Those with 150,000 miles or more, check in

[Thomas Pyrek]

1985 Nissan 300zx
Got it at about 135,000 miles. First year, Pennzoil oil and filters at local lube place at about 3k miles. Then Royal Purple, first at 10w-30 (at the local place, with pennzoil filters), then 20w-50 for racing purposes (at first with pennzoil filters, but got smart and started to use the Motorcraft FL-1A). Intervals were 3 months, probably 5-8k miles. Got sick of using that stuff (and stopped racing the car) so I used Mobil drive clean 10w-30 for a year. When I started to race the car again I switched to 10w-40. Did short OCI's, about 1500-2000 miles. Middle of last season I switched to Valvo VR1 20w-50 once the oil started to show that it was relatively clean. My OCI was 4-5 events (~1000 miles) Switched over to MaxLife 10w-30 for the ice racing season/winter (~2000-3000 miles). For this season I switched over to Mobil Delvac 1300 and Delco PF2 filters. If the oil analysis show well and the engine gets cleaned up a tad (well, alot with autoRX) I'll do extended OCI's with M1 SUV or Rotella T synthetic.

Odometer is broken, so I guestimate somewhere between 180k and 200k. I use no oil bewteen my changes.

Just bought a beater 1989 Honda Prelude w 150k. Don't know how much oil it burns as it has stripped drain plug threads so it leaks out the old, hardened rubber drain plug. Did a short 1k dino oil change and the oil came out filthy. Replaced hardened rubber drain plug with a new one (I will helicoil next OCI). I intend to run extended OCI's of 10k (still in the process of choosing the oil) on it once I'm done with autoRX. So far I'm 650 miles into it and the both the dipstick and oil filler cap are much cleaner.

[ March 21, 2004, 08:57 PM: Message edited by: Thomas Pyrek ]

 

[buster]

quote:

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I recently got rid of an Audi A6 1.8T (yes 1.8!) with 152K on it. Oil changed by myself every 10K (unless I forgot and it went to 11K!) with M1 0W40.

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Every time I see a post on this particular thread, it confirms my belief that your really not going to wear out an engine on any oil. What becomes more important then, are sludge and deposit control. With that said, using any good synthetic is probably more then anyone needs but a safe bet to have a well runnng engine at 150k + miles.

 

[Jim Spahr]

1994 Chevy Impala SS with 197k on original LT1 V8 with 4L60E auto trans. OCI every 3k. First with 10w/30 Pennzoil dino then 10w/30 Valvoline dino. Always the good old AC Delco PF 52. Preparing for the big 200,000 milestone with an Auto Rx treatment. It's the least I can do for the faithful old Chevy small block. It was using some oil with the 10w/30 Valvoline, when I decided to use some 5w/30 Valvoline this past winter. It drank the 5w/30 at an alarming rate. That is when I decided to try a heavier 15w/40 oil. Still in evaluation.

 

[fast4d]

95 civic LX

176k miles. synthetic oil since 2nd oil change. mostly mobil 1 10-30w, 10k intervals. Last couple years tried amsoil with annual interval due to a decrease in driving.

synthetic a/t lube in A/T since 20k miles. either redline or amsoil.

the engine and trans runs like new other than an extra bit of valvetrain noise due to wear.

 

[rhettu007]

I have a 93 Ford f-150 with a 302ci with 138000 miles. I have own the pickup for the last 4 years and 60000 miles. I have ran convention oil (mainly Case IH 15w40 with 30 micron fleetguard filters) I have recently become interested in extending my OCI mainly becuase I am about to graduate from Texas Tech and have a new job with the NRCS stating this June. I will commuting about 500-600 miles per week and really don't want to change my oil every month. But I know my pickup has some wear on the rings and cylinders and a small leak around the oil pan gasket (couple drops a night).

With all that said I have recently purchase Schaeffer 5w30. Under what situations is Schaeffer the best, and what situations is it not? Should I be running 5w30 in something that is unfortunately going to have a little blow-by? What length of OCI do I need to use? Should I start out with shorter OCI to rinse the engine?
I know as soon as I put new oil in my pickup and pull the dipstick the new oil is already blackish.

I asked about shorter OCI the first drain. I want to eventually run a fleetguard 10 micron, but I don't want to be rinsing with a 10 mic filter? Should I start with a 30 mic the first drain while rinsing then increase to a 10 mic? What are your thoughts on running 10 mic filters for long OCI? What is a good OCI for 10 mic filters. What are your thoughts on Fleetguard Filters? I work at a Case IH dealer untill I graduate and all of the Case IH filters are Fleetguard and I have heard that many other brands are made by fleetguard?

What is the typical efficiency of a bypass filter? Do they only filter when the bypass is used? B/c when looking at the routing of the lines of bypass filters it looks as though it is just a secondary filter rather than a bypass? Is that correct? Can one make there own "bypass filter" if they have a filter base that has in and out lines?

I know this is a heck of alot of questions but I am really interested in which oil is the best and what filter combination works the best . Something that I might want to add is that I live in West Texas, where the dirt BLOWS! Thank you for your time!

