My father always said that his father pounded into his head that the best way to keep your car running forever was having your car's oil changed every 3 months/3k religiously. At an early age he showed me how to change the oil his old 1955 ford. He showed me in 1967.I remember you could fit small refrigerator in there because the engine compartment was so large. I believe to this day if he would of had his his way he would have kept that old Ford until his last breath in 1977 if my mother didn't read him the riot act. Anyway, after he drained his oil from the car he promptly dumped t down the sewer saying 'the alligators won't tell'. He wasn't much on ecology. My question: I have read in different posts that frequent oil changes contribute to pollution. I always thought that in today's more eco-friendly world that the service department somehow recycles all this, reuses it and this is now a more environmentally sensitive practice. Am I delusional thinking that oil changes are no longer a necessary practice at 3 K versus 5 K intervals. Isn't it better for the engine to have the oil changed at 3k intervals or am I just being environmentally naive? Also, this is the first new car I ever drove over the first 1 K without changing the oil to remove, what my mechanic friend told me, removing the metal shavings in the oil following the break-in period. He said it improves performance an gas mileage and extend the life of the engine.
I"m sure others will provide more details that I can, but there are studies showing that synthetic oils are still perfectly fine after 6,000 miles. In fact, someone on this forum said that manuals are starting to specify 5,000 - 6,000 miles oil change intervals. I drop my oil off at the local Pep Boys (unpaid advertisement) where they have a recycling program. I did a quick Google search and found multiple references to used motor oil being refurbished and reused as motor oil. Unfortunately, I also found references to one pint of oil being able to produce an oil slick one acre in size on open water. I'm sorry, but your grandfather affected more than just the alligators.
Most new car oil change schedule is at 5k intervals per the owners manual. I have always ignored that and went 3k but with the Prius I think I will go with 5k since the engine doesn't run as often or as hard. Not to mention it is cheaper and more environmentally friendly. G
My grandfather bragged that he owned a Model T. I'm sure he didn't ever hear the word ecology let alone understand what it could mean in today's environment. I would think it is difficult to judge him or his peers today. We have bigger problems to address at this time like the ending's Bush legacy
Absolutely. Every new Toyota put into service in recent years has a recommended 5000 mi or 6 month OCI. That first oil change at 1000 miles was a holdover from the early days of engines, 40s-50s-60s. Since the 90s it's neither specified or recommended.
We have bigger problems to address at this time like the ending's Bush legacy __________________ I have heard or seen comments like that about every President since I was old enough to notice. I remember Kennedy strongly. Funny how folks blame a President for what the people choose. No one guarantees you anything anywhere in the world but in America we have come to expect everything all the time just the way we want it. It's no wonder most of the world dislikes us.
I agree with you for the most part but Buh has an abysmal record on the environment in his home State of Texas when he was Governor, and the past eight years as President. His view on global warming should be a clue to how he has protected the corporations to continue pour contaminates in the air while he recklessly drove us in his Iraq war. BTW, the world dislikes us because our policies are arrogant and self-indulgent. I can tell you this first hand from my experiences in the military in Viet Nam in the 70's. The global view of America immediately following 911 was supportive of our policy of strength determination and restraint even as we entered Afghanastan to find Bin Ladin. Bush squandered that good will away when he enter Iraq ...and all the attention to the economy, health care system environment, education...everything got pushed to the side. including care for the Veterans returning home with no limbs ..Please......Maybe we deserve Bush, and his greedy and torture loving cronies, Cheney and Rumsfeld or maybe he stole an election... think history will treat him kind?
Your father was right, but then he was dealing with cars that used a road breather system for crankcase ventilation, had worn out rings by 40,000 and needed to have the bearings replaced at 80,000. The oil used wasn't even detergent fortified. Things have changed since 3,000 mile changes were a good idea.
You are correct that engine oil is recycled or burned, so it's not getting dumped into the ground. Even with that there is an environmental impact. The oil comes from a well somewhere, where it is transported, refined, transported again, packaged, transported, sold from a store, transported again, then the empty package is discarded. All of these steps are environmentally unfriendly, so it doesn't make sense to unnecessarily change your car's oil. Modern oils and modern engines are different beasts than what your father used. A good oil can easily go 5,000 miles with no harm. Europeans think we are nuts for changing oil at 5,000 miles since they routinely go twice that far, but European oil is made to much better standards. Their thinking is to use better oil but change it less often. Likewise you don't need to change oil after the first 1,000 miles. Modern engines don't create a bunch of metal that needs to be removed. The oil filter does a fine job. Tom
