Talked to a old school mechanic who changed my mind about oil change intervals

Was helping a buddy swap a transmission in his '98 F-350 last weekend and his neighbor came over, dude's been turning wrenches since the 70s. He looks at my oil jugs and says I'm wasting money changing every 3k miles on my newer truck, said the oil analysis I did at 5k showed it was still good. He explained how modern oils and engines don't need that short interval unless you're running heavy loads or idle all day. Now I'm questioning everything - anyone here actually do oil analysis or just stick with the old rule?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_henry20h ago

Did he say what mileage he actually runs his own oil to?

tylerw7219h ago

Does he actually track it or just guess like I do until the light comes on? I once pushed an oil change to 10k miles and my car started making noises I didn't want to translate.