Snythetic oil change intervals?

[BarlowCummins]

Hey guys, i have a questions about oil changing intervals for synthetics. I am using royal purple in my truck and soon the wifes explorer. We have roughly 130,000 on it and it is an 02, the ford tech told us that if we ran synthetic in it that we could extend the change intervals to 10,000 miles with a k/n oil filter, does that sound right? I change my truck every 5,000 because i tow 5 out 7 days aweek. The ford manual says every 5,000 but thats not with synthetics. I know it is an f**d but it fits her and matches my mpgs! I am trying to convince her to look at the new durango but she has paid the explorer off and we like not having that payment, any help would be appreciated, corey

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Corey, on my last truck (2001 HO Cummins) I ran 20,000 miles between oil changes, changing the Stratapore filter (better than K&N!) every 7-8K miles. I used Amsoil 15W40 part of the time and Delvac1. You should be able to run 15,000-20,000 miles on Royal Purple but I strongly recommend oil sampling to make sure all is OK.



I did an oil sample every 10,000 miles to make sure everything was good and the oil was always in great shape after 20,000 miles.



Vaughn

 

[Hohn]

intervals vary wildly from one to another depending on how you use your truck.



If, like me, it's mostly stop and go around town, the interval will be a LOT shorter than if you just run on the hwy. Hwy miles are the easiest the engine will ever see.



I would feel comfortable with 15-20K on synth if mostly hwy. I would shorten it to 10-12K if around town. I change every 10K because of my severe use.



Nix the K&N filter. While they have a strong case, they are designed more for maximum oil flow, NOT for filtration!! Leave them to the racers. STICK WITH THE FLEETGUARD filters-- there really is a difference.



Don't worry about your Phurd Exploder. At least it doesn't have the ball joint probs the Durangos and Dakotas have.



Justin

 

[dbargy]

corey,

the way i've always been taught is that the damage done to the engine is from the dirt in the oil. synthetic oil gets just as dirty as regular oil. synthetic might provide better viscosity and not break down as fast, but i'd be leary of extending my oil changes too long, no matter what filter i used.

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

Regardless of engine, for maximum protection and long engine/oil life, synthetic OR dino - seriously consider use of a good bypass-type oil filter/ They will greatly improve oil filtration, and give best oil performance in extended drain situations.



Here's a Frantz toilet paper element filter I have used on about 6 different vehicles over a 40 year period of time - works great, and delivers EXCELLENT oil analysis results!



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[Vaughn MacKenzie]

How you drive does affect how your oil holds up, however I racked up a lot of miles short-tripping around town, especially in winter running a lot of the time with a cold engine, and still did 20K changes. About 30% of my miles are city. Oil samples on winter oil drains came back excellent. I avoid idling as much as possible though. I had DD2 injectors. I think this is a testament to how good these Cummins diesels are!



Whatever you do, I recommend not going more than 10,000 miles unless you analyze your oil. Another way to think of it is the cost of a sample is about 3-4qts of synthetic oil. Two samples is half the cost of changing your oil, plus you can see what's going on inside your engine.



Vaughn



www.blackstone.com

www.oaitesting.com

 

[JJW_ND]

Short trips and synthetic oil...

I use synthetic oil very similar to Vaughn with 6K oil samples, new filter, then dump at 24K. I have no bypass filter just Stratapores.



I agree short trips make for the worst analysis results but it is all relative when NO samples ever come back recomending the oil needs changing.



A few winters ago I entered the month of December with 20K on the oil already. The daily averge temp was below zero. Every morning it was below -15 (many below -30) daytime around -5. I have a 5 miles to work. Mostly intown. I went two weeks without oil temps getting above 170. I run fanless with a winter front.



Sampled the following January. Oil was just fine for continued use. Soot around 0. 4%, fuel <1%.



Unless one is highly overfueled and using it, 15K oil changes with a filter change inbetween should be fine. Even in the Arctic north.



jjw

ND