3.6L 2018 GMC Canyon Oil Change Interval

stchman

stchman

Joined
Sep 25, 2013
Messages
1,642
Location
St. Louis, MO
Hello all.

I own a 2018 GMC Canyon with the 3.6L engine.

I bought the vehicle new. The vehicle has about 88,000 miles now.

I have changed the oil with Supertech 5W-30 Full Synthetic and a Fram CH10246 oil filter when the DIC OLM reads about 10%.

I know some will say that Supertech, use Amsoil, Royal Purple, Red Line, etc. I am not racing the vehicle, just want to give the engine proper protection.

My question is, should change the oil more frequently? Use thicker viscosity?

The engine is the LGZ family of engines.

Whenever I change the oil since I have owned the vehicle, I have noticed that is uses about 0.5 quarts between changes. Being that the engine has AFM, DI, and VVT, engines with those features tend to consume a little bit of oil between changes.

I have up to this point enjoyed trouble free motoring and wish to keep it that way.

I know GM just had the thing with the 6.2L and the increase to 0-40 from 0W-20. Is an increase in viscosity a recommendation? Getting an extra 0.6MOG is not my main concern.

Thanks.
 
Last edited:
You'd get less than .6 likely only .1-.2. My tank average drop when going from 0w-20 to 5w-40 in my truck was .2 but even then there's margin of error and it could be 0.1 or less. Change frequently as timing components and especially needle bearings tend to love not just thick oil but fresh oil too even if it's supposed to be revised to be more reliable.
 
JavierH19 said:
You'd get less than .6 likely only .1-.2. My tank average drop when going from 0w-20 to 5w-40 in my truck was .2 but even then there's margin of error and it could be 0.1 or less. Change frequently as timing components and especially needle bearings tend to love not just thick oil but fresh oil too even if it's supposed to be revised to be more reliable.
Click to expand...
I have read that the timing chain guides (they are plastic) and can have accelerated wear on those guides if the oil is not changed often enough.

I gather I could start changing the oil more often (say 4500 miles).
 
stchman said:
I have read that the timing chain guides (they are plastic) and can have accelerated wear on those guides if the oil is not changed often enough.

I gather I could start changing the oil more often (say 4500 miles).
Click to expand...
There just seems to be something about frequent changes that timing components like.

Number_35

Thread 'Motor oil choices for optimum timing chain life'

This is my (probably very incomplete) summary of a bunch of threads here on BITOG regarding optimum practice for longest timing chain life.

Desirable Properties of Oil:
- As thick as possible for hot operating conditions (i.e. xW-40 > xW-30 > xW-20)
- As thin as possible for cold-weather starts (i.e. 0W-x > 5W-x > 10W-x > 20W-x)
- As little viscosity spread as possible (i.e. 5W-20 or 10W-30 > 0W-20 or 0W-30 or 0W-40 or 5W-30 or 20W-50)

These properties are somewhat contradictory - an oil that's both thin enough for cold weather and thick enough for hot weather will have a large viscosity...

C

Thread 'Euro Oils Timing Chain Protection ?'

Do current Euro oils have the same level of timing chain protection (or better) as do SP / D1 Gen 3 domestic oils call out ?
  • Like

S

Thread 'Timing Chain Life'

Not too long ago, I read an article that suggested changing a particular engine's timing chain at 125,000 miles. I don't recall the engine in question, however I believe some engines can get more mileage from a chain than others. Design, materials, engine power and lubrication all contribute.

Are there any engines that you know of that have a recommended interval for changing the chain, or for inspecting it?
  • Wow

jtay2024

Thread 'Would a C3 Oil Protect a Timing Chain Better Than a C2 Oil?'

Hi all.

As the title says really. For vehicles that are known to be prone to timing chain issues, would it be worth switching from the often recommended C2 oil to a C3 oil? I ask this as the requirement for C2 oil HTHS is only a minimum HTHS of 2.9 whereas the C3 oil minimum is 3.6.

Do you think a change in HTHS would actually benefit preventing timing chain wear?

Cheers!
  • Like
 
Most GM oil life monitors go until 7,500 miles.

You are changing it at around 6,700 if you are changing within that 10% range.

Of course you could verify this by actually monitoring the mileage for a OCI.

I personally think 5,000 miles or 8 months is a good range for full synthetic oils.
 
I have a 2017 Colorado with the 3.6. I try to have mine changed when the OLM gets down around 20%. For me thats usually around 2800 miles or so. Mine doesn’t seem to use any between changes.
 
Furious said:
Most GM oil life monitors go until 7,500 miles.

You are changing it at around 6,700 if you are changing within that 10% range.

Of course you could verify this by actually monitoring the mileage for a OCI.

