I agree in part and disagree in part. I am certainly not saying you are wrong, just different perspectives.
Oil testing can help track down problems and has its place but not warranted or easily available in most cases unless you suspect an issue. If you are changing regularly the oil testing should not even be required. I see the point on very hardworking or long haul engines and occasionally on vehicles like ours.
Changing the oil every 5000kms is not a waste of time as it keeps the oil in good nic and doing the job it should. For the cost of around $60 every 3 - 6 months or so I will keep up the regime and oils and filters at 10,000kms. Maybe different if you are paying a workshop to do it. I have found that at around 5000kms the oil starts to discolour and break down slightly, but is still very useable after testing, so is not a big deal if you miss one or do an extra couple of thousand kms. At 10000kms oil becomes quite noticeably darker and is vey clear it is starting to break down (moreso degradation from heat rather than contaminants). At 20000kms oil is trashed completely. This is what the LR service schedule was and had this tested when I first got the vehicle. All diesel mechanics I have discussed this with believe 20,000kms is way too much even for light driving, this includes LR specialists who don't agree with the 20,000kms interval, but wont publically say this, but will in private and should be done at a minimum of 10,000kms or there abouts as it gives you a buffer if you go over. They also generally recommend 5000km changes if you do any of the following: Tow heavy loads, Use LR frequently, Run in hot condition, Run in dusty conditions, Have worked hard in mud or sand. Which most of us do.
Maybe not for everyone and 10000kms is the minimum I would do, but for peace of mind I do around 5000kms and filters at 10000kms. Open a filter up that has done 20k, 10k and 5k and see the difference very clearly.
It also depends what oil you use, mineral, semi synthetic, full synthetic, race synthetic. I use Penrite HPR-15 Diesel.
It mainly comes down to personal preference.
When I got my TD5 it was obvious that the previous owner was only doing the recommended servicing as per the log book using Castrol I think. When I did some work on the engine after owning it for about 18 months I did notice a lot of sludge build up in places. Changed to Penrite HPR-15 and over the next 12 months this cleaned the engine. I noticed sludge coming out in oil changes. I did an inspection at around 12 months and the sludge had completely gone. A few years later we pulled the engine out for clutch and minor engine work and when stripping down were very impressed with how clean and goo condition the internals actually were.
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Originally Posted by skc
