Justifying my 3 to 5K OCI

[grm386wa]

Maybe Im just particular, but I actually enjoy getting under the car every 3 to 5K miles and seeing whats going on.

It just seems to me that the guy doing 5K OCI vs the guy doing 10K OCI is going to catch things a little quicker.

Perhaps I don't even do it for the oil. I just think getting under the hood, checking things out, sucking out a quart or two of PS fluid, syphoning out a few quarts of tranny fluid, shaking the PCV valve, popping out the air filter, and checking the tire pressure, is reason enough. Ive already got to jack the car up, get out the oil pan, get out the tool box, and put on some gloves and grubby clothes, I might as well check other things.

To me, its not about the oil per se. Keeping myself in this 3 to 5K OCI "mindset" is the only thing that gets me under the hood.

Anyone else feel this way?

 

[Ramblin Fever]

quote:

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Originally posted by grm386wa:
Anyone else feel this way?

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Guilty!

In 10k miles, something simple could easily go-amiss and be a major repair; i.e you could burn a transmission, if it has a minor leak that doesn't hit the ground, and would otherwise go ignored. A tiny crack in a coolant hose, can become a major issue/expense if not caught in time.

I too don't just use that time to change the oil, I look at everything

 

[grm386wa]

Exactly. Its like, if I didn't have this 3-5K mentality, Id likely neglect other service intervals.
I've got a 97 Ford Taurus with 109K and Im a 6'4" 250lbs man. I can't get under the car without jacking it up. So, no matter WHAT Im going under the car, I might as well change the oil. For $10 or so, there's no way anyone could say I'm just pssssing money away.
My 3 to 5K intervals mean Im under the car about every 2 months or so. With a higher mileage car, I think its necessary.

 

[Black Thunder]

you'd be surprised with all the neglect of vehicle thats come in every 3,000 miles for an oil change.

tires running at 10 to 15 psi!

 

[grm386wa]

Perhaps thats why manufacturers started using the 3K OCIs.
Even if the person didn't change their own oil, at least they were possibly having it done at a quick lube. Even at that, at least with most "basic services" at a quick lube, they check the tire pressure, air filter...etc.
Maybe it wasn't the owner crawling up and under the car, but at least someone was.

If you polled 1000 people today, and asked them how ofter they were SUPPOSED to change their oil, most would say every 3K miles.

My fear is that when we get those same people to say 10K unanimously, that other maintenance is going to be neglected and the 10K OCI is going to end up costing more $$ in the long run than the 3 - 5K OCI

 

[hominid7]

Guilty as charged..... I only maintain one car, so it gets all of my automotive attention

Changing the oil, belts, hoses, fuel filters, cleaning the intake, changing the brakes, changing the spark plugs are all things i can do myself. I save time, and it keeps me out of trouble.

Idle hands and all.....

Pssst--Don't tell anyone here, but 3000 is the longest i've ever let my oil go! It usually only sees 2000-2500. I do lots of short trips, and also do some spirited driving, so that's how i justify it. Or at least that's what i tell myself!

 

[ex_MGB]

If you were maintaining six vehicles how would you feel...

 

[michaelc80]

I can still put my vehicles on the lift and inspect them every 3K miles if I choose to without changing the oil.

 

[toocrazy2yoo]

SIX?

Well, if this Havoline is going to fill my PCV catch tank every 1500 miles, I'm going back to 7500 mile OCI with syn. That aside, I'm not afraid of the longer OCI costing me a look around the car, though. EVERY fillup, I raise the hood, check the oil, peek at the belts, the coolant puke-tank, the levels in the slave reservoirs for the brakes and clutch. The air filter doesn't need to be opened up every OCI anyway. The tires I check every month.

It was a routine I followed on the last car and it got me to 268,000 miles, so how could it miss, right? People are slobs in general, most of them don't keep their cars long enough for their slobbery to come back to bite them, and I suppose the trick when buying a used car is to figure out in advance if your intended purchase was owned by one of these mechanical miscreants..

I have a feeling no one here is guilty. BITOG should have its very own used car for sale forum.

Where else would you have a fleet so consistently and completely maintained?

 

[Cutehumor]

I maintain four vehicles. with longer OCI, that is one less thing to worry about mainintaing. I check the other stuff.

 

[Thatwouldbegreat]

I use 7K to 10K OCI's.

I take the position that I have time to inspect other thing or siphon out PS or brake fluid etc, becuase I don't have to change oil on 8 vehicles every 3K.

 

[Ray H]

quote:

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Originally posted by toocrazy2yoo:
EVERY fillup, I raise the hood, check the oil, peek at the belts, the coolant puke-tank, the levels in the slave reservoirs for the brakes and clutch.

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No argument there. Curiously, people on the Altima forum over at Edmunds.com are going ballistic over Nissan's recent letters advising owners to check, or bring their cars in for a check, of the oil level every 700 miles until a fix can be established for the 2.5L I4 engines' oil thirst. Their reasoning? Boils down to the generic, "I didn't buy a new car just to have to check the oil level every other gas fill!", and, "It's a new car, so I shouldn't have to check its oil level between 7,500 mile oil changes!" Amazingly, many are rejecting Nissan's offer of a new engine - they want another new car instead. Obviously, there's no reasoning with these morons. (Did some terrorist organization recently pollute our drinking water supplies with "stupid pills" or something? Funny, it didn't affect me - leave it alone, guys.)

