Oil and Lubrication

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Changing your oil every 3,000 to 5,000 miles is about right. Oil is the very blood of your car. Unfortunately, waste products from the combustion of fuel and from engine wear end up in your car’s blood and they have to be removed periodically. The waste products are abrasive so changing the oil often will result in a longer engine life. How often? Dr. Dipstik recommends more often than many auto manufacturers say is necessary. Many companies suggest 7,500 or more miles between changes these days, but they have a vested interest in selling you a new car. Use the recommended lower limit of 3,000 miles to maximize the engine life and if you’re going for a record. If all you’re trying for is a total of 100,000 miles of engine life, results with the upper recommended limit of 5,000 miles are probably not statistically very different from the lower limit of 3,000 miles.

Always change the filter.

If you are doing heavy service, that is operating in the extremes of mileage, dust, heat, or if your spouse weighs more than 450 lbs., change the oil and filter every 2,000 miles.

If you are doing very light service - say you’re an Old Fogy and you wear a hat when you slowly drive straddling lanes, weaving, with the left blinker always on - you should change the oil and filter a couple of times a year. Dr. Dipstik recommends you change it when you reset your clocks to and from daylight savings time. This will prevent moisture and other waste products from building up in the oil. Remember, both usage and time cause wear to both the mechanisms and fluids in a car.

An exception to this rule is if you make a lot of very short trips. In this case the engine may not be heating up completely which can pollute the oil with moisture and acidic combustion by-products pretty quickly. Use the heavy service recommendation above to compensate.

Check your oil every 500 miles or every couple of weeks, or so. It will prevent the level from going down unexpectedly. If the oil level drops too low, less oil is available to do the work. The oil gets hotter and engine wear goes up, and that uses more oil - thus establishing a cycle almost as vicious as the dreaded French fry-arteriosclerosis cycle.

Changing your oil frequently is the cheapest engine insurance you can buy.

Most modern vehicles don’t require periodic lubrication of the steering system, or any other components. Still it’s a good idea to look through your owner’s manual to see if the manufacturer says anything requires on-going lubrication on your particular vehicle. Make a note of that and a few other things about your car, and record them in your log.

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