Change the break in oil?

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Originally Posted by StevieC
I've always changed early and frequently within the first couple thousand miles and then I go by what a UOA tells me is safe for my application. Transmission complete fluid change at 30K miles with filter (if applicable), and the diff at the same time. Power Steering I usually do at 50K miles (complete flush/fill) which is plenty considering that many never see any change their whole life. Brake fluid every 2 years regardless of mileage. Coolant at 1/2 the interval of the manufacturer with a spill/fill of the radiator only.


But on the radiator, you aren't really changing the bulk of the fluid if you only change the overfill tank fluid (assuming I'm reading what you wrote correctly)?
 
Is this a weekly topic? Should be some kind of sticky.

How do I get my VW dealer to change the oil at say 3500mi/ 4 months on my Jetta lease?

Would you let 3.5L sump of 0w20 go over 3K miles on a turbo 1.4L putting out the torque of a Bimmer S50 sixer?

At least its got a BIG German filter with extremely HIGH bypass setting.
 
Originally Posted by WhizkidTN
Originally Posted by StevieC
I've always changed early and frequently within the first couple thousand miles and then I go by what a UOA tells me is safe for my application. Transmission complete fluid change at 30K miles with filter (if applicable), and the diff at the same time. Power Steering I usually do at 50K miles (complete flush/fill) which is plenty considering that many never see any change their whole life. Brake fluid every 2 years regardless of mileage. Coolant at 1/2 the interval of the manufacturer with a spill/fill of the radiator only.


But on the radiator, you aren't really changing the bulk of the fluid if you only change the overfill tank fluid (assuming I'm reading what you wrote correctly)?

If you are draining and refilling the radiator at 1/2 the recommended interval for changing the coolant as listed in the manual, then you always have the coolant in the system at a fresh state all the time.
Doing this twice within the manufacturer interval changes just about all the coolant in the system within the interval required with the added benefit that your coolant is always fresher because 1/2 of it is being changed early.
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I tried to wait on our last 2 new cars, but I couldn't stand it
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So yes, I'm an early changer too!

The 4Runner I changed at 5K (MFG calls for 10K), then again at 10K. Now it gets changed every 10K.

My Silverado, I changed at 2K (MFG calls for OLM, which I'm guessing looks to be about 6K) and then again at 5K. Now I'm just going to follow the OLM. I am going to send this next drain in for a UOA, just to make sure.
 
I go back and forth on this topic. Some of my new cars I have changed out at 1k and some I have let go to 6k. In reality it probably make zero difference as long as the OCI's are done at a reasonable intervals.
 
It's a personal decision and there is no wrong answer. I change the oil out around the 1000 mile mark. The next oil change puts the interval in the schedule the manual or I have decided on.

I drive normally but prudently. The engine is not the only thing breaking in on a new car.
 
Originally Posted by PimTac
The engine is not the only thing breaking in on a new car.


+1 Many people do not take that into consideration. Every joint, bushing, bearing, linkage and every other moving part needs so time to find its sweet spot.
 
I always vote for an early oil change on a new or fresh rebuilt engine. Most manufacturers do not recommend any short services on their new vehicles, but many UOAs have shown metal particle counts are off the chart for new engines. Of course the oil filter will do its job and the engine will not blow up, but IMO that does not mean it is OK to run the same oil for the first full interval.

Here is what most naysayers will argue: nobody can prove any benefit from doing an early oil change on a new or rebuilt engine. If there was a benefit, the manufacturers would recommend it.

But still I think it is a very good idea to do so. Just once. Or twice. I would do one oil & filter change at 1500 miles, another at 5000 miles, then follow the manufacturer's recommendations through the warranty period.
 
People have always been all over the map on this, personally I changed mine at 1,200 miles. Then my next change was at the 4,500 mark...then it was/is 5,000 oci's

I've heard both sides of the argument...you have to leave the break in stuff in there because it has "good stuff" and embeds itself into the lobes. Then I've heard, get the stuff out, you don't want that stuff floating around in there.

Like I said, I felt good at 1,200, but maybe if I could do it again I'd let it go to 3,000

As far as the differentials and transfer case, I just changed those today (27,000 miles). Some metal on the transfer case plug,, difffs looked dark. Probably normal. I'll do them once a year (I drive a lot and it's cheap insurance).
 
Although GM doesn't recommend anything other than a normal OCI for their LTG (2.0T) engines as installed in their cars, they do on their LTG crate engines. I changed out the factory fill at 500 miles after reading this break-in procedure, step 10 specifically. I assume they do steps 1-9 at some point.

[Linked Image]
 
Originally Posted by MolaKule
I am an early changer as well.

My schedule for new vehicles is:

Engine - change oil and filter at 500 miles,

Transmission fluid, Power steering, differential, and Transfer case - lubricants changed at 10,000 miles,

Washer Fluid - every time it rains.
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Power Steering at 10K? Now I know that I don't think I've ever changed the power steering fluid in any of my vehicles.. Luckily enough, now I have one with the electrical system, no fluid to change.

My oil, on the other hand, has been changed more times in my car's short 45K life than my father in law has ever done on all of his other vehicles combined since I married his daughter!
 
2500 mile break in on Acura Honda. Redline oil says not to use their oil for first 2000 miles. I changed mine at 5k no issues. I have some faith in modern engines to let it go a bit just not the full long haul on first oci.
 
Originally Posted by Marco620
I didn't use cruise control or go over 4k rpm for first 500 miles.


I didn't go over 4000 in the Corvette either for the first 500 miles, or go full throttle. That was actually easy to accomplish because during those first 500 miles with the car it was in the cold winter months and full throttle runs on cold roads with the OEM summer tires would not have been a smart idea anyways. As luck would have it, when I hit the 500 mile mark it was about 55 degrees outside.
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I did use the cruise control but it actually worked in my favor because in this car you can set the speed and it'll still allow you to shift gears without turning off the cruise. So I'd go on the highway, set the cruise to 70mph and shift up and down constantly between 6th, 7th and 8th gear. Then every once in a while I'd kick the cruise off and speed up to about 80, then coast down to 55 and back up again.
 
The engine won't know the difference, but if changing the "break in oil" early makes you happy, do it. The oil filter would catch anything that that might possibly be in need of catching in the first few seconds.
 
Originally Posted by DGXR
I always vote for an early oil change on a new or fresh rebuilt engine. Most manufacturers do not recommend any short services on their new vehicles, but many UOAs have shown metal particle counts are off the chart for new engines. Of course the oil filter will do its job and the engine will not blow up, but IMO that does not mean it is OK to run the same oil for the first full interval.

Here is what most naysayers will argue: nobody can prove any benefit from doing an early oil change on a new or rebuilt engine. If there was a benefit, the manufacturers would recommend it.

But still I think it is a very good idea to do so. Just once. Or twice. I would do one oil & filter change at 1500 miles, another at 5000 miles, then follow the manufacturer's recommendations through the warranty period.


FYI: Kia recommends changing the oil at 3K miles on a new car, then every 5K for the 2.0T engine for "normal" service duty.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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