Change oil intervals

[MO Fred]

I have an older (1990) CTA 8.3 Cummins in our DP. I am trying to determine just when to change the oil. I have heard that it should be changed after each 200 hours of operation. Also heard that it is supposed be changed at least once each year. Any thoughts on this?

[Cat320]

My manual says 20k or annually, which ever comes first. It's still under warrranty, so I do what they say. After the warranty expires I might have it tested then decide when to change it.

[mel s]

Originally Posted by MO Fred

I have an older (1990) CTA 8.3 Cummins in our DP. I am trying to determine just when to change the oil. I have heard that it should be changed after each 200 hours of operation. Also heard that it is supposed be changed at least once each year. Any thoughts on this?

MO Fred
I change my 28 quarts of engine oil and oil filter every 8,000-10,000 miles, (160-200hrs).
BTW, although it is recommend, I don't change mine every year if I don't log the miles.
Mel
'96 Safari, 3126 Cat, 136k miles

[RobRV]

We did an Oil change on Our Cummins C 8.3. Shortly after buying it used with 46,000 Miles on the odometer! The records indicated that it had been serviced six months earlier and had not been driven more than 12 Miles. we. Drove it Home from Southern California to Vancouver Island using the existing oil.

An Oil analysis showed no problems .

We elected to continue using Dino Oil rather than switching to synthetic. we did add 1 Litre of Lucas Oil Treatment in place of 1 Litre of the 15-40 Chevron Oil.

Since then We have changed the Oil once each Year ,the average annual mileage is under 8000.

We have had no problems with the Engine ,no leaks,no excessive oil consumption.

Current mileage is 76,500 at the half way point on Our Current Winter trip to Mexico!

[deandec]

Originally Posted by MO Fred

I have an older (1990) CTA 8.3 Cummins in our DP. I am trying to determine just when to change the oil. I have heard that it should be changed after each 200 hours of operation. Also heard that it is supposed be changed at least once each year. Any thoughts on this?

My Cummins Engine Manual recommends every 6 months or 6,000 miles.

It also indicates that the interval can be extended if an oil analysis program is used.

If requested, the TBN of the oil can be measured during the oil analysis and will indicate the oil's ability to absorb contaminates from the engine operations.

Many large fleets use oil analysis to extend their service cycles.

The oil analysis will cost about $35. You will learn that in a healthy engine the oil will protect the engine for several years and much more than 6,000 miles.

In addition, the oil analysis will inform you of any unusual or unusual level of contaminants in the oil that might indicate future engine problems.

Or, you can change the oil based on the manual. I do the oil change myself and with the filter and oil it is about $75 (before the current price of oil decline).

Newer 8.3L Cummins engines using the same filters recommend 15,000 miles or one year, I think.

[wb7auk]

For RV service I change oil and filters at 6,000 miles or yearly which ever comes first and have the analysis done.
Oil and filters are cheap.

[CountryFit]

since i don't drive more than 10000 miles a year, i change oil at 1.5 year interval. last two oil analyses showed no issues. with a fumoto installed, changing oil is a blitz. 15w40 only.

[vsheetz]

I change all low annual mileage rides annually in my birthday month. Gas engines gets Mobil One synthetic. Diesel get Rotella T dino. Have done this for many years with virtually no engine problems encountered.