Hour meter and maintenance

[Tom Hicks]

I try to lube my T's every 250 miles and do an oil change every 500 miles. I used to keep track of how much gasoline I was using and figured that 35 gallons equaled about 500 miles.

Then I started messing with hour meters. My experience, don't mess with the $15 - $30 electronic meters from Ebay or Amazon. They don't last. This one is from NAPA and has done well for 50 hours.


My question is, after how many hours on the meter should I do an oil change? I have been doing 10 hours equals 500 miles, but I don't usually drive 50 mph for long stretches.

[DanTreace]

Great idea on your hour meter, use one on the boat to monitor engine time between changes too.

Ford new car instructions allowed for 750 miles between oil changes.

And new cars to maintain only 20mph for break-in. Average speed then was likely 25mph, and today likely 30-35mph.

Seems then it would be safe to change the oil approximately every 25 hours.

[Oldav8tor]

Today's oils are a lot better quality than what was available during Model T times...detergents and other additives help too. The model T lacks a true oil filter but I suspect you could safely put more miles on your car between oil changes. I figure 25 mph is a good average so 25-30 hours between oil changes should be OK. Many older aircraft engines were only equipped with screens, not filters, and it was recommended to change the oil every 25 hours or so.

The above notwithstanding, oil is one of the cheapest things you put in your car so frequent oil changes are a good thing.