2k mile/2 year oil change?

[ourv12]

I've only put about 2k miles on my '84 Carrera since its last oil change and that was 2 years ago. Is the oil still good or does it need to be changed because its been 2 years? I use Castrol 20w50 conv.oil. This is how its been the last 10 years. I rarely drive it and I'd hate to change the oil if its still good.

[racer]

You will get tons of opinions. Short of sending a sample of oil to be tested, most will be conjecture.

The real issue is does the car get driven often enough to get the oil to the correct operating temperature? Is the 2K miles done between april and october or do you drive it year round?

Oil is maybe $50-75 plus some time to change. Rebuilding a 911 motor is a $10K or more proposition. To me, if the car is used only or mostly in the summer, a change of oil is cheap insurance.

[Quicksilver]

Oil breaks down over time too and will form acid compounds. The general recommendation is to change it once a year at a minimum.

[Justin@Athens]

I am a frugal kind of guy, and I hate to waste money--but I am going to say that you need to change it. Its not that the oil is "bad," it just becomes diluted, usually by water formed by condensation when a combustion engine is not run at full operating temperature long enough to boil it out of the oil. I imagine this is probably the case in your circumstance with so little annual mileage on the car. The water can cause the oil to lose its effectiveness as a lubricant as well as render the additive package worthless.

[ourv12]

Very interesting guys! thanks for the feedback. I only drive it during the Spring,Summer and Fall. It is cheap insurance to change the oil and it was alot of dough to rebuild her and convert it to a 3.4 twin plug. I will change it every year from now on! Thanks!

[rnln]

Reading/listening to many interested stories around long lasting engine, most of the comments were changing oil often. I don't know if I really wasted oil but I changed it 3 or 4 times a year, even when I didn't drive it often. There were times I only drive it several times each 2 or 3 months, I still change oil on my schedule. Now, I cut down to twice a year when I am not driving it often.

[dshepp806]

It needs changing...and filter.

Doyle

[Oh Haha]

Change it yearly if you store it for long periods, like here in Michigan.

[porsche930dude]

i change mine every year in the spring and put around 4k on it. I just did mine. it still looked fairly clean on the dipstick but when i drained it out it was black as coal

[Jerome74911S]

I drain mine in the fall before putting the car into hibernation for the winter. The engine tends to leak much less if I leave it empty - duh - and then I refill in spring and hit the road.

The car is stored in a clean, climate-controlled environment.

[Oh Haha]

...and for Pete's sake, DRIVE IT MORE!!

These cars like to be driven.

[ourv12]

Trying to keep the miles down.....engine rebuilds are outrageous

[mystro]

I use to change my previous 911 every 2 years because I only put 2k per year on a car that holds 12 quartz of oil. I did this for over ten years and it was not synthetic oil then. My oil always still looked new after draining it every 2 years. With synthetic oil, I would be a 5k miles minimum regardless of time. I know my cars are pampered and that time frame would still be under the pampered category.

[boxster03]

do you store the car in climate control or just a cold garage ? if you do not use synthetic or have climate control I would change every yr. if you do use synthetic or have climate control i think you can get away with a change from fall to the yr following spring. IMO

[tazzieman]

Originally Posted by ourv12

Trying to keep the miles down.....engine rebuilds are outrageous

Wrong answer! Unless you plan on living 100s of years...,

even at double your current usage (double # of smiles) you will be fine...as long as you change the oil , etc.

[aigel]

Once a year is good practise. I am sure you'll be fine to go up to 2 years, but running any more than that is nuts.

Also, if you drive 1k mile a year, you will need 150 years to reach an engine rebuild.

Of course some people like to look at the cars more than drive it. Can't argue with that.

G

[S2GART]

Over the last 7 years of owning my car, I average out to about 3,400 miles a year. Some years are more than others. Regardless, I change the oil once a year just before putting her away for the winter.

Per the maintenance schedule for my 83 SC, "To provide good lubrication and to keep the engine internally clean, the oil should be changed every 15,000 miles (or at least every 12 months) and the oil filter should be replaced."

Porsche actually expected people to drive more than 15,000 miles a year and do it on the same oil, incredible!. I couldn't believe this when I saw it, but there it is. Here I thought "extended service" intervals were a more recent trend....

Since I don't believe any of us put that many miles on our cars, per Porsche (at least in 1983), we should be doing 1 oil change a year, no more, no less.

Not to get off subject, but it would be interesting to see what the oil change intervals were recommended for other model years.

[RWebb]

Originally Posted by boxster03

[If] you have a climate control[ed garage] i think you can get away with a change from fall to the yr following spring. IMO

I think that interval is fine (1+years) but the climate control may make it make it worse. Chemical reactions from acids and breakdown of the oil and its additives will occur faster in a warmer temperature. You might avoid some condensation by having a more stable temperature.

An oil change is not very expensive, but an engine rebuild is.

I do not know if anyone here really knows how safe this is, but many Auto Manf.s say to change the oil every year no matter how few the miles. VW says every 6 months for a 1986 Vanagon.

The only other source of information would be to contact curators at an auto museum and ask them what they do.

The easy thing to do is to change it every year, which is what I do.

[s_morrison57]

Conv. oil will start to break down when it is heat cycled, I'm talking driving the car not sitting in a heated garage. After it is heat cycled the first time a 1 year and/or milage time frame should apply.
I've done testing on small air cooled engines at work and everytime the engine that had more oil changes lasted longer - everytime! I had a new 87 Civic and I got free oil from work, by the time that car had 12K on it I had probably changed the oil 20 times, I gave that car away when it had 230K on it, the engine had never been touched and was doing changes at 3K by then. I never had to check the oil between changes as it was down maybe 1/6th of a quart and the oil was still brown on the stick. IMO you can never go wrong with frequent oil changes. My buddy has a 09 Cayman and the factory says 18K klm's between changes - to me thats dumb, but then Porsche does want to sell the parts or rebuild your engine for you, he does his 2/year , I do my 930 every year and put less than 1500 miles on it. Its up to you, pay a little bit now or a heck of a lot later.
Finn

[80-911SC]

Originally Posted by Oh Haha

...and for Pete's sake, DRIVE IT MORE!!

These cars like to be driven.

I agree 100% with Wayne ... almost always do but will add something else you may not like so scroll down quickly .....

Either drive it more or let it have a good home that will drive it often and change its oil and maintain on schedule ...

If you are doing an oil change every other year ... I can almost guarantee that you are not doing any of the other maintenance .. just for S & G can you answer a few other questions for us PLEASE ...

1 - how old are your tire ??? the date code is on the side wall ....

2 - who was president when you last had your valves adjusted ???

3 -Are you even sure you have a belt on your alternator ????

4 - Gas ??? do you use Sta-bil ??? or just let it sit the and rot ????

5 - Fuel filter ??? or accumulator ??? ever changed ???? ever ever ???

6 - I give up ....


Do you polish it regularly ??? don't rub to hard ... you may go thru the paint to the primer .....

I give up .....