What If You Forget To Change Your Oil?

I went 50 miles over, so I just drove backwards before I changed it.

Reading these comments makes me never want to buy a used car again.

I’m an engineer by profession and love those engineering videos. Reminds me of college days, 30 years ago❤️

"All engines will burn oil." Toyota 3.4 V6 with 300,000 miles: "This man has a sense of humor!"

Years ago I took a class in college on automotive technology. The professor had a PhD in automotive engineering. I learned a lot in that class. The one thing that really stood out is the professor repeatedly making the point that oil is not just a lubricant. It is a coolant. The oil helps limit heat buildup in critical parts of the engine. Not just by lubrication, but by moving heat away from critical parts of the engine.

Here's a true story no one is going to read: My ex girlfriend ran her 97 honda civic mb2 almost everyday for over 4 months without oil in the gearbox and waay below the minimum in the engine. One day the second and third gear started making the same noise as the reverse gear does, and first gear wouldn't always click in place. She complained about it and I'm a handy guy so I decided to do the maintenance of her car like a real man. NOTHING had prepared me for the moment I took the drain plugs out just to see literally a couple drops of oil from the gearbox, and the equivalent of two cups of water from the engine. Since that day i've got MAD respect for old Honda drivetrains. The car still runs great at the date of this comment with the best quality oils I could find for it .. To this day I have no clue where that oil went .....

Loved you as Cameron in Ferris Bueller!

Thank you for the information and excellent explanation. Note: as a fleet & logistics manager for Pepsi cola, we send the used oil's to a lab for testing to determine the proper oil change intervals for various truck types that we own. As a rule of thumb you can go twice the recommended mileage. Since we run hundreds of trucks and vehicles, the sample is adequate to arrive to a conclusion that is valid within our application, vehicle types, and the type of oils we use (none synthetic).

Imagine you go into Jiffy Lube and this is how it’s explained to you.

Excellent Stuff, there is a reason this channel has been around so long.

My dad's secretary came in one day and said her car was making a rattling sound under the hood. My dad went out to take a look. He pulled the dipstick, clean. He asked when she had her oil changed last. "Do what now?!" 49k miles never been touched. LOL.

Another note... foam inhibitors. Usually in the form of polymethylsiloxane or methyl acrylates, these additives are the most susceptible to additive clash. Different anti-foaming chemistry can be equally effective on their own but cancel each other out if blended. This is usually a problem with aftermarket oil supplements. It's a common problem in racing engines where people are adding ZDDP supplements to a finished API oil to try to boost the wear protection and end up sacrificing the foaming and aeration control in the process. Then when oil temps start to shoot up, pressure drops, and bearings start overheating, cavitating, and spalling, they usually blame everything except their oil regiment.

I had a Mondeo and went 1000 miles over the oil change and my girlfriend left me and then half my house fell down a sink hole

When I was extremely poor (80$ dollars left for food per mouth) my ford escape went 30,000 miles between oil changes. I've since sold it to my cousin, they put 250,000 miles on and the engine still runs great.

What an informative video! It's so important to understand the impact of something as seemingly simple as an oil change on our cars. Your breakdown of how oil viscosity changes over time and the effects on engine health really sheds light on why regular maintenance is crucial. Keep up the great work, looking forward to more insightful videos!

As a note, many additives are also dual purpose. ZDDP (commonly referred to as just "zinc") is an excellent anti-oxidant, especially ZDDP that employs primary alkyl groups. MoDTC, a common friction reducer, also aids in oxidation inhibition as well as helps with wear protection in high concentrations. Unfortunately, both of these are severely limited in modern API oils because of "emissions." CaCO3 and MgCO3, the core of calcium and magnesium based detergents, can also have anti-wear capabilities.

How can you tell when your subaru is low on oil? When in stops leaking all over your driveway.

Also worth mentioning some of the newer systems on engines like variable valve timing have smaller passages and are more sensitive to oil condition.

I own a hotshot trucking company and regularly exceed the recommended oil change reminders on my 3500 ram Cummins. Had several go over 500,000 miles through the years and these trucks work hard pulling loads exceeding 20,000 lbs!

If you send your oil off for testing at Blackstone they will run the viscosity and check the additive package, contaminants, and TBN (total base number). This allows you to see how much life you have left in your oil. TLDR you can often run your oil for a lot longer than the specification (the spec is somewhat arbitrary and factors like driving style -- a straight shot across the country on highway alone will often times leave the oil looking and testing like new). That being said, the cost of an oil test can be quite similar to the cost of an oil change.