# Is there a time limit for Oil Changes (if putting on mileage takes a long time?)



## cvacc (Aug 22, 2009)

My Jeep is 15 years old. It has low mileage (65K) and it runs fine. I run synthetic oil in it - which is good for 7500 miles. My question is this: Because it takes me about 7 years to put even 3000 miles on the Jeep, I usually don't change the oil for 7 years. Is it ok to keep the same oil (and filter) in the car until the mileage mark is hit, despite that it can take such a long time to reach? I've recently heard that letting oil sit for too long can cause engine damage. Thx!


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## Gene145 (Sep 21, 2007)

7 years is a VERY long time. If a vehicle is used frequently and still has low mileage you should change oil on the time interval. A lot of short trips can accumulate moisture in the crankcase and that is bad. A long trip will dry it out. 

I have a small diesel tractor that is 30 years old with 2700 hours on it. I use it about an hour at a time for about 100 hours per year. I change it once per year.


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## tom99S104x4 (Aug 10, 2009)

7 years is way to long for an oil change. if you think about it the average auto. has 4 oil changes a year, so at least once a year is not so bad.


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## Daniel Tiger (May 21, 2009)

I've had a few pick-up trucks that I rarely changed the oil in. It would be like 5 yrs. between complete changes. But once a year I would change the filter and add needed oil to fill it, both had over 100k miles and no engine problems when I sold them.

Dan

one was 13 and the other 17


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## Basementgeek (Feb 7, 2005)

Hi Dan and welcome to TSF :wave:

I can't agree with your thoughts. Glad it worked for you, but if I was going buy a vehicle from you and I knew that, I would pay to have the pan dropped and valve cover removed, to check for sludge. 

A full bottle of oil, will probably last for ever, things change when put it in an engine. Most vehicles that get very little use, when they are used generally short drives, never hot enough to drive off the condensation (water) in the oil. Also probably have been diluted with fuel that has that has washed down the cylinders. A filter can't take these out.

I would never change one (oil or filter) with out changing the other.

BG


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## Gene145 (Sep 21, 2007)

I have changed filters without changing oil, but just once and it was on long trips, hundreds of miles every day. After changing the filter, the oil cleaned up. 

The issue of condensation is important for anyone with a lot of short trips. So change it. 

I have heard of diesels getting fuel washed into the crankcase when under very low loads for a long time. Some of them will never warm up unless worked, and will spew unburned fuel out the exhaust, very messy. 

If a gasoline engine accumulated fuel in the crankcase that washed down the cylinder walls I would be very surprised if it did not smoke a lot and have very high wear on the sleeves and rings. 

Diesel has some lubrication properties but gasoline would just wash all the oil out and thje wear would be huge.... :4-thatsba


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## firefightjason (Apr 19, 2009)

I have a 92' dakota sport v6. Don't drive it alot...past 3 years maybe put 7000km on it. I still change oil and filter every 4000km or every 6 months, which ever happens first.


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## wolfen1086 (Oct 4, 2007)

I've done a lot of work on a lot of automobiles in my day and I always recommend the oil and filter BOTH be changed between 3000 and 4000 miles or every 6 months, whichever comes first, and contrary to what synthetic oil manufactures tell you natural oil and synthetic oil need to be changed at the same intervals, the only difference between natural and synthetic is that the molecules in synthetic are all the same size where in natural the molecule size is random. Synthetic was developed originally for the military because it doesn't have paraffin in it. Personally for your Jeep I recomend Natural oil and a NAPA Gold, Purolater, or Wix filter.


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## wolfen1086 (Oct 4, 2007)

Daniel Tiger said:


> I've had a few pick-up trucks that I rarely changed the oil in. It would be like 5 yrs. between complete changes. But once a year I would change the filter and add needed oil to fill it, both had over 100k miles and no engine problems when I sold them.
> 
> Dan
> 
> one was 13 and the other 17



I'm thinking Chevy?


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## Daniel Tiger (May 21, 2009)

wolfen,

Your good! 77 350 had it for 6 years left with 106k saw it last 1990.
86 bought it with 16k on it left with 117k had it til 01 needed a long bed then only have only have S-10 4.3L now change the oil a little more often now. Neither the 77 or 86 made noise or ticked or rapped when I got rid of them. Saw each a few years after trading new owners no major engine work.

Dan

86 was a 305


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## wolfen1086 (Oct 4, 2007)

Naaaaa. not as much being good as being a Chevy man my self, I had a 1967 (350 Rochester qyadrajet) with 400,000 miles on it before the cam shaft lobes completely rounded off, and I had a 1976, and I put 250,000 on it before it got killed by a tree.
Now I have a 89 S-10 blazer with a 4.3, and the only problem I have with it is a electrical thingie that I have posted on here in another thread with 175,000, and the S-10 Blazer will yank a H2 out of the ditch, and it has pulled a C-130, not far due to overheat, but about 25 feet.

Chevy Rocks so much that when the 2.5 in my Jeep goes, I'm gonna modify it to hold a 4.3 or a 350, haven't decided just yet.


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