Change the break in oil?

[JLTD]

Originally Posted by Trav
I am an early changer, sure the filter will catch the larger particles but it all has to go through the pump before it gets to the filter. I rather get as much junk out as early as possible.

My thought also. Especially since UOAs on new engines show a bunch of wear metals.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

There's plenty of proof that waiting at least 3K can / will allow your engine to still reach 300K..
There's plenty of proof that oil pumps survive that long too.

Swapped-out my factory-fill @ 3K yesterday. The used oil had barely turned black and looked perfect. No smell - no streaks - no metal shreds that can ruin oil pumps.....etc....and could have ran that factory-fill another 2K and left the used oil filter on.

I wasted a few dollars. But I wasted only pennies, compared to some here that change real early and dump dollars into recycling drums with perfectly fine oil..

....or perhaps we should all buy Korean 2.4 GDI Thetta engines that are rated one of the Top-10 worst engines. Yet that oil yesterday looked bettr than the 3K oil changes I've done to the past eight new vehicles I purchased.

Yep, now I'm doomed and my engine will fall apart sooner.....lol.

 

[wtd]

Originally Posted by Or
Originally Posted by wtd
I still have my last two new vehicles I bought and on my 98 Chevy K1500 with the 5.7L, I did the whole recommended break-in procedure for the first 500 miles and changed the oil early. This truck has always used oil, about a 1/2- 1qrt every 3,000 miles depending on what oil I've used. I also did this same procedure on my prior new truck, a 93 S-10 4x4 with the 4.3L and it used about the same amount of oil too.

On my Mustang, I broke it in with several hard pulls and then let it coast back down under engine braking and I didn't change the oil until it was a year old and had 4,600 miles on it and this car uses no noticeable oil during oil changes which is anywhere from 4,000-7,200 miles.

Both vehicles run fine. I've not seen any evidence that changing oil early extends engine life so I quit doing it.



You are equating oil use and engine life, which are not the same. Also, the oil use you describe is about the minimum I've seen on average for those generation GM's.

Genuine studies of fleet vehicles over long periods of time have correlated early changes with longer engine life; no guesswork, faith, or small sample size.

Most fleet vehicles are also on the go a lot more than the average vehicle so there are not a lot of cold starts so I don't think you can base fleet use on the average owner. I also highly doubt most fleet use vehicles are getting early oil changes which would be a waste of money. Do you have links to these studies that you reference?

My point in my example is that I have not seen any benefit of changing the oil early in the vehicles that I did so or changing it at a relatively low 3,000 mile intervals. The engine in the truck still has the common piston slap when it's cold. I assume the engine is healthy anyway but who knows.

 

[Patman]

Originally Posted by wtd


My point in my example is that I have not seen any benefit of changing the oil early in the vehicles that I did so or changing it at a relatively low 3,000 mile intervals. The engine in the truck still has the common piston slap when it's cold. I assume the engine is healthy anyway but who knows.


There might not be a benefit, but there certainly wouldn't be a detriment either, so I'd rather err on the side of caution and get the factory fill out of there early. Clean oil is better than dirty oil IMO.

 

[wtd]

Originally Posted by Patman
Originally Posted by wtd


My point in my example is that I have not seen any benefit of changing the oil early in the vehicles that I did so or changing it at a relatively low 3,000 mile intervals. The engine in the truck still has the common piston slap when it's cold. I assume the engine is healthy anyway but who knows.


There might not be a benefit, but there certainly wouldn't be a detriment either, so I'd rather err on the side of caution and get the factory fill out of there early. Clean oil is better than dirty oil IMO.

I'm sure there is no detriment to changing the oil early. My Mustang GT shows no sign of ill effects from waiting one year and 4,600 miles before changing the original fill oil.

If people want to change oil early, by all means do it. It's their money and vehicle. The reality is that the engine is probably the last part of the car that is going to break down due to an oil related issue. The rest of the vehicle will probably fall apart first and is what will be the reason why it's either sold or taken to the junkyard.