New purchase, '98 k2500 w/350ci. Supposed oil use?

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I discovered this forum when researching oil usage in the purchase of my, new to me, truck. I had no idea there was a whole sub-culture of oil geeks out there.
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I just bought 1998 3/4 ton chevy 4x4 truck with 110,000 mi on a 350 engine. I am the third owner. The first had 100,000 hwy in 5-6 years. The second had 10,000 in 10 years. Both minimal towing. I will use it bomb around town on occasion and pull my 34' fifth wheel camper a few times a year. In recent years it was not driven much but run once a month or so, warmed up good, driven 30+ miles and the 4wd engaged. Kudos to him for keeping it up.

I am aware using oil is very common in this motor and not worth loosing sleep over. He said it maybe used/burned 1/2 -3/4 qt per 3000 miles. He ran castrol conventional 20w-50 in it. Not sure why? I think it was just some old school thinking or something. I bought it in Springfield, MO. Before driving it home I changed the oil in his driveway with castrol conventional 5w-30.

Now with 600+ miles on the oil of mostly hwy taching 2400rpm the oil level has not moved...maybe a 1/32". Might not use as much as he guessed. My thought was run some thin oil through it to "clean it out" then switch to what ever my heart desires. Also maybe change just the filter, or oil and filter at 1500mi the first couple times.

I am taking it up north next week pulling a small boat with the fam. 750mi round trip.

I will start a new thread later about which oil, filter, etc and how i drive it. Just interested in "my break in process."

Thanks a bunch!
 
I ran a '97 (bought new) for over 10 years with Mobil 1 5W-30. Never any real oil burning on 5-7000 mile oil changes. Great engine. Truck had about 100,000 miles on it when I traded it in.
 
That engine will take just about any 5W-30 or (down here where it never gets cold) 10W-30 oil. It's pretty easy on it. In the past, I've used M1, German Castrol, and Penzoil Platinum. I don't drive it much now and am using any decent conventional oil and am changing on time.

I wouldn't worry too much about cleaning it out unless you have an indicator there is a problem. An oil analysis would be a good idea to make sure you don't have hidden problems.

What I would worry about is that the intake manifold gaskets may not have been changed out with upgraded gaskets (factory or Fel-Pro problem solvers).

When I changed out my intake manifold gaskets, I didn't know anything about bad factory gaskets and dexcool incompatibility. I used factory gaskets for replacements, and have no clue if they were updated ones. Since, I've dumped the dexcool, and am using Zerex G05 to try and avoid having the problem again.

Oh, I have a '97 C2500 HD 5-speed with about 100k miles.
 
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I'd go for pyb 5w30 and a good ol fram filter with the factory oci. keep it simple. I had a 1990 that I put an lt1 in. loved that truck. pops still has it.
 
Originally Posted By: abycat
I'd go for pyb 5w30 and a good ol fram filter with the factory oci. keep it simple. I had a 1990 that I put an lt1 in. loved that truck. pops still has it.


New at the lingo. Pyb? I notice nobody uses delco filters too.
 
Originally Posted By: ArrestMeRedZ
That engine will take just about any 5W-30 or (down here where it never gets cold) 10W-30 oil. It's pretty easy on it. In the past, I've used M1, German Castrol, and Penzoil Platinum. I don't drive it much now and am using any decent conventional oil and am changing on time.

I wouldn't worry too much about cleaning it out unless you have an indicator there is a problem. An oil analysis would be a good idea to make sure you don't have hidden problems.

What I would worry about is that the intake manifold gaskets may not have been changed out with upgraded gaskets (factory or Fel-Pro problem solvers).

When I changed out my intake manifold gaskets, I didn't know anything about bad factory gaskets and dexcool incompatibility. I used factory gaskets for replacements, and have no clue if they were updated ones. Since, I've dumped the dexcool, and am using Zerex G05 to try and avoid having the problem again.

Oh, I have a '97 C2500 HD 5-speed with about 100k miles.


I believe they are original? I need to look into it more to be sure. I have noticed that was a common issue.

How do. I go about a UOA that everyone talks about.
 
Originally Posted By: Tony05
Originally Posted By: abycat
I'd go for pyb 5w30 and a good ol fram filter with the factory oci. keep it simple. I had a 1990 that I put an lt1 in. loved that truck. pops still has it.


New at the lingo. Pyb? I notice nobody uses delco filters too.


sorry. penzoil yellow bottle. And factory reccomended oil change interval.
 
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I have a 98 Z71 1/2 ton chevy with the 5.7L. I bought it new and it currently has 127,000 miles on it. I currently run Pennzoil HM in it and it runs great.

Like others have said, I would worry more about the intake gaskets than the oil. Including the original gaskets, I'm on set #4. On the last replacement we used one of the revised sets of gaskets but they came out with another revision after that so I'm sure I will have to have mine replaced again at some point.

I see you bought the truck in Springfield MO. I live 30 miles west of there.

Wayne
 
Originally Posted By: wtd
I see you bought the truck in Springfield MO. I live 30 miles west of there.

Wayne

Yup. I made the drive for a clean truck. The irony of it all is I was working in Humboldt, KS. Oh well, the stars don't always line up.
 
I had a '98 C1500 with 160k miles, and ran Pennzoil High Mileage 5w-30. Smooth as butter.
Those are great trucks, I wish I still had mine. Congrats on your purchase!
 
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I'm not avoiding your question about how to do an oil analysis, I just don't have any personal experience. Check on the Oil Analysis - General Questions section of the forum. I know Blackstone is a big name, but I'm sure there are other favorites.

Nothing wrong with the Delco filter. Most chose based upon a quality/price tradeoff. I know your 4WD takes a different filter than the 2WD I have. I use whatever I can get with a combined oil/filter sale.
 
Thanks for all the reassurance everyone! I am at the cottage now and I have about 1500mi on this oil, mostly hwy. I don't think it uses any oil?! I brought some QSGB 10w30 and 1/3 can of sea foam I had taking up space in the garage. I will change it before I make the 300mi trip home. The oil looks great now. I am changing it so soon for the fun of it.

Probably just run some HM oil and a Delco filter when it is all said and done. Thanks again everyone.
 
Originally Posted By: Tony05
I will also look into the intake gaskets in the next couple weeks.

Sure, but maybe the OP will be lucky, and find a receipt in the glove box, showing that the job was done not too long ago. Also, if his spider injectors had to be replaced, this job would probably have been done.

Can the OP find any receipts from the previous owner?
 
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