Change oil or not?

[Whopper Stopper]

Last year was a tough one for us as far as getting out in the RV is concerned. Last spring (about this time) I changed oil in our 03 Ford E450 class C and also in the Onan generator.  We only put on about 500 miles on the MH and about two hours on the generator.

My question is would you again change oil in everything to kick off the season or would you let it go? My gut says change it, my procrastination tendency says wait until next year

Thanks for any input!

          WS

 

[geodrake]

I would let it go.

 

[Hfx_Cdn]

    My gut is the same as yours.  We drove our coach down from  New Brunswick a year ago fall , stayed in it until April, then it went into storage.  It has about 2,000 miles on it, and we leave for Utah next week.  I don't plan on an oil change until we are homw, about 6,500 miles.

Ed

 

[pkunk]

The oil Gurus say once a year regardless of mileage.  Oil collects moisture from the air and running an engine to operating temperature burns it off.  I would take one good trip and then change it.

 

[SuperMike]

Change the oil every year without fail. Your engine is worth so much more than the price of a couple of gallons of oil. My dad, god rest his sole, laid this on me and used to do his every six months regardless.  8)

 

[Harveyj]

Part of my "winterization" process every year is to change the oil/filter, fill gas tank (usually cheaper too) and put her away 'till Spring.  Oil is cheap insurance.

 

[Marsha/CA]

Whopper Stopper, we have close to the same situation as yours.  We had our oil changed in May of 2011, had a problem (long story) and did not use the coach until this past Jan & Feb traveling for under 1,000 miles.  We are having the oil changed next week in anticipation of our upcoming trip to Alaska. 

I'm a believer that if my subconscious is nagging me, I pay attention to it.....

Marsha~

 

[taoshum]

Oil is cheap insurance.

And, there's so much of it, at such reasonable prices, no reason to conserve.  FWIW, we had the oil analyzed after 1 year and 3000 miles; decide to go another year... had the oil analyzed at 5000 miles ... no measurable change in any parameter.  After two years, we had it changed, anyway, for $380.  Dunno what might happen in two more years, maybe it is good for 10,000 miles or 3 years?

 

[Mavarick]

My gut says change it, my procrastination tendency says wait until next year

WS, I think the reason you are asking is because you already know the answer and it?s going to bug you until you do it! Right or wrong don?t matter if you don?t feel good about the decision if you know what I mean.
In a years time nothing technically is going to age out, 2 years is a different story. The oil will collect moisture and have a higher acidity content, etc as others have said so not a good practice but you wouldn?t be the first to get ?off schedule? for a year.
For a gas engine I would probably do it simply because it is too small a job to worry about. Once a year or so is a pretty safe time schedule.
For a DP that was changed last spring and just sat I would use it through the summer and then I would drop it at the end of the season so it gets changed before storage. Either way would get you back into the regular schedule again which should be 2yrs max or less, depending on conditions. On my Cat with the HEUI  (using oil to fire injectors) I change every year regardless of mileage. Oil is always cheaper than parts.

And, there's so much of it, at such reasonable prices, no reason to conserve.

Tao, I agree with your conservation theory 100% but remember, almost all oil is recycled and reused and oil changes are preventative vs the cost and waste associated with repairs. What oil is not resold to the general public is used as ?rack oil? for lubrication in industrial equipment. It?s not like it?s going to the landfill when you change your oil.
Doing it yourself is around $20 for a gas engine and $90 for a DP. IMO that?s far less than what it costs over the long run vs wear & tear.
As a side note the 21 count analysis is great for engines being used (if they are done properly), they are not as effective for an engine that just sits. If you are going to rely on analysis I would also recommend you add an ISO particle count test at least every other sample. It?s only an adder of about $10 and it will help determine integrity of your breather/filter housing, etc. etc.

JM2C, hope it helps.

 

[Whopper Stopper]

Well, I took a few minutes today and changed the oil in the RV and in the Onan generator. Total cost was about $45 which included the filter. I guess I feel better and can now move on with other things. The oil I drained out looked brand new which was the worst part of the whole changing experience.

Thanks for all the responses and tips. Great site!

            WS

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

A $45 investment in peace of mind...

 

[ironrat]

As Gary said above 45 bucks is a cheap piece of mind and worth it for sure. One thing that most don't know or understand is that most all base oil is the same, what makes an oil different is the additives in it. With that said most all additives will disperse from the oil in time. That is the reason for the length of time placed on oil changes as well as some comments that water accumulates in the oil as well. Ok how do I know this all to be true? Well I have worked for a additive company owned by a Major oil company for the last twenty some years and this was always something we looked at as well as others to work on. Follow the manufactures recommendations for oil changes and you will always be good on this subject. There was a lot of testing done by the engine manufacturer and the oil companies to come up with that recommendation.

 

[taoshum]

As Gary said above 45 bucks is a cheap piece of mind and worth it for sure. One thing that most don't know or understand is that most all base oil is the same, what makes an oil different is the additives in it. With that said most all additives will disperse from the oil in time. That is the reason for the length of time placed on oil changes as well as some comments that water accumulates in the oil as well. Ok how do I know this all to be true? Well I have worked for a additive company owned by a Major oil company for the last twenty some years and this was always something we looked at as well as others to work on. Follow the manufactures recommendations for oil changes and you will always be good on this subject. There was a lot of testing done by the engine manufacturer and the oil companies to come up with that recommendation.

"POM" for one person is surely worth $45, no question... ?    Is it worth $13Billion?

It is very confusing these days however.  The places that sell oil, oil changes and oil additives consistently recommend 3 months or 3000 miles.  The car companies are hedging this and saying 5000 miles, maybe 12 months, unless of course, you have severe service?  The diesel engine companies are saying 15,000 miles, but that's probably for vehicles that go 100,000 miles a year or more.  The synthetic lube companies are saying 10,000+ miles for a passenger car if you buy their stuff.  The oil analysis companies are saying if you pay them to analyze the oil they can tell you when the oil really needs to be changed but each test costs $20-$30.  Maybe 2 years of "light" use is OK?  If "most all additives disperse from oil in time", is it years, months, hours?  Where do the additives go?  Everyone has an opinion, there are many different situations, but there is very little data. 

In the mean time, we add 15,000,000-18,000,000 vehicles to the inventory every year, just in the US.  We retire, maybe, half that.  Each one holds, at least, 1.5 gallons of oil.  There are probably 200,000,000 vehicles in operation, so there's 300,000,000 gallons of oil "out there".  If it is changed 4 times/year, that's 1,200,000,000 gallons.    If it is changed, once per year, on average, we avoid  using 900,000,000 gallons of oil.  At $15/gallon, or $13.5 Billion.  $10Billion here, $10Billion there, pretty soon we're talking about real money, even for CEOs. 

I wonder what the "oil change average" is in other countries where the annual income is far less than here?

Just sayin'

 

[bloodsmear]

I go by the addage of "If you love it, lube it" I change my oil on every thing every 3 months or 3k mile. No matter what.

 

[thomasamski]

Yep, me, too on the every 3,000-mile oil change. I bought an oil drain valve (http://www.oildrainvalve.net/) that makes the chore easy. I'm anal when it comes to  vehicle maintenance. I believe that if you take care of your car, truck or RV, it will take care of you.

 

[drive on]

The vehicles that I store over the winter, I always make sure there is clean oil in them and a full tank of gas. I don't know if it makes any difference but I feel better.