Hi I have an old school 4.2 Diesel car (98 GU 4.2D N/A)
I changed the oil about 4-6mts ago, but to be honest, I have only done about 2K-2.5K(max) on the oil.
How important is it for me to replace the oil now or can I wait till I'm closer to the 5k mark. (running Penrite 15W-50 semi-synthetic)
Absolutely fine waiting till 5k or even 10k mark. Not a problem at all.
Just check the oil level is correct and hasn't leaked any and that there's no small metal bits stuck to the dipstick.
When I run full synthetic, I worry more about the mileage than the time. Mineral oil, I worry about both. That's just me.
Old school diesel??
Why do you want to change the oil is another questions and what we need to know is driving conditions. Have you been driving in what the handbook describes as "harsh/extreme condition"?
If you have only done about 2,500km, I would not bother about it now. 12 ~ 18 months should be fine for most peoples driving. Have a look at what the manufacturer recommends. If you are doing oil changes every 6 months or 2,500km, you are just over-servicing and wasting money.
Being an old GU (Patrol??) it probably has 300,000 km on it. If it does, just make sure you regularly check the oil level.
Hi Mate,
Yeah, as in there is nothing electrical controlling the engine :-)
(so by today's car standard: common rail, tubo, ecu controlled, small capacity, dpf ect… it old school)
Yeah its got high km on it (440K)
Most of the KM's are highway driving so it's not harsh extreme as far as I understand.
My issue was that I know these engines are very very dirty so I was worried that semi-synthetic oil would start breaking down due to the impurities, and the fact that it's only being driven every 2-3 weeks. (usually, check the oil before every trip)
I don't want to service more often than I need to, the 5k mark seems to the yardstick. It's just for me that will be in 12mts rather then 6mts.
Then that should be fine. If you service it every 12 months, then that shouldn't be an issue. But like I said, Just keep and eye on that oil level at such a high km engine.
https://www.patrol4x4.com/forum/
The general consensus for TD42s is never more than 6000km, less if you only do short trips/city driving. 1 year/6k is fine.
Thanks all. In that case, I will wait till the 5k mark.
You should be fine to leave it until the 10k mark, if your worried the oil is black already then thats normal for diesels in general so don't stress. As long as you change the filter out every oil drain you should be fine. Never heard of people changing oil every 5k except for high powered sports cars.
Penrite is good quality oil so good choice there.