Change oil filter every other time?

Does anybody change oil filter every other time (every 6,000 miles),
when the oil is changed every 3,000 miles?
I have to jack up the front of my 2002 SL to access the oil filter,
plus it creates an oily mess because of the filter location.
My friend changes oil filter every other time in his Mitsubishi without
any problems. Any thoughts?

Thank you.

Jerry

 

I'd change the filter every time the oil is changed. It's tedious,
messy, etc., but filters are cheap and the price of major engine wear
(eg, timing chain, etc). makes it a good investment.

I can not cite any reference material to support this claim, but I have
never quite "trusted" these small, egg cup sized oil filters that are
used on modern cars really being capable of doing a good job for
extended mileages. Even though engine size (displacement) maybe
smaller, there is increased bearing & lobe surface area from multiple
cam shafts, chain gears, 4 valve guides per cylinder, higher temps
(which break down oil) etc. which need to be considered. Again, just my
opinion.


=================================

" ..... I ain't no bandleader!!"

 

Ignoring his agents wishes, (Jack Woltz) flung open
the hotel room door and announced to the gathering crowd:

Newer engines are built with higher tolerances than in the past. The
engines have tighter seals and rings that prevent the oil from getting
nearly as contaminated as older cars did. Having said that, I think
it's a matter of how often you change the oil and the quality of the
filter you're using. Obviously Saturn doesn't make their own filters
and rarely are OEM filters of any high quality. Their profit margin
is in charging you high prices for cheap filters and pocketing the
difference.

My last SUV, a Dodge only recommended changing the filter every other
oil change although I changed the filter in tandem with the change
anyway.

Here's an interesting link on a (non-scientific) test that was done by
a gentleman on various, well known filters. You might be surprised
by the results and who actually makes some of the high, (and low),
end filters out there.

In purchasing oil filters, you don't necessarily get what you pay for.

http://www.minimopar.net/oilfilterstudy.html

cheers


**********************************************************************

People are more violently opposed to fur than leather because it's
safer to harass rich women than motorcycle gangs.
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Remove "die spammers" to email

 

Check out this site for some interesting reading -->
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/

I'm going with a good synthetic oil (Mobil 1) and change every 6000
miles on my Saturn.

On my motorcycle, it's oil change every 3000 miles and oil filter
every other oil change.

Haven't had any engine related problems in my 3 Saturns and 2
motorcycles even though everything else started to fall apart with
high mileage.

 

An oily mess every 3000 miles is preferable to an engine that may not last
as long because I didn't take 3 minutes to replace a $2 part as often as I
should have. But that's just my opinion.

FYI - cover the filter with a plastic shopping bag, then spin it off while
holding the open end of the bag up against the back of the engine block. I
do this and if done carefully, it doesn't spill one drop of oil.

Lane [ l a n e @ p a i r . c o m ]

 

But are there any studies to show that changing oil every 3000 miles
just becasue your grandfather did is really helping your engine to last
longer? I have been a 3000 mile oil change guy all my life for my
"cars." However, two of my farm tractors specify 150 hour oil changes.
150 hours is roughly equivalent to 5000 miles (hours = time at 1875 rpm
or so). And these are hard hours, much harder than 95% of all cars will
ever see. I have never changed the oil in these tractors more often than
recommended. The older tractor is now over 22 years old. The whole
tractor is going to collaspe around a perfectly running engine. I know
it doesn't prove anything, but it does make me wonder why I am changing
the oil in my lightly stressed car after 3000 relatively easy miles
while I change the oil in my expensive hard working tractors at what
must be equivalent to a much higher vehicle mileage.

Ed

 

....what about a relocation kit - seen anyone do that? (just curious)

 

What is a relocation kit?

Jerry

 

...what about a relocation kit - seen anyone do that? (just curious)

Wasn't there a thread or two on here not too long ago concerning relocation
kits?

 

....I must of missed it.

 

....it's a bolt on kit that lets you mount an oil filter in another location.
JCWhitney, Summit and Jegs all sell them - here's a couple of pics
http://www.perma-cool.com/Catalog/Cat_page30.html

 

3 quarts of clean oil + 1 quart of dirty oil = 4 quarts of dirty oil.

Ken

 

3 quarts of clean oil + 1 quart of dirty oil = 4 quarts of dirty oil.

How true..........lol......

 

...I must of missed it.

There seems to be some talk and people asking about them in the old threads in
my quick peek on google.........but nobody seems to have tried one.

You had one on your wish list in Aug '02, LOL

 

I've targeted changes about every 5K for the past 20 years or so.
Most cars, when not driven in "severe" conditions, are rated for
6-7.5K between changes. My driving isn't "severe" since I almost
always drive at least 10 miles -- long enough for the engine to heat
up and boil off moisture.

During those 20 years have had no problems attributable to the oil.
The only cars that ever seemed to wear out in that regard were
the old Corvair I drove many years ago (you didn't need to change
the oil, since it used so much) and my old Vega which had the
cylinder walls wear out at precisely 50K -- good old siliconized
aluminum. A Gremlin (110K), Citation (110K), Cavalier (185K), and
Voyager(175K) all still had reasonably smoothly running engines when
I got rid of them.

The dealers push 3K on you because it makes them more money. And
some people (mostly the LOL type) do drive under "severe" conditions
(short trips, mostly). But if you don't then there's no need to
adhere to that schedule -- when you read your service schedule
you'll see that 6-7.5K is fine.

 

Do you know I never did wire the add on alarm I put in a couple of years
ago. I buried the module in the dash, put in a couple of switches and
tucked the horn under the fender and then stopped...

....today I got an oil change and mentioned the tough shifting - sure enough
it was the slave cylinder. They replaced it and said the clutch felt 'hard'
(don't go there). The car's got 84k on it so I'm sure it's well worn. They
want 850 for a new one - I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

I also have the radio out and shipped to Kenwood repair facility in Cerritos
(Los Angeles). I did replace the lamps that were burned out in the HVAC
controls and put everything back together only to have the rear defrost lamp
go - it never ends. I should be Saturn charging 5 bucks a bulb too (can't
get rich by just working).

Oh, and the grease wore off my urethane bushings on my sway bar and so it's
squeak, squeak, squeak - time for a new car!!! (I wish)

Sorry for the tirade - long day...

 

Nevertheless, most car manufacturers under normal driving conditions recommend
engine oil replacement every 5K - 7.5K miles and oil filter replacement every
10K - 15K miles -> every other time. And I am talking about Toyota, Mitsubishi,
and Nissan...

Jerry

 

And they do want to sell more cars. ;+)

Seriously, doing better than the manufacturer's recommendations won't
hurt anything other than the money out of your wallet.

Ken

 

Hey give http://www.topbulb.com a try, they even had bulbs for my 69
Alfa which the Alfa places didn't have and the prices were cheap. You
just have to order enough to make up for the shipping.

Mitch

 

LOL How true. It's like, "Well, I'm only a little pregnant."

Guess we can never get completely clean oil unless we disassemble the
engine and wipe every part down.