Intelligent Oil Life Monitor

[Fifty150]

Is anyone following the IOLM?  If so, how many miles does your van allow you to go between oil changes? 

 

Or are you just changing oil when you want?  How did you determine your oil change interval?  Used oil Analysis?  Because you've always changed oil every 3,000 miles?  

[desert_connect]

I am not using the IOLM other than to turn it off when it tells me to change the oil. I am changing oil every 6k because it gets dirty and starts using a small amount of oil so it needs a change in my opinion. The IOLM on my 17' TC van has told me to change oil at 10, 2xx, both times so far and I am at 27,900mi now. I drive about 95%+ highway/freeway and the other few % around town. 

Edited August 22, 2019 by desert_connect

[Double Nickels]

Interesting that your van is burning oil by 6,000 miles.  

 

Even more interesting that your IOLM activates @ 10,200 miles.  

 

No science in what I am doing.  I change oil every Memorial Day and Turkey Day.  Gives me fresh oil as the seasons change, I have a 3 day weekend in case there is anything else I want to do with the car,  and there's usually a holiday sale price on supplies.

 

 

[zalienz]

Not following the IOLM. My work TC has a fleet company that dictates service every 5K. Probably a good idea, I carry a good amount of tools & parts, and I tend to punch it a lot when I'm late for an appointment. My personal TC, I use Mobil 1 synthetic, drive it most of the time unloaded and not to heavy on the throttle. It gets a oil change about twice a year, I average 15K yearly. I reset the oil life before the reminder comes on.

[G B L]

Synthetic oil and 5500 to 7000 between changes , it goes on the lift to check the trans any way so the oil gets done at the second trans check.  I reset the light at the same time.

[Fifty150]

You're very lucky to have a lift.  

 

How often do you check the transmission fill level?

[G B L]

some where around 2800 -3500 miles.  

As for the lift at this point on the curve I would have no ambition to do any thing with out it!!

[Fifty150]

I don't blame you. Lift is a luxury item.  It's not the cost of the lift. It's the cost of the real estate you need to install the lift.

[PhotoAl]

Mine had just over 10,000 miles - may have been 10,200.  I don't follow it have been changing every 5,000 to 7,000 miles.  A lot of miles are interstate miles.  I have been using the oil change monitor on my Volt which have very intermittent engine operation.  It's currently at 15% oil life left and will change it soon.  My motorcycle has a 6,000 mile service interval.  I bought an unlimited milage service plan when I bought the bike.  Makes it simpler for keeping the warranty intact.  In 14 months just had the 3rd service done and about to leave on a 5,000 mile trip and will probably have the 4th done by Thanksgiving.  At that point I will be ahead on the costs with a year and a half left. 

[Fifty150]

Interesting to see that my driving is at the low end of what Ford's algorithm considers to be normal, and at the high end of severe.  My last IOLM was 7,500 miles.  In the past, without the IOLM, I always followed the severe duty maintenance schedule.  

 

I guess nobody has seen extreme drive cycle, with IOLM activation between 3,000 - 5,000 miles.

 

Without the IOLM, I could have been one of those people who went for 10,000 miles or a year between oil changes.  I figure it is a new car with full synthetic oil. No reason why I can't. IOLM says otherwise.  

[jrm223]

It seems like I'm the only one going by the IOLM, then. Mine activates somewhere around 10K miles, I've never specifically tracked it. When the dash says "Change oil soon", I usually get it changed within a couple days of it first coming on. There's only been one time where the message changed to "Change oil now", of course I took it in after work that day (it just sits parked since I work in an office). My garage is too much of a mess currently to do my oil changes at home on this little low van; but my 2WD F350's are easy enough with a pair of ramps. But a lift would definitely be great, like y'all were talking about; or even just a pit in the garage so I can stand under it. 

[Eddy Kilowatt]

I just changed at about 5k miles with 42% showing on the oil life, but that was just to get this new-to-me van onto the yearly-in-August schedule that fits with the rest of my annual cycle of activities.  I'll consider myself to be advised by the IOLM but will stick to yearly changes unless the monitor disagrees a lot with my planned schedule.

 

I understand the IOLM has a calendar component, in addition to the operational stuff like number and severity of cold starts, extended idling, etc.    I only drove the van several times this summer due to travel, plus driving an electric on the daily commute... and the IOLM took a pretty big drop anyway.  So maybe it'll be nagging me each August regardless of miles driven, cold starts, etc.

 

I did the change on 5" ramps and didn't find any difficulty, not that I wouldn't turn down a powered lift if they were handing them out (with garages to match!).  A somewhat annoying amount of oil ABOVE the filter waiting to waterfall down, and the oft-noted "feature" of tucking the filler neck under the cowl to ward off falling satellites ? .  I put off tackling the tranny oil change till next week, or maybe even next year...

[G B L]

 

1 hour ago, Eddy Kilowatt said:

  I put off tackling the tranny oil change till next week, or maybe even next year..

If your TC has any where close to 25000 miles don't wait .   The Transmission works the fluid hard.