I personally think 5,000 miles or 8 months is a good range for full synthetic oils.
Click to expand...
The last oil change was about 5K miles. The OLM on a GM car is not just a mileage counter, it takes into account driving time, temperature, average engine RPM, etc.

I gather that I will simply start changing the oil every 5K regardless of the OLM.

redtrucker610 said:
I have a 2017 Colorado with the 3.6. I try to have mine changed when the OLM gets down around 20%. For me thats usually around 2800 miles or so. Mine doesn’t seem to use any between changes.
Click to expand...
You must do a LOT of short trips.
 
stchman said:
The last oil change was about 5K miles. The OLM on a GM car is not just a mileage counter, it takes into account driving time, temperature, average engine RPM, etc.

I gather that I will simply start changing the oil every 5K regardless of the OLM.


You must do a LOT of short trips.
Click to expand...
I do. My daily commute is only 6 1/2 miles one way.
 
I’ve been using cheap 10w40 GTX since the two free oil changes ended in a 2022 Acadia with the 3.6L LGX. I was changing it every six months regardless of mileage because it was a daily driver and 80% city driving.
Now that the duty cycle has flipped to 90% highway, I’ll start using up the 6 jugs of M1 0W40 FS I bought on sale last summer and let the olm run down to 10%.
The stock oil filter is UPF63R or equivalent.
 
stchman said:
Hello all.

I own a 2018 GMC Canyon with the 3.6L engine.

I bought the vehicle new. The vehicle has about 88,000 miles now.

I have changed the oil with Supertech 5W-30 Full Synthetic and a Fram CH10246 oil filter when the DIC OLM reads about 10%.

I know some will say that Supertech, use Amsoil, Royal Purple, Red Line, etc. I am not racing the vehicle, just want to give the engine proper protection.

My question is, should change the oil more frequently? Use thicker viscosity?

The engine is the LGZ family of engines.

Whenever I change the oil since I have owned the vehicle, I have noticed that is uses about 0.5 quarts between changes. Being that the engine has AFM, DI, and VVT, engines with those features tend to consume a little bit of oil between changes.

I have up to this point enjoyed trouble free motoring and wish to keep it that way.

I know GM just had the thing with the 6.2L and the increase to 0-40 from 0W-20. Is an increase in viscosity a recommendation? Getting an extra 0.6MOG is not my main concern.

Thanks.
Click to expand...
stchman
It's great to see you paying attention to your vehicle maintenance.
Without a UOA it's tough to offer any valuable opinions
I recommend a UOA
Without Data you're just another person with an opinion" W.E. Deming.
Thanks for Posting
Best of Luck!
 
Crusher said:
stchman
It's great to see you paying attention to your vehicle maintenance.
Without a UOA it's tough to offer any valuable opinions
I recommend a UOA
Without Data you're just another person with an opinion" W.E. Deming.
Thanks for Posting
Best of Luck!
Click to expand...
Thanks.

I recently changed the oil in the Canyon. I guess I will send off the used oil when I need to change the oil again.

Is Blackstone still the go to place?
 
stchman said:
Hello all.

I own a 2018 GMC Canyon with the 3.6L engine.

I bought the vehicle new. The vehicle has about 88,000 miles now.

I have changed the oil with Supertech 5W-30 Full Synthetic and a Fram CH10246 oil filter when the DIC OLM reads about 10%.

I know some will say that Supertech, use Amsoil, Royal Purple, Red Line, etc. I am not racing the vehicle, just want to give the engine proper protection.

My question is, should change the oil more frequently? Use thicker viscosity?

The engine is the LGZ family of engines.

Whenever I change the oil since I have owned the vehicle, I have noticed that is uses about 0.5 quarts between changes. Being that the engine has AFM, DI, and VVT, engines with those features tend to consume a little bit of oil between changes.

I have up to this point enjoyed trouble free motoring and wish to keep it that way.

I know GM just had the thing with the 6.2L and the increase to 0-40 from 0W-20. Is an increase in viscosity a recommendation? Getting an extra 0.6MOG is not my main concern.

Thanks.
Click to expand...
I change it every 5k which is on the conservative side (OLM 25% for my driving). I'd probably cut it to 5k with Supertech. With 88k you may want to run Valvoline Restore & Protect for a few intervals.
 
buster said:
I change it every 5k which is on the conservative side (OLM 25% for my driving). I'd probably cut it to 5k with Supertech. With 88k you may want to run Valvoline Restore & Protect for a few intervals.
Click to expand...
I don't think the engine is dirty, I've changed the oil as per the DIC OLM since I have owned the vehicle. I will probably change the oil every 5K from now on.

Next OC, I will grab a sample of oil for testing at Blackstone. I will start changing at 5K intervals or OLM, whichever comes first.
 
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