Oil filters & ageing oil

[Treebreakerbob]

Haven’t really noticed this happening before but just this week the oil light came on and stayed on for a second or so when starting a cold engine. Now the 10,000 k service was due (50 k short). Oil degradation and filter clogging plus it is a bit colder this time of year. The handbook tells me that the light is triggered by oil pressure and does not read oil level as I suspected oil level and it had been a little while since I had checked the oil level, which was down just below min. I know I should check the oil more often as the kilometres rack up or it’s working hard. Mine doesn’t use oil for the first 6 or7 thousand kilometres after an oil change but after that then I find I would put a litre of oil in by the time it gets to 10,000 kilometres. This is the first time I have noticed the oil light when starting. This symptom was a trigger for me to change the oil in my old Hilux as I never really kept a track on time or distance in it.

Up till the last couple of oil changes I have used Mopar filters bought cheap from the states but now use Ryco and 5w40 oil but am now considering 7,500 kl services as I feel the oil is not making the distance

[bjm]

Personally I would be changing at 7000 ks.Especially if towing or continual fast motoring,oils cheap ,motors aint.!

[drover]

I have always done 10K km changes petrol or diesel and have noticed over all those years that it's not unusual to want a top up around the 8-9K km mark, not just the Jeeps either not always, its happened enough over the last 50 years to not bother me... My HiLux had a run of the oil light coming on, plenty of oil, pulled sender unit out gave it a clean and been good now for a few years..
The oil life display is rarely over 50% when I change anyway...even though its guesswork it works for me...and at a change averaging every 3 mths, Im not changing earlier.

[FARWEST]

Only difference for us with the older buses is we dont have the 'oil life display' on our evic...its a 50/50 thing...good that you have a display...bad cos its another thing that go 'wrong'.
10k cycles are more than ok...and as stated previously, and by bjm above, a shorter cycle can be used when putting the engine under 'extra pressure'...eg: Towing, high speed work (but not long open road trips), lots of short stop start City driving, Dusty environments.....its really all relevant to the use of the vehicle....horses for courses...

and...agree with Drover..its not unusual when using 10k cycles for a 'top up' to be needed after 7k.....regardless of vehicle type or oil being used.....another reason I recommend the Moreys product....less 'fall off' at the tail end of the cycle

[Mousie]

I do see quite a few threads with similar observations and mine is the same. I could not make it to 10k without a 1ltr top up. I would say though, its just aging oil naturally. For me its the folk who never check and rely on the shop visit are more at risk then on here.

[drover]

Originally Posted by Mousie

I do see quite a few threads with similar observations and mine is the same. I could not make it to 10k without a 1ltr top up. I would say though, its just aging oil naturally. For me its the folk who never check and rely on the shop visit are more at risk then on here.

Exactly I reckon.....same applies to tyres and other things as well its a scary thing when you think about...... the tyres were checked at the last service...............

I have noticed I will need to top up if Ive been just tootling around town a lot then go for a bit of a decent run I can end up needing a top up but no more than 500ml, if I'm doing the 120km round trip to major town regularly then its all good .... When touring dragging the rig behind everything is happy, if on way home when it gets to 10K I just swap out the filter unless home is over 2K km away, if the engine is going to clag it because of an extra 2k KM then something is seriously wrong I would think...
Sunday is check under the lid day.....

On other vehicles I would find their engines would eat Castrol but with VM's in this Grand and the Colorado they didn't, no idea why as similar driving country very little city.

[LeCheese]

Have only had to top up my 2015 once in its 110k (with 10k service intervals) using Penrite 5w40.

In the instance I did have to, I had the exact same experience as Bob describes - brief flash of the oil light. My (possibly misguided) assumption was that if oil was at a lower volume than prescribed, particularly on a cooler day (which it was), then pressure would register lower during crank than it normally would - hence the oil pressure light being triggered.