[Eddy Kilowatt]

1 hour ago, G B L said:

 

If your TC has any where close to 25000 miles don't wait .   The Transmission works the fluid hard.

 

Mine's the one that was rebuilt by Ford at 62k miles, 65k on it now. 

 

I wouldn't mind doing a change now to get the swarf and break-in debris out of there... or at least get started on draining/adding 4 quarts at each oil change, which is the plan I currently have in mind that seems like it ought to have the same long term average effect.  I just need to get a little better equipped with some accurate measuring containers, suitable funnel, etc. before I start on it.

[Fifty150]

9 hours ago, Eddy Kilowatt said:

I just need to get a little better equipped with some accurate measuring containers, suitable funnel, etc. before I start on it.

 

 

You can drain into a paint mix bucket with measurement marks.  That will tell you how much came out.  

A transmission funnel fits perfectly into the vent cap opening.

An offset funnel will work also.

An oil dispenser has the measurement marks to make sure that you know how much you are pouring in.  

[G B L]

There is only 3 K on the fluid  you do not have an issue at the moment plenty of time to acquire the measuring tools. 

[mrtn]

My oil change message usually comes on at 11K miles and I do a severe cycle which the car knows about. Including towing (I have the OEM towing module so the ECU must be registering all the towings).

[Eddy Kilowatt]

13 hours ago, Fifty150 said:

 

 

You can drain into a paint mix bucket with measurement marks.  That will tell you how much came out.  

 

 

 

 

Something like that.  There's a lab full of chemists down the hall from me and their trash often contains useful and... interesting... items.  You just have to avoid the ones marked "biohazard".    But they toss graduated plastic labware that's only seen simple volatile solvents or even just DI water... I won't take it into the kitchen on principle, but the garage is fair game ? .

[Double Nickels]

Hot water, good soap, and triple rinse, should be good enough.  Even biohazard won't be bad for draining into.  

 

I like those dispensers.  I can put the spout right into the oil fill hole, and not need a funnel.   Really good for buying bulk motor oil in 6 gallon boxes and 5 gallon buckets.

 

Acknowledgement to Havoline for the 6 quart box.  I wish more motor oil sellers offered 6 quart packaging.  And if you're willing to buy more, like 5 gallon buckets and 6 gallon boxes, the price should go down, not up.  

[Fifty150]

On 8/26/2019 at 12:25 PM, Eddy Kilowatt said:

 

 

I just need to get a little better equipped with some accurate measuring containers, suitable funnel, etc. before I start on it.

 

 

This funnel will work well for the engine oil and transmission fluid.  You may want 2.  Mark them.  Best to keep the oil & transmission funnels separate.

 

[KevinRollin]

Mine just came on at around 2300 miles.  Have definitely not be doing “extreme “ driving.  I bought it used at 600 miles, and judging by condition the previous (brief) owner had not either.  But, it had sat on the dealer lot for a while.  Is there any “time” component to the IOLM? 

[G B L]

There could be a time component. Most service recommendations call for once a year regardless of miliage.

[Double Nickels]

Once the seal has been cracked, so to speak, oil begins to degrade.  Even if you are not driving it.  Your engine is not a hermetically sealed system.  The oil is in the environment.  Air temperature changes.  Condensation.  Water vapors.  Oxidation occurs.  1 year is fairly conservative.  But not really. 

 

Even the most expensive oil will degrade over time.  So Mobil 1, Royal Purple, Amsoil, RedLine.......none are impervious to water vapors, condensation, and oxidation.  It's not like you can use Mobil 1 15,000 mile oil, and expect it to be good for 5 years.

 

 You could send in a sample for analysis to determine the usable life of the oil.  At the cost of an oil analysis, you could simply change the oil.  My strategy would be to use the lowest price oil which meets Ford specification.  No sense in throwing away expensive oil.

[Fifty150]

It all depends on what you want to believe.  A lot of people believe a lot of other things, and accept what they are being told, absent any proof at all.  In the face of reality, some people reject facts in evidence.  So, no, 365 days is not the absolute expiration date for motor oil after you've opened it and poured it out of the bottle.  A lot of factors.  Too many factors.  No way possible for you to determine, on your own without any sophisticated laboratory equipment, if the oil is still good.  1 year is a good rule of thumb.  But if you wait a few months, your car won't blow up.  I didn't change the oil in my truck for 2 years.  I found the money shot, sludge, milk shake under the oil fill cap.  I was not happy.  Makes me think that 2 years is too long.  I have no idea what the condition of the oil was.  I didn't send it in for analysis.  

 

Just something I read once.

 

“While synthetic generally holds up better and can serve for more miles, it is equally important to not extend oil changes beyond the time interval recommended by the manufacturer—typically six months or a year if it is a motor that is not driven many miles or on many short trips.”Sep 4, 2017

5 Things to Know About Oil Changes for Your Car - Consumer Reports

 

https://www.consumerreports.org › car-maintenance › things-to-know-about...