Oil changes have long been a major aspect of preventive maintenance (PM) stops.
One of trucking’s most fundamental maintenance events is evolving. Thanks to substantial advancements in engine design, aftertreatment functionality and oil versatility, many of today’s newer medium- and heavy-duty trucks are capable of oil drain intervals twice or nearly three times as long as trucking’s long accepted 25,000-mile standard.
For commercial fleets and truck owners, this interval extension is a fantastic development. Extended oil drain intervals save money and reduce downtime. But for the service sector, especially those that rely heavily on preventive maintenance (PM) stops as a revenue stream, extended oil drain intervals can cost shops business.
Oil companies acknowledge that’s an unfortunate development for service shops. But they also note while many newer trucks may have been designed to weather extended oil drains, not every truck in operation is an ideal candidate for change. Fuel economy and duty cycle remain the largest variables in setting an oil drain schedule and, along with professional oil analysis, oil companies say all three factors should be considered by a truck owner before they choose to amend their PM schedule.
For service shops committed to customer service, oil companies say collaborating with a customer and lubrication expert to evaluate and set an optimized oil drain interval is a great way to strengthen a business relationship — even if that might mean fewer PMs each calendar year.
A truck’s age and engine specs are the first factors to consider when setting an oil drain interval. Shawn Whitacre, Chevron senior staff engineer, says that while oil drain intervals have been rising for a decade, engines produced before the EPA’s Phase I fuel economy and greenhouse gas regulations went into effect in 2010 are unlikely to be able to extend intervals much, if at all.
CK-4 and FA-4 heavy-duty diesel engine oils introduced in 2016 enabled truck OEMs to extend oil drain intervals for some models by more than 15,000 miles.
