Engine fault

[Vendee]

Change oil every year (as should always be the case, irrespective of distance driven) and you won’t get premature belt wear.

FYI in other countries oil changes are every year, and these issues don’t happen.

With respect, your engine doesn't have a calendar. It doesn't know the date. It does know how you treat it, what length of journeys you do, the mileage you do, how hot or how cold it gets, how much you rev it. Why every year? Why not every 9 months or every 15 months?

There is no science behind an annual oil change these days. Much better to base your oil changes on the way the engine is used.

[Rays1]

Change oil every year (as should always be the case, irrespective of distance driven) and you won’t get premature belt wear.

FYI in other countries oil changes are every year, and these issues don’t happen.

With respect, your engine doesn't have a calendar. It doesn't know the date. It does know how you treat it, what length of journeys you do, the mileage you do, how hot or how cold it gets, how much you rev it. Why every year? Why not every 9 months or every 15 months?

There is no science behind an annual oil change these days. Much better to base your oil changes on the way the engine is used.

I agree the engine doesn't have a built in calendar. But if you take notice of the Fordpass App then the car has an oil monitor of a sort. I don't do huge amounts of miles in fact after 3 plus years since brand new, my ST has only now just reached 19k miles with the service period and according to the App automatically and slowly moving left, reducing the service period by a month or more every year. Too date it has had 3 services and 3 oil changes. A far cry when when think a 3 year service is also scheduled to have done 37500 miles.

[Vendee]

Change oil every year (as should always be the case, irrespective of distance driven) and you won’t get premature belt wear.

FYI in other countries oil changes are every year, and these issues don’t happen.

With respect, your engine doesn't have a calendar. It doesn't know the date. It does know how you treat it, what length of journeys you do, the mileage you do, how hot or how cold it gets, how much you rev it. Why every year? Why not every 9 months or every 15 months?

There is no science behind an annual oil change these days. Much better to base your oil changes on the way the engine is used.

I agree the engine doesn't have a built in calendar. But if you take notice of the Fordpass App then the car has an oil monitor of a sort.

Yes the Ford Pass app data was what I was referring to. It analyses your specific usage and predicts your safe oil life based on that. I had my first service done earlier this month when the app reckoned I was down to 8% oil life. The mileage was just short of 12k and the car was 22 months old. I think in the past, the calendar based service intervals had a lot to do with non-oil related service items. Don't get me wrong, 30-40 years ago I was doing 3k/6 month oil changes but engine oil technology has come on leaps and bounds since then, as has the price of the stuff. Who can forget the "Black Death" oil sludge that was the scourge of car engines in the 1980's?

[simonr23]

It’s (12mth oil change) about the oil - not the engine.

Once the bottle is opened it’s exposed to the atmosphere and moisture.

But you do you and I’ll keep wondering why so many have had the issue in regions where servicing is set to big intervals along with short warranty periods. Yes regions with normal intervals and long warranty periods are free of the issue.

[Vendee]

It’s (12mth oil change) about the oil - not the engine.

Once the bottle is opened it’s exposed to the atmosphere and moisture.

But you do you and I’ll keep wondering why so many have had the issue in regions where servicing is set to big intervals along with short warranty periods. Yes regions with normal intervals and long warranty periods are free of the issue.

Sorry Simon but I disagree strongly. Engine oil is not hygroscopic. It does not absorb moisture from the atmosphere. It can't cope very well with large amounts of water i.e. head gasket failure but it does not degrade just by sitting in an engine.

[Rays1]

It’s (12mth oil change) about the oil - not the engine.

Once the bottle is opened it’s exposed to the atmosphere and moisture.

But you do you and I’ll keep wondering why so many have had the issue in regions where servicing is set to big intervals along with short warranty periods. Yes regions with normal intervals and long warranty periods are free of the issue.

Sorry Simon but I disagree strongly. Engine oil is not hygroscopic. It does not absorb moisture from the atmosphere. It can't cope very well with large amounts of water i.e. head gasket failure but it does not degrade just by sitting in an engine.

Spot on Vendée, motor oil is not in anyway hygroscopic.
The oil degrades from heat and pressure, and it can collect harmful particles that need to be removed. Engine oil breaks down over time, even when the car is parked for an extended period.
So oil and oil filters must renewed on a regular basis..

