2000 Impala Oil

[matador]

Hi All-

I'm now the owner of a 2000 Chevrolet Impala with a 3400 V6. The good news was that the car was free. The bad news:

An uncle has owned the car since 2007. He has basically done no maintenance whatsoever. The brake pads were almost gone, so I did the pads and rotors. It has other problems, too.

He wasn't very good about engine oil changes. The last oil change was done around 170k miles at Walmart. The car now has about 215k. The last change had Castrol GTX and a Fram filter.

It's obviously time for a change! I'm looking to use the car as a bit of a beater. I have other vehicles I drive, but it would be nice to have a second car for when I need it in a pinch.

With a OCI of 35k miles last time, what should I do to help the engine out? I'll be using this car until something major breaks. The transmission shifts a bit rough and throws you into gear, so it may be on the way out. If I can get 10-15k highway miles on the car though, I'll be very happy. We live in Wyoming, so there isn't much stop and go traffic.

I usually use Wix filters and use Castrol GTX on most of my vehicles, but I'm definitely open to anything.

Thanks for the Help!

 

[Ramblejam]

Welcome to the forum, Matador!

You really need to do a full fluid exchange/filter replacement on that transmission.

With that out of the way:

1. Go to Walmart.
2. Pick up two bottles of Gumout Regane High Mileage. Refill near empty & pour both bottles in.
3. At the Walmart price point, I find it hard to resist Mobil 1 High Mileage (5w-30 in your case). Yes, it's a top-tier synthetic product, but the $25/5qts price is very appealing, and it'll do a fantastic job of cleaning things up. Your car takes 4.5 quarts, so that'll leave a little left for top-off.
4. Your car specifies a PF47 oil filter, but considering the cleaning that'll take place, we most certainly want to run a PF52 (oversize) model, and ideally one that has the highest grams capacity. The XG3980 is available at Walmart.

 

[MichiganMadMan]

Originally Posted By: matador
The last oil change was done around 170k miles at Walmart. The car now has about 215k.


"I just threw up in my mouth a little bit."

I'd try to have a look down the filler cap or pull a rocker cover to see how ugly it is under there. You might detach a huge pile of sludge with new oil, clog the screen and kill the engine. This might be an act of mercy though....

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: MichiganMadMan
Originally Posted By: matador
The last oil change was done around 170k miles at Walmart. The car now has about 215k.


"I just threw up in my mouth a little bit."

I'd try to have a look down the filler cap or pull a rocker cover to see how ugly it is under there. You might detach a huge pile of sludge with new oil, clog the screen and kill the engine. This might be an act of mercy though....



Yeah, and it might get hit by lightning, too.

OP, try a few good syn changes, I would spec Maxlife for this poor old engine. What a terrific and reliable thing it has been!

 

[mrsilv04]

What would I do?

First of all, I wouldn't use a synthetic. There's no rush to reverse this long period of neglect. Cleaning it up too fast is not what I'd want, and can cause huge issues.

I'd use something like MaxLife, or any of the other conventional "High Mileage" products (heck, even the W*M SuperTech High Mileage) , with an AC Delco or Purolator Classic filter. There's no need to spend a lot of money on this (oil or filter), because you're not going to leave it in very long.

Run it 1000 miles. If the oil looks horrible after 1000 miles (and it probably will), then dump it and repeat. If the oil doesn't look that bad, then run it another 500 miles. I don't think I'd go past 1500 miles on the first change.

See where it goes, and repeat. Try to go farther on the second and subsequent changes. This isn't going to trigger any miracles. I would never go past a 3000 mile interval on this engine ever again.

 

[KCJeep]

We've had a bunch of those Chevy slappers and still own one, a 2000 Lumina. A fantastic reliable engine other than gasket issues.

Most likely your car has coolant and gasket issues as well if it has been so neglected. Bar's Leaks liquid copper has sealed to intake manifold gaskets for me in the past, but head gaskets have been expensive. Probably not worth fixing at this point but between the likely coolant and neglect you're looking at very short OCI's indefinitely IMO.

Maxlife immediately came to mind also. You might pull the first filter and cut it at 500 - 1000 miles to see how bad it is.

 

[SatinSilver]

This will be fun to see how this turns out. As much as I like MaxLife I think that maybe overkill at this stage. Maybe in a year or two if it's still running.

I'd use some ST, Peak etc oil with a cheap but name brand oil filter. Change at 5k miles or six months which ever happens first.

Look forward to updates.

