Longhorncutlass

I have a 1987 Cutlass 5.0 V8 that I drive about 60 miles once per month. Haven't changed the oil in two or three years since I only drive it that amount. Other than that, it sits in the garage.


Do I need to change the oil based on the amount of time it's been since the last change or can I wait till I have put 4000 miles on that oil before changing it?


Engine runs very well.

BlackGold

First, I hope that 60 miles per month occurs in just 1 - 3 sessions, and that each session is at least 20 miles and includes some highway driving. This gives the engine enough operating time at normal temps to lubricate itself and burn off condensation and other nasties. If this is not true (if you make lots of short trips), then change your driving habits.

But even if you do put most of the miles on at cruise, I recommend changing the oil at least once a year.

lshlsh2

Me I change the oil once a year about 1500-2000 miles. I do it in the spring as part of getting ready for the new year. I don't know if it is necessary or not but gives me piece of mind.

Larry

citcapp

Once a year here in the spring as well.

Longhorncutlass

Thank you all for the replies. And yes, during that once a month drive is when all of the 60 miles are put on the car. I drive it out the highway for 30 miles to a small town and then back home 30 miles so all the fluids have a chance to warm up. The car has 60,750 miles on it.

RetroRanger

once a year here as well ~2000 miles, but I understand its better to change in the fall before storage (assuming storage) as the oil can be acidic and storing w fresh oil is 'better' in the long run

m371961

I always thought spring was better as condensation from winter is drained, but have heard acidic reason also. Least once /year.

Allan R

IDK, 60 miles a month is only 720 miles a year at best. Since it gets a full warm up on the drive I wouldn't waste good oil by draining it after only a year. I'd give it at least 1500 miles. Having said that, oil isn't really expensive and it's the lifeblood of your engine. I don't think you're hurting it by leaving it for 2 years, nor do I think you'd be foolish to change it sooner. You're lucky that your car can accept any of the newer oils with lower ZDDP.

Sitting in a garage protects the car from some degree of temperatures and for the most part the concern of condensation in the oil shouldn't be an issue.

Seff

I assume that my daily trips of 2 x 4.5 miles, with a occasional two-hour, 80 mile drive, is bad for my engine, then.

oldcutlass

Once a year in the spring is an inexpensive alternative to major repairs for cars that are driven less. Also as long as the engine and oil reach full temperature to enable the evaporation process of moisture and fuel contamination then you should be ok.

Carshinebob

Do what I do. Change the oil at least once a year and put the used oil in the daily driver. Although my daily drivers are ten year old or more low cost (cheap) cars or trucks. that way I feel like I'm getting the most for my oil money. ~BOB

jensenracing77

lol, I do something like this. every parts car i ever brought home is low on oil and transmission fluid. I save some of my used oil to dump in these parts cars to be sure things work and not have to spend money on new oil. This way if the engine is junk I didn't have much invested. same thing with antifreeze.

oldcutlass

On some of the newer cars, I know for example Chrysler products that can create issues. They are very sensitive to oil viscosities whereas the sensors will do strange things if you deviate from what they recommend.

Lady72nRob71

Interesting thread... My 86 gets 250 miles per year and an oil change every 3 years or so. It is garage kept, the garage is not opened much, and has 70k miles.
200 miles is on one long trip to the country and back, 45 to my sister's for christmas, and another 15 or so going to work and stopping off for a full tak of gas for the year's storage.
I do not like the long storage but car shuffling is a pain with a small garage and lot.

Lady gets more miles and an oil change every year or little more. I am surprised how clean it is on the dipstick though for 157k miles!

HurstLightning84

I change the oil in mine more times than I care to think about. I usually run between 600-1000 miles a year, depending if it makes a trip to the Woodward Dream Cruise. I used to change mine every 2 years, but these past few years I've been running it to operating temp as soon as it comes out of the garage in the spring and I change it right after that. I know my Dad on his 01 Trans Am changes his every 2 to 3 years even. I don't know if the newer engines (LS1) have smaller tolerances in them to where this isn't as big of issue? He roughly puts on 300 miles a year, so the oil after 3 years still has less than 1000 miles. Hard to tell whats really necessary anymore. Most of the new cars run 6+ months of regular use and 6000+ miles before they need changed.

Rocketguy

There are a lot of great recommendations in this thread, thank you guys.

I have ten collector cars and I have been all over the place on this one. . . .

I believe it depends on how often you expose said car to temperature extremes, how much you tend to abuse the car, length of time, and how visually clean the oil looks. I have a vet that I have let go for. . . many years. . . maybe five?: But I drove the car for 300 to 900 miles per year and drove it at least 50 miles each time it was driven so condensation was of little issue. Even after that many years (though it was only a few thousand miles) the oil still looked clean (the car has 27K miles on it) so I did not bother changing it.

But when in doubt look at what the manufacturer recommends. . . .