 

[Bullet]

I'm under the hood so much and know my truck so much, most of the time when something goes wrong I know what the problem is before opening the hood/crawling under to see whats wrong.

 

[ekpolk]

quote:

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Originally posted by michaelc80:
I can still put my vehicles on the lift and inspect them every 3K miles if I choose to without changing the oil.

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Bingo!!!

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quote:

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Originally posted by grm386wa:
Exactly. Its like, if I didn't have this 3-5K mentality, Id likely neglect other service intervals.
I've got a 97 Ford Taurus with 109K and Im a 6'4" 250lbs man. I can't get under the car without jacking it up. So, no matter WHAT Im going under the car, I might as well change the oil. For $10 or so, there's no way anyone could say I'm just pssssing money away.
(...snip...)

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Hey, it's a free country so be happy and change your oil every 25 miles if that's what floats your boat. But your "justification" does not, IMO, pass the rationality test. First, I've done UOA on both the cars I care for, so I know when the oil needs to be done, as opposed to just guessing, and guessing short. Second, I'm disciplined enough that I don't need an artificial incentive to check and care for other maintenance items. Third, if your UOAs are anywhere close to what mine are, you are indeed "pssssing away" money by changing that often. Fourth, virtually all but the skinniest of wraiths can't get under a car today without jacking -- I can't and I'm 6' and 200 lbs -- so we're all going to have to raise the car to perform service, whatever that service may be. Lifting and blocking ain't that big a deal. When I do it, I'm going to perform those things that need to be done -- and not bother with those that don't.

Again, I hope I don't sound harsh, and if you just want to do it this often, that's fine, it's your car, money, time, etc. If you look at objective fact, however, you have to face the reality that for the vast majority of vehicles, short OCIs are just not needed, and are actually done to satisfy emotional needs or opinions of fact that were formed decades ago, and which have not advanced with time and technology.

 

[Auto-Union]

TIME OCIs are best. I do 4 months on a coupla cars, my wife's CRV gets 6 month/8000 miles OCI. Pick the time interval you WANT and find an oil that suits the miles driven and conditions. Cost/effectiveness of synth v dino and all is not the way to go. Just consider how often you want to change and go from there. My RSX goes 2500 mi a month, 3k dino changes would be insane. I don't think I can go 6 months/15k safely. Changing every 4 months should be THE standard, and that works for me as I have a lot of M1 here and 10k is as far as I'm willing to go. Yep, I think 4 months should be the "standard" OCI and deviate from that in extreme cases. Dec-Apr-Aug

 

[simple_gifts]

I'm under the hood every few weeks, adding my LC on the way to my 10K change....

 

[grm386wa]

(...snip...)[/qb][/QUOTE]Hey, it's a free country so be happy and change your oil every 25 miles if that's what floats your boat. But your "justification" does not, IMO, pass the rationality test. First, I've done UOA on both the cars I care for, so I know when the oil needs to be done, as opposed to just guessing, and guessing short. Second, I'm disciplined enough that I don't need an artificial incentive to check and care for other maintenance items. Third, if your UOAs are anywhere close to what mine are, you are indeed "pssssing away" money by changing that often. Fourth, virtually all but the skinniest of wraiths can't get under a car today without jacking -- I can't and I'm 6' and 200 lbs -- so we're all going to have to raise the car to perform service, whatever that service may be. Lifting and blocking ain't that big a deal. When I do it, I'm going to perform those things that need to be done -- and not bother with those that don't.

Again, I hope I don't sound harsh, and if you just want to do it this often, that's fine, it's your car, money, time, etc. If you look at objective fact, however, you have to face the reality that for the vast majority of vehicles, short OCIs are just not needed, and are actually done to satisfy emotional needs or opinions of fact that were formed decades ago, and which have not advanced with time and technology.

[/QB][/QUOTE]

I didn't mean to ruffle any feathers here, and the intention of my post was not to poke fun or second guess the longer OCI guys.
Perhaps I am one of those that needs the 3 - 5K "reminder" to keep me under the hood and checking those things that needs checked. But for me, and my "justifying my 3 to 5K OCI", its a necessary event. Again, for $10, if I'm pssssing away $30 a year, then big deal. Thats cheaper than a UOA to tell me I can go longer.

Again, the post wasn't an attack on anyone, just stating my reasonings.

 

[01rangerxl]

My truck is my only vehicle, and I need it to last me a while. That is how I justify short OCIs. I have four years of college ahead of me and I want to do everything I can to avoid major repairs during that time. $12 every three months is cheap insurance IMO.

 

[edwardh1]

toyota says 6 mo or 5000 miles on their new cars (since 04)

 

[Pablo]

Don't need to change the oil to check all the other maintenance stuff. I don't get the connection. I guess I like my 10K/1 year or OLM oil changes to be more pure.