[mhawkins686]

i dont know but im pretty old school i always change at 3000. its just on of those things to me better sooner then to late. im thinkin about going to mobile 1

[Tomas]

Yeah, depends on oil type AND usage.

For Vanilla my rule (even with a synthetic or synthetic blend) is 5000 miles or 6 months whichever comes first.

(That means Vanilla gets new oil every six months.)

[Eav10xB]

^ Yeah i drive about 100 miles a day so i hit 5k in about a month and a half so my car gets new blood every 1.5 to 2 months LOL...

Thats why i can't afford royal purple comes out to be a 50 dollar oil change every 2 months. Mobil 1 and a k&n oil filter was less than 40 bucks so that works.

[dubeexb06]

I run full synthetic now and am thinking that I'll change her at least the 6 months interval or the 5000 mile, which ever comes first. Thanks!!!

[tumminello123]

If you change every 3,000 miles, you can use cheap WalMArt SuperTech regular oil. It meets all standards necessary. Why spend 3X the price for full synthetic and change at the same intervals? I learned this with my motorcycle. I was wasting tons of money for top quality oil, but it was changed so often there was no difference in look between the oils. I guess use the good stuff if you changed 5,000 miles or more and MAYBE there is a benefit to the expensive stuff.

[BriGuy]

I heard an interesting theory when it comes to oil changes. A civil engineer friend of mine used his motorcycle as a test dummy to test his idea. When you change your oil and start the engine for the first time that is when the engine wears the most. You can hear the lifters tick before the engine gets oil pressure again which means the lifters are metal to metal.

So with his bike he used a high grade fully synthetic oil and changed his oil every 9k miles. His thought was that he avoided having to start the engine 2 extra times from changing every 3k miles. When the bike finally kicked the bucket from a transmission related issue he broke the engine down and inspected everything. His bike was an old air cooled setup and he was able to pull close to 150k miles out of it. Pretty good for a motorcycle if you ask me. Upon inspection he found that there was very little carbon build up and the parts showed no excessive wear. Granted his test was on a bike, but for all practical purposes an internal combustion engine is an internal combustion engine.

Taking his thought, I keep to the manufactures recommended 5k change and use full synthetic oils. Being that this is a small engine and is pretty revvy on the freeway I am sure that the oil temps can get up there. I also will pull the fuse for the fuel injection and turn the engine over allowing itself to prime with oil before actually starting. I started this on my last oil change and I noticed that when I started the car I didn't hear the lifter tick as the engine already had pumped up some oil pressure.

I plan on having this car for a long time so we'll see if it helps or not.

Regular maintenance at 3k or 5k will help the longevity of the engine either way. I am willing to bet that the lubrication qualities of any motor oil out there are pretty close to the same between 3k and 5k. If someone were so inclined they could do a 3k oil change, take a sample of the oil and have it sent off to see what is in it, and then compare it with a sample taken at 5k. Then you could compare metal content, carbon content, ect ect.

[mntegra01]

honestly that sounds dumb^^^^

Why?? because everytime you turn your car off the oil drains back to the pan. That means you should prime your engine before you start it every time.

Also considering you load your oil in from the TOP I would think that it has new oil closer to the valves and cams than if you had let it sit and drain overnight.

That is just my assumption from common sense... anyone has any insight to prove or back this up?

And yes getting a UOA (used oil analysis) is always a great idea to check how things are wearing. But Oil is goping to be at the bottom of the pan when the motor is off. Not just when you change the oil.

NOW I can understand filling up your OIL FILTER with NEW OIL before installing it will help because otherwise it is dry and it will have to absorb new oil before it can filter it onto the rest of the engine.

THAT would be what I bet causes the lifter tick.

[BriGuy]

When you drain the oil from the Pan you also drain it from the oil pump and it's passages, so the oil pump looses it's prime. When you shut the engine off just driving the oil pump pick up is sitting in oil so it doesn't loose it's prime. That's why you hear thre valves make noise for a couple of seconds after you start the engine post oil change, and not from normal driving. For a couple of seconds the engine doesn't have any oil flowing through it until the pump re primes itself.

