Been changing oil every 10k. Did this affect my car?

Warren oil

 

Admittedly - I’m a bit out of it on current pricing of oil.

Usually buy up every feb/March when Napa and Advance start with their 5 quart jugs and a filter sale - then adding some additional Rotella jugs with their rebate deal. I buy whatever filters I know I will need for all the stuff I’ve got and then just buy filters for cars as needed using my stockpile of oil. The package deals are really good when you can get a filter for your UTV or tractor - given those filters can easily run $25 on their own from a dealer. I’ve probably got enough filters for my Deere stuff to last the decade now - but the knowledge that I’ll never have to pay their overpriced parts makes it worth it to me.

 

With cartridge change, how much oil for fill up

 

Oil and filter for me has consistently been 8.5qts

 

5000 mile oil changes is fine 10000 is fine just do what you feel is best for you and your needs

 

I wouldn’t just say with complete conviction that 10,000 miles is fine for an oil change interval. If you live in Arizona where it’s regularly over 110 degrees or on the opposite end of the spectrum you live in North Dakota where it regularly gets to -20 in the winter and over 100 in the summer, and most of your trips are not even long enough to get the engine running in closed loop operation, then 10k is definitely not okay. Check your owners manual, see what your driving conditions align with, and adhere to their recommendations.

 

Agreed, I do 5k mile oil changes.

 

Not blasting you at all here, but I find the range of what he makes in this article hilarious. He basically makes between $2.1 - $33.8k per year. Lol. Crazy to see that wide a range

 

That's his estimated monthly earnings. I do agree the range is a wide spread.

 

Everybody seems religious about changing their motor oil (which we should be), but we need to remember the other fluids as well!

The transmission fluid, differential(s) fluid, transfer case fluid (if applicable), brake fluid, power steering fluid, and engine coolant: all are important to the operation and long-life of the truck.

Fluids lose their ideal qualities over time and with use...

ToolCat

 

Absolutely! The brake fluid is always neglected. Should be done every two years.

 

Agreed, especially with it being hygroscopic. One of the most overlooked fluids… until they need to replace an ABS module.

 

same here. 8.5QT

 

Yeah, I was going to mention something here as well. Sure, color doesn't equal lubricity, but color and function are more often connected in engine oil. Not only can the additives be degraded, but black color can be from particulates suspended in the oil. Those particulates may not deteriorate lubricity, but can certainly be damaging to the engine.

Still, I guess the point remains: you can't tell everything that's going on by looking at the color of the oil.

 

Since color has NOTHING to do with the effectiveness of your oil, whether we're talking lubricity or about adequate additive properties, the ONLY sure way to know if your OCI is adequate is with used oil sample analysis. People worry about the "blackness" of their oil for no reason whatsoever. The blackening of the oil has nothing to do with insoluble particulates, and will not cause wear. If your filter is doing its job, the INsolubles are not suspended. They are filtered out of the oil. Every oil sample I've sent in after 25K± miles OCI has shown NO insolubles, and plenty of additives left. As I've done with every oil change since owning this truck, I just sent the sample in for the oil change I did @ 190K on the engine and just under 21K on the oil.

 

Im not trolling or trying to spark debate, it doesn't bother me when you change your oil. I'm just curious what the motivation is to do such extended OCI? Are you driving 20k every 6 months? Is it to save a couple bucks? Cant be to save money since your spending money on oil analysis which is almost the cost of just changing the oil. Is it to save the planet? Just curious what is peoples motivation to go so far out of what the manufacturer recommends for OCI.

 

No, I have plenty of money. I just choose not to waste it. I use an oil that I have used and trusted for over 45 years, and changing it more often is a waste not only of money but especially of my time. I don't have as much time left as some of you youngsters, and besides, it takes me quite a bit longer to do things than it used to. So to me, time is the thing of larger value than money. As I said in my first post in this thread, I don't care what people do, or how often they do it, whatever it might be. I'm simply trying to dispel the myth of "black oil bad!" There's no basis in fact. I suppose some folks would nearly faint if they saw the color of the oil that comes out of my engines at an oil change. And they would be appalled for absolutely no reason.

