40000 mile oil change

My cashier just brought me an oil sample that she was going to run for a truck that has 40,000 on the oil. Not synthetic or a LNG truck, just not cared for. The oil analysis showed >999 ppm of potassium! The oil drain took 35 minutes, and in the oil analysis cup the oil would not pour out. Incredible!

Regular oil change interval for this engine would be +- 15000, but the operator said he was adding a gallon of coolant each week. So head gasket or cracked head/block is likely.

I know some of you work at automotive shops, how often do you see something like this?

In 3 years wrenching, never. Seen plenty of dumbass moves like missing oil filters knocked off from road debris, but never oil well beyond its useful life.

I just looked it up and it appears we changed the oil in February of this year for him; previously he appears to have run it 35-45k on an oil change.

Ive seen sludge on a semi engine before but It is usually from a failed oil filter or just an extended service interval. The cummins ISM is usually pretty clean too.

If 15k is normal then at 40k, this went 2.66 times its expectancy. In car terms, if a car was 5k miles then this would be the same as 13k miles. I am sure this has to happen often by those who change their oil, "once a year whether it needs it or not"

When I pulled my Land Rover out of the barn where it had been sitting for a decade, it had some sort of tar in the sump instead of oil. No idea what the mileage was, but the engine would barely crank over.

Had a friend have to scrape the oil out of a customer car once. Also had a Cadillac that wouldn't shut off the tie pressure lamp when she filled the tires up. They had 90 lbs in them.

JohnRW1621 wrote: If 15k is normal then at 40k, this went 2.66 times its expectancy. In car terms, if a car was 5k miles then this would be the same as 13k miles. I am sure this has to happen often by those who change their oil, "once a year whether it needs it or not"

Sure, that's part of it; however, the adding coolant at a rapid rate because your cel is on all the time seems like a tip off that you may want to have it checked. I saved some of the old oil and where it "fell" into the sample bottle it still hasn't run off the sides into the bottom.

No semi driver will do a once a year oil change because the equipment is jus to expensive, this truck is a 2000 which is older than we usually see bu it only has 800k on it.

chandlerGTi wrote: I know some of you work at automotive shops, how often do you see something like this?

Rarely.

But: I did run into that earlier this year.

BTW - I can say now - it was an Aveo.

Brings to mind the Vanos job on a BMW that was posted on bimmerforums;

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1281659

Not sure if the thread still exists as I'm blocked at work but google images BMW Valve job sludge produced a couple pics.

I've seen a ton. I remember the 61k miles '01 Elantra, the 2008 MDX with 19k miles on the original oil/filter, the 2009 TSX with 26k. All of those were on the original oil/filter. The lady with the MDX said "well ,doesn't warranty cover oil changes if oil wears out?". The 2007 RL that ran over a road gator, busted the radiator and drove the car until it stopped..... literally. Apparently that took close to 200 miles. There was the RSX that DROVE in with a rod poking out of the block. They weren't complaining of the loud BANGBANGBANG sound but they were worried about the oil light on the dash that had been on for a "few days".

I know Ive mentioned it before, but I saw something like a 60k some odd mile FIRST oil change in a Hyundai. Back when I was an oil tech at a quick change place, this guy brings in his Sonata because it had started to stall at red lights and the oil light would come on. When we ask him about his last oil change, and he tells us this was its first. We all just went silent and looked at each other with goofy looks of surprise. The guy was all like "what?!? its got a 100 thousand mile warranty, so Im good to go..."

apparently he did not read the part where it was void if you do not perform routine maintenance.

DuctTape&Bondo wrote: Brings to mind the Vanos job on a BMW that was posted on bimmerforums; http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1281659 Not sure if the thread still exists as I'm blocked at work but google images BMW Valve job sludge produced a couple pics.

Yup, still exists. Wow. That's 40k oil.

JohnRW1621 wrote: I am sure this has to happen often by those who change their oil, "once a year whether it needs it or not"

Guilty.

Mrs. BDT's wagon racks up about 5000 miles a year. My car significantly less.

I use synthetic and quality filters and I figure once a year is fine.

I feel like a sucker everytime I change my oil in my daily, I do 5k intervals and new OEM filters. I still feel like I can run the oil to 10k intervals at the condition it comes out, now on the truck or the rx7, its almost all black or fuel by running it for more than 15 minutes.

