First Oil Change too Early?

[flyer92]

I almost didn't post this question because of the wide variety of emotional responses I know it'll trigger. However, I do like reading the different perspectives, so here it goes:

I took delivery of my 2-door JL Sport in April of this year and just did my first oil change at 3200 miles. Roughly speaking, 70% of those miles are city driving, 20% highway, and 10% light/moderate off-road. I sent an oil sample to Blackstone, who stated:

"This is a wear-in sample, so we're not surprised to find more metal and silicon than average. Once wear-in washes out, metals should be more akin to universal averages. Silicon is from sealers and lubes needed for assembly. The remaining elements are mostly additives in the oil, and it's fine if they don't match up perfectly with averages. Not every 3.6L Pentastar owner is running the same brand/blend. The 4.2 TBN shows active additive to spare and the viscosity read in the 5W/20 range. Nothing looks like a problem in the early going."

While everything looks good, I'm concerned that I may have changed the oil too early because of the amount of remaining additive in the factory oil. As such, I'm just curious what the additive really does, and if it would have been better to let it run through the engine until the oil life was closer to 0%. No need to argue about oil life, type, viscosity, metal shavings, etc. ...that's a dead horse that's been beat into glue many times over. I only want to know more about the additive and any benefits it might have provided for the new engine. Thoughts?

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[3TV]

The sample analysis said there was more metal in the oil than average. Why would you want to leave that circulating in your engine longer than you did? I think you did fine changing the oil at 3000 miles. Oil is cheap, and it is kind of fun to work on your Jeep and change the oil once in a while.

 

[flyer92]

The sample analysis said there was more metal in the oil than average. Why would you want to leave that circulating in your engine longer than you did? I think you did fine changing the oil at 3000 miles. Oil is cheap, and it is kind of fun to work on your Jeep and change the oil once in a while.

Yes, this was my thought too, but was just concerned that it might have been better to let the additive run through the engine a little longer.

 

[jaymz]

The additives that they are speaking of are what the oil manufacturers add to the base oil. They are usually some combination of antioxidants, corrosion inhibitors, anti-foam agents and demulsifying agents.

Blackstone is essentially telling you that there was plenty of life left in your oil, and changing it at that particular moment was unnecessary.

 

[flyer92]

The additives that they are speaking of are what the oil manufacturers add to the base oil. They are usually some combination of antioxidants, corrosion inhibitors, anti-foam agents and demulsifying agents.

Blackstone is essentially telling you that there was plenty of life left in your oil, and changing it at that particular moment was unnecessary.

Perhaps, but I know that's arguable, given the amount of metal that I also removed from the engine during the process. Regardless, this isn't the intent of my post, as I know it causes heated debate. Really just want to know if I did the engine a disservice by draining the additives too early.

 

[jaymz]

Perhaps, but I know that's arguable, given the amount of metal that I also removed from the engine during the process. Regardless, this isn't the intent of my post, as I know it causes heated debate. Really just want to know if I did the engine a disservice by draining the additives too early.

No disservice. Like I said, the additives in question are what makes base oil suitable for use as an engine oil. Whatever you put back in the crankcase will have those same (or similar) additives.

Wouldn’t surprise me if you see high metal content for the next couple of oil changes. A lot depends on the person that put it together, and how it’s driven. Were tolerances on the tight side? Was everything properly cleaned before assembly, etc.
Are you more like Dale Earnhardt, or the little old lady driving to church?

 

[CarbonSteel]

There are no special additives that exist in factory oil. It is the same oil that you can buy off the shelf. You will receive as many different answers as there are oil brands and types.

I dump the factory oil at 1K, again at 3K and once more at 5K and settle into a 5K OCI after that. Plenty of wear metals in those first few oil changes and since a UOA has a range limit on the metal sizes it detects, I would rather have it out of the engine.

 

[John VonJeep]

Engines aren't intestines. They don't need fiber or probiotics. They just like nice, clean oil.

 

[miweber929]

Perhaps, but I know that's arguable, given the amount of metal that I also removed from the engine during the process. Regardless, this isn't the intent of my post, as I know it causes heated debate. Really just want to know if I did the engine a disservice by draining the additives too early.

At this point, though, regardless of the answer it’s already been done so you can only move forward. Based on their analysis you are just fine so I’d not worry about a thing.