I also just changed the differential fluid after 37.5K miles. Not sure it was needed, but I'm more concerned about that, since I tow my boat quite often. It came out the same clear golden color as when I put it in. But then, I'm not burning any hydrocarbons in my differential.

 

Gutcha! What ever makes you happy man. I actually enjoy doing maintenance on my truck and will sometimes just do things to have that satisfaction of completing something and since every fluid for this truck is cheap except the transfer case fluid, i replace them all regularly and usually before the recommend intervals. I am 34 though so crawling around under the truck doesn't really bother me, I'm sure in 30 years that might change.

 

That's good. I enjoy working on my vehicles, too. There are very few things that I'm unwilling to tackle when it comes to any maintenance or repair on my belongings. But you bet it'll take you longer in 30 years, or in my case in 42 years beyond your age. But there's still the satisfaction of knowing it was done properly, even if it does take all damned day.

 

Hopefully more then 30. 66 here and still do has much of my own maintenance has I have the tools for. Just replaced the calipers on my boat trailer and my fused foot bothered me for a day. I don't even bother with OTC pain relieve any more. They were long overdue. No matter how much I try to plan the tools I need I am always missing something when I crawl under the trailer.

 

Damn! Ain't it the truth?!?

 

Gotta say, I'm with the 10K side. Drive about 22k a year. 175K so far and it's only been 10k oil changes. But at the end of the day it's what makes you happy!

 

What year is your vehicle? I have looked at the oil at 5K and 10K. Looks the same to me but I understand concerns others have and I am no engineer. I do have the 100K 10 year Toyota warranty!

 

The other spec sheet doesn't.

There is a lot of wrong info on the internet. Doing what I think is best.

Thanks.

 

What other spec sheet? What I posted is from here https://techinfo.toyota.com/ literally the horses mouth, I spent $20 and subscribed so I could download a bunch of service info since I do all my own maintenance. Absolutely do what ever you think is best but don't come to a forum and ask for info and then say its wrong because its on the internet. Here is the actual pdf file from Toyota TIS service, oil specs are on the bottom of the second page.

 

I didn't say it was wrong?

This was posted a few posts before yours:

https://www.engine-specs.net/toyota/3ur-fe.html

It has the first set in common with your post.

 

Gutcha, trust a 3rd party website for your info on oil.

 

As I said, it matches the first set of oil listed on your doc.

Using your logic, I should trust the label on my oil cap that says 0W20. That also matches what my manual says! Both are official!

I'm testing the waters. Engines aren't cheap.

 

I was simply replying to you saying "there is a lot of wrong info on internet" not sure who else that would have been directed towards since I'm the one who posted the info. I only started using heavier oils after extensive research, first seeing that the same 3UR-FE V8 thats available world wide in the Land Cruiser can use many different oils. Then seeing it first hand on the paid Toyota Service portal for the Tundra itself if it was in Mexico, thats when I knew 0w20 was simply an EPA requirement and not an engine requirement do to "tight tolerances" as many like to say. I personally have run 5w30 or 15w40 since I first changed the oil at probably 1000 miles. Now I have close to 40k. If you want to run 0w20 Im sure you'll be just fine as well.

 

Lol, all these folks saying how they know best with zero empirical data to back it up, and know what the Engineer’s intent was / is.

Still waiting to see a SINGLE oil analysis showing that the oil was out of spec enough to be recommended to be changed <10K miles.

Would love to be proved wrong, but still have not seen anything showing otherwise, and certainly in enough cases to warrant it whole sale.

And no, I don’t take a single video of a Corolla engine where we don’t know the history as proof. The tear down of the 1M mile Tundra with 10K OCI should lend much more credibility by that logic.