Oil change monitor says oil life is 15% after only 3000 miles driving

[Cherokee]

This may sound weird but I actually like doing my own oil changes!

I would prefer to do my own, I get it.
Closest place to dispose of the old oil is nine miles away and it’s a mess.
Can’t go back in the house with shop grease on the bottom of my shoes.
Plus I like browsing the car lot,
It’s a kid in a candy store kinda thing.

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[MaverRick]

I remember once when my Dad was doing an oil change and he forgot to put the plug back in and the new oil he was adding wound up on the garage floor!
My worst experience was cranking up my Dodge Ram after changing the oil and having oil spraying all over the engine! I haven’t ever used another Fram Filter since then!

 

[Cherokee]

1988 Old's Delta 88 with a wimpy V-6 But if you were patient when it got up to 80 mph on the super slab It was a smooth ride.

Sears changed the oil, well sort of, they drained it, screwed on a new filter.

Mom drove the car the four miles home and never noticed the oil light. After supper my Dad went out to check the oil level, Taught me to never fully trust any shop, especially the Dealers.

Sears towed it in, New oil pan plug new oil, next full service was free.
3,000 miles later it was running like new at 37,000 miles.
No oil for four miles, Imagine that ! Pre Synthetic right ?
Anyway, five stop lights, two were multi lanes with turn lights.
Car was T-boned and totaled by a drunk at 87,000 miles, still running like new.

Go figure.

 

[Frenchy]

1988 Old's Delta 88 with a wimpy V-6 But if you were patient when it got up to 80 mph on the super slab It was a smooth ride.

Sears changed the oil, well sort of, they drained it, screwed on a new filter.

Mom drove the car the four miles home and never noticed the oil light. After supper my Dad went out to check the oil level, Taught me to never fully trust any shop, especially the Dealers.

Sears towed it in, New oil pan plug new oil, next full service was free.
3,000 miles later it was running like new at 37,000 miles.
No oil for four miles, Imagine that ! Pre Synthetic right ?
Anyway, five stop lights, two were multi lanes with turn lights.
Car was T-boned and totaled by a drunk at 87,000 miles, still running like new.

Go figure.

In France in the 1960 Motul ( I believe)had a famous commercial where they took a Citroen DS 19 drained the oil, left the plug out and drove it all the way from Paris to Marseille.
Another famous commercial was when they drove a similar car on 3 wheels instead of 4, all the way from Paris to Marseille.

 

[Frenchy]

So yesterday I got my 'free" ( at first they wanted to charge me) oil change.
2 things:
I asked them to use 5/20W full synthetic instead of 0/20 Blend.
They still used a Motorcraft blend but 5/20.
Again they forgot to reset the oil monitor, so I did it and I shall also use my trip counter to check the mileage on the oil.
They came pick up my car at home and then they bring it back for free, this is perfect.

 

[Cherokee]

What was the point of doing that ?
I know a lady that drove from Miami to Tampa some 260 miles, no oil at all.
Oldsmobile V-8
Motor made it then seized up, melted the plug wires.
Means nothing other than she was lucky the car didn’t burn.

 

[Cherokee]

So yesterday I got my 'free" ( at first they wanted to charge me) oil change.
2 things:
I asked them to use 5/20W full synthetic instead of 0/20 Blend.
They still used a Motorcraft blend but 5/20.
Again they forgot to reset the oil monitor, so I did it and I shall also use my trip counter to check the mileage on the oil.
They cam pick up my car at home and then they bring it back for free, this is perfect.

5/20W in the hybrid mil ? Must be hot where you are. Very hot.

 

[Frenchy]

What was the point of doing that ?
I know a lady that drove from Miami to Tampa some 260 miles, no oil at all.
Oldsmobile V-8
Motor made it then seized up, melted the plug wires.
Means nothing other than she was lucky the car didn’t burn.

The oil was one of the very first full synthetic ( interestingly enough Motul was a USA company which went bankrupt was bought be a French company in the early 1900 and now is very successful especially in motorsports). Demonstration is the lubricating film quality.

 

[Frenchy]

5/20W in the hybrid mil ? Must be hot where you are. Very hot.

Very hot or very cold, little in the middle. I do not know why you think the 5/20 is for very hot climate.
I have been a mechanic 50 years or so of my life and I spent my time mostly reading or watching mechanical videos, books or documentaries. I have strong reservation with 0 viscosity oil. 5 still is almost like water

 

[Cherokee]

Zero weight has been spec’s for some time now with 100,000 plus miles engines being comon. I’m not a trained wrench and that’s old knowledge to me.

But yer right it look like water :’P

 

[Frenchy]

Yes , I know but extremely often at idle or just above idle the engine "rattles a lot ( very noticeable on Subaru). Unpleasant sound for a mechanic, with 5/20 the noise disappears. I believe that 0/20 even if it works is just too thin. It was developed to improve fuel mileage by reducing friction due to viscosity not to make the engine last longer

 

[MaverickDragon]

The switch to low viscosity oils seem to be primarily driven by the goal of improvement in CAFE fleet numbers, rather than engine longevity.

The 0 or 5 on 0/20 5/20 is for the cold viscosity rating, so it's really 20 weight for either in operational conditions. Unless you are in artic conditions, 0 weight in 0/20 oil is overkill, considering 10 weight is rated for -22F.

In a moderate climate the 20W may be fine, but when engines run in very hot weather, viscosity breakdown is a larger risk than a miniscule mpg improvement, IMHO.

In my summer where 100 degrees are common, I have been using 10/30 in my car that "must" use 0-20. After going on 14 years, it's hasn't been a problem.

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