I started changing my own oil...

[Kid B]

Keep your son safe! I let my kid help me when I was younger (handing me whatever I needed, and letting him choose the tools from my cart) but I never let him under my lift...

Yes, of course! Thankfully I can get under my truck without lifting it. My wife's Camry, however, will have to go up on jacks. He won't be allowed under there for that.

 

[Kid B]

This truck is so great. I found it at an estate sale. I showed up not planning to buy a vehicle at all, though my wife and I had been discussing getting a replacement for my 2003 Honda CR-V, which was on its last legs.

It's a 2000 F-150 Lariat with 5.4 v8 Triton engine. Only 60k miles with I got it in May. Simultaneously the oldest and the cleanest, most well kept car I have ever owned. Something about getting a car that nice made me want to really take care of it and maximize its lifespan. I've heard that these trucks with good routine maintenance can go up to 400k miles or more. I hope that I can do the same with this one and hopefully get a little more life out of my wife's Camry as well.

 

[Ralf11]

Lol...

So much wrong with this I wouldn't know where to start

Really?? Where did you get your engineering degree??

 

[cofloprop]

Definitely change the filter.

 

[ericm]

Ford say 7,500 miles so that is what I do. It usually takes 12-18 months to get that many miles, but it does get its highway time !

Many manufacturers have two maintenance schedules- normal and "extreme duty". But the definition of extreme is so broad that a good part of most people's normal driving qualifies! You need to read the details in the manual to see which schedule to follow.

 

[oldmxracer]

Saw this thread and made Me think, god I am OLD soon to be 68 and have never paid someone to do an oil change ! Do too much short driving, I use conventional oil and GOOD filters, change them at 4000 have run to 5000. but do not like to, Oil and filers are cheap in My mind !

 

[matt_i]

I change the oil every 10k and the filter every 5k.

My reasoning is that the unburned hydrocarbons are the gritty particles that wear out your engine prematurely. The detergent oil is designed to suspend & carry them to the filter.

You start to plug the filter and it goes into bypass so it doesn't grenade the engine. The driver never knows or feels a thing, its a super small incremental damage to continue to circulate the nanogrit.

So, to put the filter back on is no worry, just change it one day soon. Just needs a tiny top-off.

Just crossed 240k today in my vehicle maintained as above ^

 

[JamesW84]

Really?? Where did you get your engineering degree??

Yeah. Think about it:. A filter has holes essentially that the oil or whatever flows through. As it catches debris, the debris blocks a portion of the holes. What catches more debris a big hole or a relatively smaller one.

The trade off is flow. The smaller holes/more clogged filter will allow less oil/air/fuel through, which will become a problem sooner or later.

No engineering degree here.

 

[Tonyuk]

a filter with filtrate (the material to be filtered) on it will filter BETTER than a new one

BUT... if it has so much filtrate on it that it clogs, then it will activate the bypass valve and not filter at all

if it has no bypass valve, it will explode eventually

so, your choice

If your engine is producing enough derbies to clog an oil filter completely it's likely already done for.

If your changing out synthetic oil more often than once every 10k miles your wasting money imo. I change my oil every 10 - 12k and have no issues.

There's absolutely no point in changing the filter if its only been on there for 5k miles, keep it on until the next change. They don't just magically start to dissolve.

 

[laser3kw]

Would you take a shower then put on the same underwear? Same thing
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Except that when you decide to change the underwear, you won't have 4 or 5 oz of liquid drain out....or you shouldn't at least.

you owe me a key board! Lol

to the OP: you can change the filter at any time, even between oil changes if it gives you peace of mind.

BTW, how did you get the wrong oil filter?

 

[GirchyGirchy]

I guess I go against the grain on this one. I've seen the insides of these cheap filters after 10k miles and I wouldn't dare put that kind of mileage on one. I do full synthetic oil changes on all of my vehicles every 5k or once a year, whichever comes first.

Assuming you have a 'normal' gas engine, you're just ******* away money. An oil analysis can quickly tell you whether 10k is safe or not, and all of mine have. That money was quickly recouped by not buying 2x as many $30 synthetic changes.

 

[Kodiak]

Just imagine how far some of these cars go between oil changes with some not even knowing to change oil. Or they just add a quart here and there and never change the filter. I guess today some of that is prevented with the "Oil life remaining" warnings on the dash, but it wasn't always that way. I'm not advocating it, but some are/were probably going 40 and 50,000 miles.

 

[Ralf11]

Yeah. Think about it:. A filter has holes essentially that the oil or whatever flows through. As it catches debris, the debris blocks a portion of the holes. What catches more debris a big hole or a relatively smaller one.

The trade off is flow. The smaller holes/more clogged filter will allow less oil/air/fuel through, which will become a problem sooner or later.

No engineering degree here.

talk to a chemist or chemE - you have a simple mental model of what happens - it is not wrong but neglects what is called particle cohesion

I agree with the other post re engine is on it's last legs

 

[brownbagg]

Seems like if I don't drain the oil it's going to pour out. If I drain it first into a clean oil pan is it safe to pour back in the engine?

it not going pour out. you just lose what was in the filter

 

[mrvm]

Seems like if I don't drain the oil it's going to pour out. If I drain it first into a clean oil pan is it safe to pour back in the engine?

Not worth the effort to reuse the small amount of oil that might be lost when removing the oil filter. Install the proper oil filter and top up based off the dip stick.

 

[tonyciambrone]

I have no considerable opinion on whether or not a filter can go 20K miles

I will only add that filters are cheap and motors are not...

