Me too - I don't keep a vehicle long enough to really get concerned about it. - I do change every 3 thousand miles. --

 

I've always used valvoline 5w30 and fram TG oil filter on my 99 silverado.
changed every 3000 mi. It has 270,000 . 10w30 in my 67 chevy C10,it has @250,000 . used valvoline only for last 25 yrs.

 

Valvoline and change it about ever 4K miles.

 

Ok when you test it, does it show how filtrated the oil is after lets say 4k? Cause thats what I worry bout is the lifespan of the filter, not the oil. Some filters now when they get so containinated they have a bypass to let unfiltered oil run through the system instead of shutting it off. And do you think instead of changing the oil and filter every 4k miles should be filter every 4k and oil every 8k? Im just curious friend cause of the recession we are starting to build more ideas to conserve our resources.

 

That is a good qeustion RUFFNECK4LYFE. How do you determin the life of the filter? And another question is: What does an oil analysis cost versus an oil change?

 

Yes, the analysis will show how well the filter is doing its job and more. Sometimes changing just the filter at the halfway point of the oil life is warranted, but you would have to do an analysis to find out. Analysis will actually point out internal problems sometimes before they are noticed. An example would be a small coolant leak that ends up in the crankcase. You make not notice a few ounces but the analysis will show it clearly.

If you want to see what the report looks like check out Blackstone's sample page: http://www.blackstone-labs.com/gas-engine.php

The cost of the analysis is $22.50. 6 quarts of synthetic is $6+ each + $8-$10 for a premium filter like a Mobil1 brings an oil change to $48+tax. Blackstone used to offer 6 tests prepaid for $100.00, I don't see that listed but you could call and ask.

You don't have to test constantly, just to establish a baseline. Test at 5K and see what happens. If its clean and usable test again at 8K. If its still clean you may want to stop there. Go another full 8K cycle and test again. If its still clean you can be reasonably sure that 8K is safe. If the reports come back marginal at 8K then change and retest at 7K if you want to be safe. You likely need to test at least 2 times but probably 3 to get a usable interval. Then test every 3rd or 5th change to make sure things are good.

The thing to remember is this works financially for expensive synthetics and diesels with 2+gallons of oil. If you run whatever regular oil+filter is on sale and change every 3K then analysis probably isn't going to save you any money.

The last thing analysis provides is an interesting look inside the health of your engine. Without tearing things apart do you really know if an engine is in perfect shape? Compression/leakdown tests will show part of that but the analysis completes the picture. I do it mainly because I am curious.

RT

 

I understand all that and thx for the info!! Im gonna look into that to see how healthy my internals are.