Changing the engine oil: when to do it and how

Changing engine oil is a conscious need, since this issue largely determines how long the power unit will faithfully serve. And if you undergo official maintenance, then you can forget about it for the entire period of the vehicle warranty. But what to do after the warranty period has expired, how to determine when to change the engine oil?

There are a lot of tips on this matter: some say that this should be done after every 10-15 thousand kilometers, others - once a year, and others - when the warning LED on the dashboard is activated. However, there are also car owners who carry out this procedure very late, and the consequence of this is engine overhaul.

Meanwhile, in order to understand how often to change the oil in a car, you need to take into account many factors - fuel quality, engine characteristics, types of lubricating fluids used, etc. Let's try to understand this matter, taking into account the fact that the official regulations prescribing oil changes are approximately through the above-mentioned 10-15 thousand km, is very rarely true. These figures are nothing more than fiction, since they absolutely do not take into account internal and external factors that significantly affect the operation of the power unit.

How much does it cost to change the oil and all filters?

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Why you don't need to change the oil according to car manufacturers' regulations

It has long been no secret that today new passenger car models are created not by designers, but by managers whose main interest is increasing the number of cars sold and overall profits. This is how “disposable” engines appeared, budget configurations with unpainted door handles, etc. A similar rule applies to motor oils: their manufacturers, like the leaders of the global automobile industry, indicate average values ​​for when to change the oil in a car based on time or mileage. This is done to ensure that the vehicle properly completes its warranty period plus some additional time period. Then it is assumed that a new car will be purchased and the company will receive additional income. In a word, the greater the sales volume, the better; there is no trace of any interest in reducing engine wear.

CONCLUSION.
Recommendations from car manufacturers regarding changing engine oil are calculated based on optimal engine operating conditions - driving on a very high-quality surface at medium speeds and the engine being “unclogged” with oxidation and abrasion products of parts.
In addition, there is another question: is it possible to believe that when the corresponding indicator on the panel lights up, you should immediately change the lubricant? It's not that simple here, but you can figure it out. The “culprit” for activating the LED is the ECU - an electronic control unit that independently calculates when to change the engine oil. For this, a lot of indicators are taken: the temperature of the engine, the number of cold starts, average speed, etc. However, the electronics provide only approximate indicators, and when the computer warns the car owner about the need for replacement, it may be too late - the lubricant has “aged”, the oil channels are clogged , the parts are worn out, and after a couple of hundred kilometers the engine may fail.

Reason #3 not to trust automakers

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It is far from a secret that a lot of counterfeit or simply low-quality motor oils are sold in the Russian Federation.
However, the quality of the fuel being poured is also often questionable - there are too many impurities. Therefore, it is natural that the recommendations of manufacturing plants should be reduced by 30%, or even more: if the regulations prescribe changing the lubricant every 15 thousand km, it is better to carry it out after 10 thousand km. And this does not take into account additional factors! Therefore, car owners have only one choice - to independently determine how long to change the oil in the car. There are two ways to do this. The first, quite approximate, is to measure the remaining lubricant and its color. The second involves complex arithmetic calculations that allow you to quite accurately calculate the frequency of replacement by engine hours.

Calculation of replacement intervals by engine hours

Compared to mileage, engine hours more accurately show the car owner how often to change the engine oil. However, to measure this indicator, a counter is required. It can be electromechanical or electronic, but in any case, this device is installed quite simply. In addition, the calculation can be made based on the readings of the ECU - it records fuel consumption and average speed. To determine the frequency of lubricant replacement, two methods can be used.

