Mobil 1 for new Chevy 5.3 engine?

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Hi Guys I'm new and have a question for you oil experts!

I have a 2003 Silverado and I broke in the 5.3 engine with oil changes at 500 miles, 1,500 and I started using Mobil 1 at 2,700 miles. My truck now has 3,700 miles on it and it hasen't burned any oil yet. Do you think switching form conventional oil to Mobil 1 synthetic was a good idea or should I go back to regular Valvoline? Is it even safe to switch back to regular oil now that I have 1,000 miles with Mobil 1 synthetic or is that just a myth? Will this Mobil 1 make a huge difference with wear and overall protection in the long run as I want to keep this truck a long long time and that is why I started to use the Mobil 1. Thank you for any help!!!!
 
Stick with the synthetics now, there is no need to switch back, although it wouldn' t harm anything if you did.

I don't think you switched too soon at all, and there are many of us on here who have switched over new engines to synthetic at even earlier mileage than you did.

Oh ya, and one more thing:

welcome.gif
 
Thanks for the welcome!

I also have a 2002 Camaro with the ls1 V8 and I been using Mobil 1 from day 1 and on the last 3,000 mile oil change (the car now has 7,500 miles on it) it seemed to burn about a 1/2 qt of oil as I put in close to 6 qts and only got out 5 and 1/2 and the dip stick was low bu about 5/32 of an inch (about 2/3rds in the hatch marks. The guys over at ls1.com say these ls1 engines burn oil! I just hope the Silverado dosen't!
 
So do you think the engine in my Silverado and Camaro and better protected with the Mobil 1 senthetic even if it makes them burn oil than using regular Valvoilne?

I just don't like the thought of my new car burning oil and I wonder if it is the synthetic but I hear synthetic (Mobil 1) protects so much better the regular oil! They say if you use mobil 1 you will wear out your car seat befor your engine!
 
Did your car burn any of the Valvoline? It is very common to burn Mobil 1 as they are light weight oils in there respective weight class. I'd try Delvac 1, or Amsoil. Amsoil has better NOAK numbers and is also a heavier 30wt. oil.
 
What weight M1 are you using? I'm currently running Mobil 1 10W-30 also in my 02 SS LS1 and it has not consumed any oil at all. It seems that the 0W and 5W-30 Mobil 1 oils seem to burn off a little quicker than the 10W-30. Also another fix that has helped many LS1 owners faced with oil consumption is to mix 4 qts 10w-30 and 2 15W-50 M1 and that seems to really cut down on consumption.
 
I only ran Valvoline in the Silverado and 5w30 M1 in the Camaro. I never had the Valvoline in the truck long enough to see if it was burning and after 1,000 miles of M1 it is not burning yet. Only the Camaro has burned a little (1/2 qt) of Mobil 1 5w30.
 
I bought a 93 Buick Regal and switched to Mobil 1 at 500 miles. I changed oil anywhere from 3000 to 7000, depending on when I thought about it. At 165,000 I had it analyzed, and it came back perfect. They said I could probably run it about 7500 miles between changes, and just keep doing whatever I'd been doing. I gave the car to my son who's still running Mobil 1 in it. We drove it hard, and sometimes I'd have to add about a half quart between changes, but it didn't seem like it was using any more than if it had been conventional oil. I'd say you should just stay with Mobil 1. That's what I run in everything, including my Toro lawnmower and my air compressor.
 
I have an '02 GMC with the 5.3L and running 5w30 Mobil 1, I burn 1/2 qt. in 6000 miles, not bad in my book.
 
From what I've seen, there is a big difference in volatility between the M1, 0w-30 and their 10w-30. I haven't seen any significant difference in the behavior of their 5w-30 and 10w-30, except the 5w-30 may shear a bit.

Oil consumption of 1qt/12k miles is very low for a GM V-8 engine. I'd be very satisfied with that ....

TooSlick
 
I put in 6 qt and it was still a little low on the dip stick so I put in about 1/4 qt more and that brought it up to the max fill line and just a hair over so I left it there. Just how much over can I be until there is to much oil in the engine and cause damage? The owners book says 6 qt total and I needed 6 1/4 qt to compleetly fill it.
 
quote:

Originally posted by Chris B.:
I put in 6 qt and it was still a little low on the dip stick so I put in about 1/4 qt more and that brought it up to the max fill line and just a hair over so I left it there. Just how much over can I be until there is to much oil in the engine and cause damage? The owners book says 6 qt total and I needed 6 1/4 qt to compleetly fill it.

Not to worry, that small amount over is totally fine. I overfill my cars at a higher amount than their manual dictates, with no problems. In most cars, if you go a half quart over what is listed in the book you are still well within a safe range. I know guys with LS1 f-bodies who run 7qts, even though the capacity in the book is 5.5!
 
quote:

Originally posted by Patman:

quote:

Originally posted by Chris B.:
I put in 6 qt and it was still a little low on the dip stick so I put in about 1/4 qt more and that brought it up to the max fill line and just a hair over so I left it there. Just how much over can I be until there is to much oil in the engine and cause damage? The owners book says 6 qt total and I needed 6 1/4 qt to compleetly fill it.

Not to worry, that small amount over is totally fine. I overfill my cars at a higher amount than their manual dictates, with no problems. In most cars, if you go a half quart over what is listed in the book you are still well within a safe range. I know guys with LS1 f-bodies who run 7qts, even though the capacity in the book is 5.5!


...Just depends on what engine you have...I remember a couple years ago reading about the VW 1.8's. I guess the crank was pretty low in relation to the max fill point and they were having problems with it "whipping up" the oil, essentially turning it into froth (bad!)
 
Good point Justin, which is why I say "most" engines.

The one thing to do if you're ever worried about overfilling, is to check the dipstick right after you've driven the car and check for bubbles in the oil that would indicate frothing.

MoleKule could explain it better, as I know he determines his "max fill" level on his vehicles with this method.
 
Chris,

I have the 5.3 also and am running Mobil 1 0-30. It is using about 3/4 of a quart every 2k miles. I actually emailed Mobil and asked which grade to use between the following Mobi l 10-40, Mobil 1 10-30, Delvac 1 5-40. They told me to use Mobil 1 10-30. I am going to give that a try with the next change and see what happens with the consumption.
 
I have a 02 ex cab sierra running Mobil 1 10w/30 and K&N oil filter. It's used close to half a qt. in 1800 miles. But I'm pretty hard on it running it 3 miles at a time to from work and flooring it usually once a day or more. This should be a good torture test, can't wait to do an analysis on this stuff.
 
It seems the 0w-30, as I've experienced myself, really burns off. Is this due to the VI's? If so, I guess Mobil being a light 30wt. really has not much to do with oil consumption as compared to VI's.
 
2000 Silverado 4.8ltr with 24k, 1/2 quart every 4-5k using Mobil 1 5w-30.

Changed to Dino oil (Pennzoil 10-30) and only got 300 miles on this change, hopefully it will not start burning more...

Cheers, Bill
 
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