2002 chevy tahoe 5.3 oil selection

[Zahndkile]

I have been using only top tier fuel for a while and i am happy with its cleaning power. I don't know if that is part of what quieted my engine or if it was the oil. I think i might chicken out and just go with 5w-30.

 

[thunderchild]

I have a 2004 Tahoe with about 30,000 miles on a Jasper reman 5.3. I use Valvoline High Mileage Synthetic 5w-30. The rest of the truck has 286,*** miles. No issues to report. 5w-30 is what the manufacturer recommends so I stick with it.

 

[caprice_2nv]

Originally Posted by thunderchild

I have a 2004 Tahoe with about 30,000 miles on a Jasper reman 5.3. I use Valvoline High Mileage Synthetic 5w-30. The rest of the truck has 286,*** miles. No issues to report. 5w-30 is what the manufacturer recommends so I stick with it.

What happened to the original motor? That's fairly low mileage for one of these.

 

[SteveG4]

Without hesitation, I'd would recommend two oils: 1. Mobil1 High-Mileage 10W-30 a. It's found at Wal-Mart for $22.88 b. Has an HTHS of 3.5 c. Highly regarded here on BITOG 2. QSUD 5W-30 a. It's found at Wal-Mart at $17.97 b. My GM 5.3L Gen III engine is super quiet and loves the stuff

 

[thunderchild]

Originally Posted by caprice_2nv

Originally Posted by thunderchild

I have a 2004 Tahoe with about 30,000 miles on a Jasper reman 5.3. I use Valvoline High Mileage Synthetic 5w-30. The rest of the truck has 286,*** miles. No issues to report. 5w-30 is what the manufacturer recommends so I stick with it.

What happened to the original motor? That's fairly low mileage for one of these.

I lost all the coolant out of the back heater. No smell while driving coming home at night. Put in in the shop the next day. A connector broke off and while my mechanic was trying to diagnose the problem, he lost all the coolant coming out of the BACK of the truck. It over heated and when they told me all the things they were going to probably have to do I just opted for the Jasper reman. Cost was probably a little cheaper this way.

 

[tiger862]

I know you like Mobil1 but Valvoline High Mileage Synthetic with Maxlife 5w30 is the only Dexos approval. For a GM it is the best as far as approval goes.

 

[Zahndkile]

Well i got brave and went with M1 high mileage extended performance 5w-20 with a fram ultra filter. So far i have 1 day and 300 miles on it and it seems to do fine. The top end is not too noisy and the oil pressure is slightly lower but still plenty high. The reason i decided to go for it is the increased oil flow through the bearings may lower the temp enough that the film thickness is actually the same or better. (Or it may not but that is how i reassured my self.) Also the warm weather is over and i will change it again long before it is back. My hope is that i may end up with better fuel economy over this oci. I will likely not continue running this oil i just mainly wanted to experiment.

 

[dlundblad]

5w20 in a 2002? You are very brave indeed. I'd dump it and make up the difference in 5w30. No need to change the filter unless you want to.

 

[Zahndkile]

Originally Posted by dlundblad

5w20 in a 2002? You are very brave indeed. I'd dump it and make up the difference in 5w30. No need to change the filter unless you want to.

I guess i am a thinny. I worried more when I put 0w-40 in it. I will change it at 5000 miles. I would like to do an oil analysis when I change it and start doing them every change from then on. I have been looking at frantz oil analysis service because it seems like a good price. I'm just not sure if it is as comprehensive as Blackstone. If I buy 3 oil analysis kits from frantz I can get free shipping and It is 15$ a test. The lab work is performed by predictive maintenance services. Does anybody here have any experience with them?

