Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 

Go Back   Montana Owners Club - Keystone Montana 5th Wheel Forum > GENERAL DISCUSSIONS > Tow Vehicles & Towing
Click Here to Login

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 03-12-2005, 08:39 PM   #21
Montana Sky
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Down the Road
Posts: 5,627
M.O.C. #889
Well I am glad to see I am not the only one who sticks with the 3,000 mile oil changes. For a while there I was starting to think I was the odd man out. Will be interesting to see how many miles I will actually get on this truck. I am hoping for at least 200K on it.
 
Montana Sky is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-13-2005, 05:05 AM   #22
Thunderman
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: New Braunfels
Posts: 664
M.O.C. #920
Maybe severe service means different things to different people. I prefer to change oil sooner than later. I do not recall a damaged vehicle due to frequent oil changes...we do no what happens when the oil is not changed properly.
Different strokes for different folks.
Thunderman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-14-2005, 01:33 AM   #23
tweir
Montana Fan
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: San Marcos
Posts: 327
M.O.C. #572
Being in the "business" for quite a few years, the last 15 on the "fleet" side, one of the reasons, and don't get me wrong, the engineer's have this thing figured out----to the maximum interval, comes down to dollars and cents. From the fleet perspective, one of the most important cost drivers is the cost-per-mile. If the manufacturers advertise a longer interval between oil/filter changes, then naturally the operators' relative cost-per-mile is less than the cost they must absorb by using a shorter change frequency. For you and I running one vehicle, the costs may not impact us as much as let's say, a small fleet running 50, 100 or 150 units. Now the dollars add up quite rapidly. I agree with some of the others posts: if the main reason for changing oil & filter is to remove harmful by-products of combustion in contaminated oil, it makes sense to remove them "sooner than later". I change my own vehicles' oil between 3 to 4k and our fleets' oil at the same interval. No engine failures in over 12 years at my current position and we run over 50 units. Maybe I'm just lucky but I'd rather attribute the results to "prevenative maintenance".
tweir is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-14-2005, 03:56 AM   #24
Montana_2779
Montana Fan
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: The Woodlands
Posts: 211
M.O.C. #2779
I'm with ya, Ed! I've always owned older cars (old 60's and 70's stuff with I-6's), and changed the oil WAY more than necessary trying to keep things running well. Now I have the 2005 Chevy, and I'm only supposed to change the oil in the 8.1 gasser when the light comes on. I like a structured environment.....now Chevy tells me that my changes might come at 3K or 7500...you just never know. I had a day off last week, so I stopped by the dealership for one of my "Lifetime $9.95" oil changes at 4700 miles. They looked at me kinda funny when they figured out my light hadn't illuminated yet. (I'm thinkin' that they REALLY don't like giving away a cheap oil change any more than necessary) I guess I'll have to learn patience and trust that the little computer running the show knows what's going on.

Even if the factory's maintenance schedule seems a bit long for our tastes, if we use their guidelines, they should have no fuss when it's time to perform warranty repairs!
Montana_2779 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-14-2005, 05:02 AM   #25
Glenn and Lorraine
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Clearwater
Posts: 10,917
M.O.C. #420
Let's do the math. I will use a figure of $50.00 per change. Some could be higher but some could also run less. And with oil prices on the rise it won't be long and they all will be higher

In 18 months I put 50,000 miles on my Duramax. Now at 10,000 mile oil changes and at 50 bucks per oil change that comes to 5 changes at 50 bucks each or a total of 250 bucks.

Now changing oil every 3000 miles works out to 15 changes at 50 bucks each for a total of 750 bucks

That's a difference of 500 dollars in just 18 months!!!