 

[ToyotaNSaturn]

Rhett, I would suggest an Auto-RX treatment or two before moving to synth or even synth blend oils with that amount of miles on it. It's worth the expense! I went from dino to synth at 100K, no problems using Auto-Rx. 3oz of this stuff in the crankcase as a maintenance dose between changes puts my mind at ease about leaks--there are none! In your situation, you might even find that your leak dries up!

Also, if you're still experiencing blow-by after the Auto-RX treatment, you may want to look at the High Mileage oils as they are a bit thicker and can substantially reduce blow by. Delo 400 15w-40 is a good candidate for your climate. With UOA, you can most likely go 5-6K on this oil.

 

[ssmokn]

Not my car but a close buddy of mine. He is a salesman. He bought a '94 Mercury Grand Marquis (likes large boats with large trunks. Has the need to shuttle customers and lots of literature around).

He bought the car used (off 12 month lease) from a local Ford dealer with 14K miles. As part of the deail he got free oil and filter changes from the dealer every three 3K. The car now has approx 280K. He does all the maintenance himself EXCEPT for oil changes. They roll their eyes when he comes in for an oil change but they have been doing them every 3K since he bought it. The motor has never been opened up for any reason. His valve seals need to be replaced. He burns about 1 quart of oil every 1 or 2K miles now. He tops off with a stock of Castrol 20w50 that I gave him. The stuff is so old it is in the cardboard cans with metal top and bottom (remember those)!

The drivetrain is original with the exception of a reman. Motorcraft tranny which we installed at around 240 or 250K. The original trans didn't fail completely but it was slipping badly and on its way out.

The dealer uses Motorcraft FL820S filters but I have no idea what kind of oil they use (whatever they have in bulk tank at the time I guess).

 

[pezzy669]

1991 Toyota Pickup (22R-E). 159k miles when sold last october. Oil used was whatever bulk oil the fast lube joints would use and was changed whenever the previous owner would remember (typically every 7-8k miles).

1994 Honda Civic EX (1.6 4 VTEC) (Sisters). 276k miles on original engine and auto tranny

. Died due to incompetent quick lube mechanics. Engine run on whatever dino 5W-30 oil the quick lube joints used.

1992 Chevrolet Corsica (3.1 V6) (Mothers). 254k miles and still running strong on original engine and tranny (lots of coolant system work though). Trop Artic 5W-30 and Fram filters since new at 3k mile intervals.

1999 Buick LeSabre (3.8 V6) (Mothers). 166k miles. Trop Artic 5W-30 and Fram filters since new at 3k mile intervals.

The funny thing is the Corsica is what my mom calls old faithful. There have been plenty of very cold days (northern minnesota) where my moms '99 Buick and my sisters '02 Cougar V6 just refuse to start, but of course the 13 year old Corsica starts right up despite not being plugged in.

 

[Cutehumor]

Originally posted by pezzy669:

1994 Honda Civic EX (1.6 4 VTEC) (Sisters). 276k miles on original engine and auto tranny

. Died due to incompetent quick lube mechanics. Engine run on whatever dino 5W-30 oil the quick lube joints used.


did they forget to put oil in the engine?

 

[needtoknow]

I just got rid of an 1983 Mazda B-2000 with about 152,000. I owned it since new and only used Dino 10W-30 Valvoline with Fram Filters every 3000 miles. The manual trans and rear end fluids were also changed every so often. No problems with either and the clutch was original.The last couple of years I switched to Pennsoil 10W-30 when they came out with the "Clear-Base" formula. I also in the last couple of years would add 1 quart of Super Tech Full Syn at each oil change. I never had to do any work on the engine at all except for accessories (Alt, Rad, etc). It never used a drop of oil. The compression dropped slightly over the years but was always within factory specs. The only reason I sold it was the body was getting poor and I was tired of no power with the 4 Cyl'd. After reading this board I now know what I did wrong and have corrected my ways

. Just kidding, I appreciate and get a lot of interesting info and insight from here and it will take me about 50 years to really understand what the .... you're all talking about.

 

[pezzy669]

quote:

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Originally posted by Cutehumor:

Originally posted by pezzy669:

1994 Honda Civic EX (1.6 4 VTEC) (Sisters). 276k miles on original engine and auto tranny

. Died due to incompetent quick lube mechanics. Engine run on whatever dino 5W-30 oil the quick lube joints used.


did they forget to put oil in the engine?

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The gasket from the old oil filter stayed attached and the new oil filter was put over it. The engine puked all its oil while pulling out of their driveway and seized. The quick lube place admitted fault and paid her off.

 

[supraturbo]

1996 civic dx 1.6L, owned since brand new, mobil 1 5w-30 since first oil change, oil changed every 10k miles. 160k on engine with zero oil consumption. Last summer doing the the timing belt, had to remove valve cover, totally amazed at the lack of sludge or burnt oil in the valve train area, the entire area was a beautiful golden color. 300k is not going to be an issue here. My modified supra turbo is getting close to 150k, always run with mobil 1 15w-50 w/nippon denso toyota filter original motor and turbo, car is constantly run exteremly hard.