[Vendee]

It’s (12mth oil change) about the oil - not the engine.

Once the bottle is opened it’s exposed to the atmosphere and moisture.

But you do you and I’ll keep wondering why so many have had the issue in regions where servicing is set to big intervals along with short warranty periods. Yes regions with normal intervals and long warranty periods are free of the issue.

Sorry Simon but I disagree strongly. Engine oil is not hygroscopic. It does not absorb moisture from the atmosphere. It can't cope very well with large amounts of water i.e. head gasket failure but it does not degrade just by sitting in an engine.

Spot on Vendée, motor oil is not in anyway hygroscopic.
The oil degrades from heat and pressure, and it can collect harmful particles that need to be removed. Engine oil breaks down over time, even when the car is parked for an extended period.
So oil and oil filters must renewed on a regular basis..

I don't actually believe that engine oil degrades "significantly" over time just sitting in the engine, certainly compared to when the engine is operating. After all, the stuff has been sitting in the ground for millions of years. If I stored an engine with new oil for 3 years without running it, I wouldn't change it again before running it again. The filter might be another matter. Oddly enough, in over 40 years servicing aircraft engines, I never once carried out a scheduled oil change. Admittedly they were constantly being topped up so over a 12 month period the oil would effectively be changed.

[4251]

There are many examples of modern engines becoming clogged with gunge. In fact fully synthetic oils bring their own issues, one being chronic varnish deposits which heavily coat all of the internal surfaces over time. I can give links to catastrophic failures of modern engines due to lubrication issues. Regular maintenance is as, if not more important than ever. Especially Diesels due to oil diluting with fuel.

Oil does degrade, it evaporates, it’s viscosity changes, additives deteriorate and it becomes contaminated with combustion deposits, acids etc. Even 10-12k use concerns me. I especially notice the oil turns very dark in the 1.5 engine fairly quickly. Ours has done 5k between changes.

And on the topic of oil, if you have a 1.5 ST check your oil after a service. Some Ford workshops are using incorrect data for the 1.5 oil capacity. When the oil pump change from gear driven to belt driven occurred they increased the oil capacity by about 1L at the same time. Our Ford workshop put the old gear pump spec amount of oil in, which on checking was just touching the bottom of the dipstick !!!! 1L brought it up to the full mark.

[Rays1]

Sorry Simon but I disagree strongly. Engine oil is not hygroscopic. It does not absorb moisture from the atmosphere. It can't cope very well with large amounts of water i.e. head gasket failure but it does not degrade just by sitting in an engine.

Spot on Vendée, motor oil is not in anyway hygroscopic.
The oil degrades from heat and pressure, and it can collect harmful particles that need to be removed. Engine oil breaks down over time, even when the car is parked for an extended period.
So oil and oil filters must renewed on a regular basis..

I don't actually believe that engine oil degrades "significantly" over time just sitting in the engine, certainly compared to when the engine is operating. After all, the stuff has been sitting in the ground for millions of years. If I stored an engine with new oil for 3 years without running it, I wouldn't change it again before running it again. The filter might be another matter. Oddly enough, in over 40 years servicing aircraft engines, I never once carried out a scheduled oil change. Admittedly they were constantly being topped up so over a 12 month period the oil would effectively be changed.

I am not sure you can compare aero engines with those in a road going vehicle.
But it does depend on which type of aero engine.
The way a turbine engine is lubricated is very different from its piston engine counterpart. Firstly, the combustion in a jet engine occurs in a hollow chamber with no moving parts. It requires cooling, but this cooling is provided by clever airflow mechanisms. Over 80% of the airflow that reaches the combustion chamber flows around its casing for cooling purposes. Hence, the oil in a jet engine never makes contact with the combustion products.
It is the combustion in a piston engine and the resultant carbon deposits that contaminant the oil.
I fly a Piper Cherokee Warrior and yes we/I often top up the oil during the pre flight 'A' check but that said I leave engine overhaul/maintenane to the engineers.. However saying that I have been responsible for the upgrade, development and serving schedule of today's front line military aircraft for which I agree oil servicing isn't something I have ever needed to be concerned about. For which is the responsibility of the engine contractor/manufacturer and those power generating and hydraulic attaching gear boxes.

[Sparks]

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