I don't know about the rest of you more frequent oil change folks but I do not have an additional 500 bucks to throw away every 18 months on a totally un-necessary expense. Especially when the True Factory Experts say very 10,000 miles. As for "peace of mind"? My peace of mind is that the factory engine warranty kicks in if and when something goes wrong.
Glenn and Lorraine is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-14-2005, 10:46 AM   #26
palebluedot
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location:
Posts: 655
M.O.C. #36
I read where a guy towing 5ers from the factory to dealers put over a million miles on a 95 Dodge/Cummins. Said he used Rotella T and changed every 9,000 miles. Of course every 9K would be about every month with this guy. FWIW
palebluedot is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-15-2005, 07:23 AM   #27
Theadamsfamily
Established Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: bristol
Posts: 28
M.O.C. #1793
I have enjoyed reading the replies to the original question. Looks like there are a variety of views on oil-change intervals. I myself have become so accustomed to the 3,000 mile interval that I continue to follow this mind-set for all four of my vehicles, including my TV. I believe that as long as you follow the OEM requirements, you will be OK. I do not claim to be an expert in this area but I know many that are. I work for a major petroleum additive company that supplies the additive packages to and completes the testing for many of the major oil companies. OEM requirements continue to get more stringent. Industry standards are also continually changing resulting in better crankcase technology. If you purchase an oil with the latest API designations, you will be safe. The amount of testing required to get a pass on the various specifications is mind numbing (deposit formation, high temp. wear, soot dispersancy, soot wear, sludge formation, oxidation, viscosity breakdown, shear stability, fuel economy, drain interval, etc.). By the time the finished oil gets to Wally World, it has been tested under the most rigorous conditions. An important point to consider is that the oil change interval for a diesel engine probably needs to be more closely monitored than a gasoline engine due to the increased levels of soot and particulates that result in engine component wear. Also, synthetics are great at maintaining good viscosity but they get just as polluted as mineral based oils. My preference is to use the mineral based oils and change more often. This is just my preference. We all evaluate the available information and make the choice we fell most comfortable with.

Theadamsfamily is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-15-2005, 12:27 PM   #28
Montana_2304
Seasoned Camper
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Bergen
Posts: 61
M.O.C. #2304
We have Amsoil in our 7.3 P/S with the dual filter system on it. We are still experimenting with it, but have been told sending in a sample to Amsoil before changing the filters will tell us if the oil needs changing also. Just changed the oil and filters last Fall before storage so should be set for this year. This is a costly oil change. Have my kit ready for a late summer test to determine if it needs changing for the Winter run out west and to Florida.
Charlie and Sue
Montana_2304 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-15-2005, 12:29 PM   #29
Montana_2785
Montana Fan
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Carpentersville
Posts: 468
M.O.C. #2785
My last oil change was at 17,000 miles on my oil. It at about 13,000 miles in this change & still running strong.

No, I'm not crazy. It was just time. My father did the oil purchasing for a rock quary where he was an officer of the company and an civil engineer. For quite a number of years, they had instituted an oil sampling program to catch early problems with the off road equipment. Since they had the program up and running, they also sampled the company cars as well. Since the diesel engines in our trucks are a bit pricy to replace (about $8k for a long block installed) he suggested I may want to do the same. I ended up using OilGuard:

http://www.oilguard.com/

It costs me $8 per sample (plus $1.06 for mailing the sample). I am building up a history of the operating condition of my engine. I also sample the transmission and rear end. The advantages are:

If a problem begins to occur during the warranty period (but doesn't BREAK until after warranty) I have the ability to bring to the dealer/manufacturer evidence before the warranty is up. Second, when I sell, I have some proof about the condition of my truck from the inside. My Ford diesel mechanic is enthusiastic about what I'm doing. I have been working closely with him the entire time. Not surprisingly, I'm the only customer they have that is doing this.

The next advantage is the sampling can tell me when I NEED to change my oil. A way to extend the oil drain times is a bypass filter (also from OilGuard). It removes the smaller particles that the OEM filter leaves in the oil that accellerate internal engine wear. It removes moisture that results in the formation of acids that use up the additive package.

Oil change extention works well with the Ford 7.3 power stroke. However, the new 6.0 power stroke shears the oil enough that it appears that extended oil change intervals are not as feasable. Shearing the oil changes the viscosity enough that it needs to be changed closer to the 4-5k mile interval.

Having a Ford, I haven't followed how well the Dodge and Chevy/GMC engines do with it. A little web searching would likely give you some opinions.

I did a lot of searching before I did this and read a lot of oil industry publications on the subject, how to read the results, as well as publications by big industry on the benefits. BTW: This was all developed by the rail road industry to protect the diesel locomotives.