[PCH]

Originally Posted by mntegra01

NOW I can understand filling up your OIL FILTER with NEW OIL before installing it will help because otherwise it is dry and it will have to absorb new oil before it can filter it onto the rest of the engine.

^I do that on my cars.
Most of the new oil filters have a built-in valve that prevents oil from flowng backwards into the crankcase when the motor is off.
Noise from hydraulic valve lifters usually comes when they loose ability to hold oil pressure and it takes few seconds to pump them back to reduce clearance. On xB's the valve lifters are just solid shims that do not need oil pressure to keep them at proper height.

[Giupo]

I prefer change the oil at 3000 miles because Imake very lower miles in long time.

[allwheeldeal]

I go 5000 with Synthetic Motor Oil...

[O6er]

OOOOOKAY time to lay this one down to rest. I manage an oil shop here in MI. And I am not going off what my company wants me to sell I am going off of MANY hours of research.

First and foremost regular oil a.k.a. the cheap-o stuff is just a mineral from the earth. So like everything else that comes out of the groun with heat and friction will break down. And since it is so prone to breaking down is the most prone to sludging and burning off leading to further deterioration of performance and engine life.
Drain interval: 3000 miles/3 months PERIOD

Now thanks to grand ole Ford we have this Synthetic Blend oil. It is a mix of conventional and synthetic. A bang for your buck...yes. Does it still have SOME of the same problems as straight conventional; Yes. Though for the deal shoppers, go for it.
Drain interval: 3000-4000/3 months Safely

Now you have your store/off/shop brand full synthetics. All man made, and will not magically disappear at the exact mark of 3000. Since it is man made it is not so susceptible to heat and friction as its lesser counter parts.
Drain interval: 3000 mile/4-5 months Safely

And the crem - o -de' crop
MOBIL 1 Full Synthetic
If you call their hotline they say 7500 miles. Persoanlly I could never watch my Trib B meter tick up this far and not start to bug after 6k. Completely safe for 5000 miles. And not reason to feel guilty if you went 1000 over because you were on a trip. Also has Supersyn technology to clean while it runs; And also to stop any build from forming in the engine.
Drain interval: 5000/5 months Safely or 7500 miles/7 months if your okay with it

CASTROL EDGE Full Synthetic
Okay well the only companyy ballsy enough to put RIGHT ON THE BOTTLE 15000 miles or once a year. God I could not imagine myself running on one oil change for either of those intervals. Though it is a full synthetic and Castrol makes one mean High Mileage oil. I would definitely not go one year but if your willing to live with it 10000 miles.
Drain interval: (Personal) 5000 miles/ 5 months (Advertised) 15000 miles/ 1 Year

Now I also saw a few people post what their manuals and dealers told them for intervals. FIRST: Never trust the dealer. They would love for you to accumulate 1 qt of build every 3000 miles so you can come back to them down the road and pay them loads of money to repair your car. SECOND: Do you really think at those intervals (if your going to them for your oil changes) that your car is running at peak performance? I think not.

And if your running a super high end engine than obviously you may have to work around that as well. And if you want to go into other brand like Royal purple or things of the sort. Well I do not think products like oil that come out with an advertising gimmick as being purple are really holding up their own standards.

[PCH]

^^^ Good stuff.
One thing about 15K oils: they are supposed to go that far in cars that have that service interval recommended by the manufacturer. Crankcase on those cars usualy holds way more than 4-5 quarts. So by having large amount of oil in the motor they can make it last that long. MBZ's hold like 9 quarts. I don't think there is a car with 4 Qt oil pan that has more than 6K service interval.

[O6er]

Good point. Though not true (not trying to be insulting) ANY and EVERY car that holds a lot of quarts; MBZ, Volvo, Range Rover, Land Rover, BMW, some Pontiac GT, and any other I have seen come through my shop. [and trust me we see all kinds. I Have worked on old British MG's and many others] They are ALL way more dirty and gunky, even with synthetics.

