I'm not buying it.
I just checked my oil at 2 900 miles and its totally black. And no, its not a diesel .
The oil in there is about a year old.
I take my service van home every day so I really don't drive Silvy that much.
And 99% of its use is basically just putting around town.
I'm sticking to changing it every 3,000 miles.

Why else would the oil be black if it wasn't breaking down?

 

Motor Oil turning black is not a sign of it breaking down.

It is doing what any good detergent motor oil is supposed to do,carry the contaminants away from from internal surfaces of the engine.It keeps the "dirt" in suspension until it is time to "change" the oil.

Blow by is the leading contaminate along with unburned gasoline.Today's vehicles run so much cleaner do to fuel injection,tighter tolerances,etc. and is one of the reasons oil changes can be extended to 5K,7,500K and even 10,000k miles.

Plus today's Oils are far superior at engine protection than oils of even 10 to 15 years ago.

Since your truck isn't driven much and probably doesn't get enough run time at full temp to burn as efficiently, you want to change yours a bit sooner than usual.1 year on the same oil is probably the limit.

Your motor will still be protected from wear but would probably be a good candidate for sludge formation.

 

yep...if its black, its dirty. Time to change it.

 

I use Mobil-1 5w30 synthetic in both my 2004 Silverado and my 2002 Nissan Sentra and always change it every 3,000 to 3,500 miles......whether it needs it or not.

Cheap insurance and peace of mind!

 

I like the way you think. That's what I'm gonna continue to do.
I damn near always change mine on a dime though.
Mostly cuz like I said, I just putt around town, no commuting so
I can easily fit it in.
And all I do is count up from 100,000 miles so I easily can figure out when my next change is. i.e. 103,000 106,000 109,000 etc etc.

 

agreed.

I see quite a few people changing oil by the oil life monitor....first oil change on a new car at 10 000 to 12 000 km. $40 000 for a new car and destroy it to save $40 for an oil change.

I know they qualified the oil life monitor by lab testing of the oil. Synthetic oil still has to carry around all the dirt...only so much can be in suspension and filtered out.

I just like to change the oil when it still looks like oil, not dirt.

 

Agreed,the Oil life moniter is a joke at best.

I go with the 5k,10k,15k,20k etc. and you can't lose track.

Mobil one has been in my truck since new and now over 200k and looking down the oil fill tube with a flashlight, it is clean as day one.

I do a lot of highway miles though with a 25 mile commute to work each way, each day so the engine always gets fully warmed up.

Lots of short trips is what gets the Oil dirty sooner.

 

I use Mobile-1,go 5000 and change the filter add a fresh quart and go another 5000 and then change both the oil and filter. Truck has 270k on it and has no leaks and does'nt use any oil between changes. I contacted Mobil re: my proccedure and they informe me I could let the oil go for the full 10k without the filter change.

 

im at 4300 miles on my 12 2500hd. still have 43% oil life!!! im changing it this week!!! the life oil meter thing scares me. MOBIL -1 5W-30 what filter do yall use?