How long can oil stay in the engine despite miles?

[eddiedz]

i have a pretty good question and im not sure if it was ever answered or asked(im sure it was asked millions of times) but i cant seem to search for any results on here..

i basically want to know what is the longest you should keep oil in your engine despite mileage.. 6 months? 12 months? 24 months? .. of course the engine will be running each day but very few miles will be put into it, roughly about 300 miles or less will be put into the engine per month, which adds up to in 6 months a total of only about 1800 miles. so bacially a OCI based on mileage is not revelant in this case so im wondering in terms of time frame whats the longest you should keep the oil in the vehicle. my vehicle is a 2002 dodge caravan SE 3.3L.

also this would be depending on the oil so i would need a answer for dino oil(like pennzoil) and full synthetic oil (like PP)

thanks oil experts!

 

[mcshooter]

i have a friend who has a 1999 chevy with a 3.8 vr with 130000 miles and using mobil 1 he only changes his oil once a year at christmas time, i quess this is a reminder, he is 65 yrs old and has done this on every car he has owned with no problems, i tho have a 1992 twin turbo stealth and change my oil every 1000 miles with red line.

 

[hate2work]

Originally Posted By: mcshooter
i have a friend who has a 1999 chevy with a 3.8 vr with 130000 miles and using mobil 1 he only changes his oil once a year at christmas time, i quess this is a reminder, he is 65 yrs old and has done this on every car he has owned with no problems, i tho have a 1992 twin turbo stealth and change my oil every 1000 miles with red line.


Wow, every 1000 miles with redline? That's a little overkill, I would think.

Could you send me your old oil? LOL

 

[3putter]

I don't know of any mfg's that don't recommend at least an annual Oil change regardless of miles driven.

 

[FZ1]

1 year. Change every Fall.

 

[Malo83]

On these annual oil changes how many change out the filter at the midway point ???

 

[mcshooter]

it probable is overkill,but the turbos get smoking hot and with over 700 hp i get nervous about the oil

 

[eddiedz]

wow thats alot of horsepower!... so once a year oil change despite mileage.. yea i dont drive very much and i work close.. im going about 400-500 miles per month.. so really in 6 months thats only about 3000 miles which is good for a dino oil but im going to be going PP and i know many uoa's on here have done with this oil over 7,000-8,000 miles!.. thats like a 12 month period for me hahah.. thanks guys.

would there be any benefit to changing the oil every 6 months? like does the quality of the oil slowly age as its kept in the engine longer and longer (despite very low mileage)

 

[dwendt44]

If I were doing a once-a-year OCI, I'd change in the late spring.
The oil would be at it's thickest during the hot summer and would thin/shear as winter approaches.

 

[Eddie]

Once a year with Pennzoil dino

 

[Pesca]

7-8000 miles in severe service on dino? In Canada?

Even me will not try that... and I am lazy for oil changes... In fact, I am just lazy.

I will go with PP once a year.
I thought putting new fresh oil, at its full potential, for winter would be a good idea, but dwentdt44 has a good argument here.
Does an used oil still have its full pumpabilty characteristic at the end of its life or these characteristics degrades as the oil is used?

I am not sure it really matters anyway.

 

[Spector]

Well I have a twin turbo I was changing the oil on once a year (actually the previous owner was using Mobil 1 and it was 23 months since the previous oil change (less then 3000 miles ) when I purchased it years ago and I had a UOA performed, oil was fine. LAst two years I have gone about 15 months, this year it will be closer to 17-18 months, less then 3000 miles and I know the oil is fine, based upon previopus UOA and just looking at it it is fine plus I heat it up every time I start it, at least 10 mile trips. I use Amsoil 10W30.

So, IMO if you heat the engine up most of the time you start it cold in the AM I say at least a year, longer if you can establish some kind of track record. Don't bother with a filtger changes during an OCI, that is useless and waste of time and money.

 

[demarpaint]

I would change the oil just before the winter if I were doing 1 year OCI's. But since I have a warranty to deal with I change in June and toward the end November. I will probably log about 5000-6000 miles/year on this vehicle.

Frank D

 

[Ken2]

Originally Posted By: eddiedz
the engine will be running each day but very few miles will be put into it, roughly about 300 miles or less will be put into the engine per month, which adds up to in 6 months a total of only about 1800 miles.


This is a problem. If the engine isn't run long enough to get the oil fully warmed on most trips, the oil gets contaminated somewhat quickly. With your schedule, I'd do 6 month oil changes with any type of oil. I'd only use syn if you need the cold start advantage.

 

[Gregory]

1 a year anywhere from 3k to 5k. Full Syn.

 

[Saturn_Fan]

Originally Posted By: Ken2
Originally Posted By: eddiedz
the engine will be running each day but very few miles will be put into it, roughly about 300 miles or less will be put into the engine per month, which adds up to in 6 months a total of only about 1800 miles.


This is a problem. If the engine isn't run long enough to get the oil fully warmed on most trips, the oil gets contaminated somewhat quickly. With your schedule, I'd do 6 month oil changes with any type of oil. I'd only use syn if you need the cold start advantage.


+1 A year is a long time for an oil to basically sit there be exposed to temp extremes, humidity/condensation, etc. 6 months is all I'd go with really short trips, etc.

 

[eddiedz]

wow.. alot of different views and opinions on this ... and yes thats the thing.. my driving is somewhat extreme since i work very close, dont drive to much but sometimes take some highway trips of anywhere from 30mins to a mere 7min hwy trip run, alot of stop and go in city driving, and yea its run pretty much each day as i work mon-fri and we use it in the weekend most of the time, but our city is small enough that im not pumping 1000 miles in a month on the vehicle.. i believe i will stick with my original plan.. OCI of 6 months regardless of miles, once before the winter and once before the summer .. and yes i will be using PP full synthetic, in some others eyes this may be like a waste of money. but my van is 6yrs old with over 100k on it so i want to give it plenty of attention as i am intending this van to last me for a long long time (cant afford another vehicle) .. i got a 4yr financing plan on it and im hopeing to have this van for maybe 8more years.. heck at the rate i put miles into it it'll probably go even longer hahaha.. i think im popping like 12,000 kilometers a year which is not even 10,000 miles per year.. i purchase this van in January 2008 with 158,000km and september now i got 166,000km.. like seriously i've only put 8,000km+/- which is only like 5,000miles+/- ...thanks for all the input guys

 

[Mephy]

Originally Posted By: dwendt44
If I were doing a once-a-year OCI, I'd change in the late spring.
The oil would be at it's thickest during the hot summer and would thin/shear as winter approaches.


Not true the oil become more thick for the low temperature and more thin for the high temeperature is like a 5-30 becomes 10-20.

The best time is the fall

 

[Steve S]

Originally Posted By: mcshooter
it probable is overkill,but the turbos get smoking hot and with over 700 hp i get nervous about the oil
Ever do a uoa to see if you are throwing away good oil. What are your oil temps ? How long can you keep your foot into the gas pedal!!! That 700 HP is scarey fast.

 

[eddiedz]

Originally Posted By: Mephy
Originally Posted By: dwendt44
If I were doing a once-a-year OCI, I'd change in the late spring.
The oil would be at it's thickest during the hot summer and would thin/shear as winter approaches.


Not true the oil become more thick for the low temperature and more thin for the high temeperature is like a 5-30 becomes 10-20.

The best time is the fall



thats what i was questioning... i think they had it the opposite LoL