It is very common in big industry. For a gas engine that costs $2k to replace, it is perhaps not a big deal. A pickup engine that is $8k to replace, (and 15 quarts of oil/pop with oil prices rising) is a different matter in my NSHO...

BTW: Once nice thing about OilGuard is the results are published on a web page. A nice feature for someone who moves around a lot.

Eric
Montana_2785 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-15-2005, 01:23 PM   #30
trukdoc
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Sulphur Springs
Posts: 748
M.O.C. #2220
Send a message via MSN to trukdoc
Good info Eric. I am working in heavy construction and all our equipment is sampled.
It is accurate enough to know if your air filter housing is leaking past the filter. Shows up in high chrome (Rings) and silicate (dirt). Also other problems like those leaking injectors that some of the early 6.0's had as well an numerous other conditions.
It is however a program that must be done on a continous basis. Some of the problems show up only when a certain compound has elevated levels. Some of the small problems are hard to detect in one sample. Sample to Sample analysis should be fairly consistent. You need to be able to compare samples taken over a period. A good test lab is very helpfur at this as the average person would not have any clue what they are looking at.
trukdoc is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-16-2005, 01:05 AM   #31
Montana_2785
Montana Fan
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Carpentersville
Posts: 468
M.O.C. #2785
trukdoc,

I sample periodically. As you say, the history is more important than a single sample result.

I turned one of my work mates onto sampling. He took a sample of his BMW that was having emission problems and discovered a lot of gas in his oil. That let his mechanic tune into where his main problem was (injectors). He is SOLD on sampling

Eric
Montana_2785 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-16-2005, 01:08 AM   #32
Montana_2785
Montana Fan
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Carpentersville
Posts: 468
M.O.C. #2785
BTW: I can SEE in the sample results that I've been towing hard v.s. driving solo. There is measurable differences in the wear metals (especially iron) when you pull them hard.

Eric
Montana_2785 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-16-2005, 03:07 AM   #33
DCP
Montana Fan
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Centerville
Posts: 203
M.O.C. #1013
Send a message via AIM to DCP Send a message via MSN to DCP
Has anyone changed their own oil for a 6.0 diesel powerstroke? How bad of a job is it? I am having a tough time understanding the oil filter on the top of the engine. Any help would bw appreciated. Any opinions on Amsoil??
DCP is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-16-2005, 03:31 AM   #34
Bear Hunter
Seasoned Camper
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Lewiston
Posts: 83
M.O.C. #2464
I have changed all the fluids in my DuraMax to AmsOil products. As for oils changes I change my filter a 7000 mi. and send a sample to AmsOil to check for break down. I add a quart with filter change and check my oil at each fill up. I do agree with the others who say follow the owners manual if you have not changed to a synthetic product. This is my 4th diesel and have done the same with all. Three were Chev or GMC and 1 Cummings. All were run over 150K and were used to pull a 5er with out any problems warrenty wise or mechinally. Good luck and SEMPER FI
Bear Hunter is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-16-2005, 06:48 PM   #35
Montana_2785
Montana Fan
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Carpentersville
Posts: 468
M.O.C. #2785
Quote:
quote:Originally posted by Bear Hunter

[...]I do agree with the others who say follow the owners manual if you have not changed to a synthetic product.[...]
Well, I haven't changed to synthetic. I use Mobil Delvac 1300S. As far as I know, it is supposed to have about the best anti-foaming package in the industry (so says my life long trucker Uncle.) There may be (or may soon be) a better oil for the Ford 6.0... I THINK I read something about it a few months ago.

I don't expose my oil to enough heat to make use of the better properties of synthetics. My bypass filter keeps it clean, and the oil tests show that the viscosity isn't changing enough to matter and I don't pay the $$$ for synthetic

life is good!

Eric
Montana_2785 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Name change K&Gs3400RL New Member Introductions 8 10-02-2011 09:46 AM
What a change!! Rondo Sitting around the Campfire 5 01-31-2008 05:30 AM
JOB CHANGE AT 50?? cmp-shooter Sitting around the Campfire 6 05-04-2006 10:01 PM
Name Change Montana_2821 General Discussions about our Montanas 11 01-14-2005 10:01 AM

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Montana RV, Keystone RV Company or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 09:27 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.