 

[Roma]

I agree with mrsilv04. Cheap oil and filter then change it after 1,000 miles. Whatever you do do not put engine flush in! That sludge in the motor is holding everything together.

 

[bigt61]

Originally Posted By: satinsilver
This will be fun to see how this turns out. As much as I like MaxLife I think that maybe overkill at this stage. Maybe in a year or two if it's still running.

I'd use some ST, Peak etc oil with a cheap but name brand oil filter. Change at 5k miles or six months which ever happens first.

Look forward to updates.


+1 Stick with cheap oil & filter for a while. Drive it, see what falls off. If you like it and want to keep it, move up to Maxlife eventually. Stay away from synthetics, it will probably leak oil anyway without you encouraging it. Any coolant leaks, throw in some Bars Leak pellets available at NAPA for $3. Save your money for a real car in the future.

 

[SlipperyPete]

Don't worry about a thing, the car should be just fine according to dnewton's research and scientific data. At least your uncle's pocketbook didn't take a pounding.

 

[matador]

Yeah- his pocketbook did quite well! Mine though....

Some more details- I drove it home about 20-30 miles on the highway when I got it. The engine seemed fine, but shook at idle pretty badly. I think it may be a bad or crossed plug wire, though. On the road, it purred like a little kitten.

It actually doesn't have any fluid leaks right now that I know of. The oil is black, but it doesn't look like it has any coolant in it.

He bought the car in 2007 with about 75k on it. It has about 215k or so on it now. He said that all he did to it was plugs and wires at 190k. Other than that, he hasn't done anything that I know of.

I'm not looking at this as my "real car". I have a 2001 Audi A6 that I use for that! I just like to keep a cheap car around for the days that I need to make a parts run or we go in separate directions. My transmission went out in my 1995 LeSabre, so this is the new cheapie. We have a guy out here that fixes vehicles at his junkyard, so I can always find something cheap in a pinch.

Keep the tips coming!

Also, the filter on this car is on the front of the engine, towards the radiator. Does anyone know how to get it off. I don't think my filter wrench will fit in there!

Thanks for the Help!

 

[threeputtpar]

I think every Audi A6 owner at some point has had a second car available for the ineveitable parts run.

 

[thomasew]

I'm driving my Mom's 2002 Implala w/ 3.4 engine. Hers was maintained at a high level, and had 53K when I started using it. I have continued with good maintenance schedule, and it runs great. I did have to get the manifold gaskets changed as it sat a lot ,and didn't get driven much. The gaskets were starting to leak, but no harm done when I had it worked on. So far, it has been a great car. I have driven it about 15K since I started using it. It is a good riding and driving car.

 

[matador]

@ThreePuttPar My 2.8 is actually a pretty reliable car for me. I've heard the 2.7Ts were a little more spotty- how has yours worked for you? The 2.8 was the only engine in the Avant- I fell in love with the car at first site.

I like to wrench on cars, so I have a fair amount of vehicles that need work.

I own a LeSabre with the 3800 V6 and that car will last forever! My transmission is starting to go out, so I don't use it much, but it would work in a pinch if I needed it to.

-------------------------------

Back on Topic:

My coolant looks wrong. It seems awful darkish brown, and feels oily. It looks like it has a bit of a sheen to it, but my light wasn't too good. How do I know what fluid I have? I'm assuming motor oil, but I've heard some problems with the Dexos coolant that Chevrolet used.

Any ideas?

 

[turtlevette]

Originally Posted By: matador

With a OCI of 35k miles last time,


It's 45K miles. Not trying to nit pick, I'm just good with math.

It'd be interesting to have a sample of that analyzed.

 

[matador]

I never did figure out this "Math" stuff.

I know this is a real simple question that's probably been answered hundreds of times, but how do I have an analysis done? Where do I take it or send the oil? What's the cost? How much oil do I need to send?

Thanks

 

[Zaedock]

I think most here use Blackstone Labs. gOOgle them and they'll send you a kit.

BTW, I used to have a '75 Matador.

 

[matador]

I've put the order in for the kit to send back to the lab. Part of me wants to see the results, and part of me doesn't!

I've always wanted to own an AMC. I've always thought they were cool cars that were a bit...different. I passed on a running $500 1986 Eagle about a year ago, and have since wondered what owning one would be like. They seem a bit crazy and eccentric- kind of like me!

 

[turtlevette]

Originally Posted By: matador
I've put the order in for the kit to send back to the lab. Part of me wants to see the results, and part of me doesn't!

I think BITOG will find it very interesting. Something probably never seen here.

 

[SlantyNW1990]

I daily drive a 78 Concord.