how long (yrs/miles) could you go without an oil change as long as it was kept up to the correct level before bad things started to happen to the engine?

35years... 1500 miles.

Why do you ask?

You could probably go for a very long time only finding out when the engine is rattling at 70,000 to 100,000 miles when well serviced cars are still doing fine.

For what it saves to avoid oil changes its really not worth the costs. Always change the filter as well. When they block up, the oil is bypassed so the harmful gunk can really get to work and damage the engine.


The big hauliers very rarely change their engine oil BUT they use hyper efficient bypass filters which are changed regularly. These sit in parallel with the normal oil filter and take about 10% of the flow. This traps the gunk and ultra fine wear particles that would otherwise deplete the various special stuff that's added to lube oils to deal with contamination.

Cars don't have those special filters as its easier to change the oil.

Leroypanda said:

how long (yrs/miles) could you go without an oil change as long as it was kept up to the correct level before bad things started to happen to the engine?

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Google it.....

i will change it...when i can get the blummin sump plug out....

Leroypanda said:

i will change it...when i can get the blummin sump plug out....

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Pressed steel.. or alloy ?

steel as far as i know

You could pump it out through the dipstick tube. Pumps are £10 on Amazon

My sump plug was also stupidly tight when I did my first service last month. I used a jack handle as an extension on a 12mm allen key to get enough leverage to shift it. A long breaker bar with a 12mm hex socket would be the ideal tool I guess.

Allen keys tend to spring and absorb the shock. You need the correct hex key "socket" and a hefty breaker bar. Then you can feel what you are doing. Be VERY careful to turn it the correct direction it's easy to get confused. It screws DOWN - clockwise when viewed from above.

I did it on our UNO but it was a diesel 1.7 it did 385,000 kms before the fuel pump wore out, I had to weld bits on the flanges to get it to work.
Then one bigend started rattling after a few more kms.
I fitted a new engine which did another 100,000 kms, the steering went and it started leaking rain inside so we scrapped it.
The engine was fine.
On the other hand, changing the filter between oil changes is a good way of preserving an engine.
Barry

I've never had a sump plug beat me yet, but the OP initial question was not about plugs...

jimboy said:

I've never had a sump plug beat me yet, but the OP initial question was not about plugs...

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I had the braze crack and shear off on a Montego diesel sump. I had to take it off and rebraze the fitting to the sump pan. The MAP gas torch held upside down was at full blast but did the job.

Oil is cheap, engine repairs are expensive, so there is no point in stretching the service intervals

Service interval for my Panda is 12,000 miles or 1 year. I only do about 4000 miles a year, so in theory I could go 3 years between changes without exceeding the milage interval. This would not do the engine any good - the small annual milage includes a lot of short journey, cold engine work, and I would think after 3 years without a change it would be running on sludge in the sump.

If the sump plug is stuck - how about going to one of the fast fit garages or a small back street independent fitter and asking them to do an oil/filter change and nothing else - and let them worry about getting the sump plug out.

Or, as another poster suggests, get a cheap suction pump and suck the oil out through the dipstick. You won't get every last drop out, but what little is left will mix with the new oil and will not cause any harm.