<VV> Oil change

[Lonny Clark]

On my Thunderbird (1990 SC), the oil change light remembers how many miles
you drove before you reset it last time. As far as I can tell, that's all it
does. When you reach the number of miles between the last two resets, the
light comes on.


On 8/31/06, Bill Elliott <corvair at fnader.com> wrote:
>
> The breakdown in the long-chain polymers was indeed a problem in the
> past (and why the oil got "lighter" as it aged) but not so much today. I
> concur that in the old days, you'd see an oil pressure difference in
> that 3000-5000 mile range.
>
> However, it's been interesting to look at the "oil change" indicators
> built into some of my "newer" cars (anybody that knows me knows I don't
> drive "new" cars...).
>
> The wife's '89 BMW has an indicator, but I tend to believe it's based
> more on mileage than anything else (though I don't know for sure). It
> pretty regularly calls for a 5000-6000 mile change. The light must be
> manually reset.
>
> In my '93 Allante, the oil change indicator was based on engine hours
> and load (reportedly)... interestingly, it indicated a need for an oil
> change more quickly with highway driving than it did with around town
> stop and go driving. But it never indicated an oil change in less than
> 5000 miles... often as high as 7500 miles. It had to be manually reset.
>
> The really strange one is my '98 BMW. It has NEVER shown the need for an
> oil change... despite that I change every 5000 miles and have never
> reset the light. I've put about 11,000 miles on the car since I bought
> it... I'm wondering if it is actually "reading" the oil somehow? Or it's
> just not working...
>
> In my Corvairs, they get changed annually or 5000 miles, whichever comes
> first.
>
> Bill
>
> Padgett wrote:
>
> > I used to have cars with very accurate oil pressure guages and my rule
> > of thumb was a 2-4 psi drop at cruising speed indicated it was time to
> > change the oil. Chevvies, FIATS, make did not matter and usually
> > occurred somewhere between 3,000 and 5,000 miles. Was once told by
> > someone who should have known that the cause was the breakdown in the
> > long chain polymers that made a multi-weight oil a multi-weight.
> >
> > Now that was some time ago but I still see the same thing happen.
> >
> > Keep in mind that European driving may be high speed but it is also
> > not for very long distances and, with few exceptions, on equivalents
> > to our two lane blacktops. They have also been making tiny engines for
> > a very long time and the cost of driving is much higher there than here.
> >
> > Padgett
> >
>
>