Is 20w50 the wrong oil for my 96 9c1 (83,000 miles)?

[Jelly]

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Originally posted by RDW:
Do to low oil pressure a mechanic replaced my 5w30 oil with 20w50. Guage wise; doesn't seem to make any difference.
Now I have been told by other sources the 20w50 is bad for "this" car, and I should go back to 5w30. I live in the SF Bay Area, so the weather is mild.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

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In regards to mineral-oils, I wouldn't pick either a 5w-30 or 20w-50.

I'd without a doubt pick a HDEO 15w-40, such as Delo, Delvac, Long-Life, or Rotella.

Unless you have very high oil consumption, I see absolutely no reason to pick a 20w-50 over a 15w-40 HDEO.

BTW, what is your oil consumption?

 

[TomJones76]

If you see a 94-96 Caprice with a tach, that means someone transplanted it from a same or near-same year Impala.

 

[heyjay]

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Originally posted by VaderSS:

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The last model Chevy Caprice police package came with 4L60E transmissions and LT1 motors. The instrument cluster had a vacuum flourescent digital speedometer, withanalog tach , fuel, temp, and oil pressure.

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No tach, and had a volt meter, but otherwise correct. 94-96 Caprices, 9C1 or otherwise, never came with a tach.

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Bypassing the heated throttle body (Loop the coolant hoses) sure does gain power. I almost cry that I can't pull that stunt here, as my throttle body would ice up.

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We have members in Alaska that have done the TB bypass. Not ONE instance of icing. The TB serves as a heat sink to condense steam from the heads, not as a deicer. It is of most use in EXTREMELY hot climates, not cold ones.

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The 94-96 Chevy Caprice ordered for Government (FBI, CIA, DEA, DOD, etc) and for police departments had an unusual instrument cluster:

A large "calibrated" vacuum flourescent speedo, flanked by an analog tach. Also had the oil pressure, volts, coolant temp, and fuel on the side.

This was NOT available to the general public, though I suppose if you had such a car you could always try to order a "police" instrument cluster from GM.

My friend in Salt Lake City with the retired Utah Highway Patrol 1996 Chevy Caprice has this instrument cluster.

He got a muffler shop to put on custom stainless steel pipes that go through Borla Oval racing mufflers. The pipes exit in front of the rear wheels. When you hear that beast on an on-ramp you KNOW it's a serious machine.

The 94-95 Chevy Impala SS had oil pressure, volts, coolant temp, fuel, and a speedo: no tach, and a wimpy column shifter.

The 96 Chevy Impala SS had a floor shifter. The instrument cluster finally had a tach, but they deleted the volts and oil pressure gauge.

A local with a 2001 Chevy Silverado and Vortec 4.8 litre V8 tried to bypass the heated throttle body. His gas pedal froze at -30 C / -22 F.

So unless I move to a much nicer climate, I'll leave the coolant pipes hooked up to my throttle body.

BTW: on my 5.3 litre Vortec, the steam relief pipes from the aluminum heads are piped to the surge tank, not the throttle body.

Jerry

 

[VaderSS]

quote:

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The 94-96 Chevy Caprice ordered for Government (FBI, CIA, DEA, DOD, etc) and for police departments had an unusual instrument cluster:

A large "calibrated" vacuum flourescent speedo, flanked by an analog tach. Also had the oil pressure, volts, coolant temp, and fuel on the side.

This was NOT available to the general public, though I suppose if you had such a car you could always try to order a "police" instrument cluster from GM.

My friend in Salt Lake City with the retired Utah Highway Patrol 1996 Chevy Caprice has this instrument cluster.

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Only the 91-93 could be had equipped like you describe. 94-96 lost the tach, except for the 96 Impala SS, which is what I drive. The only way you could get that cluster into a '96 would be to do a dash replacement, and you are talking MAJOR sugery for that particular swap, since the dash went through a major redesign in '94.

[ March 09, 2004, 06:02 PM: Message edited by: VaderSS ]

 

[VaderSS]

From the 9C1 brochure;
'93
Digital Speedometer Certified 1MPH increments 0-199 MPH, includes, Trip Odometer, Tachometer, Gauges(Oil, Temp, Volts) plus Warning Lights

'94
Digital Speedometer Certified 1MPH increments 0-199 MPH, includes, Trip Odometer, Gauges(Oil, Temp, Volts) plus Warning Lights and Speedometer light off switch
In the option list is no mention of a Tachometer option
http://www.9c1.com/brochures/index.html

 

[JohnnyO]

No doubt it was the special 9C1 wiper blades that blew the budget.

 

[RDW]

All replacment parts are OEM AC-Delco, except the tranny which got heavier bands, and TC.

Burns no oil.

Interior is good. Cloth fronts & vinly backs, with rubber on the floor.

Went "cheap" with the paint job. Body was pretty rough.(paint & body work was $3,000). When I got this "free" car, I just thought of it as a Blues-Mobile. Now that I've got this much money invested; I'm committed, so back to the paint shop it goes.

Back to the orginal purpose of my post. I'm still confused on what oil to use. I need a consenus of opinon from "B" body owners.

Thanks to all for your input.

[ March 10, 2004, 12:15 AM: Message edited by: RDW ]

 

[VaderSS]

Oh, sorry.

10W30 or a 15W40, nothing heavier. The lifters don't like it on the LT1s.