By the amount of fuel. This method allows you to determine real fuel consumption, which always differs from that specified by the car manufacturer. For example, the latter stated 10 l/100 km, but the actual figure is 11 l/100 km. At the same time, according to the regulations, the lubricant should be changed every 10,000 km. This simple problem is solved through the proportion: 10,000 km x 10 l/100 l = 1,000 l - this is how much fuel the car must spend to drive until the first scheduled replacement. The real figure is calculated similarly: 10,000 l x 11 l/100 km = 1,100 l. As you can see, the difference is 100 liters of fuel. Finally, let's determine the actual mileage: 1,000 l x 10,000 km/1,100 l = 9,090.9 km. That is, the oil change should be carried out almost 1,000 km earlier than the 10,000 km stated by the manufacturer.

By average speed. In this method, you need to know the average speed of the car over a couple of thousand kilometers. Let’s say this indicator is 40 km/h, and routine replacement of engine lubricant should be carried out after the same 10,000 km. We divide the mileage by the speed of 10,000/40 = 250 hours - this is the number of engine hours after which new oil with approximately the same resource should be poured into the engine. In this case, a semi-synthetic product with a rating of 250 is ideal. To find out the maximum mileage before replacement, we multiply 250 engine hours by an average speed of 40 km/h and get the same declared 10,000 km. However, if we fill the oil inlet neck with mineral oil recommended by the car manufacturer and having a working life of 150 hours, we will get only 6,000 km! This is not to mention the possibility of buying a fake, which completely reduces the maximum mileage to a minimum.

Expert opinion.
It states that the ideal lubricant change interval for an engine is within 200-400 operating hours. However, these figures do not take into account the operating conditions of the vehicle, which can be very different. In addition, the frequency of maintenance largely depends on the characteristics of the motor itself.

Replacement based on visual inspection

The instructions in this case are simple; it only requires a dipstick to determine the lubricant level and a little care. The dipstick should be removed from the cool engine and wiped dry with a rag, then reinserted into the groove, removed again and carefully examine its end. The oil level should be in the middle, or even better, closer to the maximum mark. If the lubricant is closer to the lower limit, it needs to be topped up or replaced.

How to tell if oil is old

and already performs the function poorly? If it flows freely from the dipstick and has a liquid consistency, it means that there are fewer useful additives in it. And if the lubricant resembles fuel oil, that is, its color is closer to black, then it contains too many products of the engine. In these two cases, the oil must be changed. And, on the contrary, a yellowish-brown tint indicates the absence of soot and other harmful fractions.

How to do this work yourself

You can carry out this type of oil change in a car engine yourself on an overpass or a corresponding garage pit. But changing the oil on a flat surface is already difficult, since it is necessary to place an appropriate container under the engine crankcase. Remember also that all work is carried out on a well-warmed engine. Warm oil has the required fluidity, which allows it to completely drain from the engine, and you can carry out this work correctly.

Therefore, before you start changing the oil in your car’s engine, you should warm up the engine for 10 minutes. After that, we drive the car onto the overpass and get to work. To change the oil, you will need a wrench to unscrew the drain plug, as well as a rag, a small container to drain the old fluid, and a flat-head screwdriver or filter puller. No special tools are required for this work, so you can easily carry out such a service yourself, saving several thousand rubles that you will be asked for such work at a company service station.

The service work itself is not particularly difficult. It is necessary to remove the engine crankcase protection, then carefully, placing the appropriate container, unscrew the drain plug. Be careful, the engine oil may be hot and you may get burned. We wait until the oil drains completely from the engine. This usually takes 20-30 minutes. As soon as the oil stops flowing out of the drain plug, you need to tighten it and proceed to the next stage of work. If you plan to flush the engine with auto chemicals, then a special composition is poured into the engine and used in accordance with the instructions. If this procedure is not performed, then the oil filter should be replaced. You can unscrew it manually, using a special puller, or by punching the housing with a flat-head screwdriver and using it as a lever. In most cases, there are no difficulties with replacing the filter element.

