oil change on a cat 3406

[sledhead]

oil change interval

on my cat 3406e I would like to change the oil less . right now I have only 6k miles on the last change 1 year ago ( to much stuff going on not enough time to travel )

when I changed the oil 47 liters ( 12.4 us gallons ) per change including filter last year I used shell t6   full synthetic oil and would like to just change the filter and top up the oil with the same and then change all the oil and filter in a year . I do this on my pick up truck approx 12 k miles a year

what is your option

dave

[Andy T]

Skip the oil change and just go with a new filter and top off. That oil would be good for 20,000 miles if you ran it every day in a truck. I would run it to get the oil up to temperature to get rid of any moisture from condensation and call it good.

[DoubleEagle]

Skip the oil change and just go with a new filter and top off. That oil would be good for 20,000 miles if you ran it every day in a truck. I would run it to get the oil up to temperature to get rid of any moisture from condensation and call it good.

Conventional oil would be good for 20,000 - 25,000 miles (in continuous use), so the synthetic would last longer. The 3406 is an all time great engine, so I would not take chances with it. Change the filter, but also get an oil analysis to check on its status. That will help you work out how long you really can go before you change the oil.

[sledhead]

last year was the 1st oil change and wow a lot more oil then the old 6v92 had . even now if I check the oil it is still a nice shade of yellow not like the black of the 6v92 . with my pick up truck I change the oil and filter in the fall and in the spring just the filter and a top up ( synthetic as well ) I always buy my oil on sale so it is not much more then regular oil in price . I will get a oil sample done to see how it is

dave 

[TomC]

Oil analysis is the only way to tell what is the best interval. I once went 2 years on my 8V-71 before changing-but I also had the bus indoors.
On my truck with mechanical 3406B, from oil analysis, my oil change was right at 12,000mi. That made it easy to remember oil changes at multiples of 12,000. Even at that, I never added oil between changes.
On the 3406E, 25,000miles would not be too long.
With the newest engines from Detroit, the DD15 for efficient long haul, the oil change is 75,000mi! Good Luck, TomC

[sledhead]

so if I do the math 25k divided 6 k = 4 years between oil changes ! that would be nice but it's not going to happen

thanks for the heads up Tom and yes it is different not using any oil between changes and to have it look so clear is amazing

dave