I use full sythetic and change the oil every 6,000 miles but change the filter every 3,000 miles. 
?
David Clarkson
90 Westy (282,000 miles)

-----Original Message-----
From: Dave Mcneely <mcneely4@COX.NET>
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Sent: Fri, May 7, 2010 10:46 pm
Subject: Re: how often do you change your oil?

I change oil in all my vehicles every 3000 miles or 6 months, whichever comes  
first.  Always have, always will.  Owner's manuals (including the Vanagon, IIRC)  
give longer intervals.  My vehicles seem to last forever, so something is  
working.  I've driven most of them beyond 200K miles, though at the rate I drive  
these days, my Honda may be the only one of the three to reach that milestone. 
 
It is normal for oil to turn black in vehicles that are more than a year or so  
old.  I've never seen one that didn't do that, except my Toyota Prius.  Stays  
looking like honey.   But in my vanagon, which has a rebuilt engine with about  
40K miles, the oil is black, even immediately after changing.  Same with my  
Honda Accord, with about 190K miles. 
 
Don't know anything about synthetic oil's colors, never used it.  But the black  
color is from substances in the engine, so any oil should pick those up.  It is  
a part of the detergent function of the oil. 
 
---- Samantha <yfsami@YAHOO.COM> wrote:  
> Changed mine about two/three weeks ago, checked it recently (in the last week)  
and its blackened already.  
> ? 
> Is this common with the Vanagon group, or something I should look further  
into? 
> ? 
> Thanks, 
> ? 
> Samantha  
> Eureka Springs, AR 
> 82 AC Vanagon  
 
-- 
David McNeely