No Oil Change for 10k miles?

[Aesop]

Hello, we recenrly looked at a 7 year old savana wih around 40k miles. And the owner is a Mexican guy so needless to say there was some communication issues. and we may not have understood him but we understood him to say he really didn't change the oil until recently with a gap if about 10k miles. would not changine the oil be a dela breaker for some people,  ehy or why not?

 

[bullfrog]

No lo comprendo. Did the van have the oil changed before during the 40,000 miles? If so how do you know? Did he just change it to sell it maybe as it was low and turned to sludge? Why did it sit so much and how long at a time? I would consider it if the price was low enough I could justify putting in a new motor if it had been damaged but otherwise yeah that is pretty much a deal breaker with me especially if he is asking a premium price.

 

[user 423]

Hello, we recenrly looked at a 7 year old savana wih around 40k miles. And the owner is a Mexican guy so needless to say there was some communication issues. and we may not have understood him but we understood him to say he really didn't change the oil until recently with a gap if about 10k miles. would not changine the oil be a dela breaker for some peoplet?

If synthetic oil was used previously it wouldn't be a big deal but you probably couldn't be sure of that. What time period for that 10K?  With the low mileage, that could be 2 years or so and that's not good. If it did mainly short trips around town it could be that the engine frequently didn't get up to operating temp and that's not good either.

 

[MrNoodly]

Years ago the Car Talk guys talked about doing an experiment to see how long a car could run without ever changing the oil. They thought it might be a lot longer than people think. I never heard their findings. Maybe they never did it.

Here's the section in my 2007 Express owners manual about the Engine Oil Life System:

When to Change Engine Oil

Your vehicle has a computer system that lets you know when to change the engine oil and filter. This is based on engine revolutions and engine temperature, and not on mileage. Based on driving conditions, the mileage at which an oil change will be indicated can vary considerably. For the oil life system to work properly, you must reset the system every time the oil is changed.

When the system has calculated that oil life has been diminished, it will indicate that an oil change is necessary. A change engine oil light will come on. See Change Engine Oil Light on page 183. Change your oil as soon as possible within the next 600 miles (1,000 km). It is possible that, if you are driving under the best conditions, the oil life system may not indicate that an oil change is necessary for over a year. However, your engine oil and filter must be changed at least once a year and at this time the system must be reset.

If the system is ever reset accidentally, you must change your oil at 3,000 miles (5,000 km) since your last change. Remember to reset the oil life system whenever the oil is changed.

(Resetting the system is easy. Turn the key to the second click and stomp the gas pedal three times.)

 

[Aesop]

No lo comprendo. Did the van have the oil changed before during the 40,000 miles? If so how do you know? Did he just change it to sell it maybe as it was low and turned to sludge? Why did it sit so much and how long at a time? I would consider it if the price was low enough I could justify putting in a new motor if it had been damaged but otherwise yeah that is pretty much a deal breaker with me especially if he is asking a premium price.

never mind we just spoke with the seller and he did confirm he did have regular synthetic oil changes.

 

[bullfrog]

So it should have had 7 oil changes if it got one every year as it should have. Mileage is a poor way to determine oil change intervals. If it only made 2 mile trips everyday that would be about right for 40,000 miles in 7 years. That is severe service look for deposits inside the valve covers or under the fill cap. Severe service usually dictates doing oil changes every 6 months.

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

At least it had synthetic. I'm switching to synthetic. It's 3x the price, but you can go 3x as long between oil changes. And being on the road, less oil changes is a great thing.

 

[MrNoodly]

At least it had synthetic. I'm switching to synthetic. It's 3x the price, but you can go 3x as long between oil changes. And being on the road, less oil changes is a great thing.

On impulse, I used synthetic for one of my oil changes. Shortly after I noticed the oil pressure was low, holding between 25 and 30 PSI instead of the usual 40. I thought maybe the oil was drastically low, but it was good. I wondered if the synthetic was too viscus or something. So to eliminate that variable in my troubleshooting, I took the van in for another oil change, this time with conventional oil. Presto, the oil pressure was back up to 40 PSI.

 

[bullfrog]

Used to be most engine builders recommended break in on regular petroleum based oils as a little friction helped sealing surfaces wear in. They also added zinc in racing oils to prevent wear in destroying camshafts and followers before roller cams came about. A few years ago the government declared zinc a cancer causing agent and made oil companies remove it from most oils. You can still spread it on your nose to prevent sun burn but you can’t have it in oil! Lol!!! Anyway you can buy it as an additive and I would recommend you use it at least till the first 3,000 miles after the rebuild with a good petroleum based oil or blended oil before going full synthetic. I usually change the oil and filter at least in the first 500 miles after a rebuild then at 3,000 miles to insure everything is getting out that might have gotten in while the engine was being machined and built. That is a lot of wasted money if you use full synthetic. After that on older engines I run blended synthetic just because a lot of the older engines gaskets tend to end up leaking with the thin full synthetic. Even with full synthetic I usually change it every 5,000 miles as even Toyota recommended it in their high reving 4 cylinder trucks and most of my driving is on dirt roads often boondocking.

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

A drop in oil pressure isn't necessarily a bad thing. Volume of oil flow is what engines want, not pressure. Synthetic usually flows better and with more volume than regular dino stuff. Synthetic is also not affected by temperature, so throughout the year you will have more consistent oil pressure. I would not be concerned with 25-30psi of oil pressure.

Yes, new engines love zinc! I plan on changing my oil in the newly rebuilt engine in my van somewhere between 500-1000 miles, just whenever I get around to it. Good advice about using dino oil during break-in period. No point in using synthetic if you're just gonna throw away the oil 10% into the oil's lifespan.

 

[Freelander]

I ran a Chevy 350 low on oil once and developed a knock. I didn't have time to drop the pan and replace the bearings, so I drop a quart of Slick 50 in the crankcase. It took the knock out and increased my fuel milage by 2 mpg. It made a believer out of me.

 

[Vannautical engineer]

GMC recommends a 7,500mi oil change interval on a 2013 Savana. If the van just went one oil change interval up to 10,000mi, I really would not sweat it. Damage and deposits in an engine are not something that's going to happen if you go over the recommended interval by a few thousand miles one time, or even every once in a while. They're going to happen if you either do that consistently over the long life of the vehicle, or if you did something crazy like go 30k or 40k miles without ever changing the oil.

Oils today are well engineered. If all the last owner did was go over the recommended interval by a couple thousand miles one time, there's absolutely nothing to worry about.

 

[mudbunny]

I'm still a firm believer in changing my oil every 3k miles. My owners manual says if you forgot to change the oil life setting on your dash then to change after 3k miles. Never blown an engine from changing oil too often.

Sent from my SM-T560NU using Tapatalk

 

[nature lover]

My dad has been dead for four years but I can still hear him saying “did you change your oil.” I’m stuck on every 3000 miles can’t teach an old dog new tricks.

 

[Aesop]

thanks everyone . we look at the van tommorrow. wish us luck