Question about Oil LIfe
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Instructor
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 237
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Question about Oil LIfe
I cant get into the shop for 3 more days to get my oil changed my 97 is a daily driver and its saying I have 3% oil life can I make it till then or am I risking serious damage to my engine. The oil level itself is okay
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 23,283
Likes: 906
From: Lake Elsinore, CA
Don't sweat it. That's just an indication the the oil should be changed - not that it will implode your engine. You have plenty of time to get it changed and 3 days won't make much difference as along as you don't drive to LA and back.
Safety Car
Joined: Jun 2006
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From: Latrobe PA
Race Director
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 15,324
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From: Guelph, Ontario
You're just fine, I've hit 0% and kept going another 2 or 3000 miles and the oil analysis results came back looking great.
Another thing to keep in mind is that the oil life monitor in the 97-00s will count down faster than the ones in the 01-04s. This is because the OLM on the 97-00s was calibrated for a maximum interval of 10k, while on the 01-04 it's 15k.
Another thing to keep in mind is that the oil life monitor in the 97-00s will count down faster than the ones in the 01-04s. This is because the OLM on the 97-00s was calibrated for a maximum interval of 10k, while on the 01-04 it's 15k.
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You're fine. 3% oil life is not going to expire in a couple of days unless you drive an awful lot.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 3,447
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From: Los Angeles
The DIC is just a suggestion. I ran Mobil 1 synthetic in my toyota and changed it every 12000 miles, just about when it STARTED to look dirty.
I'm positive you will be fine with a couple (hundred, if not thousand) miles past 0%. Just look at the oil, if it looks like honey (color) you got a long ways to go.
Granted, mine is a daily driver and mileage is predictable. If you track the thing, then you should change it quite a bit more.
I'm positive you will be fine with a couple (hundred, if not thousand) miles past 0%. Just look at the oil, if it looks like honey (color) you got a long ways to go.
Granted, mine is a daily driver and mileage is predictable. If you track the thing, then you should change it quite a bit more.
Pro
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 539
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From: Nevada City CA
You'll be fine. Btw if you can stand possibly extending your drain interval do an oil analysis. You may find you can go quite a bit longer in between oil changes.
