I inherited a 2006 Chevy Impala 3.5L V-6. Has 41,800 miles. First car in along time. First Chevy in a long time.
Was my grandmothers car, she had a indy shop do maintenance, which I have no records of other than the OCI sticker on the windshield. Looks like every 3K was changed.
I don't know if this engine is hard or easy on oil. Its a pushrod VVT engine.
My wife is going to drive it for work. Mostly will be highway miles, min of 20 miles one way, half will probably be 150+ miles one way. I plan on 10K OCI using probably M1 or PPPP, easiest to find here. Probably use a Fram Ultra.
Anybody see any issues with this plan? Or better recommendations? I don't know anything about the Dexos certs, so not sure if I need to make sure I use a Dexos oil?
Thanks
Anybody know about Chevy Impala 3.5L oil?
- Thread starter Srt20
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5 qt jug of Quaker State (SOPUS) syn-blend DEXOS1 licensed $16.97 + tax @ walmart.
It doesn't need the dexos 1 oil but it wouldn't hurt to run it.
I change the oil on a friends 2011 Impala with the same motor and it has 145k on it. I started changing it at 45k and around 120k it started to use oil. They would go by the OLM and it would usually be around 7 to 8k on oil changes. I noticed that the last few oil changes when it came in it was low on oil by half a qt. They started using AC delco oil filters with AMOIL's OE 5w-30 at 45k and that is it's steady diet.
Originally Posted By: Srt20
My wife is going to drive it for work. Mostly will be highway miles, min of 20 miles one way, half will probably be 150+ miles one way. I plan on 10K OCI using probably M1 or PPPP, easiest to find here. Probably use a Fram Ultra.
Great engines which seem to be pretty easy on oil, but with a pretty small (4 qt) sump. I have 130,000 on mine (in a Saturn Aura) and engine is still running great especially with new spark plugs. The 4T45e transmission, on the other hand.... Has a reputation of lasting forever even with jarring, slamming shifts, but definitely isn't fun to deal with in city driving.
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Push rod engine with VVT?
Originally Posted By: dwendt44
Push rod engine with VVT?
As said previously, not terribly hard on oil AFAIK but not a huge sump for the size of the engine. 7,500-10K highway miles on full syn shouldn't be a problem. Only non-standard repairs I've done to a 3.5 are an oil pan gasket/fromt motor mount (250K-mile Uplander) and the oil filter adapter gasket on an '05 Malibu. I believe the 3.5 was better but not completely out of the woods of the 3.1/3.4's propensity to blow any number of cooling system components and usually head gaskets immediately after, so keep that system checked up on.
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Originally Posted By: VetteElite
Great engines which seem to be pretty easy on oil, but with a pretty small (4 qt) sump. I have 130,000 on mine (in a Saturn Aura) and engine is still running great especially with new spark plugs. The 4T45e transmission, on the other hand.... Has a reputation of lasting forever even with jarring, slamming shifts, but definitely isn't fun to deal with in city driving.
Originally Posted By: Srt20
I didn't know its only 4 qts. Maybe I will go by the OLM for the first OCI and see how it goes.
Unless the OLM has not been reprogrammed by the dealer. The one on my 2006 Cadillac had to be reprogrammed to a lower interval because so many other folks with the 3.6 engine had experienced various problems that GM realized the OLM was set too long. I never use it anyway.
Originally Posted By: TiredTrucker
Unless the OLM has not been reprogrammed by the dealer. The one on my 2006 Cadillac had to be reprogrammed to a lower interval because so many other folks with the 3.6 engine had experienced various problems that GM realized the OLM was set too long. I never use it anyway.
The 3.5 in that era Impala is not a VVT engine. The 3.6 in the 2011 and up is a VVT engine.
I have the 3.5 in our 2010 Impala. I run either a syn blend or a full syn with the ACDelco filters per the OLM and it's been fine. Just passed 120K miles on ours this past week. It does use about a quart between changes so I keep a close eye on it. Like others have said, it's only a 4 quart sump.
Also, service the transmission early and often. There is a TSB on adding a second magnet to transmission pan. The solenoids like to pick up magnetic particles and leads to weird shifting and trans failure from low pressure ( or something of that nature). Ours started to slip in 1st and flair 2-3 shifts bad around 100K miles. I had serviced the trans/filter @ 70K. At 105K miles I added a TransGo shift kit, performed the TSB as well as switched to Valvoline Maxlife ATF. World of difference, it has been shifting normally now for the past 15K with no sign of letting go.
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I just did a pan drop on my 2007 Impala and I also added the second magnet to the pan per the TSB. I have noticed a few hard shifts so interested in the TransGo Kit and how difficult it is to install. I went with the Valvoline synthetic VI for my ATF.
The kit was pretty easy, maybe 3 hours or so to install. You have to drop the pan and remove the accumulator assembly which contains the springs etc that are in the kit. I only did the springs for 1-2-3 shifts. 3-4 springs are on the side of the transmission which is a bear to get to.
It really makes a huge difference. Firm but not harsh shifts 1-2-2-3, no more flares etc. Supposedly it will solve harsh shifting also if you are experiencing that.
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Originally Posted By: Huie83
The 3.5 in that era Impala is not a VVT engine. The 3.6 in the 2011 and up is a VVT engine.
I have the 3.5 in our 2010 Impala. I run either a syn blend or a full syn with the ACDelco filters per the OLM and it's been fine. Just passed 120K miles on ours this past week. It does use about a quart between changes so I keep a close eye on it. Like others have said, it's only a 4 quart sump.
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