 

[heyjay]

quote:

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Originally posted by VaderSS:
From the 9C1 brochure;
'93
Digital Speedometer Certified 1MPH increments 0-199 MPH, includes, Trip Odometer, Tachometer, Gauges(Oil, Temp, Volts) plus Warning Lights

'94
Digital Speedometer Certified 1MPH increments 0-199 MPH, includes, Trip Odometer, Gauges(Oil, Temp, Volts) plus Warning Lights and Speedometer light off switch
In the option list is no mention of a Tachometer option
http://www.9c1.com/brochures/index.html

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?????

Something does not add up here. I've ridden in the car once, last summer, and it appeared to have a factory instrument cluster with a tach. The tach was NOT an add on. My friend claims it's a 1996 Caprice Police Package, and was retired from the Utah Highway Patrol.

As far as oil, GMPP (General Motors Performance Parts) recommends a 10W-40. I don't see what the problem would be with a 20W-50 in the Bay Area climate. For obvious reasons, where I live I would run a much lighter oil in winter.

Jerry

 

[VaderSS]

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My friend claims it's a 1996 Caprice Police Package, and was retired from the Utah Highway Patrol.

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1 of two things;
a) It was put in in place of the stock one at some time.
b) It was not a '96.

It is NOT factory. I am a serious NUT when it comes to the Chevrolet B-Body of 1994-1996, and I have never heard of such a thing. When I asked people who make me look like a poseur on these cars, people who built them and/or were there to watch the last ones come out of the factory on Friday Dec. 13th, 1996, they have no knowlege of such a thing either.

I know that the '91-93 dash will not go into the '94-96 without major surgery, and a '91-93 cluster will not fit in a '94+ dash, but that is not to say that it has not been done. Most people opting to change clusters put the Camaro one in though, which comes with all the aforementioned guages, as well as an analog speedo and fits in the stock '94+ dash with very little coercing.

Some pics all 9C1s;
'91 Dash

'92 Dash

'94 Dash

Oh, and when I talk about major surgery to transplant dashes, I mean MAJOR surgery. The radio/climate controls are reversed and the climate control ducting is routed entirely different as well as the '94+ having a passenger side airbag and all the reinforcing that goes with that. Looking at the '91-93 cluster, you see why you can't put it in a '94+ dash, and vice-versa.

[ March 11, 2004, 04:44 PM: Message edited by: VaderSS ]

 

[heyjay]

It looks EXACTLY like the picture with the caption "'92 dash." Yet my friend claims he got his at a State of Utah auction and the car is a 1996.

Not that it really matters. Remember, I only rode in it once. Didn't have time to check the VIN. ;-)

What impressed me was how solid and strong the car felt. With the Borla Oval's exiting in front of the rear tires, it sure sounded nice too under acceleration.

Mind you, my friend DID put in a new 4L60E, new rear end (Howl, which is always a bad sign), new coils, and new Bilstein shocks. Also got a HD aluminum rad and fan temp control from Lingenfelter and new silicon hoses. Did it himself and it cost $5,200 for everything.

He couldn't do the paint job himself, but a good quality white with clear coat (Including the door handle bezel, grille, and emblems) cost only $1,200.

I wouldn't mind picking up such a beast myself. Can you email any "gotcha's" to look out for? I don't care about the motor and trans, as I can replace those with crate pieces if need be.

Since the LT1's still used a distributer, you could easily add an aftermarket tach, right?

Is there any reason why GMPP (General Motors Performance Parts) recommends a 10W-40 and GM recommends a 5W-30 in their passenger cars?

Jerry

 

[VaderSS]

Well, the LO5-HO 350 that the '91-93 9C1s(and only 9C1s) could be had with is a pretty torquey engine, with a more "bottom ended" power delivery than even the LT1.

Did you see the engine? Was the distributor on top of the engine, or behind the waterpump? Did it have a "fender-skirt" look to the rear, or were the fenders cut out like an Impala SS?

Were the mirrors mounted to the door, like the older ones, or in the corner of the window like newer cars?

Did the tail lights look like the ones on the right ot the left in this pic?

Pretty sure 5W30 is CAFE related, but the engines have also been designed around it, since it's been the norm for years. Never heard of that GMPP reccomendation, but if it's true, GMPP customers run their cars HARD, and probably need a little more protection.

 

[heyjay]

Sheesh, I rode in the car once.

One thing that surprised me about the motor was the distributor. I remember old Chevy 350's that had the distributor at the rear of the motor.

This motor had the distributor by the water pump. Sort of like a Ford 302. My friend actually waited for me to comment on that.

I can't remember about the rear view mirrors. May have been on the door frame.

By skirt you mean as if the rear wheel well was partially covered? Then yes. That is, it sure wasn't a regular round wheel well for the rear wheel.

Yeah, I was also surprised to see the GMPP Crate Motor Startup instructions on the oil viscosity recommendations.

Jerry

If I recall, the tailights were like the ones on the right.

 

[VaderSS]

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By skirt you mean as if the rear wheel well was partially covered? Then yes. That is, it sure wasn't a regular round wheel well for the rear wheel.

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Ok, it's either a '91 or a '92. After that, the wheel wells went to the more conventional style.

Top front distributor? Not 100% sure, but I think the L05s had a rear mount one like the oldies. VERY odd...

LT1s have the distributor under the water pump. You can't really even see what it is unless the waterpump is off, and to actually get to it, you have to remove the waterpump and harmonic balancer, thanks GM... Luckily, there are not too many easier WPs to remove. You don't even have to pull the belt.