Really need to start changing at 5k instead of 10 ?
(Oil maintenance light does illuminate at 5,000!)
Thank you.
Robert’s OCD oil change: Asoon as arriving home, drive up on ramps andrain oil while hot.
Thoroughly clean oil canister with toilet paper, put on new O-ring, insert Fram filter element, lubricate O-ring, fill canister with oil and screw on.
Clean oil plug and lubricate ready to screw on.
Fill two 5-quart oil containers with 3 quarts of 0W-20 full synthetic Walmart Supertech oil ready to pour in at a moment’s notice.
Allow old oil drip out over night.
(Naturally, during a recent oil change, a hospital called for an emergentransport at 0-dark-thirty.
I screwed the oil plug on and emptied both containers into thengine and departed looking athe driveway for oileakage as I backed out.)
I do not understand the logic behind cleaning with toilet paper.
The rest of your method I do not have a problem with, but think it is unnecessary. You could be even more OCD: drain oil, reinstall drain plug, add a quart of fresh oil, the remove drain plug to flush out any remaining dirty oil.
Me? I no longer do my own changes except on my lawnmower.
Just not worth the hassle to me. Now I use my dealership, they drop me off at home, pick me me up when it is done.
Truck with non-turbo V8 gets changed at 20% oil life remaining. Turbocharged car gets change at 5,000.
Out of curiosity, checked the oil change “menu” at local big box store, my dealership charges less for the oil change, provides checklist of components checked, I.e. brakes, coolant level, tires, etc. I still check my oil level, along with other fluid levels at least every two weeks.
Toilet paper is great at absorbing oil and getting everything very clean.
I have observed how dealerships and oil change places efficiently doil changes without cleaning anything.
Themergencyehicle is on call 24/7 so I can’t leave it.
Before I remove the oil plug, I measure out 6-quarts and haveverything athe ready should a call come in. (Emergency transports have come in just after I startedraining the oil.)
To make listening to CarTalk on NPR less a waste of time, I would do vehicle/fluids/tire checks while listening to Tom and Ray. Miss them.
What about the ~1qt of old oil left behind in the oil galleries, pockets, etc.?
Draining another cup of oil overnight won’t matter much.
Additives in the oil do far more cleaning than toilet paper ever could.
I use the toilet paper to clean the canister, oil plug, dipstick and oil filler cap and openings.
Sorry if I caused the idea of using ito sop up oil.
Can’t do anything about oil pooling in thengine other than letting oil drain overnight.
A while back someone posted that it’s actually a tire rotation reminder. Frankly I don’t know but I use it as an oil change reminder for my 2009 Corolla anyway. And yes, that’s using synthetic oil. Newer vehicles may require less frequent oil changes but personally I’d stick with 5k no matter what model I was driving.
Except you might get a callout from work at anytime forcing you to complete the job before you go as you post. Lots of opportunities to screw this up when you are in a hurry.
There is no reward to this and lots of risk.
Considering how much highway you drive, stretching that change to 7K would not be a problem. But oil is cheap and engines are not. Your choice.
Mom’s '10 Prius is on a 6K oil change interval which ends up being every 9mo roughly, same shop for almost 30yrs with the same interval as the previous car.
I get my oil changed every 6 months or 6000 miles, whichever comes first. I don’t pay attention to the oil or service indicators. Simple and works for me.
I’ve never had any engine problems in any of my cars. Your mileage may vary.
When I traded my Buick with 520,000 miles, the salesman asked me how often I changed oil. I told him 3000 miles and he slapped his knee and said I knew it. Still didn’t use oil.
It takes me less than 30 minutes to do and I’m not about to put on old clothes and then repeat the same thing the next morning. I let it drain while I get the oil and filter ready and record the maintenance. Works fine. Multi tasking.
Sounds like a pretty good oil change routine there @Robert-Gift . I typically change at 5K*, agree that 10K is too long for typical car use. My change routine differs from yours, but just a little. I find engine is too hot if I start the oil change immediately after arriving home from long drive. I start w/cold engine, and idle a while to warm it up enough oil is thinner, but not so hot engine parts are burning me. I think letting it drip drain overnight is good idea, but worry I’ll forget and drive w/no oil. If I decide to adopt that routine I’ll place a “no oil” reminder on the steering wheel. To make re-filling easier, I use a discarded plastic mouthwash bottle, cut the top off to use it as an oil funnel, perfect fit, threads right in to oil filler opening, sturdy hold. I drain old oil into plastic garbage bag lined drain pan, then pour used oil from drain pan into oil-recycle container, old filter then goes into pan liner along with funnel, toss it all in the trash. Left with nothing other than clean drain pan.
Actually I change by the oil color. Starts nearly clear, then a little opaque, then a little brown, then darker brown, then nearly black. I change when it appears darker brown.
At 0330, must becareful that I do not pour in the pre-measured oil before screwing on the oil plug.
With everything athe ready, takes only a couple of minutes. Fortunately usually arrive athe blood center just before the blood is ready to go.
