'92 lesabre oil change interval with local (low mileage) driving

[feniks]

hi,

just a quick question. my old ride ('92 lesabre) is ... well ... not really safe car for long highway runs, so it's rather a local driver only for our household since 2 years. i was wondering how often you change oil on cars that do merely 200 miles a month ?

regular 3k miles / 3 months dino oil change interval seems not right for this scenario. every 3 months sounds like changing it very often (600 miles or so) and waiting until it hits 3k miles would take a few years (unless I sell it to someone first).

It's been already 6 months since last oil change, but the car barely hit 1k miles in that time.

thanks for your opinions.

[maxwedge]

Stop and start short trips are calculated by time not mileage. you are due.

[feniks]

Originally Posted by maxwedge

Stop and start short trips are calculated by time not mileage. you are due.

ok, thanks. i was about to change it tomorrow anyways. just wanted to make sure i'm not killing it with 6months interval. so, 3 months sounds right in start&stop driving pattern ? or rather something like 5 months would be safe too ? trying to figure out the timeline for future OCI, since i work on cars outside (no garage) and cannot do this in Winter.

[Smith1000]

Don't necessarily take my advice because I don't have the best habits when it comes to changing oil, I would probably change it once a year and then watch the level to ensure it is topped off. You could probably go longer on that oil without any problems--especially if you are driving gently around town.

I have a somewhat similar situation. We have several vehicles and tractors that are not used on a regular basis. If I get the oil changed once a year, I am doing well. Sometimes, I change the oil right before heavy use. I tend to watch the oil pressure gauge and then look at the oil on the dipstick (not that I can really tell much). Some have gone longer than a year though if they have not been used much. I am yet to lose an engine and none smoke. I have had one tractor 20 years and it was old when purchased. There is a riding mower here that I believe I have changed the oil twice in over 18 years. The engine is great, but the front end and steering is worn out. I do change the oil in the cars we drive regularly, but they get quite a few miles on them.

[feniks]

Originally Posted by Smith1000

Don't necessarily take my advice because I don't have the best habits when it comes to changing oil, I would probably change it once a year and then watch the level to ensure it is topped off. You could probably go longer on that oil without any problems--especially if you are driving gently around town.

I have a somewhat similar situation. We have several vehicles and tractors that are not used on a regular basis. If I get the oil changed once a year, I am doing well. Sometimes, I change the oil right before heavy use. I tend to watch the oil pressure gauge and then look at the oil on the dipstick (not that I can really tell much). Some have gone longer than a year though if they have not been used much. I am yet to lose an engine and none smoke. I have had one tractor 20 years and it was old when purchased. There is a riding mower here that I believe I have changed the oil twice in over 18 years. The engine is great, but the front end and steering is worn out. I do change the oil in the cars we drive regularly, but they get quite a few miles on them.

thanks for your opinion!

i was looking for some kind of confirmation that 6mo (or longer) OCI will not kill the engine. that car of mine is ready for trade-in anyways once i find a good deal on some newer toyota (and have money for the down payment), but i need it alive for the time being, it's my daily driver (only 2-3 miles one way).

i think i will stick to 6months OCI interval in Spring and then again in Fall to avoid Winter oil change hassle. old oil looked not bad when i changed it today, i mean it was darker like it did 3k miles already, but it was still "good". i'm using Castrol GTX 10W-30 on this car and I rather do not abuse it, ... except for some hard acceleration situations ... I love the V6 accelerating power on this car and I can a little abuse it sometimes