 

[rgv]

recently bought a 92 gmc with a 6.2 naturally aspirated diesel.

has 150,000 miles and oil changed once a year by a local garage. PO was a buddy and sold it to me cheap enough that I wasn't worried about the maintenance.

The engine runs perfect, with no oil burning or smoking, and starts instantly cold or hot, even around freezing

No blow-by, and gets 20-22 mpg in a 3/4 ton 4x4

Truck has had no egr for the last 5 years (I disconnected it for him when it stuck open), and the garage uses Penzzoil 15W40, I'm just at the end of a 1500 mile first ARX application.

I pulled the oil fill tube (can't conveniently pull a valve cover) and it doesn't look sludgy at all.

I'll have to say that the 15W40 seems to be holding up to 13,000 mile intervals better than it should, and yes, it will now get fresh 15W40 Delo every 4000-5000 miles like my other trucks.

 

[PatrickW]

I've got 182,000 miles on my 1982 Mercedes 240D. That's *nothing* for these cars...

I'll attain 150,000 miles on my 2001 VW TDI later this year.

I believe both of these cars will easily exceed 300,000 miles, and that when they eventually are retired it will not be thought failure of the engine.

- Patrick

 

[seldont]

I hope my 1965 Mustang 200ci inline 6 counts. It only has 50,000 miles on a ring/rod bearing/valve seal job. But saw about 250,000 miles on the original engine before tearing down. Rings were stuck and valve seals dried out so oil consumption was high. Ran the first 10 years on straight 30 weight. (was Mom's car and her father did maintenance) I will not mention my 97 F-150 5.4 and 2000 Explorer 5.0 as they have only 135,000 miles each and will not count for a few months. But they do still run great

 

[fuel tanker man]

1993 Ford Escort, 168,000+ miles. Original build on engine. All dino oils.

No specific type or even weight of oil, and certainly for the first 120,000 miles I didn't change the oil regularly enough.

I would actually go for extended drains, just adding a quart of "whatever" for long periods in this car's life. Wolfshead... Citgo... Exxon Superflo... "Sentry" oil (local C-store chain) often got poured in. One time they didn't have anything but straight 30 weight and I needed a quart, so in it went.

I even poured a quart of Slick 50 in it back when I was "unwashed."

I think I had about 155K on it when I found this site, and I began changing the oil more regularly.

For the 90K to 150K mile range, I actually ran mostly 10W40 (horrors, yeah, but check the UOA's here with the good 10W40's--they're all generally good to very good) Pennzoil, at intervals often exceeding 7000 miles.

Yep, it's true...

But she's still running strong. It got to where it was using a quart of oil every 800 to 1000 miles back before you guys turned me on to Delo. I just ran a gallon of Delo in the car last summer and my oil consumption issues went away--even after switching the Delo to 5W30 Motorcraft for the winter.

Dan

 

[wander2039]

184k 89 Corolla 3k Supertech 10w-30/Fram Wal-Mart since she bought it. Cleaner inside than anything i've seen.
172k 91 Festiva 3k 20w50 Castrol GTX/Supertech since 84k. Just started running 10w30. Alot of varnish inside going to run a good 15w-40 next.
167k 91 Festiva 10w-30 Castrol till 82k then Mobil 1/Purolator of all flavors. Runs/sounds 100% better than the other. Clean inside.
Had another festiva up to 180k with castrol gtx 3k oci, s-15 up to 152k with havoline 3k oci. I have to agree 3k dino changes will get to 300k but synthetics will probably last up 500/600k and run alot better in the end.

 

[srivett]

My 1992 non-turbo VW diesel Golf:
396,000 km on origional engine.
Up until 377,000 the origional owner religously changed the oil every 5000km with Castrol or Kendall 15w40 depending on if he did it or a garage did it. The oil filters were usually Knecht. Blowby was getting bad and compression was way below spec when I got the car. Still starts/runs fine and the use of synthetic appears to be fixng the blowby. Burns 1 litre per 7000 km. Engine has had a few head gaskets.

My parents 1997 Toyota RAV-4 4 cylinder:
Serviced by Toyota by the book up until approx 190,000 km. Now has 230,000 km and oil changes are slacking off to 7000 km or so on regular oil of whatever brand I feel like using. Burns 1 litre per 5000km. Engine has never been opened.

Steve

 

[dbf]

1986 Nissan pick up 213,000 miles. Fram filters and 15w40 Delo 400 changed every 3500 to 4000 miles. Temps range from 25 to 112 deg. F.

 

[HerkyJim]

'72 Plymouth Valiant, 318 V-8, 904 Torqueflight trans. 198,000 miles and runs like new. Dad had the oil changed at the corner Shell station about every 3,000 miles or three months. New filter every other time. Probably Shell 10-30 and ???filter. I've had it since 144,000 miles. Drive it daily. Its my only car. Change every 2,000 to 3,000 miles or three months. Use whatever's on sale cheap 10-30, or WallyWorld HD 15-40. Recent case of 12 is Chevron @ $0.59/qt. after rebate (actually $0.71 after sales tax and one first class stamp)

This ain't rocket science--just drive sensibly and have it serviced regularly. My $0.02