Pour a small amount of oil into the new filter and carefully, using a new rubberized gasket, tighten it by hand until it stops. Next, pour the required amount of oil into the engine through the filler neck. When performing this work, do not forget about the need to check the oil level in the engine with a dipstick. After this, close the filler neck and start the engine. Let the engine run for a few minutes, then turn off the engine and wait about 20 minutes. We check the oil level again with a dipstick and, if necessary, add technical fluid to the engine. Don't forget to also inspect the power unit for oil leaks. If so, tighten the drain plug and filter threads. All you have to do is install the crankcase protection in place, after which the service work is completed.

Do I need to flush the engine?

Is it necessary to flush the engine when changing the oil? There is no consensus among motorists and service center specialists on this issue. Some people categorically do not recommend carrying out this procedure, while other experts still advise doing it every 50,000 kilometers. During vehicle operation, the oil invariably becomes coked, and small deposits appear in the channels, which over time impede the quality movement of lubricant throughout the engine. To eliminate such deposits, it is necessary to flush the engine with appropriate means. However, it should be remembered that the engine has hard-to-reach places where oil gets into after several hundred kilometers after replacing it. Therefore, using such means for flushing the engine, we wash out the oil from hard-to-reach places and then the engine runs dry for some time.

So is it necessary to flush the engine before changing the oil? We can recommend that you perform it every fifth engine oil change. If you bought a used car and don’t know whether they used high-quality lubricant before you, it is best to carry out this procedure. This type of washing is not difficult. During service, it is necessary to drain the old lubricant from the engine, fill the engine with such liquid, and then start the engine. The engine should run, depending on the specific product, for 5-10 minutes, after which we turn off the power unit and drain the liquid, pour it into the engine oil. In each specific case, the car owner independently decides whether it is necessary to flush the engine when changing the oil.

Mazda 3 club (Mazda 3

The engine itself did not overheat, my car was only 2 months old. However, the service department said that it was most likely overheating. I can’t honestly say about the rest; the service center assured that the caps were definitely worn out. Now I have driven 200 km, the oil is full. I'll check again after 800. Post edited by marktyler: 07 January 2022 - 22:44

What's the mileage on the car? Rings and caps wear out during the “heating-cooling” process of the engine, as a result of which the caps lose their elasticity, and the rings lose their thermal fixation property (when they are in good condition, they do not lose elasticity) because this cycle is repeated thousands of times. These properties are inherent constructively. When overheated, the limit of the parts' capabilities shifts greatly forward and their service life becomes critically short. The secondary reasons for this problem are very frequent starting of the engine in extreme cold without preheating, fuel and lubricants of disgusting quality, high mileage of the car (more than 150 thousand km during normal operation), extreme operation. All this can contribute to oil burning. In any case, it is cheaper for you to make repairs as soon as possible, this will save on further costs. What condition are the spark plugs in? Is there a whitish coating on the oil dipstick? When heated to operating temperature, try placing a clean piece of paper under the exhaust pipe (droplets of sweet antifreeze liquid), this is bad (you can’t drive, you can get a water hammer (in my opinion)).

Dependence of maintenance frequency on engine type and size

A car that has a herd of “horses” under the hood can cope with increased loads much more easily. This is why engine oil ages much more slowly compared to low-power units. Suffice it to say that driving even at a speed of 120 km/h on a good highway is just a cakewalk for premium cars, jeeps and certain crossover models. And, on the contrary, for weak power units, especially forced ones, a more frequent engine oil change interval is recommended - the procedure should be carried out after 7-8, and very rarely 10 thousand kilometers.

For freight and passenger transport, these figures are much higher – up to 40,000 km. However, budget passenger cars are also not barred from entering the elite league: sometimes filling in high-quality lubricant significantly increases not only the engine’s performance, but also its “survivability.”

In a separate row are petrol engines that are turbocharged or that are extremely loaded by the car owner, and it is quite acceptable to change the oil in them after every 5,000 km. As for diesel power units with a turbine, the replacement interval for them is recommended to be even more frequent - literally every 2-3 thousand km. This is explained by the fact that the lubricant in them absorbs a lot of sulfur very quickly.