How many miles for Series 60 oil change?

[belfert]

I have the oil changed in my Detroit Series 60 every year regardless of miles driven.  This past year I already drove 5,500 miles since oil change.  Would it be okay to drive another 3,500 miles for a total of 9,000 miles on an oil change?  I never really looked up how many miles a Series 60 can go on an oil change as I never get close on miles.

[Brian Diehl]

Brian - I have been performing an oil analysis each time I change my oil.  I find right around 10,000 miles is the upper limit on my engine (Cummins ISM) with Shell Rotella T 15w40 oil.  I imagine your series 60 is as clean running as my engine is and therefore you should be fine to put another 3500 miles on.  I would recommend you have an oil sample taken and analyzed when you get the oil changed next so you can see how your particular engine and driving habits affect oil life.

[belfert]

I have my oil changed at a local bus garage.  The garage sends my oil out for analysis, but only sends me the report if there is an issue.  I haven't requested the report because I haven't cared how much life is left in the oil previously.  I suppose I could ask to see last year's analysis when I actually went about 1,000 more miles than this past year.

[luvrbus]

If you drove every day the 11.1 will go 15,000 miles easy but DD recommends changing 1 time a year with low mileage engines,I maintain a couple of 11.1 DD in school activity buses 1 is Dina those get changed every 6,000 miles or the sample gets crazy.Like Brian stated pull a sample and have a base to work from  

[B_K]

We changed ours at 10,000 in all our 60 series buses. \
  BK 

[luvrbus]

We changed ours at 10,000 in all our 60 series buses. \
 BK  

Some casinos here with the 14L EGR engines in buses will go 30,000 miles between oil changes and have a good sample,but most get changed between 20 to 25,000 miles.His 11.1 is not that clean so it requires shorter change intervals    

[TomC]

Just to show how clean the engines now are burning, the Detroit DD engines have a 50,000 mile oil change for over the road highway trucks. Good Luck, TomC

[luvrbus]

Just to show how clean the engines now are burning, the Detroit DD engines have a 50,000 mile oil change for over the road highway trucks. Good Luck, TomC

The technology in oil along with the DD filtration system helps too at 50,000 miles the oil looks almost new it amazed me how clean it was   

[gumpy]

Brian, you should get your analysis reports every time, even if there is no problem. Comparisons from year to year is a good way to track the life of you engine and potentially see if something is starting to go wrong.

[belfert]

I suppose I could get my oil changed before leaving, but I am trying to avoid that if I can.  I forgot about the lovely spring road restrictions so that gives me a pretty narrow window to make my trip.

I was also thinking about an early April trip, but spring load restrictions will make that a no go.  I would be more worried about my asphalt driveway than anything.

[B_K]

Some casinos here with the 14L EGR engines in buses will go 30,000 miles between oil changes and have a good sample,but most get changed between 20 to 25,000 miles.His 11.1 is not that clean so it requires shorter change intervals    

We were told when we bought them that at time the suggested interval was 15,000 but taking into count that our coaches sat and idled for hrs to keep A/C or heat going for customer convenience we decided 10,000 was a good # and it also gave us a good chance to grease and look things over while servicing.
  BK 

[lostagain]

250 hrs is a good interval. That is 10 to 15K miles depending how much idling you do.

I still don't get the time limit on oil change intervals. Oil doesn't go sour like milk. Any moisture will burn off quickly once running. Oil has been in the ground for millions of years without curdling. There is no best before date on a jug of motor oil... Somebody have a good explanation as to why it needs changing in an engine on a time schedule? Other than the dealer or oil manufacturer said so.

JC

[luvrbus]

It is the chemical additives in oil that goes bad after it has been used JC it gets acidity  the oil you buy has gone through quite a process after leaving the ground to the jug. Oil is not treated as toxic waste till it has been used.In the oil fields they use a term sweet or sour crude I never tasted it to find out if was sweet or not     

[Dreadnought]

Brian - I have been performing an oil analysis each time I change my oil.  I find right around 10,000 miles is the upper limit on my engine (Cummins ISM) with Shell Rotella T 15w40 oil.  I imagine your series 60 is as clean running as my engine is and therefore you should be fine to put another 3500 miles on.  I would recommend you have an oil sample taken and analyzed when you get the oil changed next so you can see how your particular engine and driving habits affect oil life.

One thing to bear in mind with your Cummins ISM is - does it have post injections?

Or- put another way- does it have a Diesel particulate filter for emissions? If it does- then it will use post injections to dry out and regen the DPF. This will find its way into the sump and contaminate the oil- as diesel isn't as good a lubricant as oil.

I'm guessing the series 60 engine is older and therefore probably doesn't have the level of emissions after treatment.

[Brian Diehl]

My ISM is from 2000.  It has no EGR or after treatment.  Simple.