The Great Maintenance Interval Debate….

[SwampCat]

So my 6.4L Maintenance Interval is, by the book, 7500 miles. What say ye across the forums regarding how soon we really need to perform services? 7,500 does seem to be a relatively long time between oil changes.

 

[mountainears]

If I could get a penny for the number of threads on this topic across all the automotive forums on the internet….

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

When the oil change indicator says to change it you change it…. 7500 miles is not that long for a modern engine with synthetic oils

 

[UglyViking]

It's crazy to me that people will constantly have debates about the frequency of oil changes, the best oil brand and weight to use, etc. and yet no one ever puts the same sort of focus into their diff, transfer case, transmissions, power steering, coolant, etc.

Why is it that all other systems are followed "by the book" and yet engine oil, which arguably has had the most focus and advancements by the industry and needs the least discussion, gets all the focus?

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

It's crazy to me that people will constantly have debates about the frequency of oil changes, the best oil brand and weight to use, etc. and yet no one ever puts the same sort of focus into their diff, transfer case, transmissions, power steering, coolant, etc.

Why is it that all other systems are followed "by the book" and yet engine oil, which arguably has had the most focus and advancements by the industry and needs the least discussion, gets all the focus?

Since the engine is the most expensive thing they would tend to worry about it more.

 

[dieselscout80]

I'm more of a 5K mile interval guy and the oil life monitor said I had about 34% of oil life remaining this last time IIRC.

I bought it with just over 63K miles on it in 2022 and now I'm not quire to 80K miles yet and I have already changed my coolant. The drivetrain (axles, transmission & transfercase) lubricant changes are getting ready to happen too.

 

[Enve46]

It's crazy to me that people will constantly have debates about the frequency of oil changes, the best oil brand and weight to use, etc. and yet no one ever puts the same sort of focus into their diff, transfer case, transmissions, power steering, coolant, etc.

Why is it that all other systems are followed "by the book" and yet engine oil, which arguably has had the most focus and advancements by the industry and needs the least discussion, gets all the focus?

This! My PXL I just picked up used the brake fluid is black as well as steering fluid. It seems these are very easily overlooked maintenance items that are SUPER easy to change. Hell, even just exchanging the fluid in the resi is better than nothing at all and can be done in less than 5 mins combined. I will admit I despise diff fluid changes simply cause in my Jeep days I was doing it often due to my wheeling habits, but is an easy 20-30 min job.

That said, I understand why people have questions on OCI. It’s engrained into us that oil is 3-5k miles for so long it’s hard to grasp 7500+ intervals. Use, to me, dictates changes more so than length or miles but I realize thats not relatively accurate in terms of need. I tend to drive harder so similar to people pulling I prefer shorter intervals. Plus city driving there’s more risk of fuel dilution.

 

[UglyViking]

Since the engine is the most expensive thing they would tend to worry about it more.

Yeah, but generally speaking, how often is it that engines just die? It's almost always everything else around the vehicle that goes bad long before the engine starts having issues. And, again generally, the guys that are hyper-fixated on oil are also not the ones that will run them into the ground.

When was the last time you heard of an engine dying because someone changed the oil per the spec in the book? I am letting myself get sucked into this convo, so I'm gonna step back because there is absolutely no point to these discussions. Oil convos are as bad as politics or religion.

 

[buzzuti]

@UglyViking is absolutely correct, politics, religion, GVWR, and oil changes....

But to throw in an option for folks...
One option is to go synthetic, and use Blackstone Labs (https://www.blackstone-labs.com/) to have oil tested regularly.
Their report will tell you all kinds of things about your engine, and when you should change the oil as well.

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

Yeah, but generally speaking, how often is it that engines just die? It's almost always everything else around the vehicle that goes bad long before the engine starts having issues. And, again generally, the guys that are hyper-fixated on oil are also not the ones that will run them into the ground.

When was the last time you heard of an engine dying because someone changed the oil per the spec in the book? I am letting myself get sucked into this convo, so I'm gonna step back because there is absolutely no point to these discussions. Oil convos are as bad as politics or religion.

Im not disagreeing im just saying why they may do that i keep my trucks i keep a long time usually. I have never had an issue buying good name brand oils and running them longer than OEM intervals.

 

[Jimmy07]

So my 6.4L Maintenance Interval is, by the book, 7500 miles. What say ye across the forums regarding how soon we really need to perform services? 7,500 does seem to be a relatively long time between oil changes.

No way I go 7500 miles for the oil change.


I go the 8000 miles recommended in the owner’s manual.

 

[Brutal_HO]

No way I go 7500 miles for the oil change.


I go the 8000 miles recommended in the owner’s manual.

Newest online version?

LOL

 

[Brutal_HO]

Glad I don't have this mileage problem and just go by time (just for warranty sakes).

 

[Riccochet]

If you have doubts that your oil is no longer performing you can send a sample to Blackstone. You'd be surprised just how good your oil still is at 7500-8000 miles. I believe they set the intervals lower than needed for people that wait 1000-3000 miles after it hits 0% so there won't be any damage due to it.

 

[AH64ID]

7,500 or even 8,000 still seems short to me.

The only time I go that short, or shorter, is when the engine is new or the rig doesn’t get that many miles in 12 months. Even all my older rigs have always been on 12 month cycles, 5K to 12K miles per OCI.

I quit doing UOA after establishing the oils are good for 12 months. That’s also with quality synthetics, and not what’s on sale at Walmart.