 

[super20dan]

those heater conectors can break with no warning. mine let go and I didn't smell any antifreeze and the temp gauge didn't even rise. the messege center flashed low coolant. and I stopped and checked. lucky I carry a gallon of water and got home ok. it would be easy to cook your engine because of this stupid desigh that is there only to speed up the assembly line

 

[Zahndkile]

Originally Posted by super20dan

those heater conectors can break with no warning. mine let go and I didn't smell any antifreeze and the temp gauge didn't even rise. the messege center flashed low coolant. and I stopped and checked. lucky I carry a gallon of water and got home ok. it would be easy to cook your engine because of this stupid desigh that is there only to speed up the assembly line

I believe in replacing parts well ahead of time so although all my hoses look good they are on the list for the next year or so when i have money.

 

[Zahndkile]

I just noticed i have put 3000 miles on since i started this thread.

 

[Zahndkile]

Since no one had any opinion on predictive maintenance services i ordered a kit from Blackstone Laboratories and i will send a sample in when i get 5000 miles on the oil. Are there any extra tests i should get done along with they're standard analysis?

 

[Brojo]

The 99-02 5.3 are some of the most reliable engines GM has made. The 03-06 (some 07 classics) are good too. I have a 2001 5.3 with 250k. This motor will not care what oil you use so long as it has oil. 5w-20 or 15w40...it will not care. You'll may get some noises along the way, lifters or piston slaps but it's not going to hurt a thing. 5w30 conventional with sensible OCI's will get that motor to 500k easy. I like taking care of my vehicles too but no need to over think with this motor. For the record I like any high mileage synthetic 5w-30 for mine. Mostly used Mobil 1, but currently I have PPHM in it. If you want thinner the PP 5w-30 is usually pretty thin for a 30 weight.

 

[mjk]

I completely agree with the above poster. Owner of an 01 Tahoe, with 173k. In ALL seriousness, whatever syn blend SN or SN+ oil that is on sale, and change at 5-6k. It doesn't matter. Over the 100k I've had the Tahoe, I've used most of the major brands; and even went HDEO once. It just doesn't matter in this situation. I have the 30 second piston slap in cold weather, no brand of oil has ever made it less noticeable, nor do I care.....just part of owning a 5.3 of that gen.

 

[N Heat]

02 Suburban here with 277k. It had M1 5w 30 for a few years and also quite a bit of Havoline and PYB. The last 10 years or so its had a steady diet of Supertech 5w 30. Ive been pretty strict about adhering to the OLM for changes. If I recall, it usually comes on around 5500 miles. But like lots of yall said, Im not sure this engine cares what oil you put in it.

 

[thunderchild]

Originally Posted by super20dan

those heater conectors can break with no warning. mine let go and I didn't smell any antifreeze and the temp gauge didn't even rise. the messege center flashed low coolant. and I stopped and checked. lucky I carry a gallon of water and got home ok. it would be easy to cook your engine because of this stupid desigh that is there only to speed up the assembly line

Yessir!!! And they don't even make the part anymore for it!!! So he just plugged the line for me. I have another indy that said he could just go to Loew's and get some plumbing parts and fix it back. I just may let him do just that. He said T fittings and some hose is all that is needed.

 

[Zahndkile]

So after 5188 miles 431 hours and several months here are my results. I have switched to harvest king 5w-30 DeX-OS gen 2 for $14 for 5 quarts and a fram ultra filter on all my vehicles at the moment. This tahoe wont be getting many miles any time soon as the new transmission just failed so it is on it's way back to bowtie overdrive for repairs. They said it sounded like it was an extremely rare failure from my description. Why do I have to have all the rare failures? ...€

 

[Zahndkile]

I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts on the numbers. I will say that I had this tahoe loaded with tools so that the rear was about 4 inches lower than the front for most of this OCI and I drive fairly hard in traffic.

 

[Zahndkile]

As to the oil consumption I am 92% shure that at least 75% of the 2 qt's in 5000 miles is the timing cover seal. I plan to replace it and harmonic balancer soon when I replace the intake manifold gasket. Lots of repairs on back log right now. So much time so little money. ...€