 

[Greenlawnracing]

And congrats for being willing to change your own oil. It's a start to your independence. Sure, it's only oil changes now, but it will evolve into starters, alternators, brakes, diff and trans oil changes, and on and on. Next thing you know, you won't remember the last time you took a vehicle somewhere for a repair

Agreed. Well done!

 

[theoldwizard1]

Knock wood. I have not had to change an alternator or starter on any of my cars in over 40 years ! My current truck is 22 years old.

BTW, it has the original transmission fluid and rear differential oil in it still.

 

[exmaxima1]

There's absolutely no point in changing the filter if its only been on there for 5k miles, keep it on until the next change. They don't just magically start to dissolve.

Moisture in the oil will break down conventional filters, causing them to disintegrate. Synthetic filter elements will not, and will last much longer as you said.

 

[Bent Handle]

Congrats on venturing into doing your own oil changes. I started doing mine shortly after college when I had more time than money, and wanted to use synthetics. This was almost 20 years ago. The first time I ever changed my oil, in my excitement on a job well done, I backed my car up out of the way so I could move things around, and right over the oil pan I had left under the car behind the front wheel. A mistake you only make once!

 

[B T C]

I went through a phase of running different oils, filters, running filters for multiple oil changes etc. etc. and getting the oil tested. For my vehicles, I try to avoid going more than 10K on an oil change. As a rule I change my oil and filter at the same time, but if necessary I wouldn't have a great deal of worry about reusing a filter. The better the filter the more comfortable I would be with reusing it.

 

[Ralf11]

... filters are cheap and motors are not...

should add that one to the Inspirational Thought for the Day thread...

 

[FSrepair&fabrication]

I have no considerable opinion on whether or not a filter can go 20K miles

I will only add that filters are cheap and motors are not...

My opinion as well, I run Mobil 1 synthetic and it gets changed between 3-5k. A $50 oil change 3 or 4 times a year is cheap insurance. Oil changes and maintenance are not the things to be pinching pennies on.

 

[pima67]

Been doing it for more years than I care to remember. One thing I might add (don't think anyone suggested this). Add some oil to your new filter to wet the filter material before installing it. This will allow faster oil pressure build up upon first start.

 

[minke]

I don't like to change the oil in the winter or summer so I do it the other times. Since I no longer work I can let it drain overnight and get the last seven drops out. Makes me feel better even if it is insignificant.

I have a plastic container that I think nuts came in whose dimensions are about 6" per edge. I drilled some holes in all the faces and put it into the oil tub with the filter on top draining. Less mess.

 

[Beemer]

I started with the F150 and when I went to replace the filter, I noticed the new filter was the wrong size. I just popped the previous filter back on. Hoping it's good for another 5k miles. Will my car be okay or will it explode?

Seriously though am I doing long term damage to the car or is 10k miles on one filter okay?

I was once dumbfounded when an old construction inspector said he never changed his oil in 80,000 miles. Knowing his reputation I think the money went into booze but the car was still chugging.

Thinking about it I once was given an olf Fairlaine that might have had similar treatment. I popped a valve cover to fins about a inch of sludge. The old Fairlaine, though, b urned more oil than gas. I had to put sparkplug extenders to get the electrodes out of the combustion chamber and oil bath.

 

[Bent Handle]

I had an employee who though his car was out of oil because him and his buddy couldn’t see any when he opened the fill cap. You guessed it, filled it up.

 

[amkluttz]

Assuming you have a 'normal' gas engine, you're just ******* away money. An oil analysis can quickly tell you whether 10k is safe or not, and all of mine have. That money was quickly recouped by not buying 2x as many $30 synthetic changes.

I have no considerable opinion on whether or not a filter can go 20K miles

I will only add that filters are cheap and motors are not...

My opinion as well, I run Mobil 1 synthetic and it gets changed between 3-5k. A $50 oil change 3 or 4 times a year is cheap insurance. Oil changes and maintenance are not the things to be pinching pennies on.

These last two quotes speak to my "oil change is a cheap form of insurance" thought process. At $3.50 per quart for full synthetic and a decent oil filter in the sub-$5 range even my most expensive vehicle is less than $25 per oil change. So at 2-3 oil changes per year I don't feel like I've lost anything or am ******* money away. Also, doing oil changes at 5k mile intervals allows me to check the rest of the vehicle over for any other problems. Sometimes that 5k interval does only come around once a year and a yearly inspection isn't a bad thing in my book. My lowest mileage vehicle has 185k on the odometer.

 

[king nero]

I had an employee who though his car was out of oil because him and his buddy couldn’t see any when he opened the fill cap. You guessed it, filled it up.

I always wondered what the total capacity would be... The entire crankshaft area can probable take a few gallons. Didn't they get suspicious at some point because the engine kept accepting oil?

 

[cpttuna]

Remember that when you change your own oil, look around underneath your vehicle to see if you have anything else that needs attention.

 

[Falcon67]

I've thought about doing my own but...It was right at $60 at the DEALER to have the F-350 oil changed. That's 8 quarts and the filter and all I did was stand around. In and out in under an hour. We have no disposal facility in my home city and not in the mood to hunt up jugs to haul it 25 miles to O'Reillys to recycle. I have 16 quarts in race cars for that, the 20 quarts in the trucks I'll let somebody else mess with.

 

[minke]

Remember that when you change your own oil, look around underneath your vehicle to see if you have anything else that needs attention.

I think I'm making things better by spraying silicone onto rubber parts.