how long can an engine go without an oil change?

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Diesel World magazine recently did an article on a 60,000 mile Cummins diesel that never got an oil change. It finally siezed up at 60K, totally locked up with sludge.
 
a friend of mine ran her 1991 ford explorer 16k miles on conventional and a OCOD. i found this out and made her change her oil.

she went with Quaker state green bottle and another OCOD, it will probably be 10k miles before she does it again...poor thing.
 
My father or vehicle fleet manager ruined a company cars (88 Buick Century 4 cylinder) motor going 30k on same oil.

He put 150k on the car in 2 yrs as a sales manager for New England.
 
Originally Posted By: spasm3
I'm guessing but with dino 40k miles with a syn 65k. Assuming you kept it topped off.


Topped off is the key term. When I was working for Toyota we had a lady kill a matrix 1.8 liter 4cly in 18000 miles with the factory fill and factory filter. Top of would have extendend this but when you have a small sump (3.5qts) once your down a quart that last 2.5 quarts gets really stressed and sludges up quick.
 
Back in the 90's Toyota was leasing Camrys real cheap. They were so cheap for a while that these cars wound-up with terrible owners. Twice I had people come in with the oil light on at 35K on the factory fill. One was a woman who realized she had made a terrible mistake and had us change the oil. The other was a woman who had me add two and half quarts and kept on driving.
These two cars would be bad news for people purchasing after the leases were up.
 
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In '75 or '76, Ford engineers were testing the new M1. They factory filled a Lincoln, ran it 100,000 miles with topping off and no drains or filter changes. When they tore the engine down, there were no signs of wear.

I would not recommend trying this.
 
Well, if it's an EJ22, you can go at least 57K on it.

Here is the oil filter.

I've done a couple of oil changes on it since, and everything seems back to normal. The first oil got dark really quickly, and I ran some MMO in it to top it off, then changed it after 1,500 miles. There were no more sludge chunks in the filter--it didn't really even look that bad. The next oil change was 3K and it didn't look that bad after draining, and the filter again looked OK. The engine runs fine, good power--the car is @ 18X K now.
 
Originally Posted By: teambeechstreet
My sister's ex-boyfriend bought a brand new Tundra and went 40K without lifting the hood before the engine seized. Kid thought that oil changes were only for cars from the 80s.

I maintain a rental car fleet and I've seen at least a dozen cars come through that were on the factory fill & filter @ 30,000. The oil was usually thick and ashy like a really beat up diesel oil.



Couldnt he feel the engine getting slower/sluggish or something?
 
REAL WORLD EXPERIENCE:

My Granddad bought an 87(?) civic new years ago (well, in 1987). This was the angular, square-wedge shaped thing. It was the nicest car anyone in the family had ever owned. He loved this car.

some years later, we helped them move up to TN where my parents lived. It was a 300 mile drive at about 65.

After 3 hours, oil light started to flicker. I stopped, level was good. did it again. added stp oil treatment thinking it was thinning. kept doing it. finally would just slam neutral, coast engine off, then restart, hit D and keep going. Made it home ok.

Car went to dealer. 64,000 on the original oil. factory paint marks still there on drain plug. Talked to granddad and the garage he used. He'd never let them change the oil, just top-off with occasional filter change. figured dumping oil was a waste of money.

Honda dealer hot-tanked the block. They were amazed it would run. Never saw anything like it. Completely gummed up. There was no scoring or cylinders or bearings. No sign of damage. drainage journals were jammed shut and had to be hand cleaned. They said they were amazed it ran but couldn't be certain that *something* wasn't damaged... they were stunned. but it ran fine.

He traded it in after getting over his embarrassment.

M
 
Originally Posted By: Kira
I bet she's one who never lifted the hood nor trusts any mechanic. Kira


well, it works both ways: you can't operate/own an automobile if you don't trust any mechanic, period.

Sorry it may sounds harsh on some of the posters here but in that case: public transportation makes good sense.

Q.
 
One of the local teeny-boppers ran her VW 40,000 before the engine locked up. Her only comment was--"I thought they held up". John--Las Vegas.
 
My mother in law typically was running 30k OCI's on her '97 Nissan truck until I started doing it a few years ago. She still won't let me do it more often than about 10k miles, but she used to use the cheapest $0.99 oil she could find. At least now I run Penzoil Platinum despite her arguments that she doesn't want any synthetic stuff in it (so I don't tell her). It does leak oil now, but at least the oil is probably still lubricating when I change it. It has been 14k since the last change and she can't find time to let me do it. It is currently at 231k miles.

She was under the impression that 30k is what is req'd.
 
Originally Posted By: CBR.worm
My mother in law typically was running 30k OCI's on her '97 Nissan truck until I started doing it a few years ago. She still won't let me do it more often than about 10k miles, but she used to use the cheapest $0.99 oil she could find. At least now I run Penzoil Platinum despite her arguments that she doesn't want any synthetic stuff in it (so I don't tell her). It does leak oil now, but at least the oil is probably still lubricating when I change it. It has been 14k since the last change and she can't find time to let me do it. It is currently at 231k miles.

She was under the impression that 30k is what is req'd.



Well you better get her out of that impression.....thats why I dont do impressions...
grin.gif
 
Yeah, what is amazing is how bulletproof that thing is. She plans to keep it forever but doesn't think things through too well.
 
Originally Posted By: lexus114
Originally Posted By: teambeechstreet
My sister's ex-boyfriend bought a brand new Tundra and went 40K without lifting the hood before the engine seized. Kid thought that oil changes were only for cars from the 80s.

I maintain a rental car fleet and I've seen at least a dozen cars come through that were on the factory fill & filter @ 30,000. The oil was usually thick and ashy like a really beat up diesel oil.



Couldnt he feel the engine getting slower/sluggish or something?

Not sure, he was too embarrassed to talk about it and my sister acted clueless about it. All I know is he drove an old beatup Toyota T100 after that before they broke up.
 
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