Can Oil be changed too much?

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Hi
Further to my thread about my OM642 I have the following question please.
I travel about 6000 miles a year. A lot of that mileage is stop start and short journeys where the Engine barely gets up to operating temperature. I understand this type of driving to be hard on Oils.
Generally I change my Oil at 6 month intervals so it will have been in the Engine for around 3000 miles or so.
Can changing the Oil at these intervals do more harm than good? In other words can you change your Oil too much apart from damaging your Wallet paying for the changes?
Many thanks.
Tikka.
 
It should be fine. The impact on your wallet would depend on the oil you use. For that kind of oci a conventional or a synthetic blend oil would be just fine. No need for higher priced synthetics imo.


Edit to add: With that kind of mileage you could change your filter just once a year. Something to ponder.
 
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I thought there was a study / paper done by Ford that showed higher wear just after an oil change compared to after the oil has been in use for a while.

If I am remembering correctly, then it's possible that too frequent of oil changes can lead to higher wear due to the higher than typical wear for some period after the oil change.

However, I still believe the rest of the car will wear out long before the engine does in most cases.
 
What oil are you using Tikka?

That oil isn't being changed too much. My wife's civic is usually a short tripper most times. It is stored in a Garage so usually winter starts aren't that bad on it. I normally use Full synthetic in the car.
 
I read somewhere on here that a member changes the oil filter AFTER an oil change (say a hundred miles of so) because it’s better for wear. Any truth to that? I’d be afraid of forgetting!
 
3000 miles every 6 month OCI for a short tripper in cooler weather is not too often. Some of those oil studies suggest that that some of the protective chemical barriers are stripped down to a degree in the first 1,000 miles or so following an oil change. The real question is 'how much' and if such an amount leads to any significant wear increase over the life of the vehicle (ie 150K-300K miles).

With that kind of very low annual mileage, maybe too often is slightly more detrimental. But would you see the difference by 100,000 miles? 200K miles? Then again most oil companies and car manufacturers would probably recommend changing oil at least every year regardless of how low the miles are.

I think the notion of letting some old oil via the filter stay in the system after an OCI is part of this same 'logic' to enable the protective chemical layers better resist the attack of the new oil. As far as the accuracy of such...no clue. But the topic has been discussed many times before.
 
Yes it sure can be changed too often. Some of the additives that are quickly burned off after new oil is put in the engine can be harmful to the catalytic converter. Which isn't cheap to replace. Change when the manufacturer says to.
 
Well, it's proven that for example oil filters work best once they have been on the engine for a while, it's also known that engine wear is highest right after an oil change and steadily goes down after that ( given reasonable intervals ofcourse )
This was found out by carrying out a study on large fleets of cars where the oil was changed at a few different intervals and wear results were compared.
So in a way, yes
 
Originally Posted By: FermeLaPorte
Never. It's better to change it every time is needed than to be a cheapsteak weirdo who lets the oil go thru more than 5,000 miles.

I let conventional go 6000 miles, *gasp*.
Oh and have never experienced engine wear issues.
 
Response of the day winner goes to:

rooflessVW
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Well done.
 
I change oil and filter every six months even though we only drive less than five thousand miles a year. Don't worry about it. It is what some consider wasteful but that isn't a mortal sin.
 
Cheapsteak is the steak on sale right now at Dollar Tree
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And seriously there is steak on sale the at Dollar Tree...
 
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I guess I am a weirdo. I hate cheap steak.
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Edit: oh I think bbhero ninjaed me
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Originally Posted By: 1JZ_E46
I read somewhere on here that a member changes the oil filter AFTER an oil change (say a hundred miles of so) because it’s better for wear. Any truth to that? I’d be afraid of forgetting!


Originally Posted By: SatinSilver
Yes it sure can be changed too often. Some of the additives that are quickly burned off after new oil is put in the engine can be harmful to the catalytic converter. Which isn't cheap to replace. Change when the manufacturer says to.


And NEVER change your oil on the second Wednesday of the month, before 1:00 PM. This will cause disruptive functioning of the electrons in the oil molecules, due to gravitational quantification. Not to mention if you do it during leap year it will turn into concrete! I don't know if you have priced getting an oil pan jack hammered recently, but I can assure you it isn't cheap!
 
I just follow the owner's manual which is 6-months/3,750 miles since it is under warranty. I used to change the oil on a short tripping 2001 Lexus RX300 every 1.5 years/5K miles. Used synthetic oil and oversized filter. I do not think there is a one answer that works for everyone.

As for as being cheap my last oil change total cost was $2.69 which included installing a new EZ Oil change valve. The valve came from credit received on Amazon after I returned a birthday present someone did not want. The oil was free from Wal-Mart since they messed up the order. I had a $10 off coupon for 4 OEM filters that were $5 each before discount.
 
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