I have an Oldsmobile with a Drivers Information System that tells you when to change your oil. In the owners manual it says, "The system predicts remaining oil life using inputs from coolant temperature, engine RPM and vehicle speed." But then in the service manual it says, "The DIS cannot predict operating conditions such as driving in dusty areas or severe engine operating conditions (i.e. smokey burnouts, WOT blasts, and hole shots)." And then it goes on to say, "If the oil life index dies not display CHANGE OIL NOW after one year or 7500 miles from last oil life index reset, the DIS requires servicing."

Another thing no one has mentioned here is priming the oil filter. If you change your oil ever 3K miles and do not prime the filter, that means that every 3K miles your engine sits there running for several seconds with no oil pressure. I would think that would hurt is as much as going a bit too long w/o an oil change.



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Allan R

Sorry but I have to disagree with you. There are some cars that you simply cannot 'prime' the filter with such as horizontally mounted filters or cartridge filters. For the second it takes to 'prime' the oil filter after the engine is started there is not enough wear and tear on cylinders or rings to make a difference. There are some folks who can and do prime their filters - no problem, I respect their decision. Is it necessary? No.

For several years I've attended a car show with an 'engine blow' side bet. The donor car has been donated and has a running engine that has been drained of oil and coolant. After the 'betting' on how long it takes to crater the engine has closed, the car is started and allowed to idle. Most often it takes close to 20 minutes or more before the engine is badly overheated but it continues to run. Is this a good comparison of what you brought up? No of course not, but IMO it does illustrate the lubricating quality of engine oil even when an engine is being abused.

navvet

I always get a gift card for birthday (Feb) So every spring I change oil and filter. I save the oil and use it on my daily driver. I always change oil just prior to winter storage. I remember my 67 malibu ss had a rear main seal leak...i could not afford the repairs nor repalcing a qt a week. So the local service station would give me a gallon of used oil evey month. I used that oil thru HS and college. When the frame cracked and I took it to the junk yard my HS buddies and I drained the oil and ran the engine..Darn it if it didn't run 30 minutes before dieing.....must have had another 50K left on the engine. The engine had 150K on it.

Rocketguy

Thanks Alan.

I would not be worried about the rings either but I would be concerned about the rod and main bearings.

They run an engine sans coolant and oil every year at the Homecoming don't they? I though they ran longer than 20 or 30 minutes?

Even on my one car that has a horizontal filter I still fill it with oil. Very little comes out when I put the filter on.

I have had a couple cars in the past that would actually stark knocking until they got pressure if I did not fill the filter with oil
One was a '73 Grand Am with just under 100K, the other was a very warn out 330 I had back in the early 80s. Been doing it ever since.



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Allan R

Yes, they'll run longer than 20-30 minutes at slow idle, but I also stated before they become badly overheated and/or damaged though.

You're not going to see rod/bearing damage for the seconds it takes for the pump to start moving oil through the system. Sometimes when a car is sitting for a really long time it will drain most all the oil off the cylinder walls etc. What I do is disconnect the coil and let the engine crank at slower speed to get it flowing before I actually start it. Seems to work just fine.

My 07 Sonata 3.3 L does make a bit of clatter when first started (cartridge style filter) if it's parked on an up incline. But that's only for about 2 seconds. I also run Mobil 1 synthetic 5/20 in it. If it's parked on the flat? no problem.

re: horizontal oil filters? Try that with my wifes Saturn. It'll drain faster than you can fill it even though it's listed as an ADV filter.

MDchanic

I fill filters as much as I have patience for (takes a while to let the oil absorb through the element to the other side, and the level to go down a quarter inch, so you can add a drop more and wait again), then I pull the coil wire (or the fuel or computer relay in newer cars) and crank i until the oil gauge goes up or the pressure light goes out, then I replace the coil wire and start it.

- Eric

1970cs

I change mine once in the spring and once again late fall! Fall for removing the garbage with no filter change. Spring is getting any kind of moisture that may have occured (cold storage)
with fresh filter. I buy my oils and filters on sale so my conventional oil changes run about $14.

I use 10w-30 in the 350, but none of my other cars use the same weight. 5w-30 conventional
in the Alero with the oil life alert still follow the same procedure I will re-use some like in the mowers or snow blower.

Now the dailys are different yet 2011 equinox requires dexos or synthetic blend, I use full synthetic on it and change at 5k only car that makes dirty oil/ black? GM recall for moving the oil life matrix to a faster pace? 5w-30 dexos.

The 2014 Impala 2.5 4 cyl. requires 5w-20 dexos, no big deal except that GM picks up the (scheduled maint) 7500 miles oil change with tire rotation. I happened to have a bad time all the way around with my dealer, I told the sales manager he had 5 mins to tell me why I should by this car or else I am walking out! They threw in another 2 years of oil changes and tire rotations for free.

On priming filters some have anti-drain back valves. I do dump oil in the filter on the supreme.
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