Agree to disagree. In my business vehicles that are well maintained have less failures. Changing oil is one of those maintenance procedures that should be done regimentally. Just compare drained oil at the manufacture specs schedule to drained oil at 3000 to 5000 miles. The specification of the oil is just as important. Lubrication and coolant are the 2 most important factors to a less troubled vehicle.
Example: 2000 Ford Excursion, 250000 miles, same 5.4L motor, no engine repairs, except coils and plugs, oil changed using synthetic and Motorcraft filter every 5000 miles. Combination highway/city driving.
Definitely disagree. After sending off oil samples, I learned I was wasting money. So I don’t change things nearly as often as I used to. For instance I have a lawn mower here that is approaching ten years old, the wheels are about worn through. No engine issues and it has…wait for it…the factory break in oil! Marketing is a hard thing to resist, but I’ve saved a boatload of money on all my engines since spacing the changes way out. Also time is a huge factor p, whether you are fooling with a dealer, jiffy lube, or just doing it yourself. That’s money in the bank too.
have a Camry we drive daily, started changing oil ever two years in it. It goes maybe 4000 miles a year, so short trips. No issues. It’s 12 years old now. Had changed it at the recommendation of 10k miles when it was driven a lot the first few years. Age is getting to it for nondrivetrain parts, and dumping perfectly good oil would be a waste, just for some feel good reasons.
diesel for sure didn’t need all the changes I did. Stopped those and that truck still goes and goes and goes. It’s a 97 model. Think I got my moneys worth out of it and body will fall off before that motor will quit.
in this case specifically, you said lack of oil changes cause the cam phasers to go out. Since those have gone out on people with very few miles, it’s not an oiling issue.
I do however think full synthetic could contribute, as it could drain off the parts easier after shutdown. I’ve noted most guys with issues are quick to point out they used that oil.
