When to change oil?

Mr. Bills said:
For my '06 LJ Rubicon with 4.0 motor I use:

Valvoline Maxlife 10w-30 synthetic blend motor oil
Fram Tough Guard oil filter (P/N TG16)

Change Interval every 5,000 miles or 6 months, whichever is earlier


To OP:

My inclination, regardless of whether you elect to use synthetic, synthetic blend or conventional motor oil would be to start with a 5,000 mile / 6 month change interval then send a sample to Blackstone Labs for testing. Blackstone's analysis typically includes their recommendation for a change interval based upon the specific findings for your oil and engine.

The Blackstone Labs test has two primary benefits: (1) It will give you an idea of the condition of your engine based upon the metals and contaminants found in the oil; and (2) The results show the condition of the oil and its additive package which will allow you to determine the optimum oil change interval theoretically saving money over the life of the vehicle. I test once each year per vehicle. Its worth the $28 to me to know rather than guess based upon the color of the oil in the drain pan. YMMV

The odometer on one of my vehicles just passed 138,000 miles, the last 40,000 of which using Valvoline Maxlife 5w-30 synthetic blend motor oil. Blackstone has recommended that I extend the change interval in that vehicle to 7,500 miles then re-test.

I haven't had my current jeep long enough to collect enough lab data to evaluate oil change intervals. ['06 LJ Rubicon.] I changed over to Valvoline Maxlife 10w-30 synthetic blend motor oil, and will change it every 5,000 miles or 6 months, whichever is earlier, until I see test results that provide a compelling reason to vary from that schedule.

I see no point in using full synthetic motor oil in the Jeep 4.0 engine. The "severe duty" maintenance schedule calls for periodic oil changes regardless of mileage. Since it is unlikely that one will reach the specified change mileage before reaching the specified change time, there is no advantage to paying extra for high mileage synthetic motor oil.


See: https://www.blackstone-labs.com/
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@Mr. Bills Curious to see if you've accumulated enough data from Blackstone Labs regarding the Valvoline Maxlife oil change for your 06 LJ. My 98 TJ also has about 130k and just switched from full synthetic to the Maxlife and plan to change it every 5k miles. Thanks for the insight
 
Blackstone thinks that I can extend the change interval to 7500 miles with Valvoline Maxlife synthetic blend 10w30 and Fram Tough Guard filter.

I am compromising at changing the oil 1X/year regardless of mileage which works out to somewhere between 5,000-7,500 miles since my jeep is for fun and not a daily driver. I will return to mileage-based oil changes if my driving pattern changes and I start putting more miles on the jeep each year.
 
Mr. Bills said:
Blackstone thinks that I can extend the change interval to 7500 miles with Valvoline Maxlife synthetic blend 10w30 and Fram Tough Guard filter.

I am compromising at changing the oil 1X/year regardless of mileage which works out to somewhere between 5,000-7,500 miles since my jeep is for fun and not a daily driver. I will return to mileage-based oil changes if my driving pattern changes and I start putting more miles on the jeep each year.
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Same here, I use it on weekends, mostly highway miles to go out to trails. 8 - 10 months is when I hit 5k so I will also be changing it once a year or at the 5k mark, whichever comes first. Thanks for the info, I might just try the lab work out myself or stick to this plan.
 
Engines are not created equal. Take a sample of your oil at 3000 miles and have it tested. Is it fine?

Go to 4000 next time. Have it tested.

In my experience with most engines using a synthetic blend you can easily go to 8000 miles. 10k is not unreasonable.

So do that yourself and find out. Or just pick a number you like, you'll almost certainly be changing it earlier than necessary.
 
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