Lots of oil arguments abound, I used to be one of the way early, way too often oil changers, but I’ve since gone to a more “normal” pattern of changing when the oil life indicator gets to 20%. Which that is normally the 5k-6k mile range unless I’m driving a lot of highway when it’s closer to 7k or 8k which seems like it should be at and shows the oil life algorithm is doing its job. I also notice when I pull a trailer in my truck and use the tow/haul mode a lot the oil life drops faster, again, like it should; that’s good enough for me and changing at 20% gives me a decent margin of “error”.

You‘re fine.

 

[LuvHydro]

I had my first change at 5K. Same thoughts, I wanted the initial wear-in debris out of there.

 

[flyer92]

At this point, though, regardless of the answer it’s already been done so you can only move forward. Based on their analysis you are just fine so I’d not worry about a thing.

Lots of oil arguments abound, I used to be one of the way early, way too often oil changers, but I’ve since gone to a more “normal” pattern of changing when the oil life indicator gets to 20%. Which that is normally the 5k-6k mile range unless I’m driving a lot of highway when it’s closer to 7k or 8k which seems like it should be at and shows the oil life algorithm is doing its job. I also notice when I pull a trailer in my truck and use the tow/haul mode a lot the oil life drops faster, again, like it should; that’s good enough for me and changing at 20% gives me a decent margin of “error”.

You‘re fine.

Like you, I typically wait until about 20%, except for the first oil change. I pretty much figured that it would be OK, but still can't get a good understanding of how necessary the factory additives really are, and if it is more beneficial to keep them running in the engine longer. Like anything else, I suspect there's a happy medium somewhere between 20% and 100%....change the oil early, removing all the suspended metals, but also removing the (possibly beneficial additives), or change it on time, allowing the metals to remain in the system longer, but potentially reaping whatever value the additives provide. Aside from my own curiosity, was hoping this discussion might help to inform other new owners with this decision, since the forum hasn't yet addressed the benefit of the additives.

 

[Carolina Jeeper]

There is nothing wrong with changing the oil sooner than later on a new engine. I rebuild engines and the first oil change is immediately after the 30 minute cam break in. Then another oil change about 500 miles later.

It does more harm if a new engine is ran longer with contaminated oil. Besides an earlier oil change gives you a chance to identify an issue. Just ask any engine builder.

 

[miweber929]

but still can't get a good understanding of how necessary the factory additives really are, and if it is more beneficial to keep them running in the engine longer.

...snip

Aside from my own curiosity, was hoping this discussion might help to inform other new owners with this decision, since the forum hasn't yet addressed the benefit of the additives.

But here's the thing: there is no solid evidence, and your oil analysis confirms it, there is something special about the first oil an engine gets from the factory. It says additives, but nothing other than you'd see in normal automotive oil.

Lots of people say there is, but if a shop rebuilds a motor at the dealership there is no specially marked drum sitting off to the side, nothing anyone has ever definitively shown from the factory that shows a special "break-in" oil is used, nothing than hearsay ever comes up when this is brought up. And with modern computers there is no reason the oil life monitor can't be set to an artificial number for the first change and it never is which would indicate there is no reason it's different or that it needs to be drained early.

If someone can show me definitive proof, I will take what I said back, but until then, I do not see there being any reason to not go by the oil life monitor.

 

[flyer92]

There is nothing wrong with changing the oil sooner than later on a new engine. I rebuild engines and the first oil change is immediately after the 30 minute cam break in. Then another oil change about 500 miles later.

It does more harm if a new engine is ran longer with contaminated oil. Besides an earlier oil change gives you a chance to identify an issue. Just ask any engine builder.

Agree 100%, and exactly why I changed the oil when I did.

So...to finally put the additive issue to rest, I spoke directly with a lab tech at Blackstone, who stated that draining the factory additive isn't a problem, because fresh oil has similar additives that accomplish the same thing. In addition, he also stated that doing the first oil change at 3,000-ish miles isn't a "short run" at all, and is totally OK.

Given that feedback, I can't see any down side to doing an "early" oil change. Just glad to get the suspended metals out sooner rather than later....but to each his/her own. As stated earlier, we've beaten that dead horse too many times here in the forum. Case closed IMHO....thanks for reading!

 

[Dale's Jeep]

Alot of those additives could be from crank, cam lube when engine is assembled. You did good just think of new vehicles that sit on the lots to be sold they never get run. The may move them around sometimes but other then that they sit. Imagine the moisture in there plus the metal shaving. So again your ok.

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