Annual Oil Change

[fuzzmanmatt]

Time for an oil change! I didn't realize how much of an impact this year would have on how far I drive... Just over 5,000 miles in the last year. That's uh... that's not a lot. Makes me glad I run full synthetic for as much as this thing sits. No dunes this year, either. I'm pretty sure I've spent more time washing this thing than driving it. Poor girl!


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[ManUpOrShutUp]

5k/year. Jeez. My inspection sticker tells me I have gone 23K in 11 months.

 

[JExpedition07]

I’ve done 11,000 miles in the last 6 months lol

 

[fuzzmanmatt]

I'll have to see what we put on the wife's Escape, but it can't be too much more. If I didn't carry so much crap around with me all the time, we could probably get by with one car and finally get myself a motorcycle.

 

[Aspen03]

Up until mid 2019 I've spent several years driving 8k or less. Now I drive almost 15k just for work. Its horrible. So much wasted life sitting in a car... I miss an 8 minute commute.

 

[07navi]

Up until mid 2019 I've spent several years driving 8k or less. Now I drive almost 15k just for work. Its horrible. So much wasted life sitting in a car... I miss an 8 minute commute.

I would get another job..........

 

[Aspen03]

I would get another job..........

I'll go ahead and just win the lottery too if its that easy. If you haven't noticed unemployment is rather high with few companies hiring for meaningful employment at a decent wage. I have seniority in my current position, it is stable, has a good bonus structure, great benefits, a reasonable schedule and getting 200hrs a year of PTO is a plus as well.

 

[fuzzmanmatt]

200 hours? Lucky, I only get 160! Finding anything good in Indiana is hard, so I guess they have to give you some incentive to stay!

 

[chuck s]

Full synthetic doesn't need a "or 12 months which ever comes first" oil change. I only do an annual oil change because we need an annual safety inspection here in Virginia and I'd rather take it to the dealer for that in case it needs parts of some sort. Dealer does the inspection as a courtesy. Expedition oil change is too much of a hassle for me (our other 2 cars are easy).

Doubt I'll have 6000 miles this year. My other car got 2000 and an engine oil analysis noted the oil is as good as new -- I ain't changing it. Still use full synthetic in everything including my lawn mowers.

-- Chuck

 

[07navi]

I agree with the synthetic but not taking to a dealer for anything and not using an analysis. Why pay to see a bunch of unknown chemicals on a list when you could just spend that money on 7 quarts of oil instead of on the printout and not wonder what the analysis is not showing. I hate to make the analysis fans feel dumb but I don't get it. After working on cars for decades I really don't get it. Also the makers of synthetic have been slowly backpedaling on the time between changes over the years, maybe they finally figured out all oil gets contaminated and breaks down.

 

[JasonH]

I agree with the synthetic but not taking to a dealer for anything and not using an analysis. Why pay to see a bunch of unknown chemicals on a list when you could just spend that money on 7 quarts of oil instead of on the printout and not wonder what the analysis is not showing. I hate to make the analysis fans feel dumb but I don't get it. After working on cars for decades I really don't get it. Also the makers of synthetic have been slowly backpedaling on the time between changes over the years, maybe they finally figured out all oil gets contaminated and breaks down.

The UOA can reveal many potential issues, such as excessive wear, dirt, fuel contamination, coolant contamination, oil dilution, etc. Changing oil regularly doesn't guarantee you'll never have issues with any of these other areas. Look at the timing chain/tensioners issues on the Ecoboost...some users go by the OLM and have no issues, others have issues no matter how regular the service. If you can spend $40 to avoid a $4,000 repair bill, seems like cheap insurance to me. It's a classic case of skipping over dollars to pick up pennies. I don't do it on my Altima, because it's naturally aspirated and I'm confident the engine will have no issues with routine oil changes. I don't have the same confidence in the Ecoboost, and I tow with it, so it's cheap insight into the condition of my engine.

 

[07navi]

The UOA can reveal many potential issues, such as excessive wear, dirt, fuel contamination, coolant contamination, oil dilution, etc. Changing oil regularly doesn't guarantee you'll never have issues with any of these other areas. Look at the timing chain/tensioners issues on the Ecoboost...some users go by the OLM and have no issues, others have issues no matter how regular the service. If you can spend $40 to avoid a $4,000 repair bill, seems like cheap insurance to me. It's a classic case of skipping over dollars to pick up pennies. I don't do it on my Altima, because it's naturally aspirated and I'm confident the engine will have no issues with routine oil changes. I don't have the same confidence in the Ecoboost, and I tow with it, so it's cheap insight into the condition of my engine.

Sorry, not buying it. All you need to do on any engine is to change the oil at certain intervals and hopefully not too long. Even if you blew money on an "analysis" one time it should give you a picture of what to expect in future changes. ...........just change the dam stuff on time.

 

[JasonH]

Sorry, not buying it. All you need to do on any engine is to change the oil at certain intervals and hopefully not too long. Even if you blew money on an "analysis" one time it should give you a picture of what to expect in future changes. ...........just change the dam stuff on time.

You're presuming that there aren't any failures unrelated to the oil change interval. What if a gasket fails, or I change commute due to Covid and start short tripping more frequently, or I try out a reusable filter and am unsure of it's filtration capability, or I switch to E85 and want to know if I need to change my service interval...there's any number of scenarios. I wouldn't necessarily get one for every oil change, but the peace of mind is worthwhile at a moderate interval.

 

[07navi]

You're presuming that there aren't any failures unrelated to the oil change interval. What if a gasket fails, or I change commute due to Covid and start short tripping more frequently, or I try out a reusable filter and am unsure of it's filtration capability, or I switch to E85 and want to know if I need to change my service interval...there's any number of scenarios. I wouldn't necessarily get one for every oil change, but the peace of mind is worthwhile at a moderate interval.

I think you are overthinking it and I suspect some O C D tendencies.

 

[JasonH]

I think you are overthinking it and I suspect some O C D tendencies.

I'm so sick of everyone saying that

 

[Jachniw]

I’ve done 11,000 miles in the last 6 months lol

Recognized your name and need some help.
I just reached out on another thread regarding GPS antennas. Please take a look and shoot me a response.

Thanks!!!

 

[Kjhawkeye1]

I just had my oil changed for the year 2 weeks ago as well. The truck sits around except for the short trips to get kids to daycare. It is almost like a treat when I get to drive it more than 5 miles a day.

 

[lbv150]

Every 3K miles for me regardless of time. Oil & filters are cheap compared to internal engine components and turbos.