Would you stop changing oil in a engine that burns 1 qt of oil every thousand miles if you wanted that engine to last as much as possible?
Stop changing oil in oil burning engine?
- Thread starter Emanuel
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I did this with a car that burned 1qt every 1k. I would change filter every 5k and then a full oil change at 10k. Realistically it could have gone more like 20k without a change.
That’s more or less what we have done with my grandmother’s Prizm. It has burned excessive amounts of oil from about 70k miles on. It has around 160k now. We do one oil and filter change a year which is usually about 8- 9,000 miles. Super Tech 5w30 or whatever mix and match partial quarts I find in the garage and a cheap filter. It burns through the oil fast enough that we could probably get away with just a filter change.
Originally Posted By: fisher83
That’s more or less what we have done with my grandmother’s Prizm. It has burned excessive amounts of oil from about 70k miles on. It has around 160k now. We do one oil and filter change a year which is usually about 8- 9,000 miles. Super Tech 5w30 or whatever mix and match partial quarts I find in the garage and a cheap filter. It burns through the oil fast enough that we could probably get away with just a filter change.
Was just going to say this about my old Corolla. The early 1zz engines ate oil so fast it wasn't worth it to change. My 99 Corolla was about 1qt per 1k and all I did was change the filter every 5k. It pretty much got an oil change every 5k anyways based on that consumption.
That’s more or less what we have done with my grandmother’s Prizm. It has burned excessive amounts of oil from about 70k miles on. It has around 160k now. We do one oil and filter change a year which is usually about 8- 9,000 miles. Super Tech 5w30 or whatever mix and match partial quarts I find in the garage and a cheap filter. It burns through the oil fast enough that we could probably get away with just a filter change.
Was just going to say this about my old Corolla. The early 1zz engines ate oil so fast it wasn't worth it to change. My 99 Corolla was about 1qt per 1k and all I did was change the filter every 5k. It pretty much got an oil change every 5k anyways based on that consumption.
Use a Fram Ultra or equiv (not sure what you can get out there) and go 10k miles or more. The new oil additions will keep the detergency up and engine clean.
What about those cars I see on the freeway that are burning so much oil that it looks like a blue fog has rolled in in the middle of August? I mean they literally block your view if you get in the thick of it. How much oil are they burning?
Depending on how much you care about the car, if you plan on fixing it, et. consider changing the filter once or twice a year. Base the filter change on the filter you buy and the miles you drive.
Originally Posted By: Emanuel
Would you stop changing oil in a engine that burns 1 qt of oil every thousand miles if you wanted that engine to last as much as possible?
Just keep topping off the oil.
Would you stop changing oil in a engine that burns 1 qt of oil every thousand miles if you wanted that engine to last as much as possible?
Just keep topping off the oil.
I purchased a nice used Suzuki Swift 1.3L that I later discovered consumed a lot of oil. I switched to a higher viscosity synthetic and it nearly solved the problem. At the time, I used the highest viscosity flavor of Castrol Syntec I could find, which was a something w-50, then migrated over to M1, 15W-50. Problem solved.
It depends how much it consumes! you can calculate it. If it goes thru entire sump in 5k miles or so no need to change. But as soon as you find out it starts using oil I would change the oil brand and type(HM?) until I find the one that is used less and stick to it by topping it off.
I really care about the car, I care about it a lot, but based on the consumption I am replacing the 3.7 qts oil capacity every 4000 miles. My plan is to do 3k filter change intervals and drain the sump every 6k miles.
Originally Posted By: eljefino
There's junk in the bottom of the sump that'd be nice to drain annually.
I agree with eljefino, if you drive less then 12k miles per year, I would definitely drain the entire sump once a year to flush the system.
I personally think the thin oil particles burn off, leaving behind the thicker bits. Over time, it accumulates and you end up with a thicker viscosity. Or worse yet, you end up with a messed up oil chemestry regardless of the top off oil.
If it's that much of a water and you'll gladly junk it once she blows, sure, screw changing the oil. But if it's a good car with a oil burner of an engine, I'd personally try to experiment with different oils / additives to see if you can lessen the burn off and keep the engine spinning for many years to come.
There's junk in the bottom of the sump that'd be nice to drain annually.
I agree with eljefino, if you drive less then 12k miles per year, I would definitely drain the entire sump once a year to flush the system.
I personally think the thin oil particles burn off, leaving behind the thicker bits. Over time, it accumulates and you end up with a thicker viscosity. Or worse yet, you end up with a messed up oil chemestry regardless of the top off oil.
If it's that much of a water and you'll gladly junk it once she blows, sure, screw changing the oil. But if it's a good car with a oil burner of an engine, I'd personally try to experiment with different oils / additives to see if you can lessen the burn off and keep the engine spinning for many years to come.
You're not replacing it fully because engine oil has many ingredients and they don't all burn off at the same rate. The lighter stuff burns first. The heavier stuff will accumulate (to a point), along with combustion byproducts including acids. If you never did a complete oil change, you'd always have a fraction of oil in there that was many thousands of miles old.
My car burns up to 1 qt/1000 miles, depending how I drive. I still changed it every 5k and am thinking of shortening that interval.
My last car burned 1 qt every 600-1600 miles, depending on a lot of variables. Some OCIs were longer than others, but I was monitoring things with oil analysis and never pushed the OCI too far.
For a 3.7k sump, a 6k OCI seems reasonable.
My car burns up to 1 qt/1000 miles, depending how I drive. I still changed it every 5k and am thinking of shortening that interval.
My last car burned 1 qt every 600-1600 miles, depending on a lot of variables. Some OCIs were longer than others, but I was monitoring things with oil analysis and never pushed the OCI too far.
For a 3.7k sump, a 6k OCI seems reasonable.
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
What about those cars I see on the freeway that are burning so much oil that it looks like a blue fog has rolled in in the middle of August? I mean they literally block your view if you get in the thick of it. How much oil are they burning?
1 quart every 25-50 miles. I owned one that bad once.
What about those cars I see on the freeway that are burning so much oil that it looks like a blue fog has rolled in in the middle of August? I mean they literally block your view if you get in the thick of it. How much oil are they burning?
1 quart every 25-50 miles. I owned one that bad once.
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