Oil change with only 300 to 400 miles?

For the last year I haven't been driving my maverick as much as I used to with the way gas is and all so I've only put about 300 to 400 miles on it since the last oil change... should I change it? or just leave it? I forgot to put some lucas oil stabilizer in it on the last one also. What do you think?

Also with this driving pattern would I be ok with conventional + stabilizer or should I invest in synthetic for a good long duration (time in my case not miles) between changes? or what would you suggest something differant? Is there a oil that wount go with time but only miles? thanks.

 

A lot depends on your climate. Up here we have huge temperature swings and humidity swings. Not driving a car up here is really hard on it. Unless its stored well.
Moisture in the crank case is a problem here with short trips/low miles etc. Example..my mother in law has only gone about 600 miles in her 3 month LOF interval. I run hers to 4 months then change the oil. We do the same at work for our customers.
NOt sure how the time thing would relate in your climate? WE do 4 months here. Oil changes are very critical in the new cars. Not so much in our old Mavs.
I change mine in the Fall and Spring. It sits all Winter with fresh oil but it gets changed right out of storage anyhow come Spring time. It pretty much goes 6 months on my Mav. Gets more long drives than short so I dont worry about the 6 month interval. Only goes 1-2000 miles a season. I run bottled 10w30. No additives,no synthetics. I dont think its necessary in this clunky old 5.0

 

Change it for it only cost what 24 bucks..

 

I'd change it but I sure wouldn't use synthetic. Not going to gain anything by doing that.

 

I wouldn't bother with changing it...but that is just me.

 

Mine is the same way, and I have it and my wife's car on a 6-month oil change schedule (regardless of mileage). Neither of them get anywhere near 2000 miles in 6 months.

I skipped my Mav's change this time. So it will go a year before it get's changed.

 

I would change the oil, then put it on a schedule of ever 6 months like Darren said, and don't forget to change the filter.
Im my Maverick (drag only car) I change the oil after every race weekend, I was using Mobil 1 synthetic, and even on sale that's $60 plus filter. Since the new motor was broken in on the dyno with Comp Cams break-in oil I will be using Swepco 306. It's not cheap, but cheaper than synthetic and is intended for engines that sit for extended periods of time, they also have 305 that is a straight grade......................IMHO

 

Im a bad example but I would leave it. In my 70 F100 I cant remember the last time I changed the oil. Probably been 5 years. It gets driven once every 3-6 months. Iv eactually only changed the oil twice in 13 years since Ive built it and i have about 8000 miles on it. My father in law is in town and has been driving it for a week. we checked the oil last weekend and it looked great. The engine runs nice and smooth as ever. It may get an oil change this weekend after I told him how long its been, he said he would do it fo rme when he has the time.

My Maverick dosnt get scheduled oil changes either. it sits for months then gets driven once a week then sits for months again. I only change the oil in it when I am doing other work that would require me to do so or if its a convenient time to do it.

On another note, my 2011 Mustang has a reccomended oil change interval of 10,000 miles. funny thing is the dealer put a sticker in the windshield saying to come back at 5000 miles. But the oil change is free and I dont have to do it so I may keep this one on schedule.

 

I've always been a believer of scheduled oil changes...it's cheap insurance.

 

I change oil in all my vehicles every 3 Months Regardless. Accept for the Harley it goes 5000 Mi. before an oil change (as per Willy Gs recomendation but if something does go wrong I get a free motor) It gets started and run every 2 weeks whether I ride it or not cause If I didnt do that, my OL Man would turn over in his grave.

Im a firm believer in runing a motor often enough to warm it up and circulate the oil on a regular basis even if I just go around the block.

 

My opinion, it depends on how you drive it and what the weather is like. Like Darren said, moisture in the air and temperature extremes are a lot harder on oil even if it's just sitting and only driven occasionally. For example, it needs to be changed more often if the engine rarely operates for more than 30 minutes at full operating temperature. The higher engine temps and longer operation allows moisture that has collected in the crankcase to burn off. The oil tends to collect a lot more hydrocarbons and fuel from cold engine starts that aren't driven regularly and form acids that can allow oxidation of internal engine components and oil breakdown. I drive mine for a good 30 minutes at least once a month to make up for the times I just crank it and move it in the shop. Right now I'm driving it daily so the old 3000 mile, 3 month rule applies. I do always change it if it sits for more than a season, just for good measure. Nothing special though, just regular 5w-30 motorcraft stuff in the bottles.

 

I change the oil and filter every 3 or 4 thousand miles. Like it has been said before, it is cheep insurance.

 

LOL GLad you posted this. I was going to post the same but last time I mentioned the acid I got jumped all over and told it was BS.

 

They can call it BS all they want, I think we know different!