Change oil after 6 months despite low miles?

[Cubey]

I haven't put a great deal of miles on my RV since I changed the oil, maybe 1500mi tops? But it has been over 6 months.

I should probably go ahead and change it, huh? I run the Motorcraft FL-1995 PSD filter with conventional oil. It has Valvoline Premium Blue in it right now.

 

[Macrobb]

I personally think you are fine - I'd change it around 2500 though. So what if it's a few more months?

I know people say that you have to change it every 6 months(or up to a year with synthetic), but I don't think the oil is going to experience *that* much degradation over time with no use.
In a gas engine, perhaps - especially if it's all short drives so you get gasoline and water vapor dilution...

 

[Cubey]

I personally think you are fine - I'd change it around 2500 though. So what if it's a few more months?

I know people say that you have to change it every 6 months(or up to a year with synthetic), but I don't think the oil is going to experience *that* much degradation over time with no use.
In a gas engine, perhaps - especially if it's all short drives so you get gasoline and water vapor dilution...

If I wait until 2500 miles, it might BE a year. It wasn't driven much for 3 months but did get started 1-2 times a week for those 3 months, driven only 1-3 miles total and reparked. (To dump station or grocery store)

I have 3 gallons mismatched brands of oil on hand, 1 gallon each of:

Super Tech 15w40 mixed with 15w40 of something else I can't remember (to consolidate two partial jugs into one)

(Sealed) Motorcraft 15w40 (got it for around $9 on clearance a while ago)

(Sealed) Valvoline Premium Blue 15w40 (I bought an extra in case of excessive oil burning)

So, I only need to buy a new filter right now to change the oil. I carry a big oil drain pan and an oil filter wrench. I can change it parked most anywhere, no raising the front needed. So it might just be a good idea.

No big hurry at this moment, oil on the dipstick doesn't look bad and when I last checked it cold, it was in the safe zone. Yeah, that's not the proper way, but its better than nothing, since I am horrible at remembering to check it 10 mins after shutting it off.

I think in the next month or two might be a good idea. It was changed on February 14 based on the photo I took of the way overused nylon drain bolt washer it had.

 

[CDX825]

Oil doesn't go bad from sitting or because of time. The idea that you need to change your oil every so many months thing is bs. Same goes with changing it every 3000 miles.

 

[FoolhardyIDI]

I change the oil in my truck yearly. As I never hit 5000 miles. The truck is driven as my daily driver and to pull our trailer. On our camping trips that we take 4-5 times a year. It comes to almost 4000 miles a year driven.

 

[Kevin 007]

Yeah its totally fine. Save your money.

 

[Cubey]

Oil doesn't go bad from sitting or because of time. The idea that you need to change your oil every so many months thing is bs. Same goes with changing it every 3000 miles.

The "heavy duty/towing" interval is 2500 according to Ford. I will probably stick to that, or 3,000 max if I can't immediately at 2500 for whatever reason.

 

[nj_m715]

Oil doesn't go bad from sitting or because of time. The idea that you need to change your oil every so many months thing is bs. Same goes with changing it every 3000 miles.

the army almost never changes oil. we draw samples and send them for testing they nearly always test ok. trucks go years on the same oil

 

[79jasper]

the army almost never changes oil. we draw samples and send them for testing they nearly always test ok. trucks go years on the same oil

And get ran harder than most trucks of members here. Lol OTOH, have way better air filtration.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

 

[typ4]

Leave it in, if it reaches 16-18 months inside the mileage interval I would change it if you live in a moist area.

 

[Macrobb]

The "heavy duty/towing" interval is 2500 according to Ford. I will probably stick to that, or 3,000 max if I can't immediately at 2500 for whatever reason.

Yeah, these are *dirty* engines. If you add a tight bypass filter(like an amsoil setup or centrifuge), you can probably extend it... but I've seen too many engines with sludge/crud in them because (evidently) the oil didn't get changed enough. And I can definitely tell in a lifter tick if I extend my interval too much beyond 3k.

 

[Cubey]

Yeah, these are *dirty* engines. If you add a tight bypass filter(like an amsoil setup or centrifuge), you can probably extend it... but I've seen too many engines with sludge/crud in them because (evidently) the oil didn't get changed enough. And I can definitely tell in a lifter tick if I extend my interval too much beyond 3k.

The oil that was in it when I got it was horrid, even for an IDI. It looked chunky. The oil on the dipstick right now is darkened but not dirty looking. My F250's 6.9 NA (with a paper filter) burns much more oil and turns the oil darker, from more blowby I'm guessing.

The old original K&N filter had massive holes when I tried to wash it. It couldn't even be called a filter anymore. Needless to say, I threw it away.

It has a new old stock K&N (what ATS equipped with the 085) that I freshly oiled up with a new K&N cleaning kit before installation.

I also keep a paper filter on hand I bought online because these filters are impossible to buy at retail, it uses a 70s-80s Porsche 911 filter. Only K&N is available at Oreilly for about $100, as I recall. I got the NOS one from ebay for around $30. The paper one doesn't fit the hold down ring as well though, its a bit too big.

 

[BrianX128]

Just went 9000 miles on my 7.3 with my remote mount DBL7405 filter/ B164 bypass filter. Blackstone labs said I was still fine and the filters were doing their job. Could have made 10k but suggested not to push it much further.

 

[The_Josh_Bear]

Just went 9000 miles on my 7.3 with my remote mount DBL7405 filter/ B164 bypass filter. Blackstone labs said I was still fine and the filters were doing their job. Could have made 10k but suggested not to push it much further.

That's fantastic