gonna hurt anything.
It will still void your warranty if you exceed the factory recommend oci
I know shops like to push shorter changes to make $$$ since it's quick easy work.
It will still void your warranty if you exceed the factory recommend oci
I know shops like to push shorter changes to make $$$ since it's quick easy work.
Dingo
Well-Known Member
I would rather never do another LOF. I loose time and money on every one. So does the shop, aka loss leader.
I make my hours on repairs. So keep pushing those high mile oil changes, its great for my paycheck.
In 5 years none of this will matter. The new green deal will have us all driving electric vehicles.
walter
Fourth Party
2013 Mazda 3 hatch with 140k. On rough roads, driver side front wheel sounds like someone is smashing my hood with a hammer. Alignment is spot on, and other than the noise on rough roads the car drives fine. Have it looked at now or wait the 18,000 miles when I bring it in for the next oil change?
Johnny Utah
Well-Known Member
I just LOL so hard I had to remove my under pants. Yes I am still laughing. Let’s put real money on this, like $1k in an escrow count as of 12/12/25.
I just soiled more underpants. Fawk
Danimal
Well-Known Member
Strut it shot or maybe strut mount. When it pops through the hood you'll know you waited too long. Jack up the front and wiggle the wheel up and down
GTCHAMPION1
Well-Known Member
When synthetic oil first came out, on the first year a few European car manufacturers claimed that oil change intervals were every 20k miles, that same year they started to replace engines because about 27% of their engines started to break down at about 17k miles due to oil sludge and/or oil starvation (related to weather, temperature changes, driving style) ... major recall started which was upgrading instrument clusters with service reminders, check oil condition and possible oil change, and adding a label on the owners manual on those vehicles of late 1992 and early 1993. Now on this days we have new oil viscosities like new Toyotas need the 0W-15 to improve gas mileage and because those supper tight tolerances in the internals demand something that can flow easier, Mercedes Diesel BlueTec engines need 0W-40 229.52 oil to prevent damage to the emissions system, this new oil viscosities are easier to evaporate or get burn depending on the situation. Think of all this like Olive Oil, Virgin Olive oil and extra virgin, which one evaporates faster
yes old synthetics vs modern synthetics are completely different animals (im not sure of the details, my wife is the chemical engineer who actually designs the motor oils for living). The short version of the story is if you keep the oil topped off, and have reasonably normal driving habits, 10k mile changes wont hurt anything. The mfg recommends them that way and you (general consumers) should listen to them, they spend alot of time and money optimizing both the vehicle itself and the oils that go into them. Modern synthetics have such good additive packages that they hold contaminants in suspension. I havent done an oil change less than 10k miles in the last 8 years and even do periodic oil analysis on the engines and they all come back good. even volatility on modern oils is lower (you have less of it evaporating off for lack of a better way to explain this)
I have little doubt that i could run 15k miles on a change. (i havent seen a filter rated for more than 15k mile drain interval, and changing the filter without the oil just seems silly to me) If you do alot of idling, or short trips where the car doesnt warm up for a while you may want to change more frequently since that dumps extra fuel into the oil (which breaks down additives) and additional contaminates.
p.s. the oil companies have lawyers that wouldn't let them advertise these change intervals without test data to support the extended drain being harmless, it would only take one person suing the company for ruining their engine with the extended drain to completely turn their tune around since $$$$ is what everything is about.
Dingo
Well-Known Member
The next worn out low mile repair I have, send the wife here. Then have her explain why it's in my bay all apart and sludged up.
The same engineers probably thought lubed for life suspension components was a great idea. I like those too, I don't have grease them and I get paid to replace them.
mfennell
Well-Known Member
When I was a kid, I worked at a Jiffy Lube-type place. We had a Grand Am come in with 30k on the oil (dino oil, of course). It took a looooooong time to drain because the drain hole kept getting clogged up with sludge.
Dingo
Well-Known Member
Seen that many times. Most times it's in for a noise in the engine too LOL
Jmann
Never gonna let you down.
