I'm sure I read a warning somewhere in the owner's manual to NOT change the oil before the info centre says to. Apparently the first oil has some additives to help with breaking in. Or am I confusing that with some other fluid?
I just scrolled through the manual (I have a copy saved on my desktop), and the only thing it says is to change it when the system indicates it needs to be done, and not to exceed 12 months or 10,000 miles between changes.
Yes, Honda has said that publicly. Either way, I don't see a need to change the oil unnecessarily. I know most are too "young" to have needed service, but when they do, I'm curious as to what kind of mileage has been accumulated.
I know the oil life monitoring systems take into account such things as:
- Number of "cold" starts
- Outside temperature
- Trip duration
- Total engine run time (total revolutions or on time)
- Engine load
- Etc
So I plan to follow the oil life monitoring system's oil change intervals.
Royal purple is one of the best performance oils out there which usualy results in a hp increase on a dyno in performance cars http://www.royalpurple.com/
There are some independent studies floating around that Royal Purple and Mobile 1 are almost identical in quality (both really good). One thing I have also been reading is how wasteful most people are not following recommended change intervals and going by "marketing" advice of every 3,000 miles.
I thought it was a good idea to change that initial break in oil at about 1000 miles because it probably has some fine metal particles in it from engine break in. I've always done that in the past. Am I wrong?
Oil plugs are usually magnetized to pull the metal down and keep them there. Also there are after market magnets that you can slap around oil filters to do the same.
take a look at your engine and you'll see the only magnetic base metal items are the crank, cams, valves, rods, cylinder liners, and rings. if any of these wear much at all it would be unheard off. the rest is aluminum (non-magnetic) castings and of course the bearings which are steel with babbitt/tin bearing material. if you get wear it would most likely be the bearing babbitted surfaces and this is not magnetic. The biggest thing is having a good oil filter that traps particles that could damage the softer babbitt bearing surfaces. Don't buy or go to shops that use the cheap filters as even the back-flow valves will leand and fail, silicon back-flow types are best.
the true enemy is moisture and oxidation. excessive oil temps cause the oil to oxidize and then you end up with varnishing of bearing surfaces reducing the internal clearance of the bearing to bearing journals. this causes heat and you lose the intended oil barrier between the journals and the bearings which will equate to increased wear. Truly these days using any major brand of synthetic motor oil with appropriate SAE and type should help prevent oxidation over mineral base oils. as for moisture if you live in climates that vary like here in the Midwest you should change oil more often in the winter if you don't drive long distances that develops enough oil temperature for moisture to be driven out. remember each time you warm your oil and motor up it will condensate as it cools and the moisture builds up in the oil. so in winter i cut my change interval in half. so from 10k summer to 5k in the winter. it is cheap insurance...
I love chatting about oil....can you tell by my Avatar? LOL!!
I will be switching to Amsoil's Signature Series synthetic after I hit 1000 miles in my Trailhawk. With the high amount of ZDDP (zinc and phosphorus) additive in Amsoil's Signature Series synthetic oil, you can go 1 year or 10,000 miles (actually longer but Jeep won't recommend that) safely and confidently in your Cherokee before the oil needs changing again. Just remember to keep the manufactures recommended viscosity, 0W/20 or 5W/20, depending on your engine.
I love chatting about oil....can you tell by my Avatar? LOL!!
I will be switching to Amsoil's Signature Series synthetic after I hit 1000 miles in my Trailhawk. With the high amount of ZDDP (zinc and phosphorus) additive in Amsoil's Signature Series synthetic oil, you can go 1 year or 10,000 miles (actually longer but Jeep won't recommend that) safely and confidently in your Cherokee before the oil needs changing again. Just remember to keep the manufactures recommended viscosity, 0W/20 or 5W/20, depending on your engine.
Only XL and OE meet your warranty requirements. Best to stick with one of those( XL if you plan to go 10K )until your warranty is up before going to SSO.
Their Signature Series line, while evry good oil, is not API Certified and that is a big deal to car mfg's.
Oilslick, I have a question about frequency of oil changes. After my initial oil change which I probably will get done at about 1000 miles to get rid of the break in oil, should I strictly follow the Cherokees oil change indicator? I don't drive as much as others, being retired. I may only put 3000 - 4000 miles a year on my vehicle. The oil change indicator might only tell me to change my oil every year and a half. Isn't that kind of a long time to keep the same oil in the engine? What do you think, follow the indicator even if the time interval is long or change it yearly? Thanks, Don
Personally, with my other vehicles, I never have and don't go by the oil change indicator. I'd suggest to follow Jeep's recommendation (in the owner's manual) and don't go over 1 year or 10,000 miles (whichever comes first).
And I personally would not go over 6 months or 7500 miles if you use conventional oil. But that's only my opinion.
If you're really concerned, there are a few companies that do oil analysis on your used oil. This will tell you if your oil can go longer intervals inside of your engine plus the levels of particles (good and bad) in your engine's oil.
Not sure about online, but your local dealer would probably sell em to you.
Of course, it's probably much cheaper to buy a Fram or similar filter from local part house. I've been using Fram oil filters for years and never had an issue with them. That's my go-to brand for oil filters personally.
Quick question for those of you that change your own oil and have a TH with the 3.2L. How accessible are the drain plug and oil filter with the skid plates? Does there appear to be ample room for the oil to drain or does it look like there might be a point in the outflow where it would end up hitting a skid plate?
Actually the oil filter is accessed from the top of the engine. It is a paper filter element that is replaced in the existing plastic housing. On the left hand side as you are facing the engine, there is a cap you remove from the engine cover. The filter is under that.
I have not looked underneith yet to see where the drain plug is.
Ahhh, thanks for the reply Hudsonhawk. From what you're telling me it looks like they put at least some thought into people being able to service their own vehicles. This gives me high hopes for the drain plug!
The oil life meter judges oil life by much more than just mileage, so it will vary between person to person.
IMO, it's pretty dumb for your dealer to "set" a maintenance date. It's not like they can guess where you are on mileage, etc.
I personally plan to change my oil around the 1K mile mark then my normal intervals after.
With my previous turbo'd vehicles, i use Motul, but switched to Schaeffers after my 07 civic turbo started to reach 300 miles per tank as opposed to 250ish and felt more powerful not to mention less expensive.
my v12 benz is dealer serviced and i'm planning to keep my KL dealer serviced as well.
Never heard of Schaeffers but I know Motul and I run LubroMoly in my TDI. The so called synthetics sold in NA are a joke. I change my oil about every 25K Kilometers and no issues after more than 300K. If it isn't Group IV your getting Dino oil with fillers.
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