[sciond]

I can run 25,000 miles with Amsoil and Amsoil filter..which I have done..but usually 7,500 10,000 miles np.... and I have 119,000 miles on my xb

[O6er]

Hey D could you take some pics for me? the internal side of your oil cap, the area right under your oil cap on the engine block, your dip stick, and oil either on your hand or some other non absorbent medium while draining? Some factors as to why...... Your cap is the top most part of your engine to see how much build up there is. If there is some kind on the cap, it only gets worse the farther you go down. (there is reference in the tear down thread someone has done before) And also the VVT engines have a unique feature most people do not know about; the dipstick. It actually shows the "history" per say of the engine or the "condition" VVT engine are great for staying clean. And if your dipstick is clean (think of this if your buying a scion) it has been taken care of. if it has some bake on it from previous oil, you may want to think about cleaning in some way.

[uprising]

5k for me10

[sciond]

Originally Posted by O6er

Hey D could you take some pics for me? the internal side of your oil cap, the area right under your oil cap on the engine block, your dip stick, and oil either on your hand or some other non absorbent medium while draining? Some factors as to why...... Your cap is the top most part of your engine to see how much build up there is. If there is some kind on the cap, it only gets worse the farther you go down. (there is reference in the tear down thread someone has done before) And also the VVT engines have a unique feature most people do not know about; the dipstick. It actually shows the "history" per say of the engine or the "condition" VVT engine are great for staying clean. And if your dipstick is clean (think of this if your buying a scion) it has been taken care of. if it has some bake on it from previous oil, you may want to think about cleaning in some way.

Interesting..clean as can be..could be the Sea Foam too.

[awinter]

Originally Posted by BriGuy

I heard an interesting theory when it comes to oil changes. A civil engineer friend of mine used his motorcycle as a test dummy to test his idea. When you change your oil and start the engine for the first time that is when the engine wears the most. You can hear the lifters tick before the engine gets oil pressure again which means the lifters are metal to metal.

So with his bike he used a high grade fully synthetic oil and changed his oil every 9k miles. His thought was that he avoided having to start the engine 2 extra times from changing every 3k miles. When the bike finally kicked the bucket from a transmission related issue he broke the engine down and inspected everything. His bike was an old air cooled setup and he was able to pull close to 150k miles out of it. Pretty good for a motorcycle if you ask me. Upon inspection he found that there was very little carbon build up and the parts showed no excessive wear. Granted his test was on a bike, but for all practical purposes an internal combustion engine is an internal combustion engine.

Taking his thought, I keep to the manufactures recommended 5k change and use full synthetic oils. Being that this is a small engine and is pretty revvy on the freeway I am sure that the oil temps can get up there. I also will pull the fuse for the fuel injection and turn the engine over allowing itself to prime with oil before actually starting. I started this on my last oil change and I noticed that when I started the car I didn't hear the lifter tick as the engine already had pumped up some oil pressure.

I plan on having this car for a long time so we'll see if it helps or not.

Regular maintenance at 3k or 5k will help the longevity of the engine either way. I am willing to bet that the lubrication qualities of any motor oil out there are pretty close to the same between 3k and 5k. If someone were so inclined they could do a 3k oil change, take a sample of the oil and have it sent off to see what is in it, and then compare it with a sample taken at 5k. Then you could compare metal content, carbon content, ect ect.

If engine wear has you worried when it comes to motor oil (regular or synthetic) you should definitely purchase the engine oil bypass kit!



Engine Oil Bypass Kit - $49.95 : KaleCoAuto, Hard to find automotive items!

Modern synthetic oil is very expensive - so why run the risk of getting it dirty by running it through your motor block? KaleCoAuto bypass kit comes with everything you need to run the oil around your motor block where it will do more good. Oil runs cooler, and as a result, there may be horsepower gains!

[tommas]

I perfer 3000mile for semi Synthetic oil , 5000mile for fully Synthetic oil

By the way, anyone installed oil cooler. If so, can I have some info about how it install because the 2nd gen xb using "paper type oil filter". where can I find the oil hose for the cooler?