I remember when amsoil came out with oil that was intended to be changed annually, probably 20 years ago. Bold claims at the time as the 3k rule was still the norm, but time has proved them right that synthetic oil can be safe in longer intervals. They also came out with 100:1 premix to replace 32:1, that was an even harder sell.
I liked some of their products but the Mary Kay pyramid sales model always made me leery of their science.
I liked some of their products but the Mary Kay pyramid sales model always made me leery of their science.
This thread turned into a perfect example of internet within moments.
Common scenario:
Customer sees yearly/10k oil intervals.
Customer ignores anything under the hood for a year (or more).
Engine consumes oil, as they do. I randomly picked a 2020 Rav4 owners manual: ■To prevent serious engine damage, Check the oil level on a regular basis.
See above: owner ignores anything under the hood for year+
So by the end of the year+, there's half or less the correct amount of oil in the car, and that oil is getting murdered.
So a PROPERLY MAINTAINED vehicle could go 10k on a oil change, but that's not what happens.
Common scenario:
Customer sees yearly/10k oil intervals.
Customer ignores anything under the hood for a year (or more).
Engine consumes oil, as they do. I randomly picked a 2020 Rav4 owners manual: ■To prevent serious engine damage, Check the oil level on a regular basis.
See above: owner ignores anything under the hood for year+
So by the end of the year+, there's half or less the correct amount of oil in the car, and that oil is getting murdered.
So a PROPERLY MAINTAINED vehicle could go 10k on a oil change, but that's not what happens.
Am I allowed to ask an actual question of an auto mechanic?
I'm sure this is a semi-typical situation. I pulled the calipers off of my car to paint them because they're pretty faded from the original black. In the process I figured I'd clean up some of the other crustiness around some of the suspension parts etc. I pulled the brake shields to paint them as well because they had that nice "WW2 era shipwreck" patina to them. In the process sheared off a bolt head. M6. Tried the usual spiral bolt extractor set that never works. Doesn't work, extractor breaks. Try a "better" (or at least different) square flute extractor and break that as well. In between these attempts, I've been soaking in Pb Blaster. So now it's good and mangled. Original hole, despite best attempts with center punch and hand drill, is slightly off center. There's enough material to drill out and tap but it won't be quite in the original location. I can manage that situation by slightly enlarging the hole in the shield, but I'd rather get it as close as possible. I can use the shield as a template to find the correct center, but not sure I've ever seen a good way of drilling a hole which overlaps another hole. Possible to make a drill guide? And yes, I could omit the shields entirely but they do seem to serve a functional heat shield role on these cars.
Oh yeah, and if anyone has a suggestion (other than super toxic acid based wheel cleaner) for cleaning up aluminum suspension parts, I'm interested.
I'm sure this is a semi-typical situation. I pulled the calipers off of my car to paint them because they're pretty faded from the original black. In the process I figured I'd clean up some of the other crustiness around some of the suspension parts etc. I pulled the brake shields to paint them as well because they had that nice "WW2 era shipwreck" patina to them. In the process sheared off a bolt head. M6. Tried the usual spiral bolt extractor set that never works. Doesn't work, extractor breaks. Try a "better" (or at least different) square flute extractor and break that as well. In between these attempts, I've been soaking in Pb Blaster. So now it's good and mangled. Original hole, despite best attempts with center punch and hand drill, is slightly off center. There's enough material to drill out and tap but it won't be quite in the original location. I can manage that situation by slightly enlarging the hole in the shield, but I'd rather get it as close as possible. I can use the shield as a template to find the correct center, but not sure I've ever seen a good way of drilling a hole which overlaps another hole. Possible to make a drill guide? And yes, I could omit the shields entirely but they do seem to serve a functional heat shield role on these cars.
Oh yeah, and if anyone has a suggestion (other than super toxic acid based wheel cleaner) for cleaning up aluminum suspension parts, I'm interested.
GSTim
Formerly M3Tim
You are much better of enlarging the hole vs trying to drill a hole that overlaps. One it won't be as strong, Two almost guaranteed you won't get it drilled straight. Plus it's only a shield, all of the ones on my GMC have been gone for years.