1995 Chev G20...what oil

[justalubetech]

Hi all, just acquired a 95 chevy g20 conversion/camper van with a 350. Looking on Google seems to yield little results, I assume by '95 the 350 no longer was flat tappet? Running supertech in it for a while as a flush as it sat for nearly 6 years and doing all the other maintenance. What oil should I run in this thing long term? Or is the supertech good enough for it? Thanks all

 

[BlueOvalFitter]

Originally Posted By: jsfalls
Hi all, just acquired a 95 chevy g20 conversion/camper van with a 350. Looking on Google seems to yield little results, I assume by '95 the 350 no longer was flat tappet? Running supertech in it for a while as a flush as it sat for nearly 6 years and doing all the other maintenance. What oil should I run in this thing long term? Or is the supertech good enough for it? Thanks all

What does the owners manual recommend?

 

[Imp4]

Harvest King 5w30 dino FTW!!!
$7.99 for 5 quarts at Rural King.

 

[justalubetech]

Owners manual is long gone, found some pdf's of owners manual online but phone won't let me download them.

 

[CarbonSteel]

5W-30 is preferred and 10W-30 is allowed.

 

[BrocLuno]

Prolly roller cam TBI motor ... How many miles? Seals and gaskets are getting long in years, so a decent 10W-30 HM oil is prolly a good diet for now.

If it were mine, it would get a full can of BG109 100 miles before each change for a while.

Tough enough engine. Should run for a while

I would definitely service the tranny ASAP ...

 

[clinebarger]

ALL '87-'95 305/350 TBI truck engines have a flat tappet camshaft while the CAR versions had a roller cam.

 

[VeryNoisyPoet]

Originally Posted By: BrocLuno
Seals and gaskets are getting long in years, so a decent 10W-30 HM oil is prolly a good diet for now.

...

I would definitely service the tranny ASAP ...


What's the mileage?

HM oil will gently clear out accumulated crud in there and help stop/slow any weeping. 10w-30 unless you'll be running it in freezing temps all the time.

Factory ATF looks like Dex III, which might be pretty fried depending on mileage and what kind of service it saw. Maxlife might be a good option since it's not super expensive but has a lot of benefits over generic Dex/Merc.

 

[FlyNavyP3]

Originally Posted By: clinebarger
ALL '87-'95 305/350 TBI truck engines have a flat tappet camshaft while the CAR versions had a roller cam.


Agreed. I've never seen a truck TBI engine with anything BUT a flat tappet cam and I've been inside and rebuilt well over a hundred of the 87-95 TBI engines.

To the OP if you're going to use it in any temperature above 0F I'd use a 10w30 HDEO. Rotella T4, Delo, Delvac are all good choices. If you're going to use it above 32F I'd personally use a good HDEO SAE 30 from Tractor Supply. 15w40 would be equally suitable above 0F.

 

[Chris142]

Don't worry about the flat tappit thing. I have never seen one lose a lobe

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: FlyNavyP3
Originally Posted By: clinebarger
ALL '87-'95 305/350 TBI truck engines have a flat tappet camshaft while the CAR versions had a roller cam.


Agreed. I've never seen a truck TBI engine with anything BUT a flat tappet cam and I've been inside and rebuilt well over a hundred of the 87-95 TBI engines.

To the OP if you're going to use it in any temperature above 0F I'd use a 10w30 HDEO. Rotella T4, Delo, Delvac are all good choices. If you're going to use it above 32F I'd personally use a good HDEO SAE 30 from Tractor Supply. 15w40 would be equally suitable above 0F.


So the changeover year was 96? Is that when they became "Vortec"?

 

[Nick1994]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: FlyNavyP3
Originally Posted By: clinebarger
ALL '87-'95 305/350 TBI truck engines have a flat tappet camshaft while the CAR versions had a roller cam.


Agreed. I've never seen a truck TBI engine with anything BUT a flat tappet cam and I've been inside and rebuilt well over a hundred of the 87-95 TBI engines.

To the OP if you're going to use it in any temperature above 0F I'd use a 10w30 HDEO. Rotella T4, Delo, Delvac are all good choices. If you're going to use it above 32F I'd personally use a good HDEO SAE 30 from Tractor Supply. 15w40 would be equally suitable above 0F.


So the changeover year was 96? Is that when they became "Vortec"?
Yes, 96' was the first Vortec, I had one in a C1500.

I'd just use a good HM 10w30 in it.

 

[FCD]

It's a flat tappet probably, you don't need tons fo Zddp but it doesn't hurt either, Shell Rotella T5 10W-30 is what i'd run in it.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: Chris142
Don't worry about the flat tappit thing. I have never seen one lose a lobe

The earlier versions did, no matter how much ZDDP was there.

 

[BlueOvalFitter]

Originally Posted By: jsfalls
Owners manual is long gone, found some pdf's of owners manual online but phone won't let me download them.

Here you geaux;

https://my.gm.com/content/dam/gmownercen...erra_owners.pdf
Look in section 6-19/6-23 for oil recommendations.

https://www.gmcmi.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/P30-Chassis-Manual.pdf
Look in section 7-A for oil recommendations.

 

[dlundblad]

10w30 or 5w40 HDEO or 0/5w40 A3/B4

 

[andyd]

Thanks Garak, my first thought 70s SBC cams were soft. Non issue here

 

[dave1251]

10W30 API SN will work great.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: andyd
Thanks Garak, my first thought 70s SBC cams were soft. Non issue here

Yes, all solved by then, thankfully.

Even when it was a problem, it wasn't a huge ordeal, at least once used to doing it.

 

[08z06]

i have seen ft replacement engines put in these many times. napa hm 10-40 imo