What Happens NOT Changing Oil

[alynch]

I'm a member of another car forum and this story is unbelievable. Owner didn't take the time to change oil for 50K miles but did take the time to rebuild when the engine stopped. A long read but the pictures alone are worth it:

https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w204/739350-c250-sport-no-oil-change-6-years-50k-miles.html

[Racer Boy]

It looks just like all the other pictures I've seen where the oil was never changed.

There is a reason why the people that design engines recommend changing the oil at specific intervals.

[piper6909]

Originally Posted by Racer Boy

It looks just like all the other pictures I've seen where the oil was never changed.

There is a reason why the people that design engines recommend changing the oil at specific intervals.

Sometimes it seems that the bean counters and not the engineers decide what those specific intervals are. Case in point, the manual on my wife's Subaru recommends oil changes at 7500 miles. Using CONVENTIONAL OIL! That seems crazy to me! The only reason I can think for this is that they want to lower the cost of ownership.


Another one is Chrysler. Although this doesn't have to do with oil changes, but types of oil. I've had every generation of Chrysler minivans. The older ones used 5w-30 motor oil, and from 2008 and up they switched to 5w-20. The engines were the same 3.3 and 3.8 liter engines. I've read that the 5w-20 oil improves mileage.

Too bad car makers don't always have what's best for the car in mind when they make these recommendations.

[TeamOxford]

I once saw the innards of a BMW engine that suffered from a lack of oil changes. It was exposed at my indie's shop, and the black goop that once passed for oil was truly disgusting. The repair bill was quite high, and I remember thinking that it could have all been avoided by changing the motor oil.......with ANY motor oil.........at regular intervals.

And I would NEVER consider buying an off-lease MB or BMW in Dallas. I've seen (or not seen) what the owners do (or not do) to their rides as far as maintenance.

Just sayin'.........

TO