In 1999 I was working at a Jiffy Lube when a customer brought in his 97 Explorer with close to 40k on it for an oil change, can't recall if it were a 6 or an 8. It's first he told us! The guy in the lower bay removed the drain plug & nothing would come out. They spent a good hour flushing cleaners through the motor to break the sludge apart. The kicker, the guy was a lawyer which leads me to believe he should've had some kind of intelligence?

I once drained the oil out of my mom's van van after 8000 miles, about 3qts of black water came out. Turned out the Dodge 3.8 van motor is a much more solid engine than expected.

Time for my admission / why anecdotal evidence is no good:

Just changed the oil, and the leaky valve cover gasket on my crx. I had been doing the "add a quart every few weeks = oil change every 3 months" routine for about 20,000 miles before changing it. Oil came out looking fine, and under the valve cover things looked perfect, no deposits, zero visible scoring on cams, bearings, etc. I'm planning on cutting open the oil filter out of curiosity, since that looks just fine as well (its even one of them orange ones that destroy all engines immediately always!!)

Perfect example of YMMV (except maybe that one about mileage)

Just had a 2.7 Chrysler here in the shop with 180k on it, checking the records show indifferent at best maintenance. Last oil change she went 17,000 miles. It's caked up solid, looks like a big ol' brownie inside. I know those are known for sludge, but I see high mileage (over 150k) examples with minimal buildup all the time.

While doing oil testing in a semi truck for work, we took an oil change interval to up over 100K miles. We sampled the oil and met by conference call on a regular basis with the manufacturer to monitor it. It was our goal to not change it unless any of the test sample parameters came up out of range. Not sure how long it could have gone, we had to drain the oil for other engine component changes soon after the 100K mark, but the numbers still looked really good.

Yes, but what engine was it. The new engines are designed for much longer change intervals. Owners manuals calling for 50k on a change for DD15 and ISX15.

Edit: also, this engine had large issues. The presence of the quantity of potassium in the analysis makes it plain that the coolant was leaking in large quantities into the engine.

A guy I knew back in high school liked to buy and work on Hondas. He bought one for parts from a college girl who owned it since high school. She sold it to him for cheap after she said it, "didn't run right." The engine oil looked something like this:

The Honda mechanic showed it to her. Her reply: "I didn't know modern cars needed oil anymore!"

Bobzilla wrote: I've seen a ton. I remember the 61k miles '01 Elantra, the 2008 MDX with 19k miles on the original oil/filter, the 2009 TSX with 26k. All of those were on the original oil/filter. The lady with the MDX said "well ,doesn't warranty cover oil changes if oil wears out?". The 2007 RL that ran over a road gator, busted the radiator and drove the car until it stopped..... literally. Apparently that took close to 200 miles. There was the RSX that DROVE in with a rod poking out of the block. They weren't complaining of the loud BANGBANGBANG sound but they were worried about the oil light on the dash that had been on for a "few days".

This is a legitimate argument for buying a car new and for never buying off-lease/CPO without a complete service history (although that could be fabricated by a shady dealership)(redundant).

All of it is further proof of the startling stupidity of the general public. Anyone who has dealt with the general public long enough has inevitably lost faith in humanity.

TrophyGirlDesigns wrote: While doing oil testing in a semi truck for work, we took an oil change interval to up over 100K miles. We sampled the oil and met by conference call on a regular basis with the manufacturer to monitor it. It was our goal to not change it unless any of the test sample parameters came up out of range. Not sure how long it could have gone, we had to drain the oil for other engine component changes soon after the 100K mark, but the numbers still looked really good.

You're also talking about a best-case scenario, too. Rarely cold-started, lots and lots and LOTS of oil, filter probably the size of a paper towel roll, temps high enough to cut condensation but low enough to prevent breakdown, etc.

Well, a BEST case scenario is like one of those marine engines where combustion byproducts never get to the oil, but still...

gamby wrote: All of it is further proof of the startling stupidity of the general public. Anyone who has dealt with the general public long enough has inevitably lost faith in humanity.

ugh.. I work in the casino industry. From my few forays across the casino floor, I can only say I am VERY thankful I am a back of house employee

With the natural gas trucks rolling they are looking at 100k oil change intervals since they produce almost no soot but still are designed around the old sooty production Diesel engines.