Am I Being Stupid??

I've always been told to change the engine oil every 5000 k's with diesels, now I get my nice new D40 and they say every 10,000. It just doesn't feel right.

I'm happy to change it myself every other 5000 in between services, but am I being stupid or can new diesel motors really last 10,000k's without any problems?????

siringo said:

I've always been told to change the engine oil every 5000 k's with diesels, now I get my nice new D40 and they say every 10,000. It just doesn't feel right.

I'm happy to change it myself every other 5000 in between services, but am I being stupid or can new diesel motors really last 10,000k's without any problems?????

Click to expand...

10,000 kms is fine for 'normal operation'. If you tackle the Simo etc every second week then you may want to change it more regularly. The service manual explains this.

Even though mines a d22 its still same motor. I change mine every 5000kms regardless of driving conditions.. its personal choice really. It take me 40mins to drop change my oil. I have every second Friday off from work so its not asif I don't have the time to do it.

have a close look at the requirements for a 10,000 oil change. it doesn't take much before it becomes a 5000km oil change eg driving on dusty roads or towing.

I put it this way: How many 4wd diesels (and passenger car diesels for that matter) are driven around by soccer mums with barely a service. I'm sure they are all just fine. Mine will only be getting serviced every 10k. I am sure I read somewhere someone bought a new BMW diesel 4wd and they only recommended 15,000 sevice intervals!

Mine is an auto with a DPF and buggered if'n I'm gonna change my oil every 5000.....not at the price of fully synthetic oil.

depends on how dirty it gets. i've done the bosses ute at 15000km and the oil comes out like thick goop. mine with egr blocked looks like almost new.
it also depends on what filters they run. some use bypass filters which filter out a lot of the soot etc. you can run BIG miles when you have one of those fitted.

if it makes you feel better about driving it a little harder than you would if driving miss Daisy then do it at 5,000. if you want then why not split the difference and do it at 7,500. worth doing the EGR mod to help keep the oil clean between changes too.

with my old D22 i changed my oil every 10k, i drove it hard as it was my work ute and carried all my crap 24/7. i never had a problem with the motor in over 350'000km. so personally i will stick to the 10k oil changes, but each to there own.

The increase in distance between services is due to several factors. You might notice that it used to be "5,000km or 6 months" and now it's "10,000km or 6 months". My wife's car is "15,000km or 6 months".

The distance changes would be due to better quality oils, improved engine manufacture, smarter tuning of the engine which produces less particulate matter in the exhaust (which is also what flies past your piston, enters the oil and becomes blow-by). Engines with good tunes, driven normally under reasonable conditions can last 10,000km or more without any difficulty whatsoever.

It's when you stress the engine that you see problems. The entire reason for the oil being there is to lubricate the bits that move - big ends, bores, cams and the turbocharger. As long as the oil is good enough to be pumped into those places, then your engine won't suffer any damage from a little extra age.

However, if you're set in your ways and want to do it every 5,000km, there's nothing stopping you.

Personally, I'm sitting at the same table as Pete. My D40 has a DPF, requires stupidly expensive fully synthetic 5W30 ultra-low-ash (JASO-FD) oil. I'll do mine every 10,000km, but I'm not worried: even though I tow (a lot), I'm nowhere near what you'd call a hard driver. Ask Scotty, who thinks I need a defibrillator.

i change mine every 5000ks, oil only, nissan do the rest at scheduled service time
$50 for a bottle of good oil is cheap insurance
turbo's aren't cheap to replace
i also run a turbo timer for added protection against turbo failure
better to be save than sorry i reckon

How does the oil get into the turbo? I thought it was a seperate item?
Might go have a look at mine.

Oh, mine will be getting done every 10,000

I know a bloke with a 1.4l holden combo van that hasn't been done in 3years, like 50,000km and it still works no worries. He is a dickhead though

I change mine every 5000 or 3 months which is just my preference. Sort of a reasurance that it is clean and running smooth, better safe then sorry is the way I see it.

justdrinkbeer said:

How does the oil get into the turbo? I thought it was a seperate item?

Click to expand...

you're right it is separate. it doesn't mix with the intake/exhaust air, but is needed to lubricate the shaft connecting the turbine and intake compressor.

justdrinkbeer said:

How does the oil get into the turbo? I thought it was a seperate item?
Might go have a look at mine.

Click to expand...

There are TWO ways oil will enter the turbocharger. The first is necessary, and pumped in by the oil pump from the engine, into the bearings. Without that supply the turbo will fail very quickly.

The second way is through the Positive Crankcase Ventilation system. This is fed from the top of the motor into the air intake just forward of the turbocharger's compressor inlet. These exhaust gases are laden with oil and that's what so many people fit catch cans to reduce.

If you don't have a catch can fitted, you'll see this as a smear on the inside of your turbocharger inlet. It's nothing to worry about, but if it manages to leak out, it might MAKE you worry. Fitting a catch can removes this (mostly).

Thanks for all the advice everyone, greatly appreciated.

Good to see, hear rather, the differing opinions. We all gain even if we don't completely agree with others choices. Like to add something I heard.
A local wrecker was supplying a cam box to a fella off a very late model Daiwoo. I know, stay with me. I asked, "What." How does a cam box fail on such a low klm's car? He tells me they regularly fail. It turns out the oil itself blocks up and then there's no lube, so worn. Why? I say. His opinion. The oil change intervals ( manufacturer requirements) are 15,000klm or dirty. The other theory is that handyman mechanics are ignoring the recommended specified oil type, possibly using an age old belief that 'thick' oil, a standard 20w-50 is good for anything. Either way who cares its a Daewoo LOL.